Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 94 “Come On, Let’s Go”

Encore Presentation for One of the Best Songs Ever…

  One of my favorite ’60’s surf tunes to listen to is “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues! 🙂 😎 Although there have been a number of music artists with the name of The Rogues, this specific one features the vocal prowess of singer/songwriter/musician/producer/et cetera, Terry Melcher, who recorded under a number of monikers. 🙂 Always sounding great! 😀 😎 A producer of great music acts like the essential 1960’s Paul Revere & the Raiders. Cool, fun note: Terry’s also known as “the sixth Raider”. 🙂 😎 That’s way cool. 😎 😎 The other member of the duo is Bruce Johnston; he and Terry usually recorded as Bruce & Terry, best known under that name for their hit “Summer Means Fun”. 🙂 😎 They both play numerous instruments in their music work as well. 😎

   The song, written and originally performed by Ritchie Valens (love his version so much, too! 🙂 ), has a great, upbeat tune.

   This great stereo single (Columbia 4-43253), “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues, was recorded in the studio on 2/3/1965. It was produced by the same man who sang lead on it: surf music pioneer Terry Melcher. 😎 Terry did a great job of making the song “jump out of the speakers”, which he liked to do so it would sound great in the car – and the radio stations couldn’t turn it down. 😛 A very smart fellow, he figured out how to get around their limiters. 😉 😎

   Starting off with a big splash of music, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, groovy organ and hand claps, it soon gives way to guitar chords of delight and then the highlight: Terry Melcher’s vocals! 😀 He sure can sing! 🙂

   With great energy and a gift of singing with such vitality, Terry invites the girl of the song to come with him and tell him she’ll never leave him. I love the way he strong-yet-gently sings out, “Little Darlin'”! 🙂

   At thirty-eight seconds into the song, the first chorus arrives. I love the way he carries the melody as he sings not only the verse, but also the backing vocals, a melodic rising and falling “ooo-oo-ooo” in a pure, clear tune! 🙂 Supercool! 😎 😎 😀

   He tells her “you know I love you so” & he wants her to be his girl forever. ❤ ❤

   An instrumental break in the center of the song highlights that upbeat and groovy organ music I mentioned earlier. 😉 The instruments, tempo and overall arrangement is excellent. 😎

   At 1:19 Terry belts out the chorus in great style, amping up the song even more. 🙂 😎 Reminding her of his abiding love for her and assuring her it will always be so. ❤ ❤

   He calls her “pretty baby”, telling her again that he loves her so. 🙂 🙂 You know, when you truly love someone, you can’t ever say it too much. 🙂

   It’s really cool the way the piano keys are run the length right in this area – it sounds great and really adds to the musicality of the piece. 😎

   Terry repeats the phrase “come on, come on, let’s go again” until he does a mic fade-out at the end, keeping that upbeat invitation going onward throughout. 🙂 😎

   I love upbeat tunes! 😎 Terry’s so very good at putting the right vocal power behind each musical note. And making it sound so easy. 🙂 Supercool. Super-talented. Super-good at lots of things and a heart full of love. Terry Melcher, a blessing from the Creator to this world. 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 92: Supercool December Holidays Music 2021

Here’s eight great supercool music recommendations from me for you to check out for yourselves for a supercool December holidays music funtime! 🙂 I’m sure you’re all familiar with several of them while some may be new to you – always good to find more supercool music to enjoy! 🙂 Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to every neighbor of mine – which includes, by Scriptural definition, each and every one of you around the globe! 🙂 😎

  Paul Revere & the Raiders’ supercool instrumental “Peace” that Terry Melcher co-wrote with Mark Lindsay and produced for The Raiders’ 1967 Columbia Records album, “A Christmas Present…And Past” continues to be a favorite of mine. No surprise there. 🙂 It’s a great piece. 😎 It says so much without saying an audible word – the need for peace, the hope for peace, the soothing presence of peace like a gentle rain after the storm. Great stuff. 😎

  Something many of us say as the wintertime approaches: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” That’s what Ed Ames (we also know him as Mingo the wise Tsalagi/Cherokee friend of Daniel Boone on the classic television show, “Daniel Boone” 🙂 😎 ) sings on his RCA album, “Christmastime in Carol and Song”. 🙂 It’s a unique version that Ed Ames delivers for our listening pleasure.

  My favorite rendition of the song “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” is sung by Tsalagi/Cherokee singer extraordinaire Wayne Newton on his Capital Records album “Songs for a Merry Christmas”. 🙂 It’s definitely a cozy-by-the-fire kind of song; he paints the scene so well with his gifted voice. I love the heart that he puts into every song he sings. ❤ ❤

  The Hymnworks Christmas collection features the delightful combination of loved songs of the season as well as some highly-recognizable classical tunes. They took one of each and paired them up together to a very pleasant sound. 😎 I love “O Little Town of Bethlehem/Reverie”! 🙂

  One of my favorite songs on Elvis Presley’s Christmas album is “Silent Night”. It is so very beautiful. Before he even sings, the deep, resonant tones of the piano touches your soul and then when the Tsalagi/Cherokee Elvis begins to sing…wow! You can easily hear the depth with which his faith sings from from his soul; it’s not only his gifted vocals, but also the heart and soul that reverberates through each and every note he sings in every gospel song he’s sung. 😎

  Listening to the deep, rich voice of country singer Ricky Van Shelton as he sings “Silver Bells” (or any other song on his supercool Christmas album! 🙂 😎 ) is a great way to enjoy a December evening by the fireside – or to listen to as you are out amongst those silver bells a-ringing! 🙂

  A fun vinyl record to listen to for the eight days and nights of Chanukah, featuring some exceptional songs for a good family listening is “Chanukah Songs for Children” by Shimon & Ilana. 🙂 I have featured music from this album previously and find it enjoyable every year. 😎

  “Little Drummer Boy” has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs, partly because I love drums so much! 🙂 So it’s no surprise that this song is my favorite selection on The Jackson 5 Christmas Album. 😎 Not only does it feature their great voices, but also some good drumming! 🙂

  There are so many good Chanukah and Christmas songs available for our listening pleasure. 🙂 Some songs are just for fun and some have much deeper meaning and purpose. The songs telling about The Light, Yeshua/Jesus, are the ones that touch our soul and draw us closer to the One Who created us. May your heart be filled with joy this holiday season as we celebrate The Light Who gives us peace and life and joy and love forevermore. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 87: Just Like Me

Patriotic American rock’n’roll with lots of soul band, Paul Revere & the Raiders, truly know how to entertain! Take, for instance, their supercool performance of their hit song, “Just Like Me”, on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand”. 🙂 😎

   Going from one scene to the next, Mark Lindsay comes through the shining stage curtains, joining a very animated Paul Revere, as the opening notes begin strong and clear. 😎 The rest of the band, Smitty, Drake and Phil, are simultaneously taking their places behind the curtains. Mark begins the vocals of the song, singing, “It’s just like me, to say to you…” while good naturedly moving Paul aside, who was standing in front of Mark, facing the curtains as he waved his arms to encourage their sweeping open (which they soon did 🙂 ). Mark was unruffled, smiling pleasantly – how many lead vocalists are that pleasant if someone else stands right in front of them while they’re singing? Paul Revere & the Raiders’ antics are fun and free flowing. 😎 With a smile, Mark points to Paul’s keyboard, directing him toward it.

   The curtains swing open, revealing Smitty behind his drums, up on a platform, with guitarists Drake and Phil to the left. Paul’s keyboard is toward our right as we watch, with Mark taking up his spot in the midst of them all, never missing a beat. 😎 He moves effortlessly in time in line with Paul, Drake and Phil to the music in cool Raider fashion.

   While Mark tells the story, the other four extremely talented guys sing backing vocals that fill the song with an essential sound that makes it all come together just right. Everyone’s vocals are strong and clear throughout. 😎

   The guys joke around on stage some more, Phil stealthily traveling around and Drake coming towards Mark as he plays a sizzling guitar solo. Mark gets behind him, reaches around and pulls Drake’s Raider shirt open (the guys all wear U.S. Revolutionary War uniforms) to reveal a Batman logo T-Shirt beneath. (Paul Revere & the Raiders, like many other popular celebrities, made an appearance on the 1960’s Batman television show.)

   Smitty continues to play that great beat as the rest of the group gathers around the American Bandstand Top 10 board, sliding the cover strips off of each line to reveal the titles of the 1966 Top 10 songs. Instead of the expected list of songs, they had fun with it, having each line say things like “Just Like Smitty”, “Just Like Drake”, going through the whole group and having fun with the rest of the lines as well. 🙂

   The curtain swings shut and open again, Mark plays the keyboard – and Paul promptly begins to swat him with a roll of parchment he’s holding. Mark laughs and moves aside so Paul can resume his playing. The camera view goes upside down briefly then rights again! Smitty’s having a good laugh back on the drums, watching his buddies goof around. Shortly thereafter, Mark and Paul unroll the parchment, which is a banner proudly proclaiming “#1 Just Like Me”! 😎

   Smitty, as he often did, stood up on the drummer’s stool – continuously playing the drums without any trouble. 😎 So cool! 😎

   The song finishes up way too soon, every moment of it having been musically satisfying as well as wholly entertaining! 🙂 Which is what every Paul Revere & the Raiders performance is. 😎 🙂 They are a great blessing continually; I thank the Creator for each one of them. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 86: “Summertime”

Special Encore Presentation of one of my favorite articles; hope you enjoy it! 🙂

One of the best instrumentals – and very fitting for this month 🙂 – is “Summertime” by Paul Revere & the Raiders. This original 1961 recording from their album, “Like, Long Hair”, is a work of art. 😎

   Drummer extraordinaire, Mike “Smitty” Smith, leads off the song with steady, strong beats. A bash and a cymbal crash heralds the entrance of Drake Levin’s guitar strokes, played with so much soul. (I couldn’t pick out the bass, so either the bass guitar was not used in this song, or it so intricately melded with the other instruments that its sound cannot be isolated without extreme effort or equipment.) Paul Revere’s gifted piano playing adds a light breeze to the Deep South heat that the song is already conveying so clearly.

   Then all stops.

   Significantly.

   Poignantly.

   Then, at thirteen seconds in, the sultry voice of Mark Lindsay’s sax begins to sing the instrumental lyrics of the song. 😎

   The other instruments rejoin the scene, each one of them adding to the ambiance of the hot, hazy, oh-so-hot summertime piece. Smitty’s cymbals are excellent! 🙂

   At forty-one seconds, Mark’s sax brings a sweet touch to lift the senses from the simmering heat.

   The volume rises and falls at the right moments and in the right way to paint the musical picture. 😎 The whole sound and feel of the song is conveyed with the Raider expertise.

   Two verses of “Summertime” doesn’t seem like enough when you’re listening to this beautiful rendition. That must be why it gets set to “repeat” when my friends or I play it. 🙂 🙂

   At 1:55, Mark’s sax sings out with great emphasis, Smitty’s shimmering cymbals shine, a soulful guitar stroke from the best guitarist in rock’n’roll soul fills the speakers, the supercool piano melody being played by Paul and more shimmering cymbals by Smitty brings the song to Mark’s sultry summer peak. Then the instruments ring out, lowering, easing its pace, giving the song a never-ending continuation of sound. 😎

   Paul Revere & the Raiders: the most versatile, talented, fun, supercool group of artists you could imagine. And they’re real. How awesome is that? 🙂 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 85: Meet Paul Revere’s Raiders

Here’s a Special Encore Presentation of one of my favorite articles; hope you enjoy it! 🙂 

The great Paul Revere (the one from our time period 😉 ) always had a gift for bringing good, likable, fun, highly talented music artists together to make exceptionally good music and perform amazing concerts. One of the best is the group now known as Paul Revere’s Raiders. 🙂

   Recorded live in concert – and available at popular online stores in the digital download format for your listening pleasure – are these Raider singles performed by Paul Revere’s Raiders: “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”, “Hungry”, “Kicks”, “Just Like Me”, and “Good Thing”. And whenever you can, I believe you’ll want to go see for yourselves why I refer to Paul Revere’s Raiders as one of the most fascinating bands to watch in concert! 🙂 They perform all across America and also do an annual cruise to the Caribbean. 🙂 😎

   The more footage I get to see of these wonderful men, the more I like them! 🙂 And that’s saying a lot! 🙂 I love them all already. 🙂 I have always known they must be good guys, because Paul Revere carefully chose each one of them to be in his band. Recently I had the opportunity to see some footage from their concerts and I was beyond happy with their character and their talent. They truly keep the musical integrity and rockin’ good time of Paul Revere & the Raiders going strong. They are a blessing from the Creator.

   The sound. The correct tempo. The cool moves. The fun atmosphere. The energetic performances. The warm friendliness of the group. The brotherhood of the group. The cool (and hot!) uniforms they wear. The showmanship. The respect for the people. The patriotism. The love of music. The rhythm. The stage presence. The good humor. The overall style. The heart. The tradition. The enthusiasm. The musicianship. The good rockin’ fun. The full entertainment. The genuiness. The love and respect for their original leader, Paul Revere. All of it resounds with the spirit of the original Paul Revere & the Raiders of the 1960’s when these hits were first recorded and performed so exquisitely by Paul Revere, Mark Lindsay, Mike “Smitty” Smith, Drake Levin and Phil “Fang” Volk. And I don’t give this compliment lightly. You see, Paul Revere & the Raiders are who I call my favorite complete band (complete, because they sing as well as play all of the instruments). Paul Revere’s Raiders keep this great legacy going with magnificent prowess. They give it all they’ve got and I love them for it. Two of the greatest bands ever! 🙂

   Paul Revere’s Raiders play the music and sing the music with such an amazing ability because they feel the music from within. They are genuine; each one of them has a true Raider heart.

