Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) ( #BOTB )

        This has been an extremely busy November for me with trips to East Tennessee and Phoenix AZ as well as visiting family members for Thanksgiving.  So much fun!  I'm tired and it's still a few weeks until Christmas.  Life is good!

       But I'm back on the blog and it's time for another...

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life

        Lately I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my life.  Housecleaning (and organizing) does that to me sometimes.  Looking at all of the stuff I own makes me wonder what I should continue to keep and what I need to get rid of.   The biggest part of my accumulation of stuff is my collection of music on vinyl, tape, and CD.  I've spent a fortune on those things over the years and now when I look at my music library I often think how I'd like to have back all the money I spent on this collection.

         However, all that music sure provided me with countless hours of listening pleasure.  There is a wide variety of musical styles in my audio library, but the preponderance of this collection is in the genre of rock and roll.  Rock music has provided me with so much listening pleasure since the sixties up until the present time.  The money spent would be nice to have now, but there could be no replacing those musical memories.

          The song for this Battle installment popped into my head the other day for some reason I can't recall.  I'd say most of you might not be familiar with "Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)" but it's likely that many of you might identify with some of the sentiments of the song which was written by Australian singer/songwriter Kevin Johnson.  The song is rarely played on radio or elsewhere even though it's been recorded by several artists over the years.

          Here are two versions for you to compare and decide which you like best...

Mac Davis     Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)  (1974)

         Mac Davis was a big star in the seventies and into the eighties.  He had several hit songs (including the ones he wrote for Elvis Presley).  For a while he often appeared in TV shows, movies, and onstage and continued working in show business until his death at 78 in 2020. 

           Mac's version of this song was the highest charting version in the United States reaching #15 on the Billboard charts in 1974.   Listen and then move on to the next version....

 Doug Kershaw      Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)  (1973)

          Doug Kershaw has had a long respectable career as a singer and fiddle player.  He never has reached superstar status, but he has secured a solid place in country music history.  His version of "Best Years of My Life" is the only one I ever knew until recently.  When I first heard it back in 1973 I went right out and bought the album which I discussed in my 'K' entry for this year's A to Z Challenge.  

          Kershaw's version picks up the tempo a bit from most other versions I've listened to.  Now you take a listen and tell us what you think about it...

Time to Vote!

           You don't have to give the best years of your life to play in this game.  It only takes a few minutes!  Just listen and appreciate.  Which song do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Streampebbles (Diedre Knight)

Battle Results Wednesday December 7th

       You will find the results of this Battle on Wednesday December 7th.   I'm going to continue taking a bit of a blog break through the holidays.  I'll make a couple of Insecure Writer's Support Group posts, but other than that I'm going to do whatever it is I'll be doing.  I hope it's mostly fun and productive.  Be sure to stop back by for the results!

The Vote Is In--No, Not That Vote ( #BOTB Results )

       

          This week it's all about the vote and the results.  I've got some results, but not the big results much of America is waiting for.  These are the Battle of the Bands results....

Battle of the Bands Results

       My most recent Battle was one between songs about writers and writing in honor of NANO month (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about).   This Battle found hippie dippy Donovan up against Lloyd Whoever-He-Is Cole.   Cole's song was a catchy tune that won the hearts of most of the voters.  I'd never of Cole before, but I liked his sound and his song seemed appropriate for a writerly song Battle.

        Donovan's song has been a big favorite of mine for over fifty years.  Even in my high school days I could appreciate Donovan's song portrayal of a writer past his prime and fading into his own memories.  I think it's a wonderful song and that's the one that got my vote in this round.  

         However as it is in the song market, the more poppy sound of Lloyd Cole won over the most listeners.  I guess that's what I should have expected.

Final Vote Tally

Lloyd Cole       11 votes

Donovan           6 votes

Next Battle on Friday December 1

        I'm going to be pretty much off line for a few weeks.  Maybe I'll pop on now and then, but I've got some busy times ahead.  Have a great and bountiful Thanksgiving!

Writers and Writing ( #IWSG & #BOTB )

         Time to write that novel you've been thinking about for--what, years?  decades?--well, if you've been dreaming about such things.  I have.  Still am.  What am I doing about it?  Writing a blog post...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton!

November 2 question - November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

    Years ago I participated for two years in a row.  I was doing a lot more writing activity back then.  Now I've got excuses not to write.  Actual excuses.  Sometimes.  And this November especially I have some real life things going on that are likely to be keeping me busy until the end of the year.

     I'll hopefully be writing again soon, but this year no Nano for me.

      But since it doesn't take much of my time I will do this...

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Sing a Song of Writing

       Here's a couple of contrasting views of writing for you to think about as you ponder your own writerly dreams of a career of sorts as a writer.  Take a moment to listen to each and then vote on your favorite in the comment section. 

        

Lloyd Cole   "Writer's Retreat!"   (2010)

 

Donovan  "Writer in the Sun"   (1966)

 

Time to Vote!

           Nano or No-no, you don't have to have writing aspirations to enjoy the music in this song Battle.  Just listen and appreciate.  Which song do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Streampebbles (Diedre Knight)



Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday November 7 

              Make your vote count!  Come back on the 7th to see if your pick was the top favorite.  After that I'll probably be taking the rest of November off.  And not because I'm writing a novel.