Soul of Lee's Basement ( #BOTB )

     When my family first went to Maryville Tennessee I figured it was more like a vacation except that my father had to go to work every day.  It was a vacation for the rest of us though.  My parents and four siblings were staying in our travel trailer parked at a mobile home park.  Each day after my father went to work, my mother took the rest of us to some nearby tourist attraction--and there were many!  We all fell in love with the area.  By  mid-August it was decided that we would move here.  My parents put our Indiana house up for sale and by September we were settled in our new home in East Tennessee.

     The house we decided on was a nice sized recently built brick house on a very large lot. Of particular appeal to all of us was the large finished half basement that had a large open area with a fireplace, a sort of alcove with small closet, and a laundry room with a bathroom.  My father saw a good space for practicing our juggling act.  I envisioned a retreat where I could listen to music.  There was something for everyone, but I felt like it was mostly my domain.  Eventually those in my circle of friends would call it Lee's Basement.

       When our family made the move to Maryville, my record collection was likely not much more than 20 records if that many.  I treasured each and every one of them and played them often.  My sister also had her records, but she didn't take collecting as serious as I did.  My records were usually in better shape than hers and always inside their proper dustcovers. I occasionally listened to her records and enjoyed them, but we had distinct inclinations to like different types of music.

        Each Christmas my mother would take an album wish list from each of us and that would be another 20 or so albums in the house.  There would be my Kinks album versus her Bobby Vinton or my Beach Boys against her Diane Renay (anyone remember her?  "Navy Blue"?).  When she got over Beatlemania and stopped being interested in Beatles records is when they caught my attention an I started listening.

        My sister had her music and I had mine even though I really did like a lot of what she was listening to.  I like music and that's why I do this thing...

       

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.

A Little Bit of Soul

       Both my sister and I leaned heavily in the direction of the rock or pop genres, but some of the R & B groups caught our attention.  We both started listening to the Motown artists, but Joy had already been a fan of the NYC group Little Anthony and the Imperials for a couple years.  I also liked their hits that were often played on the Chicago station we listened to when we were still in Northern Indiana.  Joy probably liked having their songs as a background to young teenage angst.  I just liked their sound, but I could understand how some of their songs could set a mood for reflection or whatever.

      The Four Tops had released several hits before they really registered with me, but soon they caught my attention with their edgier sound.  They seemed more like a group for action rather than reflection and being moody.  Of course Joy liked those Four Tops songs, but I'm pretty sure she would have rather listened to Little Anthony if the choice were hers for music to set her mood and I think that would be the case even now. 

        Has my musical tasted changed over the years as I've become older and more reflective?  Back in the late sixties in my basement, my go to music would have been Four Tops over Little Anthony.  Where am I now?  That's not only for you to find out when I post my results for this Battle, but also for you to decide which you prefer.  Listen and remember.  And then, please vote...

       

Little Anthony & the Imperials   "Hurt So Bad"  (1964)

Four Tops   "Reach Out I'll Be There"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

           Do these songs bring back memories for you?  Which do you like best?.  Just listen and have fun.  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. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


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

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Monday October 9th

Time to Face the Juggling Music ( #BOTB Results )

  Sitting on the edge of your seat, the music starts to play.  Let the juggling begin!  Or at least the blogging. Let the blogging about juggling begin! Yay!...

Battle of the Bands Results

The Real Juggling Music

       My most recent post featured a Battle of the Bands segment with Xavier Cugat's "El Cumbanchero" going head to head with "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" by Les Brown and his Band Renown.  These were both songs that my father had chosen as part of the music backing our family juggling act and for this Battle I used two of the actual recordings we often used.  

       Let me set the scenario up with a description of how the songs were used in the act. Sometimes my family did a whole show where my father did some comedy, my mother or sister would do an acrobatic dance specialty, and then we closed the show with the entire family doing a fast paced juggling routine. That latter portion was what my father called "The Big Act" and often we were hired to perform that act in a show that included other acts.

       We opened the Big Act with the entire family entering the stage while juggling to the song "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" as played by Les Brown & His Band Renown.  Only recently did the significance of this song choice occur to me.  My father probably purposely used a song with this title to open the Big Act, or maybe he just used it because it was popular at the time.

         Our closing used various recorded versions of "El Cumbanchero" that was Cugat's version for a few years until we discovered a version by The Pepper Pots which had a lengthy percussion part that made for an exciting climax to the act.

       As many agreed in the post comments, "El Cumbanchero" is the better juggling song.  In fact, it's among the most commonly used songs by jugglers and other performers--or at least back in our day it was. My parents had been using "El Cumbanchero" in their act even before my sister and I joined. "Something Big" was added when we joined after 1960.  The song is not the greatest for juggling, but it made for a nice opening.  

         "Something Big" was written by the great Steve Allen who has written a ton of songs over the years.  Allen was one of my childhood heroes--a likeable personality who did some creative stuff on his TV shows.  That's pretty much why I'm going to give my vote to Allen's song in this Battle, but if I were picking out music for juggling then I'd probably cede to that Latin sound.

Final Vote Tally

Xavier Cugat       7 votes

Les Brown           4 votes

Next Battle on Sunday October 1st

The Real Juggling Music ( #BOTB )

    The basement at my parents' Maryville TN house was, to me, my music room.  But it was very likely that my father saw the basement as a space to practice our juggling act.  Either way, the music was there...

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.

Juggling Music

        My previous Battle centered around my attempt to introduce some rock music into the practice session.  My father wanted the same music we used for performance.  If we didn't have an actual band to back us up then we had prerecorded music on reel-to-reel.  Here are a couple of the actual recordings we used during our act.  Which one do you like best?

Xavier Cugat   "El Cumbanchero"   (1961)

Les Brown  "This Could Be the Start of Something Big"  (1956)

Time to Vote!

           At least you don't have to juggle while listening to these.  Just listen and have fun.  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. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


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 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Friday September 22