   In alphabetical order, by surname, here is a brief description of the on-stage presence I observed while watching performances by these six guys I believe you’d love to meet:
Darren Dowler 🙂 – The lead singer, he has a gifted voice, is a cool guitarist and talks well to the audience with great friendliness.
Ron Foos 🙂 – The showman bassist – I’ve seen very few with such style and flare, a happy smile, keeps the crowd entertained.
Doug Heath 🙂 – He’s quite the guitarist, a good dancer with seemingly boundless energy; he has an ever cheerful disposition.
Danny Krause 🙂 – He’s the man on the keys, playing the piano and organ with amazing talent, gifted hands and full heart.
Jamie Revere 🙂 – He plays the guitar like it is as much a natural part of him as breathing is, a blessing to all, and the son of Paul – with his own talents and his own intriguing personality.
Tommy Scheckel 🙂 – The drummer! 😀 That really says it. 😎 He’s a magnificent drummer – beyond cool, as amazing as all get out.

   All of these guys lend not only their superb instrument-playing abilities to the overall sound of the group, but also their strong, masculine vocals in true Raider fashion. I’d love to hear – and see! – them sing “Don’t You Just Know It” just like the 1960’s Raiders did in their September, 1964 concert! 😀 I think they would enjoy doing that one. 😎 I know everyone could greatly enjoy that performance as much as their other ones; Paul Revere’s Raiders are super-talented.

   They “Raider” songs – that means that whenever they play another artist’s song that already sounds distinctive and great, they do it even better! I have noticed this over and over with any song the Raiders cover or even if they only play a sampling thereof. I first made this audible observation while listening to the original 1960’s Paul Revere & the Raiders recordings and, watching footage of Paul Revere’s Raiders, I can easily hear that they have this same gift in regards to non-Raider songs. So cool! 🙂

   Something else about them that is supercool: Paul Revere’s Raiders are very patriotic. 😎 They started The Ride to the Wall Foundation and for years have participated in Rolling Thunder every Memorial Day. 😎

   Having a rough day? Watch some Paul Revere’s Raiders footage and you’ll surely be feeling happier before long. 🙂 They are great entertainers and very cool guys. 😎 If you have the opportunity, I recommend you go check out their concert in person; to see and hear the band playing live must be an amazing thing. 🙂

   “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” as The Scriptures record Shlomo’s words in the first part of Proverbs 17:22. No matter what level of pain (a constant companion since I was little) I might be in on any given day, Paul Revere’s Raiders consistently bring a smile of delight to my face and to my heart. Wado equa (“thank you very much” in Tsalagi/Cherokee), Paul Revere’s Raiders, for your dedication, determination and long-lasting goodness that never ceases to amaze, entertain, please and bring joy to those who have the honor, privilege and pleasure of seeing your performances (in person and/or through recorded footage). May the Creator continue to bless you as you bless others. 🙂

   My heart overflows with gratefulness for the many kindnesses and great performances by the six members of Paul Revere’s Raiders.

   One of the performances I love most, although I truly love them all, is from their concert in Deland, Florida on 11-11-2014 at the Volusia County Fair. It was right on Veteran’s Day. 😎 Which is always the eleventh of November, the day directly after the birthday of the U. S. Marine Corps. 😎 😎

   Tommy took the stage first to start the music; his expert drumming set the theme of great music as the rest of the band joined him on stage. 😎

   From the crowd around the kind individual who filmed the show to share with others, I heard the enthusiastic cheers to greet this great band as well as the question, “Where’s Paul?” For some, this was when they first found out that our beloved Paul had been promoted to Heaven the previous month. Darren did a beautiful job of gently breaking the news while keeping an upbeat attitude that kept everything in perspective. He noted how Paul is dearly loved, his earthly presence missed, then he said, “But we’re not sad, because we know where he is.” And he pointed Heavenward. It was beautiful. Later, when he said, “God bless you” to the Veterans there at the concert, the tears threatened to spill. Paul would be so proud of his Raiders. And he is, as he looks on from Heaven. 🙂

   Another exceptional part of their show is the respect and heartfelt “welcome home” to our Vietnam Vets, who didn’t receive the honorable welcome home due them when they made it back from serving faithfully as they had promised to do. Doug explains that as part of their welcome home, the Raiders have a special segment for them. 😎 They play a collection of songs that were played on Armed Forces Radio during the time these brave members of the military were serving over there. And I can tell you something else about these songs when Paul Revere’s Raiders play them: they never sounded so good! 🙂

   Each song Paul Revere’s Raiders performed that night was exceptionally well-done. The building rang with good rockin’ music, laughter, fun and gratefulness. They did Raider hit after Raider hit, faithfully doing it like it is on the records, just like Paul told them to – and they have the talent to do it! 😎 I love it that they keep to the 1960’s Raider sound, not jazzing it up or trying to change it. Those songs were hits because they were great music – and great music is timeless. That means that those hits not only “were” hits, but also they “are” hits. Still bringing in the crowds, still selling records/CDs/digital downloads, still getting played on original and replica vinyl as well as every other media available. 😎 This is great music and these guys are a great complete band.

   This article is becoming my longest one yet, so I should probably do a couple of quick notes about original Raider/Paul Revere’s Raiders cool stuff that I cannot leave out. I’m looking forward to writing much more on this supercool, super-nice, super-rockin’ band in upcoming articles! 🙂 I must leave room to tell you about their epic last-song-of-the-night performance! 🙂

   “Steppin’ Out” – like the 1960’s Raiders, they do a cool move in unison – including the drummer – at just the right musical part of the song. That is just so cool!!!!!  They likewise do cool group moves in “Just Like Me” – just like the 1960’s Raiders’ style. 🙂 The drummer of a group has so much to do that often they don’t get in on dance moves, but in the Raiders they do so anyway. 🙂 Yeah, they’re that cool. 😎 🙂 Those who play the keys are limited in how much moving around the stage they can do as well, after all, you can’t carry a double layer of keys around much easier than you can carry around a drum set. 😉 But Danny does the cool 1960’s Raider moves to these two songs as well, as Paul would always do also. 😎 I saw footage of Smitty, that’s how I know about his sharp, cool moves in unison with Paul, Mark, Drake and Phil. He’s something else. 🙂 And so is Tommy. 🙂 Great drummers. 😎

   “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” – their voices blend together with powerful, masculine strength as they vocalize the “ahh-AH-ah-ahh” of the chorus. I’m talking about the 1960’s Raiders and the now Raiders. 🙂 Great stuff. 😎

   The show finishes with the customized, supercool Paul Revere’s Raiders’ rendition of “We’re an American Band”. As Paul Revere said before: they are an American band. Through and through. 🙂 I love it as Tommy continues to put his whole heart into his drumming – and somehow amps it up beyond that as the song reaches the awesomest part; Danny’s fingers continue to blaze across the keys and Jamie strides with strength of purpose to the front of the stage to join the other three guitarists, Ron, Darren and Doug, in a regimental guitar lineup as they play an electrifying portion of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star Spangled Banner”. Powerful. Poignant. Beautiful. The stuff of legends. What a band. What a blessing. What an honor to hear, to see, to witness the patriotic heartbeat pounding out through these men’s fingertips, to their selected instruments, and out into the atmosphere of this land, mingling with the breath of those in the audience who served faithfully for their country, so that we might be free to live and worship the Creator without fear or oppression. What a beautiful gift. Wado equa.

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 1: What’s This?
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 2: Interlude x 2
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 3: “Rain Don’t Come” Single and Music Video
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 4: Meet Heffron Drive
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 5: “You Can’t Sit Down”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 6: “Don’t Let Me Go”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 7: “Money (That’s What I Want)”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 8: My Two Shekels Worth on Scheckel’s Drumming

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 82: “Come On, Let’s Go”

Special Encore Presentation!

One of my favorite ’60’s surf tunes to listen to is “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues! 🙂 😎 Although there have been a number of music artists with the name of The Rogues, this specific one features the vocal prowess of singer/songwriter/musician/producer/et cetera, Terry Melcher, who recorded under a number of monikers. 🙂 Always sounding great! 😀 😎 A producer of great music acts like the essential 1960’s Paul Revere & the Raiders. Cool, fun note: Terry’s also known as “the sixth Raider”. 🙂 😎 That’s way cool. 😎 😎 The other member of the duo is Bruce Johnston; he and Terry usually recorded as Bruce & Terry, best known under that name for their hit “Summer Means Fun”. 🙂 😎 They both play numerous instruments in their music work as well. 😎

   The song, written and originally performed by Ritchie Valens (love his version so much, too! 🙂 ), has a great, upbeat tune.

   This great stereo single (Columbia 4-43253), “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues, was recorded in the studio on 2/3/1965. It was produced by the same man who sang lead on it: surf music pioneer Terry Melcher. 😎 Terry did a great job of making the song “jump out of the speakers”, which he liked to do so it would sound great in the car – and the radio stations couldn’t turn it down. 😛 A very smart fellow, he figured out how to get around their limiters. 😉 😎

   Starting off with a big splash of music, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, groovy organ and hand claps, it soon gives way to guitar chords of delight and then the highlight: Terry Melcher’s vocals! 😀 He sure can sing! 🙂

   With great energy and a gift of singing with such vitality, Terry invites the girl of the song to come with him and tell him she’ll never leave him. I love the way he strong-yet-gently sings out, “Little Darlin'”! 🙂

   At thirty-eight seconds into the song, the first chorus arrives. I love the way he carries the melody as he sings not only the verse, but also the backing vocals, a melodic rising and falling “ooo-oo-ooo” in a pure, clear tune! 🙂 Supercool! 😎 😎 😀

   He tells her “you know I love you so” & he wants her to be his girl forever. ❤ ❤

   An instrumental break in the center of the song highlights that upbeat and groovy organ music I mentioned earlier. 😉 The instruments, tempo and overall arrangement is excellent. 😎

   At 1:19 Terry belts out the chorus in great style, amping up the song even more. 🙂 😎 Reminding her of his abiding love for her and assuring her it will always be so. ❤ ❤

   He calls her “pretty baby”, telling her again that he loves her so. 🙂 🙂 You know, when you truly love someone, you can’t ever say it too much. 🙂

   It’s really cool the way the piano keys are run the length right in this area – it sounds great and really adds to the musicality of the piece. 😎

   Terry repeats the phrase “come on, come on, let’s go again” until he does a mic fade-out at the end, keeping that upbeat invitation going onward throughout. 🙂 😎

   I love upbeat tunes! 😎 Terry’s so very good at putting the right vocal power behind each musical note. And making it sound so easy. 🙂 Supercool. Super-talented. Super-good at lots of things and a heart full of love. Terry Melcher, a blessing from the Creator to this world. 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 78: New Orleans

Paul Revere, reknowned supercool co-founder and leader of Paul Revere & the Raiders, takes the singing lead in their way cool rendition of “New Orleans”! 🙂 All of the members of this supercool group sang lead on a few songs each, although Mark Lindsay’s voice was the regular lead on most of their songs. Great quality vocals from each of these super-talented artists who not only sang great, but also played their instruments at the topmost level. 😎

   “New Orleans”, the eleventh track from their 1965 album, “Just Like Us!”, is jam-packed with solid musical grandeur! 🙂 I love it! 🙂

   Smitty’s awesome drumming rolls us right into “New Orleans”, soon joined by cool, beat-keeping hand claps by the rest of the group. 😎 Paul starts singing moments later, “Hey, hey-ey, hey, yeah!” Then Mark, Smitty, Drake and Phil echo him with their own great voices. This sound truly appeals to my Tsalagi (Cherokee) heart; it’s got tribal routes, you can hear it. 😎 Paul repeats his opening line, adding the words, “I said!” to the forefront, the others echoing again. Paul didn’t need to repeat himself anytime other than in this song; he’s a natural-born leader. 😎

   With his next words he invites us to take a trip with him down the Mississippi to New Orleans, Mark Lindsay’s amazing sax swinging into the song in great New Orleans style! 😎 The rest of the group adds their two shekel’s worth with enthusiastic words of agreement. 😎 Paul sings about the wonderful honeysuckle flowers and vines blooming there all of the time, of the magnolia blossoms smell so sweet in the air, a heavenly scent. 😎

   Good music is one of the many great blessings the Creator blesses us with every day. 😎 A song in our heart. A good song playing on radio, or other media. The birds outside cheerily praising the Creator for His love and care for us all.

   More chorus time begun with Mark’s sax, backed by the rest of the guys on instruments and vocally, singing great and undoubtedly dancing to that Dixieland beat! 🙂 The chorus is repeated several times as the song finishes up, Smitty going to town on those drums, drawing a comment from Paul. As producer Terry Melcher ends the recording, it is perfectly timed with Paul (saying in a voice that fades in volume poetically 🙂 ) saying that he thought it might be time to fade the song to a close now. 🙂 It’s a great, fun tune and it’s no wonder Smitty kept at it…even as the recording stopped. 😉 Never quit a good thing. 🙂 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 75: “Blue Fox”

Now, if you want to hear another really cool song, here’s a good one for you: “Blue Fox” by Paul Revere & the Raiders! 🙂 😎 Amazingly talented group. 😎 They give top-notch in every category: song-writing, playing their individual instruments, singing, dancing, performing live, recording in-studio – every aspect covered and delivered in high quality! Gifted musicians. Fun to listen to. Fun to watch. Musically satisfying. Here we go…

   “Blue Fox” begins with rockin’ piano by Paul Revere then Smitty joins in with his superb drumming. Drake and Phil soon add their excellent guitar work to the sound and Mark’s sax steps in to lead. 😎 The song has a solid, rockin’ beat that’s quick-paced yet smooth with groove. 😎 These guys really know how to play their instruments to their utmost! 🙂

   A little over a half minute into the song, sudden silence gives the floor to Paul who asks with an accent, “Hey, senor, is this the way (to) The Blue Fox?” To which Mark replies with fitting accent akin to Mel Blanc (the voice of WB cartoon character Speedy Gonzales and many more!), “Si.” 🙂

   The piano starts up again as do the other instruments as the song continues in its supercool melody. The drums bring it down when the next question comes along. “Is this The Blue Fox?!” Paul asks in delighted wonder. Drake’s guitaring is way cool as Mark replies with deep sincerity in his voice, “Si.” 😎

   At 1:23, Paul exclaims, “This place is a gas!” Mark responds, “You like?” and plays a great tune on his sax. 😎

   The song is a solid piece of instrumental prowess, sounding great from start to finish. Putting this song on “repeat” is a good idea! 🙂 Great songs like this one deserve replay! 😎 If you’ve heard this supercool song, I’m sure you were nodding along as you read my enthusiastic words, knowing from personal experience that this song, “Blue Fox”, is all this and more! 🙂 If you haven’t heard it yet, I heartily recommend you do so! 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 68: December Holidays Music 2019 Edition

Welcome to the 2019 edition of December Holidays Music, featuring eight songs reviewed! 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading about each one of them – beautiful melodies for Chanukah and Christmas plus fun cartoony tunes – and if there are any you haven’t heard yet heard, I hope you’ll check them out! 🙂 I enjoy good music and making sure others know about these great songs as well. Some are well-known and some are more rare treasures. May the Creator bless you as you read each review for these songs dedicated to telling the stories and sharing the feelings of Chanukah, Christmas, the wintry season and the joys of hope and love. 🙂 ❤ ❤

   “White Christmas” by Elvis Presley, who is mishpacha Tsalagi/Cherokee 🙂 😎 , has always been one of my favorite December tunes. 🙂 I love the upbeatness of it and the way he sings it in his own style, making it special from the heart, not just different. 😎 I have seen some snowy Christmases, yet every Christmas was a “White Christmas” whether those little ice sparkles graced the ground or not – because of my imagination and because of Elvis singing this song for us. 🙂 😎 He paints a happy, cozy picture with this track from his famous Christmas album. ❤ ❤ He sings the blessing for our Christmas to be “merry and bright” and we can have that with or without snow. 🙂 😎 Knowing that the Creator of us all loves us so much is more than enough to give us a merry and bright Christmas as it shines with His unending love.

In December of 2018 I reviewed another excellent rendition of “White Christmas”; it was by the daddy of a little girl whose name is Presley. 🙂 William “Keepin’-It-Real-Country” Michael Morgan received a full article for his supercool single then and this time, I’m including a review here for when he sent a Merry Christmas message to all and sang “Blue Christmas” so warmly. 🙂 I never heard it sound so cozy before! 🙂 He sang it with such ease, warmth and cool style! 🙂 His demeanor, Creator-blessed abilities and clear enjoyment of singing was evident in his tone as well as by the smile that lit his face repeatedly through the song. 🙂 His deep voice conveyed the feeling that went with the lyrics of how the girl may be doing alright with her Christmas of white, but that his Christmas will be sad and blue without her. You could take the lyrics to mean that the guy and girl in the song are no longer together. However, the words could just as easily be conveying the fact that he is missing his true love for whom he is seeking and has not yet found. 🙂 The Creator Who made their heart and soul united can guide the two individuals together; having faith and trusting Him is key to finding the right person at the right time. The Creator gives His children even better gifts than an Earthly father can. 😎

My feature from the Paul Revere & the Raiders’ 1967 Christmas album, “A Christmas Present…And Past” this year is actually just the introductory to a song that has three parts to it. The album (with the exception of the guest-sung song, “Jingle Bells”) was written entirely by co-authors Mark Lindsay and Terry Melcher. The featured track begins with Mark musically saying how people would be very displeased and maybe even angry if their holiday traditions were messed with – like the possibility of turkeys and rabbits and such being taken out of the holidays they are connected with. He goes on to poignantly say that every December he wonders how, with people holding to those simple traditions so strongly and adamantly, how could they let it happen to the entire reason for the Christmas holiday? The promised Messiah isn’t merely a decoration for a holiday; He is the reason we have this blessed holiday. Without Yeshua/Jesus coming to Earth to save us, how could we celebrate life and joy and freedom to its fullest? He is the Author of it all. 🙂 And that’s why Terry sang out in a Heavenly clear voice, vocally displaying how sad it is when people try to take “the ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas'” – you cannot truly separate the Greatest Gift from the holiday that was made to celebrate His life-giving love for us all.

Personally providing all of the music needed – street corner vocal harmony and finger-snaps, Why Don’t We sang “Silent Night” in their own unique style. They kept a good balance of originality as well as staying true to the message of the song, being careful not to get too caught up in the vocalizations – I appreciate that. 😎 It was one minute and twenty-two seconds of powerful vocal beauty. 😎 The song helps convey the true hope and beauty of the calm and peace that the Creator offers to us through the gift of salvation through our faith in His Son, Yeshua/Jesus, Who came to Earth as a Baby, lived among us and died in our place so that we could have true peace with our Creator and live forever with Him. The song is poignant and beautiful, touching the heart and the soul. 😎 This cool rendition of “Silent Night” by Why Don’t We can be found on their 2017 Christmas EP, “A Why Don’t We Christmas”, along with more good music! 🙂

Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera’s “A Hap-Hap-Happy Christmas from Yogi Bear”, a 78 RPM vinyl record from Little Golden Records that sold for twenty-nine cents back then, is up next! 🙂 Yogi Bear is a fun character and his little buddy, Boo-Boo, is featured on this piece, too. 🙂 It’s a pleasant tune that lends a happy, cozy warmth as you listen to it. After the opening, cheerful music notes, Yogi tells his little buddy, “Here comes some Christmas cheer” and soon begins to sing: “Have a Hap-Hap-Happy Christmas! Have a Merry Christmas Day!” He, as a bear, will by hibernating by then, so he wanted to go ahead and tell everyone to have a Joyous Christmas Day. 🙂 He hopes everyone gets nice presents. Yogi and Boo-Boo will be dreaming all winter about springtime and all the fun it will bring. And the boys and girls will be playing with their Christmas toys all winter long. “So from me to you – and Boo-Boo, too – we want you to have a hap-hap-happy Christmas, ring the holiday bells, have fun! Merry Merry, Merry Christmas to everyone!” He repeats this then the two bears exchange Christmas blessings to each other as well. 🙂 Records like this are nice, fun and easy to reminisce and daydream to – something that’s extra fun to do while enjoying the holiday decorations sparkling around. 🙂 This song is new to me, but the feel of it is timeless. 🙂 I appreciate the generous individual who kindly shared it. 🙂 Record collections are cool; vinyl has a great sound and that’s why it continues to be produced, sought-after and collected today! 🙂 😎 I enjoy hearing music on vinyl from way before my time as well as from new releases right now – it’s great! 🙂

“Jingle Bells”, A Disneyland Record on 45RPM of cool, fun vinyl, is another good song to listen to. 🙂 It, of course 😉 , starts out with actual jingle bells playing, soon joined by the orchestra, a fun, playful tune that gets even more entertaining in the next moments. 🙂 Cheerful little chipmunk voices begin to sing! 🙂 They don’t exactly sound like the Disney characters Chip ‘n’ Dale, but they are at least some of their kin, I’m thinkin’. 😉 With the sleigh-ride-fun music going cheerily onward, the friendly little chipmunks sing about the jingle bells sounding continuously as they enjoy the swift, smooth glide of the sleigh over the snow as the prancing horse dashing along at a brisk pace. 🙂 You can easily imagine the fun-filled ride in the one-horse, open sleigh. 🙂 The fun and the laughter brings warmth to the literally cool situation as they travel along, snug in their winter gear along with a cozy blanket to protect them from the cold. The stars twinkle brightly above in the chill, wintry air, their brilliance shining crisply with the midnight-blue sky for their background. Another fun way for everyone to keep warm is to sing and that’s what these friends do, selecting a sleighing song to fit the adventure. 🙂 About two-thirds of the way through this song they change it up, singing in a ballad-like fashion for a short bit before jumping back into the swift-moving fun, finishing it out in cheerily-sustained notes and happy laughter 🙂 😎

Now for the supercool sounds of Chanukah, a great time of love, laughter and light amid the celebration of the Creator’s blessing of miracles, providing for His children and caring for us in everything. Miracles take place everywhere – in Yisrael, in America, in Fiji, in all of creation, the Creator blesses us with miracles every day. Some we know of, some take place and we just don’t realize it – like when He miraculously prevents a collision that we weren’t even aware almost happened. He does neat things like that all the time. 😎 Miracles aren’t just for the December-celebrated holidays for when He provided the enough-for-eight-days-and-eight-nights oil for the light or later when He provided the Light He promised. Those are both wonderful miracles to be forever thought of and appreciated. Yet we should know that miracles aren’t limited to one season. Miracles are for every moment of every day; miracles are taking place all over the world with every breath we breathe. Now that’s something great to celebrate! 🙂

A happy song of celebration: “Chanukah O Chanukah” from the vinyl record “Chanukah Songs for Children” by Shimon and Ilana! 🙂 Leading off the record, this fun tune begins first in Hebrew then a welcome is included in the first 2:47 of the album in which they invite everyone to sing along. A song sheet was provided niftily inside the album cover, with lyrics in Hebrew and English. 😎 The upbeat music rolls right along with the words as they sing about this festival of joy; “A holiday, a jolly day for every girl and boy!” 🙂 “Spin the whirling dreidel all week long! Eat the sizzling latkes! Sing the happy song!” Happy celebrations are great fun and good music makes it all the better. 🙂 Playing fun games, eating delicious food and singing…these are memories-in-the-making. 🙂 The song turns from happy to joyful as they sing about lighting the candles, flickering in a row. And, most importantly, the telling of the wondrous story of the Creator and all His glory. A great miracle He gave to His people, one of victory and meeting the need required for following His will. The Creator always watches out for His children – His chosen ones, the Jews as well as His adopted children, Gentiles who put their faith in Him to save them, too.

Here’s another great tune from the “Chanukah Songs for Children” album by Shimon and Ilana! 😎 “Sivivon, Sov, Sov, Sov” sing for the dreidel (sivivon) to “turn and turn, while the lovely candles burn!” 🙂 As the singers sing, “what a wondrous holiday” to sing and dance and play and tell the story full of cheer: a great miracle happened here/there! 🙂 If the song is sung in Israel you sing “here”; if sung anywhere else in the world you sing “there”, because the miracle took place in the land of Israel. 🙂 This holiday of light goes on for eight days and eight nights (the same number of days and nights as the Creator provided the needed pure oil until more was ready) – lots of time for celebration, thanking the Creator for His merciful love and grace. 🙂

❤ HAPPY CHANUKAH! ❤ MERRY CHRISTMAS! ❤

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 63: “Summertime”

One of the best instrumentals – and very fitting for this month 🙂 – is “Summertime” by Paul Revere & the Raiders. This original 1961 recording from their album, “Like, Long Hair”, is a work of art. 😎

   Drummer extraordinaire, Mike “Smitty” Smith, leads off the song with steady, strong beats. A bash and a cymbal crash heralds the entrance of Drake Levin’s guitar strokes, played with so much soul. (I couldn’t pick out the bass, so either the bass guitar was not used in this song, or it so intricately melded with the other instruments that its sound cannot be isolated without extreme effort or equipment.) Paul Revere’s gifted piano playing adds a light breeze to the Deep South heat that the song is already conveying so clearly.

   Then all stops.

   Significantly.

   Poignantly.

   Then, at thirteen seconds in, the sultry voice of Mark Lindsay’s sax begins to sing the instrumental lyrics of the song. 😎

   The other instruments rejoin the scene, each one of them adding to the ambiance of the hot, hazy, oh-so-hot summertime piece. Smitty’s cymbals are excellent! 🙂

   At forty-one seconds, Mark’s sax brings a sweet touch to lift the senses from the simmering heat.

   The volume rises and falls at the right moments and in the right way to paint the musical picture. 😎 The whole sound and feel of the song is conveyed with the Raider expertise.

   Two verses of “Summertime” doesn’t seem like enough when you’re listening to this beautiful rendition. That must be why it gets set to “repeat” when my friends or I play it. 🙂 🙂

   At 1:55, Mark’s sax sings out with great emphasis, Smitty’s shimmering cymbals shine, a soulful guitar stroke from the best guitarist in rock’n’roll soul fills the speakers, the supercool piano melody being played by Paul and more shimmering cymbals by Smitty brings the song to Mark’s sultry summer peak. Then the instruments ring out, lowering, easing its pace, giving the song a never-ending continuation of sound. 😎

   Paul Revere & the Raiders: the most versatile, talented, fun, supercool group of artists you could imagine. And they’re real. How awesome is that? 🙂 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 56: Supercool December Holidays Music

Starting off this December Holidays article collection featuring numerous songs from varying genres and languages, is this one in honor of Chanukah, which starts this evening. 🙂 Celebrations often include dancing – especially dancing for joy, as is the case in most Jewish celebrations the world over. A song in your heart often puts a lightness in your step. 🙂 Thus I chose this supercool dance melody by a very talented band. The group performing this wonderful tune is Ot Azoj Klezmerband featuring Allan Merovitz. 😎 The song, “A Yiddishe Honga” (“A Jewish Dance”), from the 1999 album “Chanukah – Festival of Lights”, is three minutes and seventeen seconds of delightful, warm, upbeat music that satisfies both the soul and the ears. 🙂 😎 Right from the get-go I love this song! 🙂 It has such a great sound and is played so superbly by this klezmer band! 🙂 The deep notes are so inviting and the higher notes that join in springs with liveliness! The music lowers shortly after a minute into the song in preparation to Allan Merovitz’s excellent vocals. 😎 The musical instruments travel along with his melodious telling and a conversation of voices soon join in for a brief time then its back to Allan’s solo in great tempo. I love the many levels of the music; it tells a story so very well. Very cool music. Supercool. 😎

   One of my favorite Christmas songs – and from my favorite Christmas album, no less 🙂 – is “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by none other than Elvis Presley. 🙂 I like the heartfelt, genuine reverence that Elvis’s voice clearly conveys when he is singing gospel music. The Creator’s very important to Elvis; you can hear it. 😎 Gentle music begins to play then Elvis’s deep, warm voice begins to sing of Bethlehem (which means “House of Bread” – bread is a symbol of sustaining food, much as the Creator’s gift of salvation through Yeshua/Jesus is life-giving to our souls). He tells about the small town, how still and quiet it appears at night, yet in the darkness shines the Everlasting Light: Yeshua/Jesus (Yeshua is Jesus’s Hebrew name, what His mama called Him). All of mankind’s hopes for a Savior/Messiah, for peace and an end to our fears were answered that night in that small area known as Bethlehem in the form of the Creator’s only begotten Son, Yeshua/Jesus, born in the form of mankind, lowering Himself to live among us as one of us so that He could give His life in exchange for ours so that we could have peace with the Creator and live forever. 😎 That’s a miracle. 😎 Elvis continues to sing of how the angels kept watch that night Yeshua/Jesus was born and how the stars proclaimed His holy birth. Praises were sung to God the King; the angels proclaiming peace to Earth, because, through Him, we can have true peace. 😎 There is only peace when the Creator is included in the establishing of it; we humans cannot create nor maintain peace on our own. In our hearts, we know this. Trust and faith are key elements – it’s important to make sure our trust and faith is in the One Who can make true peace a real thing. 😎 Peace with the Creator is the beginning of the road to true peace on Earth.

   Whether it’s a Chanukah, Christmas or New Year’s celebration going on, the beautiful, dreamy strains of the “December Waltz” by Toot Sweet (from the 1999 “Celtic Christmas” album, song #9, 3:29) is just right for sweethearts. 🙂 ❤ ❤

   Now to the song that has always been extra special to me and in the language I love to hear – my native Cherokee/Tsalagi. 🙂 “What Child Is This?”, sung exceptionally well by Jana Mashonee, is a musical treasure filled with heart, soul and powerful meaning. 😎 This popular song points out the amazing Gift that the Creator gave to us – His Son – and brings home the reality of the situation, which never ceases to leave me in awe of the Creator’s great love and forgiveness for each one of us – every person ever born, past, present and future. Amazing. Even if you don’t know Tsalagi/Cherokee, this song is well known and the message can still be heard and its beauty appreciated. 😎 The instruments include a beautifully-played piano, the distinct beauty and poignance of the Tsalagi/Cherokee bells (often worn among the fringes of our ceremonial attire so that it plays as we dance the song from our soul to the Creator with respect and hope and deep joy), and the pleasant tones of Jana Mashonee’s beautiful voice blessed by the Creator. 🙂 😎 Each melodic lift and depth is exactly right, a beautiful thing to hear, because the heart is also there along with the perfection. 😎 This song – and especially this version – is a treasure. 🙂

   Jon Pardi singing “Blue Christmas” at one of his supercool concerts is, well, supercool! 🙂 😎 I was pretty pleased when I first heard Jon say that the Elvis Christmas Album is his favorite Christmas album; it is mine as well. 🙂 😎 He sings it very well, too. 😎 As he’s playing his 1970’s electric guitar, he’s pouring on the country as he sings to the girl in the song that no amount of beautiful decorations is going to make up for her not being there. It just won’t be the same for the fellow if the girl he holds dear isn’t near; he’s wishing they were still together. Jon’s voice and vocal style really makes the song poignant as he sings about blue memories and blue snowflakes falling. She’ll be doing alright with her Christmas of white, but he’ll have “a blue, blue-blue-blue Christmas.” Jon brings the audience into the “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” along with his own vocals and that of the band’s. He finishes off with some supercool deep notes as he sings about that blue Christmas; his voice and delivery of a song’s story is impressively good. 😎

   For a beautiful, happy Christmastime love song, this one is a real good one. 🙂 Sung by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” was written by him for her. 🙂 And they sang it together during the holidays season several times that same year (2017). 😎 I saw two performances of it on television – the love beamed from him to her and likewise her love for him glowed upon her face. ❤ ❤ As is sung in the song: they’re going to be a classic for all time; the song has a great sound and their love has a lasting glow. 😎 The musicians play the instruments of this lively, upbeat tune in harmony with the great vocals that Blake (who’s also playing guitar), Gwen and the backup singers provide. It’s got a solid sound that is timeless and entirely enjoyable. 🙂 They sing about the many material things that are associated with the holidays scene and clarify that those aren’t what makes it feel like Christmas. It’s love. ❤ ❤ True love is a gift from the Creator and you can see that powerful love shining in Blake’s and Gwen’s eyes each time they sang that song – or looked at one another. 🙂 Love is a precious gift. 🙂

   The melody of the song “Silver Bells” has always sounded pleasant to my ears, yet it never sounded better than when I heard Clint Walker sing it. 😎 🙂 Having heard it online, I knew right away I wanted to buy a copy of it and was so happy it was available! 🙂 From the 1960’s Warner Brothers compilation album, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, where various stars from that studio sing favorite Christmas songs, I got to hear Clint Walker’s amazing singing of this nostalgic song. 🙂 😎 Bells begin to ring, a chorus of voices then Clint Walker’s deep, pleasant bass voice sings the lyrics of this scene-setting song. 🙂 Pretty female voices join in on the chorus. Clint sings with strength and gentleness, painting a picture of the bustling holiday city sidewalks along the decorated streets and stores. The feeling of Christmas is in the air as children are laughing, smiles are shared among the happy shoppers – window shoppers or in-store shoppers, and an overall fun and happy feeling. He sings of the shoppers’ happy return home and notes again, “Soon it will be Christmas day!” 🙂

   Big Time Rush brought lots of energy and fun as they sang the song “Jingle Bells” in 2010 along with numerous other television stars. 🙂 James, Kendall, Logan and Carlos gave us not only a great show to enjoy, but also lots of enjoyable music. 🙂 This was a bonus song. 😎 “Jingle Bells” is a fun and easy song to sing; I like its upbeat melody. 😎 The crisp, cool winter air breezing by as you ride in an open sleigh pulled by a beautiful horse, dashing through the snowflakes swirling down from a blanketed sky of clouds, zipping over the hills and down the pretty, tree-lined lanes – paints a nice picture, doesn’t it? 🙂 This song is popular all around the world and sung in many languages, too. It’s especially nice to see and hear it sung by some of your favorite television stars. “Big Time Rush” is one of my all-time favorite shows and knowing that James, Logan, Carlos and Kendall are thoughtful people in real life besides on their show adds to the enjoyment of watching the show (I bought them and received some as gifts; now I can re-watch them without commercials! 🙂 ) and listening to their music. 🙂 😎 Their song, “Beautiful Christmas” is forever one of my favorite December songs; I even listen to it during other months of the year! 🙂

   Gene Autry’s singing and merry music is a warm and cheerful gift. 🙂 I recently got to hear the recording from a 45rpm record of the song, “Merry Texas Christmas, You All!” 🙂 It’s a bright and pleasant melody coupled with a friendly, Texas-style explanation on how things are different – and yet in some ways the same (but bigger 😉 ) – in Texas. Like the greeting. 🙂 They don’t tend to have much snow, especially not the sleigh ride kind of snow that they get in the Northern states, but they have green cactus trees and red flowers. 😎 The backing vocals are excellent and the musical instruments sound great in this song, too. 😎 The guitars, bass fiddle, steel guitar and fiddle are all prevalent; I think I heard drums and a little banjo music as well in there. 😎 Texans may not have the scenery many tend to associate with Christmas, but they sure mean it when they say, “Merry Texas Christmas, you all! May your days be sunny and bright. May your hearts be happy and light. Merry Texas Christmas, you all!” 😀 (That’s a big, Texas smile, there. 😉 )

   At only a little over one and a half minutes in length, Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Wear a Smile at Christmas” delivers an important message of encouragement. 😎 All but one song (“Jingle Bells”) on their album 1967 Christmas album, “A Christmas Present…And Past” was produced and co-written by Terry Melcher and Mark Lindsay. 🙂 An original album with a unique variety of songs. In this opening track for the album, Mark notes how many people are in such a hurry, focused on the trappings of the holidays scene, not taking the time to share a smile with another human being. A genuine, friendly smile can go a long way in brightening up someone’s day and lightening their load. 😎 A few seconds to smile and you’ve given another person – friend, acquaintance or stranger – a powerful gift. Even if you don’t see a smile in return, you shouldn’t be discouraged – keep on smilin’ anyway! 🙂 Everyone needs some sunshine in their soul and a smile will encourage that beam of light to grow. 🙂 😎

   Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and may 2019 be filled with joy and blessings for you all! 🙂 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 51: “Do You Love Me”

“Do You Love Me” by Paul Revere & the Raiders, featured on one of their supercool albums, “Here They Come!” – track #4 – is three minutes and fifty-two seconds of great musical entertainment! 😀 😎 Whether you are listening to it on original vinyl, cassette, compact disc, an MP3 device or the radio, it’s a solid listening experience. 😎 The Raiders really know how to rock’n’roll! 😎

   The vocals are top-notch and the instruments are played with amazing ability; these are two things you can count on these fellows to consistently do. 😎 Their albums sound great and their live performances – as you can hear on songs like this one – are even more impressive! It’s no wonder that no one has ever been able to out-sing, out-play or out-perform Paul Revere & the Raiders! 😀 😎

   “Do You Love Me” (also recorded by The Contours) is another gem that Paul Revere & the Raiders performed at their live, in-studio concert on September 24, 1964 at Columbia Records in California. Let the music begin! 🙂

   The song track opens with the guys setting the stage in cool, comedic fashion, ever the entertainers! 😀 The audience’s boisterous clapping from the previous song, “Louie, Louie”, is finally quieting enough for the fellows to start the next one. 🙂 Drake starts a background with his guitar, with Smitty adding some well-placed emphasis with his drumming. 😎

   Mark, as if talking to a particular girl he had liked before but was rude to him, says “You broke me heart…” The other fellows calling out as well, such as saying, “You broke his little heart!” Mark goes on, “‘Cause I couldn’t dance.” Paul said, “Let’s see you dance.” After a few brief moments in which I suspect Mark pretended he couldn’t dance, a voice yells out, “He can’t dance.” Paul goes along with that and tells Mark in a faux-serious tone, “You can’t dance.” Mark fakes some unhappy sounds as if he’s crying and continues talking to the girl, “You didn’t even want me around!” Just because he couldn’t dance, he was shunned by her. It’s silly to treat people that way. Wrong, too.

   Paul encourages him to tell them all about it and Mark, after a few more weeps, bravely goes on to say, “Now I’m back.” His buddies back him up with a “Yeah!” Mark says strongly, “To let you know…” Drake’s husky voice can be heard asking, “What’s that?” Mark announces with confidence, “That I can really shhhake ’em down!” Then all of the band, in their strong, deep, manly vocals that I love so much, shouts out in unison, “Shake ’em down!!!!!” And it’s on. 😎

   Smitty goes into an awesome display of drumming, joined by Drake’s supercool guitar licks. 😎 Paul’s keys and Mike “Doc” Holliday’s supercool bass (Phil “Fang” Volk wasn’t there yet) rounds out the super-great sound of Paul Revere & the Raiders as this song takes off. 😎

   Mark lets loose with a hearty “Allllright!” then invites the audience into singing the word “yeah!” with coaching echoes from the rest of the band. 😎 It sounds so great! 😀 Mark and the rest of the guys do a back-and-forth (I love those! 🙂 ) with the “yeah!”, ever reaching greater levels. 😎

   The echoing vocals continue as Mark sings out, asking the girl if she loves him now. Now that he can dance. Their voices raise in perfect precision as they sing the word “dance”. Mark invites her to, “watch me now!” He’s undoubtedly doing some great dance moves. 😎 That’s another thing about Paul Revere & the Raiders: they’re great dancers. 😎 That means that they feel the music inside and they move to the music. 😎 That’s what real dancing is – it comes from within, inspired by the music and in tune with it. The guys made up their own dance moves, many of them created by Drake and Phil, buddies from way back. 😎

   Mark names several of the dances that he can do then asks the girl, “Now tell me, baby, do you like it like this?” They swing into the chorus and keep that rockin’ music going. 😎 Smitty’s drumming is amazing! 😀 😎

   At about two and a half minutes into the track, Mark says “one more time” and Smitty does more great drumming and Drake’s blazing guitar is right there, too. 😎

   They invite the audience into the singing again with Mark leading, Paul, Smitty, Drake and Doc echoing. 🙂 Sounds so great! 🙂 Mark changes it up several times, coaching the audience to raise the volume. The Raiders let out with powerful back-and-forth lyrics, with Paul yelling animatedly in his energetic, fun, cool style. Supercool performers. 😎

   And they did all of this boisterous entertainment in a not all that big room – complete with their heavy, layered U. S. Revolutionary War uniforms replicating the 1700’s. Think maybe those fellows were hot? They certainly were – not only in temperature, but also as artists and musicians. One hot group. 😎 (Yeah, I just put a “cool” smiley in there right after saying how hot they are. 😛 Both words are compliments, after all. 🙂 😉 ) Paul Revere & the Raiders…one supercool group of supercool good guys. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 50: “Come On, Let’s Go”

One of my favorite ’60’s surf tunes to listen to is “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues! 🙂 😎 Although there have been a number of music artists with the name of The Rogues, this specific one features the vocal prowess of singer/songwriter/musician/producer/et cetera, Terry Melcher, who recorded under a number of monikers. 🙂 Always sounding great! 😀 😎 A producer of great music acts like the essential 1960’s Paul Revere & the Raiders. Cool, fun note: Terry’s also known as “the sixth Raider”. 🙂 😎 That’s way cool. 😎 😎 The other member of the duo is Bruce Johnston; he and Terry usually recorded as Bruce & Terry, best known under that name for their hit “Summer Means Fun”. 🙂 😎 They both play numerous instruments in their music work as well. 😎

   The song, written and originally performed by Ritchie Valens (love his version so much, too! 🙂 ), has a great, upbeat tune.

   This great stereo single (Columbia 4-43253), “Come On, Let’s Go” by The Rogues, was recorded in the studio on 2/3/1965. It was produced by the same man who sang lead on it: surf music pioneer Terry Melcher. 😎 Terry did a great job of making the song “jump out of the speakers”, which he liked to do so it would sound great in the car – and the radio stations couldn’t turn it down. 😛 A very smart fellow, he figured out how to get around their limiters. 😉 😎

   Starting off with a big splash of music, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, groovy organ and hand claps, it soon gives way to guitar chords of delight and then the highlight: Terry Melcher’s vocals! 😀 He sure can sing! 🙂

   With great energy and a gift of singing with such vitality, Terry invites the girl of the song to come with him and tell him she’ll never leave him. I love the way he strong-yet-gently sings out, “Little Darlin'”! 🙂

   At thirty-eight seconds into the song, the first chorus arrives. I love the way he carries the melody as he sings not only the verse, but also the backing vocals, a melodic rising and falling “ooo-oo-ooo” in a pure, clear tune! 🙂 Supercool! 😎 😎 😀

   He tells her “you know I love you so” & he wants her to be his girl forever. ❤ ❤

   An instrumental break in the center of the song highlights that upbeat and groovy organ music I mentioned earlier. 😉 The instruments, tempo and overall arrangement is excellent. 😎

   At 1:19 Terry belts out the chorus in great style, amping up the song even more. 🙂 😎 Reminding her of his abiding love for her and assuring her it will always be so. ❤ ❤

   He calls her “pretty baby”, telling her again that he loves her so. 🙂 🙂 You know, when you truly love someone, you can’t ever say it too much. 🙂

   It’s really cool the way the piano keys are run the length right in this area – it sounds great and really adds to the musicality of the piece. 😎

   Terry repeats the phrase “come on, come on, let’s go again” until he does a mic fade-out at the end, keeping that upbeat invitation going onward throughout. 🙂 😎

   I love upbeat tunes! 😎 Terry’s so very good at putting the right vocal power behind each musical note. And making it sound so easy. 🙂 Supercool. Super-talented. Super-good at lots of things and a heart full of love. Terry Melcher, a blessing from the Creator to this world. 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 42: December Holidays Music Part 2

Welcome to part two of my December Holidays Music review collection! 🙂 There’s so much great music to listen to such as Paul Revere & the Raiders, Big Time Rush, Bruno Mars & the Hooligans, LUNAFALL, In Real Life and Why Don’t We. 🙂 I enjoyed listening to these songs, watching some performances and reviewing them to share with you all. 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading here and checking out any of this great music you haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing for yourself. 🙂

   An artistic instrumental written by the hands of two geniuses of music, Terry Melcher and Mark Lindsay, “Peace” is a mesmerizing composition that says so much – without one word. 😎 This song was recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay and released on their 1967 album, “A Christmas Present…And Past”. 😎 The first seventeen seconds subtly sets the scene of a rainstorm; at eighteen seconds the strings come in a few notes at a time to add to the story being told within the music. If you listen closely, you will hear it. 😎 More strings shimmer out music by the smooth gliding of the bows with a sudden dash of three higher notes depicting the flashes of lightning in the stormy, dark sky. Midst the storm, there is peace. The Creator made a way for peace with Him through His Son, Yeshua/Jesus. And it doesn’t matter which kind of storm nears you – be it the storm of weather, thoughts, actions (or inaction) of others, or anything else that might make us feel unsure and unsettled in spirit, soul or body – the Creator is more powerful than them all. 😎 He can give us peace in our hearts; all we have to do is ask Him, believing. Belief is important. Words merely spoken have no power; belief, faith and trust must be in your heart or else they are just empty words. When He said He loves us; He meant it 100%. 🙂 And He doesn’t change. 😎 He loves us still. In the song, you can hear the raindrops falling, the ominous storm. Yet, if you listen as the song goes along, the sun is breaking through the dark clouds, sending beams of light shining down on us. 🙂 😎 The storm is ending, moving off, as sound of thunder and flashes of lightning grow farther away. The rainstorm gentles until it is a calm, soothing rain that brings the feelings of coziness – and peace. 🙂 😎

   Last Christmas season, the three members of the band LUNAFALL, (Joel Darkes, Craig Wright and Dave Bright) released a charity single entitled “Christmas Day”. All profits from sales of this cool single goes to Donkey Sanctuary, UK, where these noble creatures are cared for, many having been rescued from dire situations. It said a lot to me about the band members – it takes a lot of heart for your band’s very first single to be dedicated to a charity, instead of focusing on promoting your own band. Great guys. 🙂 😎 I saw the music video first, which led to me gladly buying the single. 🙂 The video starts with Craig opening double doors and inviting us in to a cheerily-decorated collection of rooms where the video was filmed. The rockin’ trio begin their song, guitars in hand. 😎 A pleasant tune is soon joined by lyrics sung by Dave then Joel, respectively, telling of some of the happy things often associated with the Christmas season, such as children having fun playing in the snow. They sing about it being almost Christmas and how we can sing merrily, joining together to sing this song. 😎 The chorus features some very cool guitar work by Craig. 😎 The words paint a very cozy picture. 🙂 The drums are real cool as are the other musical instruments in this great tune. 😎 Partway into the second verse, backing Dave’s vocals, quiet “ooo’s” add a very important touch to the overall sound. 🙂 😎 Singing about faces all aglow leads to the supercool chorus again. 🙂 2:16 to 2:45 features an awesome Craig guitar solo. 🙂 😎 One of the best parts of the song has arrived. As the notes carry from the guitar, Joel sings the chorus softly – some of my favorite of his vocals! 🙂 Meanwhile, those supercool “ooo’s” and adding of the other voices at just the right points makes this such a completely good collection of sound! 🙂 The chorus kicks back up into high, rockin’ gear and ends with some very cool notes. 😎 At the close of the music video, Craig closes the doors with a friendly smile after our visit and the screen changes to a familiar blessing: Merry Christmas. 🙂 Christmas, when many celebrate Yeshua/Jesus having come to Earth, bringing everlasting light, life and forgiveness for all.

   Bruno Mars & the Hooligans (Peter Gene Hernandez, Philip Lawrence, Kameron Whalum, James King, Jamareo Artis, Phred Brown, Eric Hernandez, John Fossit and Dwayne Dugger) are amazingly talented and entertaining fellows. 🙂 😎 In 2012 they did a performance of “White Christmas” on television. 🙂 Classic. Cool. Original. Fun. Superb. Entertaining. Supercool. Those are just a few of the words that describe this rendition. 🙂 😎 All of the fellows are dressed their finest for this occasion. Bruno starts the count then they all begin the vocal intro with the drums, keys and bass blending in just right. When it’s time for the first verse, Bruno steps forward as if to sing, but a Hooligan with chutzpah (okay, so that probably applies to each of them 😉 ) quickly steps in front of him, an arm stretched out to block any attempt to regain the forefront, and starts singing – very, very well. 🙂 Bruno smiles and steps back; he’s cool, he knows he will be centerstage at the right moment. Mr. Chutzpah (of the moment) sings in his exceptional, deep voice that he’s dreaming of a white Christmas, just like he used to know – “you remember the ones!” he adds in personably. 🙂 Bruno slides up after verse one, stepping alongside said Hooligan, clamping a firm hand on his shoulder then smoothly shoving him out of centerstage as Bruno himself claims it verbally (starting at the top 😉 ) as well as physically. 😎 His smooth, husky tones sing of treetops glistening and children listening for sleigh bells in the snow. 🙂 Going onward to the next part, where the blessing is given for days to be merry and bright, the harmonious vocals of Bruno Mars & the Hooligans rings out beautifully. “And may all your Christmases be-” right here everyone stop, Bruno says, “Dramatic pause” 🙂 😎 strikes a dramatic pose then he finishes the blessing for a snowy Christmas. As he holds the note, the Hooligans sing a little bit of “Jingle Bells” in the background and the instruments flourish, the cymbals shimmering to perfection. 😎 🙂 But are they done performing? No, after all, they take entertaining the audience of listeners very seriously. 😉 🙂 😎 They always give more, adding good surprises along the way. Bruno says, “Merry Christmas, America”, they do an end-of-song-pose, drumsticks count to the next part then the seven in front exit the stage with witty style as they vocalize the tune. 😎 🙂 😎

   Now to the music group featuring Michael Conor, Drew Ramos, Chance Perez, Sergio Calderon and Brady Tutton: In Real Life. Their version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” opens with an original lead-in sung by vocals in harmony accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Melodic background “ooo’s” brings us to the start of the well-familiar lyrics of the song. Sleigh bells and finger snaps join in as the tempo picks up to a cheerful reassurance that she can count on him to be home for Christmas. A collection of percussion is soon added to the instrument backing the group. I really like the way they sing the part, “Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas”, Drew sings out, “I’ll be home!”, they sing again “Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas” then Drew sings “Yeah!”; it sounds so supercool! 🙂 😎 Next up is a highlight of the In Real Life music: Michael Conor’s rapping! 🙂 😎 I love Michael’s music: his singing is great, he’s a gifted expert on the violin and the supercool rapping and free-stylin’ is way cool. 😎 😎 😎 😎 In this song, he’s rapping words of promise that he’s coming home for Christmas. 😎 He repeats this promise alternately throughout the closing chorus section in this cool arrangement along with Drew’s singing out a heartfelt “I’ll be there!” 🙂 😎

   How’s this next one for a supercool gift? 🙂 On December 25, 2016, the five-member band Why Don’t We posted an acoustic Christmas Gift – a song called “You and Me at Christmas”. 😎 Daniel Seavey, Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson, Jonah Marais and Jack Avery sang with Daniel’s guitar being the only other instrument heard. 😎 Here’s how I came to know about this group, this song and their YouTube channel that began in 2016. A friend came across one of their performances back on October 14th of this year, saw their nice message on this song’s page and told me about it. And I was already liking them because of that cheerful and thoughtful message. 🙂 We watched the performance – loved it immediately! 🙂 The tune’s great 🙂 – I love upbeat stuff! 🙂 😎 The lyrics are excellent, flowing with natural musical beauty. All five of the guys have really good voices and sing superbly. Great style – honest, real and musically satisfying. They and their music are genuine, unique. If anyone should ask me, “So, who does Why Don’t We sound like?” My answer would be, “They sound exactly like Why Don’t We!” 😀 😎 That’s important in the music business; you want to be immediately recognized by your (good 😉 ) sound (it isn’t all that great for a group to be recognized because they sound musically bad). “You and Me at Christmas” is two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of great melody and singing. 😎 The song tells about how he’s been missing her since she went to California and wanting to see her again. The chorus is the song title sung in a very cool, melodic way; they’ve got great vocals and style! 🙂 😎 He sings that now, with her near, even though it’s cold outside, his heart is warm because he’s kissing her. 🙂 ❤ Bells and sleigh bells are ringing along with the heartfelt beauty of this song. 🙂 The chorus is sung gently with a cheerful, upbeat vibe. 😎 This song is supercool! 🙂

   So how about another song by Why Don’t We? 🙂 They gave us a whole Christmas EP this year! 🙂 This one, “Kiss You This Christmas”, is the first song on their EP “A Why Don’t We Christmas” – and it’s supercool, too! 🙂 😎 This music group has such great harmonies and sings each solo part with excellent, melodic vocals. 😎 “Kiss You This Christmas” opens with twenty-four seconds of beautiful bells and strings, its melody already established as unique, warm and cozy. 😎 A perfect setting. 😎 The singing begins as he tells how joyful he is when she’s near and that she shines like a star. 🙂 These fellows sure know how to write a song – and sing it with heart. 🙂 ❤ ❤ It’s refreshing, good and supercool. 😎 The beautiful lyrics just keep coming, sharing his heart with her through poetry-set-to-music. 😎 He wants to kiss her this Christmas. ❤ He’s waiting for her to let him know. 😎 She’s all he needs to bring him cheer; there’s nothing sweeter than for her to be near. ❤ ❤ This is one of the most beautifully romantic love songs ever. 🙂 ❤ And I don’t say that lightly; I mean it thoroughly. Why Don’t We has a real gem here; it’s extraordinarily beautiful in word, in melody, in heart. ❤ 😎 I heartily recommend you check out their EP; it would be a great gift to give – and to receive! 🙂 😎

   In 2016 I reviewed Big Time Rush’s “Beautiful Christmas”; this year, I’ll review the other track from their 2010 Christmas EP, “Holiday Bundle: All I Want for Christmas/Beautiful Christmas”. I’ll also be referring to their music video for it as well as my favorite acoustic performance. 🙂 The music video was the first time I saw Big Time Rush; I was immediately pleased with their great sound as well as their fun, upbeat personalities. 😎 I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched that video. 😛 A whole lotta times, to be sure! 🙂 My favorite acoustic performance of this song (although they are all great) is their performance from “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” on 11/30/11. 😎 Sitting amongst the festive decorations on a wintry New York City night, Dustin Belt played guitar, Kendall Schmidt (who learned from Dustin) also played guitar and Carlos PenaVega played tambourine. James Maslow and Logan Henderson, along with Kendall and Carlos, sang vocals. All five of them – for surely Dustin Belt is an essential part of Big Time Rush’s success both on scene and behind the scenes – brought good cheer, good music and warmth midst the cold with their excellent performance. 😎 The EP featured a full set of instruments including cool drums, music box chimes and sleigh bells; both versions sound very good. 🙂 😎 My favorite part of the EP version is found in the last half minute of the song. 🙂 They’re all singing the chorus in a round, Logan sings, “All I want for Christmas…” then James perfectly sings out, “…is you-oo-oo, Baby!” Then Logan takes over at twenty-three seconds remaining and it just sounds so cool! 🙂 😎 I love the arrangement, the change-up, the melody, the style – if you haven’t gotten to hear it yet, I believe you really should give it a listen and hear for yourself what I’m talking about! 🙂 😎 🙂 “All I Want for Christmas” tells about the desire of the heart in love, not needing or wanting lots of presents or other material things that many think are inseparable from the holiday. This song sings out that all that’s really necessary for happiness on that day is love. 🙂 Love is a precious gift from the Creator, as is His Gift to us: forgiveness, freedom and life through faith in His Son, Yeshua/Jesus. 🙂 😎 The Scriptures make it clear that He loves us, like in John, chapter three, verse sixteen: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That’s a lot of love! ❤

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 34: “Kicks”

The 1960’s supercool, super-rockin’ group Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay has the distinction of having the most popular, most easily recognized, most widely known anti-drug song ever recorded. 😎 Their supercool and way-talented music producer and friend, Terry Melcher, got this song for them from the amazing song writing duo of Mann & Weil, a husband and wife team who wrote an amazing amount of music hits. 😎

   “Kicks” is a consistently great and consistently-needed song. It’s current. It’s relevant. And it’s rockin’ cool. 😎

   It’s covered by many – including supercool tribute band Paul Revere’s Raiders! 🙂 – and performed by original Raiders Mark Lindsay and Phil Volk on their tours and appearances. 😎 The song is available on vinyl, compact disc, and digital. 😎 Seeing footage of the original performances is way cool; in them you will see:

   Drake Levin, the most amazing guitarist I’ve had the pleasure of watching footage of, starts off the song with his signature guitar playing – flawless, rockin’, and supercool! 🙂

   Drummer extraordinaire, Mike “Smitty” Smith, is shimmering the cymbals in the background, bringing up the volume at the right time before swinging into the superb drumbeat of this excellent song. 😎

   Phil Volk, the man who plays the bass with the finesse that brings it the attention of a lead guitar, is vibing the bass beat perfectly. 🙂

   Founder and leader of the coolest band, Paul Revere, is playing the keys – making the instrument known as the organ to sound as cool as only he can. 🙂

   Mark Lindsay, the Cherokee man with the voice no one could ever realistically hope to duplicate, starts singing the vocals, putting his heart and soul into it as he authentically always does. 😎

   And that’s just the seven-second introduction of the song! 🙂 😎

   Musically, it’s an awesome song. 😎 Message-wise, it’s an awesome song. 😎 And talent-wise, it’s an amazing rendering. 😎

   Mark sings to the girl in the song with a soft pleading in his voice, hoping she’ll listen to the truth of things and stop trusting in lies. He says he knows she thought she’d find a little piece of paradise when she took drugs last night, but the truth is that when she wakes up in the morning, the world’s still going to get her all stressed out – drugs don’t fix anything or make things better. Not ever.

   Drake changes the notes, guiding the tone and set of the song with ease of expertise. 😎 Smitty keeps that drumbeat strong and steady while Paul and Phil blend their instruments’ great sounds into a masterpiece of music. 😎

   Mark notes that there’s nothing the girl hasn’t tried “to fill the emptiness inside” and that when she comes back down from the drug “high” – she still isn’t feeling right. Drugs aren’t the answer. God is. He loves you so much He died for you, in your place, and rose again to life everlasting so that you could be forgiven for everything once and for all and live forever in Paradise, when your life here is done. All you have to do is believe that, ask Him to forgive and save you, and you’re saved forever. 😎

   In the Scriptures in the book of John chapter 3 verse 16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He loves you. If you were the only person on Earth ever; He would have done it just for you. 😎 That’s how much He loves you. 🙂 That’s how much He loves me, too. 🙂 He loves each and every one of us that much. 😎 That’s a powerful, abiding love. 😎

   At thirty-four seconds in, Mark continues to sing the real truth: drugs are a lie. They deceitfully offer escape and pleasure – but you get neither, not for real. You just get more trouble, more sorrow, more misery. They don’t make your troubles go away at all; they just add to your troubles. You like freedom, right? Then you don’t want to ever even try drugs – they enslave you, take over your life and make you less than what you can be.

   The tempo picks up with freedom at your fingertips as the other fellows join Mark in singing that kicks (supposed thrills from drugs) keep being harder to find – because they aren’t real or satisfying – and they don’t bring peace of mind. The guys warn with strong encouragement: “Before you find out it’s too late, Girl, you better get straight.” Mark says drugs aren’t the way. And he’s right. 😎

   Drake’s cool guitar notes accompany Mark’s words that, “You just need help, Girl.” Whatever you are facing in life, no matter how big or how small, God always cares and is there for you if you just trust Him. And there are people who care about you, too. You might like to know: I pray for you each day. 🙂 What’s that? You ask how I can pray for you when I don’t even know your name? It’s easy. 🙂 God made you, He knows exactly who you are – yes, you right there reading these words right now – and so when I pray for everyone who reads my blog, He knows I’m including you. 🙂 He sees and knows everything and He can be trusted always. 😎

   The second verse begins with Mark saying how the girl in the song thinks she’s found a little piece of Paradise, but he warns her that she’d better think twice. Her assumption is incorrect. Drugs aren’t wonderful like Paradise; they’re horrible, like Hell on Earth. That’s not cool. No need to mince words; your life is important. 😎

   Sometimes people try drugs because they’re unhappy with who they are or how their life is going, but drugs don’t fix a thing – they only make things worse. “Don’t you see that no matter what you do – you’ll never run away from you. And if you keep on runnin’, you’ll have to pay the price.” Starting drugs is a bad idea and continuing doing drugs takes its toll on you – spirit, soul and body. If you haven’t ever tried drugs: please don’t, respect yourself. If you have tried drugs: please get away from them before they suck you in. If you’re doing drugs: please get help to stop – your life matters.

   Yes, it does. 😎

   Drake’s right hand blurs along the strings as he plays with his perfection of expertise, building up the momentum of the song along with Smitty’s drums. 😎 All-the-while, Mark’s urgent voice implores the girl to get away from drugs. Mann & Weil cared enough to write this song and Terry, Mark, Paul, Smitty, Drake and Phil all cared enough to put in the work to record it. 😎 It’s message is strong and clear. 😎

   At 1:41 the tempo of the song slows down to a more intimate pace as Mark sings with gentleness, “No, you don’t need kicks to help you face the world each day. That road goes nowhere – I’m going to help you find yourself another way.”

   As the rest of the group sings the chorus, Mark continues to try to get through to the girl, telling her that “Ah, you don’t need kicks, Girl! Oh, you just need help, Girl! Girl, you better get straight…” Everyone needs help sometimes; there’s no shame in asking for help. Actually, it is a sign of wisdom and bravery to ask for help, especially when your life depends on it. Maybe you think no one cares, but they do. I care. God cares more than you can imagine. And as far as people are concerned: the one who needs to care most about you is you. If other people let you down, you can’t really do anything about that – it’s their bad. But if you let yourself down… You need to care and to respect yourself. Every life is important. Your life is important. You aren’t replaceable; there’s only one of you in this whole, entire world. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 18: Supercool December Holidays Music – Part B

Season’s greetings! 🙂 I hope each individual who reads this will enjoy my reviews and, especially, that true joy lives in your heart each day, making your day bright with hope and peace. 🙂

   The first song featured this time will be one that was heard in New York when James Maslow, Logan Henderson, Carlos Pena and Kendall Schmidt brought their amazing vocals to the annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center – and Dustin Belt brought his very cool guitar-playing as well, all-in-all, making it a performance to remember for years to come 😎 🙂 The cheerful, upbeat tune of Big Time Rush’s “Beautiful Christmas”, is so excellent, that I have been known to play it at various times throughout the year – not just around December! 🙂 It tells about filling the holidays with love and cheer – which can and really should be applied to everyday life throughout the year. 🙂 As Big Time Rush’s supercool song, “24/Seven”, says: every day is a holiday. 🙂 It can be in your heart, even if you have other things you must do. Love and cheer are two very great things that every one can use more of! 🙂 “We can make beautiful Christmas – we can make the world shine bright. As long as friends and family are with us – every star will shine tonight.” Snow is pretty, but it isn’t mandatory for a happy Christmas. In fact, Yeshua/Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the land of Yisrael – not a snowy place. 😉 😎 🙂 It isn’t about the weather, what you do or don’t have, money-bought presents, physical location, or even who you are spending it with – even if you are alone. While some of those things can add to the fun of Christmas, the truly most important thing is knowing why the birth of Yeshua/Jesus is celebrated all around the world – it’s because in coming to Earth, He was providing a way for us to have peace with the Creator. 🙂 Love and peace are gifts from the Creator and through Him, we can love our neighbors (that includes everyone in the world) – and also have peace with them, if they are willing to truly make peace, too. 😎 When your heart is full of love, there isn’t any room left for hate. 🙂 May the love and peace that Yeshua/Jesus brings fill your hearts with joy throughout the year. 🙂

   There are many great versions of “Sevivon Sov, Sov, Sov” (The Dreidel Song)! 🙂 😎 I like the upbeat, flowing song. It sounds good from start to finish and catches the essence of the beauty of this traditional tune. 🙂 Spinning the dreidel is a popular game with a very cool-looking game piece. It is a top, often made of wood, with the Chanukah story briefly told by only a small number of Hebrew lettering, which represents the words “A Great Miracle Happened There”! 🙂 In Israel, one of the letters would be different, because it would proclaim, “A Great Miracle Happened Here”! 🙂 Whoever wins the game is usually the proud owner of a nice pile of gelt – chocolate coins! 🙂 🙂 This song is fun to listen to, whether you’re playing the game itself or just enjoying some good music. 😎

   Paul Revere & the Raiders put out a Christmas album in 1967 titled “A Christmas Present…And Past”. Most of the songs were originals to that album, having been written by Mark Lindsay and the exceptional producer of the Raiders, fellow prolific music enthusiast, Terry Melcher. 😎 🙂 The LP included an ongoing skit between each song and they are on the CD now as well. 🙂 One of the songs I most enjoy from this unique seasonal album is “Rain, Sleet or Snow”, which tells about the mail situation with great wit and humor – both authors were well-armed in both of those categories as they wrote this one. 🙂 For example: After the instruments have set the musical hard-rock edge, Mark sings with a powerful edge of his own, “Pardon my inquiry, but I gotta know – what makes all you people send your mail so slow? According to the information I receive – you send all your Christmas cards on Christmas Eve.” 😛 😉 The song title is sung next, which is the mail delivery motto about not letting any inclement weather stop them from getting the mail delivered. Mark shared some information that might prove helpful in everyone receiving their cards in time: “The Post Master General says that we’ll get by – if you send all your cards before the Fourth of July.” 😛 😆 🙂 The lyrics have humor, are sung with perfect, tough delivery by Mark, and the music is supercool. 😎 “Rain, Sleet or Snow” doesn’t have a soft, gentle melody – it’s a hard-rock sound through and through. 😎 It’s in the way the audio was recorded so expertly, how the instruments were played – yes, the Raiders had already “invented” using an orchestra in a strictly rock setting, which is something that some of the cooler bands have been experimenting with lately with great results. Paul Revere & the Raiders introduced a lot of unique elements into the music world; true originals and path-makers. 😎

   Yasmin Levy singing “Ocho Kandalikas” (“Eight Candles”) is Ladino music most beautiful! 🙂 The instrumentation catches the attention, grips the heart and touches the soul all at once. When Yasmin Levy begins singing, the songs enters new depths that are seemingly almost tangible. Hebrew and Spanish flavors blend together in the melody, expressed so clearly by both the instruments and Yasmin Levy. This song is five minutes and one second of heartfelt, soul-felt music. 😎 Each of the eight candles are counted as the song continues, showing the importance of each one. 😎 Each day was a miracle. 🙂 Each day is a miracle. 😎 We have so much to be thankful for – no matter how much we may feel we have to complain about in daily life. There’s lots of stuff we have to deal with in our everyday lives that we’d just as soon not have to be bothered with, right? And some things are way beyond irritating, maybe even very extreme problems – but there are still things for which to be thankful. All you have to do is give it a moment’s thought to find many such things. If you can walk, you can be thankful for that – not everyone can walk. If you are in a wheelchair, you can be thankful for that – not everyone can sit in one – some are stuck in bed. If you are stuck in bed, you can be thankful for that – some are in the same position, but cannot move. If you are in bed and unable to move, you can be thankful – you still have the power of the brain the Creator gave you. You see? 🙂 Thankfulness is something we can feel despite circumstances. Blessings abound and the Creator continues to bless us with miracles every day – never give up, never stop hoping, never stop praying, never stop trusting in the Creator. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. Sometimes you ask and wait. “But I’m still waiting!” you say? You’re still here; there is time enough. 🙂

   “Sleigh Ride” is one of my favorite songs on the radio this time of year; it sounds so happy, cozy and cheerful! 🙂 One of my favorite renditions of the song is by The Ronettes. 🙂 A good imagination is all you need to go on a fun sleigh ride like they sing about in the song. 🙂 😎 If perhaps you have never had the pleasure of hearing this song, I will tell you a little bit about it. The setting is a snowy, wintry night with the stars shining up above, maybe some moonlight filtering through the trees in a soft light. A guy and a girl who are sweethearts are snuggled up next to each other, sitting in a wooden sleigh which is pulled by a fine horse, sleigh bells attached to the reigns ringing prettily in keeping with the horse’s brisk, clip-clop pace. 🙂 Enjoying the pleasant solitude on the country lane with snow sparkling all around you in the moonlight as you sing “a chorus or two” of a happy song like this one, your voices blending together harmoniously. Comfy and cozy sitting next to your sweetheart, you enjoy the ride regardless of the cold, wintry air. 🙂 Of course, sitting in front of a nice fireplace indoors afterwards with cups of hot cocoa is a good idea, too. 😉 🙂

   One of the most beautiful renditions – and most melodic – of “Away in a Manger” is the gentle and reverent singing of Celtic Thunder. You can easily see the scene the lyrics sing of the sweet preciousness of the babe, Yeshua/Jesus, as He lifts his sweet head from His lowly cradle. His big eyes looking up toward the Heavenly Father. It’s an amazing thing. 🙂 Whether you are a descendant of Isaac or not, you can be a child of the Creator. He chose Israel to be His people and through their line provided a way for all the nations of the earth to be blessed. He offers eternal life through the promised Mashiach/Messiah, Yeshua/Jesus, to not only the Jews, but also to all nations – every person, regardless of your location, ethnicity, religious practices, current beliefs or where you stand on various issues debated in this world: the Creator Who made you, gave you life on Earth, offers you peace with Him so that you may have everlasting life in Heaven with Him. 😎 He loves you. He is perfect; mankind is not. So He made a way to reconcile the two, by coming down to Earth in the form of man, born to Mary, lived as a man, taught and performed miracles for those who put their faith in Him, allowed Himself to be betrayed and killed by man and died on the cross, taking on all of our sins that mankind has been born with since Adam and Eve first sinned in Eden, Yeshua/Jesus died especially for each human being who ever lived or ever will, and then rose again and walked among mankind before returning to Heaven until the day He returns for us. The Creator of the universe did that for you. For me. For each person that ever was or ever is. All any of us have to do is to believe He did that for us, put our faith in Him, ask Him to forgive us and save us – and He will. He gave us that promise, just like He promised to never flood the Earth again even though mankind does very bad things sometimes – that’s why we get to see that beautiful rainbow in the clouds. He kept that promise, He kept His promise to send a savior, and He will keep His promise to forgive you, save you and give you eternal life if you put your faith in Him to do so. I hope you will. 🙂 I’m praying for you, for joy always. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 17: Supercool December Holidays Music – Part A

Holidays greetings! 🙂 (Yes, I did two plurals on purpose. 😉 ) For this month, I have decided to review some of the coolest and most uniquely good songs related to some of the holidays celebrated in the month of December. My two articles will feature a collection of songs – not just one. My next article, Supercool December Holidays Music – Part B, will include Paul Revere & the Raiders, Big Time Rush, The Ronettes, and more! 🙂 I hope you will read my reviews for each song and not only the ones featuring the holiday(s) you celebrate. Music is music. It speaks to the heart. It can affect and effect our lives in so many ways. Please read on; I hope you enjoy my gifts to you! 🙂

   Chanukah (also sometimes spelled Hanukkah) came first and begins first, so it is fitting that we start with a song by Matisyahu with the title, “Happy Hanukkah”. 🙂 An amazing beat and rhythm are just two of the things you will hear in this song! 🙂 😎 This is one of the coolest Chanukah gifts ever; it is a song of supercool proportions that comes directly from the gifted heart of music artist Matisyahu. 🙂 In fact, near the start of the song he says that this is a gift of love to you. 😎 I have enjoyed the unique style of Matisyahu’s songs since I first heard him; it is what could be partially described as Mediterranean Reggaeton. Very cool, lively music with honest heart. This song, “Happy Hanukkah”, is beautiful. Every instrument lends its beauty to the song with melodic power; it’s very cool. 🙂 Not only does it have a great overall sound, but also, it has so much profound truth in the lyrics, sung with the heart of a man who seeks to honor the Creator in all things. I appreciate that element so very much. It gives depth to a song like nothing else can. 😎 There are so many cool things in this song; I hope you will go listen to it so that you can hear it for yourself. Peace and love are two of the main things in this song and are treasures that we all desire. Very true are the words that Israel brings love to the world – “from Mount Zion this is what we do”. Israel exemplifies the Creator’s love in the way they so selflessly go help any country who needs their skills (such as medical help after natural disasters) – even if that country scorns them on a daily basis. The Creator loves each of us, whether we love Him or not. He doesn’t base His love on what we do; He loves us because He loves us. Simple as that. 🙂 That’s why He sent the promised Mashiach (Messiah) to give us eternal life through faith in Him and what He did for us. Selfless love. A gift of mercy (not giving us the bad things we deserve) and grace (giving us good things that we don’t deserve and haven’t earned – couldn’t earn on our own if we tried). Faith and trust in HaShem, believing on Yeshua (Jesus) who fulfilled the prophecies of old, this is the greatest gift ever.

   You haven’t heard how cool “Jingle Bells” can sound until you have heard Paul Revere’s Raiders’ rendition of it! 🙂 😎 They bring their own originality, fun-lovin’, energetic, highly-skilled musicianship to it, making it a standout to be admired. 🙂 They perform this at their live show, Rockin’ Christmas, bringing visual as well as audible entertainment as only they can. 😎 After a great instrumental intro by Tommy Scheckel on drums (his drums really make this rockin’ version rock!), Ron Foos on bass (bringing those groovy, deep tones), Paul Revere on keys (he played not one, but two instruments in this song! 🙂 ), Jamie Revere on guitar (I love his awesome guitar playing – its tones can be felt), Doug Heath on guitar (he’s got some supercool stuff to wow everyone with in this song), Danny Krause on keys (the man has gifted hands, what more can one say?), lead singer Darren Dowler sings lead with power, finesse and gusto! 🙂 😎 Each performance is special, with variations now and then. For example: Paul Revere would sometimes sing the second verse; I always enjoy hearing him sing – you can hear the fun and happiness in his vocals. 😎 Another example: Darren, instead of singing the lyrics “a one-horse open sleigh”, he sang “a ’57 Chevrolet”; both versions are cool and highly enjoyable for this Chevy girl to hear! 🙂 Paul said he really enjoyed doing that version after hearing another artist, Brian Seitzer, do that kind of a rendition. Paul and his boys Raidered it! (To see what I mean by that, please check out my article Meet Paul Revere’s Raiders! 😉 🙂 ) Midway through the song, the spotlight moves to Doug Heath at center stage as he plays a superb guitar solo while the rest of the band rocks on – Tommy Scheckel’s cymbal playing finesse adding another dimension of delight to this groovy rendition. 😎 Almost a half a minute later brings the song to its next verse of toe-tapping fun; Ron Foos is going to town with style as he strums that bass! On the last chorus, Darren belts out the words with even more umph, Doug does a groovy run along the frets, Jamie radiates joy as he plays that guitar so well, Ron keeps rockin’, Paul’s playing the jingle bells instrument, at the perfect moment Tommy uses his drumsticks to direct attention to Danny Krause who plays a beautiful flourish on the keys – accompanied by Jamie on guitar (maybe Doug and/or bassist Ron played, too, but I couldn’t see them in that shot so I can’t say for sure 🙂 ), then the rest of the guys all join in on an instrumental closing of very cool proportions. Paul Revere’s Raiders, akin to the original Raiders whose songs they perform faithfully, are a supercool live band who never fail to entertain, satisfy your need to hear good music, bring a smile to your face that doesn’t quit, and allows you to relax and gave a great time – every time! 🙂

   One song, “Silent Night”. 🙂 Two very talented as well as gifted artists, Elvis Presley and Taylor Davis. 🙂 I’ll start with the first recording, Elvis Presley’s classic tune backed by the deep tones of a grand piano as well as melodies provided by male and female vocals. 😎 Then I’ll review the next-recorded rendition, Taylor Davis’ beautifully melodic tune backed by a well-chosen and well-played orchestration of sound. 🙂
*When Elvis Presley sings “Silent Night”, he conveys the peace, comfort and joy of the Creator’s gift to us so genuinely with each tone and inflection of his voice. He sings from his soul, from his heart, reverently. “All is calm.” The Creator can bring peace and calm to us if we trust Him to. He can help us feel a true peace and calm in our hearts and minds through Yeshua/Jesus if we just ask Him sincerely. You can have peace in your heart anywhere and in any surrounding circumstances. Yes, even right there where you are right now. “All is bright.” He brings light even where there is darkness – whether the darkness is physical, mental, spiritual, or any other kind of darkness – He can bring you light. 😎 He made the sun shine for about a whole day, standing completely still overhead, when the Israelites were fighting their enemies back in Joshua’s day. The Creator is the same Being He has always been; He cares about each one of us, whether anyone else does or not. I think that’s really cool. 🙂 😎
*The very talented violinist, Taylor Davis, plays “Silent Night” so very beautifully, speaking to the heart and soul without the need for words. Drawing the bow sweetly across the strings with steady beauty, she brings the story of the song to life through music, touching the soul in a calm and gentle way. Timing is important and the heart of the musician comes through when they are playing their selected instrument. Listening to her music, I believe that Taylor Davis has a gentle, sincere heart that feels the depth of meaning through music. It is how she conveys the message of the song so exquisitely. 😎 “Silent Night” is a gentle lullaby melody, as the human birth of Yeshua/Jesus our Mashiach/Messiah is celebrated; He is the Son of the Creator, all-powerful, yet He came to Earth in human flesh to bring us light, joy, peace with the Creator and life everlasting. That’s real love. 😎

   Along with the upbeat tune of Klezmer, Chanukah is sung about in this song with great, warm, deep lively vocals from the illustrious, warm-hearted Theodore Bikel. 🙂 😎 In “Oy Chanukah”, he sings about the reason for celebrating Chanukah, lighting candles for eight days on the Chanukiah (a special, beautiful candlestick that holds eight candles – four on each side of a center candle that is employed to light the others. Kind of like the Creator is the Light Who has the power to give light to each of us if we’ll just stand still long enough to listen to Him. Chanukah is observed “to remind us of days long ago”, as the song says, and to especially remember the Creator’s provision – which continues today and always. 🙂 After fighting for freedom from oppression, winning, and cleaning up the Temple from the evil destruction by the enemies who had previously taken over, there was only enough pure oil to light the Temple’s candlestick for one day – but the Creator made that oil last for eight days and nights (which was the time needed for there to be more of the required oil made and ready). Miracles! 🙂 Way cool. 😎 This song tells it well and sounds great throughout! 🙂 I love the finishing lyrics, “you can dance with hope!” Hope is a priceless thing; it encourages you to be brave and stay strong through whatever you are going through or dealing with in your life. The Creator loves us and gave us precious promises that we can count on Him to fulfill; we can depend on Him – He loves us and cares about everything. 🙂 Hope is a strong thing, a knowing in your heart and soul that even if you can’t see it, it’s there. As it says in the Scriptures: you can’t see the wind itself, but you can see what it does. 😎 The Creator is present everywhere; you may not see Him, but you can see His Hand in the many blessings, big and small, in your everyday life – if you take time to notice them, you’ll find it is easy to see them. 😉 Anything good is a blessing from the Creator; He gives good and perfect gifts. 😎

   A doo wop group established in 1991, Stormy Weather, teamed up with the illustrious Ronnie Spector to sing a Christmas version of the 1960’s song, “Creation of Love”. 😎 And the result was quite beautiful! 🙂 Sung acapella, the poignancy of the lyrics are all the more powerful with only the human voice and some tasteful, time-keeping finger snaps being heard. Ronnie sings lead as Stormy Weather provides the perfect background – all of them sounding great! 🙂 The song tells the story of a girl and boy who met at a dance, walked hand in hand out into the winter wonderland and soon realized that love was there, created in their hearts for each other. 🙂 They kissed, their hearts dancing in the night. 😎 They walked along for a while, smiling, then as he held her tight, they pledged their love to one another. 🙂 “I love you and you love me – think how happy we will be. I know, now I know – that’s the creation of love.” A very nice love story. 🙂

   Did you know that Mark Lindsay sang a solo of “What Child Is This?” as part of a special recording? 🙂 Now, this treasure was made available at W. T. Grant stores on a vinyl LP titled “A Very Merry Christmas Volume IV”; Columbia Special Products produced it exclusively for them c. 1967. You can hear it, like I did, from YouTube. 🙂 A beautiful instrumental melody begins, and then Mark begins to gently sing of Yeshua/Jesus’ birth. The soar in Mark’s excellent voice as the chorus begins. I love the way he sings with strength and conviction; he consistently sings every song with true heart. 😎 The question is asked – why was he born in such a low estate, where animals fed? It was to show, in part, that He didn’t come to be popular or bring admiration from others. That wasn’t His purpose. The lyrics continue to explain, “Nails fierce shall pierce Him through – the cross be borne for me, for you”. He suffered and died in our place, so that we wouldn’t have to pay for our own sins – that’s how much the Creator loves us. As the song says from Scripture, He is the Word (“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotton of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Book of John, chapter one, verse fourteen. 🙂 ) in human form, come to save us. When He created us, He gave us free will – we can choose our own path. He won’t make us accept His gift and put our faith in Him; it is our choice alone. We can choose to believe or choose to deny; it is one or the other. Rejecting His gift means choosing to pay for our own sins forever with the Devil who made that same bad choice. Accepting the Creator’s gift of salvation through His Son, Yeshua/Jesus, means instantaneous forgiveness and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with the Creator Who loves us. Which choice do you want to make? It’s not too late; as long as you have breath, you have choice – but please keep in mind: no one is guaranteed they’ll take a next breath. Some things are too important to put off; this is one of them.

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 16: “Louie, Louie”

From their Columbia debut album, “Here They Come!” by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay, we find the subject of this review: “Louie, Louie”. 🙂

   “Louie, Louie” is a cover of the 1957 tune originally written and sung by Richard Berry. Paul Revere & the Raiders performed this song at their live, in-studio concert on September 24, 1964 at Columbia Records in California. This song is likewise available for purchase on the highly collectible original vinyl as well as compact disc and digital download.

   The track starts off with lead singer, Mark Lindsay, announcing, “Here’s a thing called ‘Louie, Louie!'” Drummer-extraordinaire Smitty is making the cymbals sing, adding speed to the shimmering tempo as it continues. The audience cheers with great enthusiasm as Mark brings his instrument to his mouth and immediately launches into the unmistakeable “Louie, Louie” beat on his saxophone with depth, energy and clarity. You can hear right away that it’s going to be another awesome performance! 😎 You can hear the rest of the band getting into with boisterous shouts of “Hey!”, “Alright!” and “Alright, yeah!” The guitar, bass and keys join in seamlessly and Smitty calls out his famous introduction line to this song from behind his drum set, “Grab your woman; it’s ‘Louie, Louie’ time!” Leader Paul calls out, “All right!” and Smitty swings into his amazing drum work with strong precision and energetic finesse.

   These guys are excellent musicians who not only play their respective instruments to the instrument’s greatest capabilities, but also, they feel the music from their soul. This adds a whole ‘nother dimension to the great sound we hear. 😎 There’s a big difference between playing all of the notes correctly and playing it with heart in addition to that. Amazingly different sound that radiates beautifully.

   At thirty-five seconds in, Mark’s powerful, gutty vocals begin! 🙂 What a great voice! 🙂 He sings with endearments about the girl waiting for him across the sea. Keeping to the calypso style of the song, in singing of his need to be where she is, he sings “me got to go”. It rolls right off his tongue. 😎

   Mark adds his own words to the very danceable song when he sings, “O let’s stomp and shout and work it on out” following it up with a gutty, “Hey!” 🙂 😎

   From 1:19 to 2:01 Drake’s guitar takes over the lead singing with bluesy intricacy – check out that hand-blurring guitar work at 1:27!! Amazing! 🙂 What a guitarist! 🙂 😎

   While Drake was wowing the crowd with his guitaring talents, Mark had gone directly from singing lead to playing more great sax, Smitty’s drumming continued in its strength, Doc’s bass kept that groovy tone going and Paul kept rockin’ on the keys. 😎

   From sax to singing again, Mark tells it like it is then adds some more dance coaching with the low and gentle words, “Hey, baby, just a little bit of soul now.” A little later in the chorus the instruments quiet some as Mark instructs, to the delight of every girl listening, “Stomp and shout, child, and work it on out, chile.” You can hear the rest of the guys in the band cheering – and you can hear Drake whistling, as well. 🙂

   The song concludes with loud, enthusiastic cheering from the happy audience who got to enjoy this live performance of an amazing level of talent. 😎 As the guys strummed some notes and prepared for the next song and the cheering din lowered some, Mark graciously thanked the crowd. 🙂 What a great concert! 🙂 Although I have listened to this so many times, I can hardly wait to listen to it again! 🙂 Now that feeling, without a doubt, is a sign of good music. 😎

   Please share any good comments you have in the box provided; I would appreciate knowing you enjoyed reading my review. 🙂

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 9: Meet Paul Revere’s Raiders

The great Paul Revere (the one from our time period 😉 ) always had a gift for bringing good, likable, fun, highly talented music artists together to make exceptionally good music and perform amazing concerts. One of the best is the group now known as Paul Revere’s Raiders. 🙂

   Recorded live in concert – and available at popular online stores in the digital download format for your listening pleasure – are these Raider singles performed by Paul Revere’s Raiders: “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”, “Hungry”, “Kicks”, “Just Like Me”, and “Good Thing”. And whenever you can, I believe you’ll want to go see for yourselves why I refer to Paul Revere’s Raiders as one of the most fascinating bands to watch in concert! 🙂 They perform all across America and also do an annual cruise to the Caribbean. 🙂 😎

   The more footage I get to see of these wonderful men, the more I like them! 🙂 And that’s saying a lot! 🙂 I love them all already. 🙂 I have always known they must be good guys, because Paul Revere carefully chose each one of them to be in his band. Recently I had the opportunity to see some footage from their concerts and I was beyond happy with their character and their talent. They truly keep the musical integrity and rockin’ good time of Paul Revere & the Raiders going strong. They are a blessing from the Creator.

   The sound. The correct tempo. The cool moves. The fun atmosphere. The energetic performances. The warm friendliness of the group. The brotherhood of the group. The cool (and hot!) uniforms they wear. The showmanship. The respect for the people. The patriotism. The love of music. The rhythm. The stage presence. The good humor. The overall style. The heart. The tradition. The enthusiasm. The musicianship. The good rockin’ fun. The full entertainment. The genuiness. The love and respect for their original leader, Paul Revere. All of it resounds with the spirit of the original Paul Revere & the Raiders of the 1960’s when these hits were first recorded and performed so exquisitely by Paul Revere, Mark Lindsay, Mike “Smitty” Smith, Drake Levin and Phil “Fang” Volk. And I don’t give this compliment lightly. You see, Paul Revere & the Raiders are who I call my favorite complete band (complete, because they sing as well as play all of the instruments). Paul Revere’s Raiders keep this great legacy going with magnificent prowess. They give it all they’ve got and I love them for it. Two of the greatest bands ever! 🙂

   Paul Revere’s Raiders play the music and sing the music with such an amazing ability because they feel the music from within. They are genuine; each one of them has a true Raider heart.

   In alphabetical order, by surname, here is a brief description of the on-stage presence I observed while watching performances by these six guys I believe you’d love to meet:
Darren Dowler 🙂 – The lead singer, he has a gifted voice, is a cool guitarist and talks well to the audience with great friendliness.
Ron Foos 🙂 – The showman bassist – I’ve seen very few with such style and flare, a happy smile, keeps the crowd entertained.
Doug Heath 🙂 – He’s quite the guitarist, a good dancer with seemingly boundless energy; he has an ever cheerful disposition.
Danny Krause 🙂 – He’s the man on the keys, playing the piano and organ with amazing talent, gifted hands and full heart.
Jamie Revere 🙂 – He plays the guitar like it is as much a natural part of him as breathing is, a blessing to all, and the son of Paul – with his own talents and his own intriguing personality.
Tommy Scheckel 🙂 – The drummer! 😀 That really says it. 😎 He’s a magnificent drummer – beyond cool, as amazing as all get out.

   All of these guys lend not only their superb instrument-playing abilities to the overall sound of the group, but also their strong, masculine vocals in true Raider fashion. I’d love to hear – and see! – them sing “Don’t You Just Know It” just like the 1960’s Raiders did in their September, 1964 concert! 😀 I think they would enjoy doing that one. 😎 I know everyone could greatly enjoy that performance as much as their other ones; Paul Revere’s Raiders are super-talented.

   They “Raider” songs – that means that whenever they play another artist’s song that already sounds distinctive and great, they do it even better! I have noticed this over and over with any song the Raiders cover or even if they only play a sampling thereof. I first made this audible observation while listening to the original 1960’s Paul Revere & the Raiders recordings and, watching footage of Paul Revere’s Raiders, I can easily hear that they have this same gift in regards to non-Raider songs. So cool! 🙂

   Something else about them that is supercool: Paul Revere’s Raiders are very patriotic. 😎 They started The Ride to the Wall Foundation and for years have participated in Rolling Thunder every Memorial Day. 😎

   Having a rough day? Watch some Paul Revere’s Raiders footage and you’ll surely be feeling happier before long. 🙂 They are great entertainers and very cool guys. 😎 If you have the opportunity, I recommend you go check out their concert in person; to see and hear the band playing live must be an amazing thing. 🙂

   “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” as The Scriptures record Shlomo’s words in the first part of Proverbs 17:22. No matter what level of pain (a constant companion since I was little) I might be in on any given day, Paul Revere’s Raiders consistently bring a smile of delight to my face and to my heart. Wado equa (“thank you very much” in Tsalagi/Cherokee), Paul Revere’s Raiders, for your dedication, determination and long-lasting goodness that never ceases to amaze, entertain, please and bring joy to those who have the honor, privilege and pleasure of seeing your performances (in person and/or through recorded footage). May the Creator continue to bless you as you bless others. 🙂

   My heart overflows with gratefulness for the many kindnesses and great performances by the six members of Paul Revere’s Raiders.

   One of the performances I love most, although I truly love them all, is from their concert in Deland, Florida on 11-11-2014 at the Volusia County Fair. It was right on Veteran’s Day. 😎 Which is always the eleventh of November, the day directly after the birthday of the U. S. Marine Corps. 😎 😎

   Tommy took the stage first to start the music; his expert drumming set the theme of great music as the rest of the band joined him on stage. 😎

   From the crowd around the kind individual who filmed the show to share with others, I heard the enthusiastic cheers to greet this great band as well as the question, “Where’s Paul?” For some, this was when they first found out that our beloved Paul had been promoted to Heaven the previous month. Darren did a beautiful job of gently breaking the news while keeping an upbeat attitude that kept everything in perspective. He noted how Paul is dearly loved, his earthly presence missed, then he said, “But we’re not sad, because we know where he is.” And he pointed Heavenward. It was beautiful. Later, when he said, “God bless you” to the Veterans there at the concert, the tears threatened to spill. Paul would be so proud of his Raiders. And he is, as he looks on from Heaven. 🙂

   Another exceptional part of their show is the respect and heartfelt “welcome home” to our Vietnam Vets, who didn’t receive the honorable welcome home due them when they made it back from serving faithfully as they had promised to do. Doug explains that as part of their welcome home, the Raiders have a special segment for them. 😎 They play a collection of songs that were played on Armed Forces Radio during the time these brave members of the military were serving over there. And I can tell you something else about these songs when Paul Revere’s Raiders play them: they never sounded so good! 🙂

   Each song Paul Revere’s Raiders performed that night was exceptionally well-done. The building rang with good rockin’ music, laughter, fun and gratefulness. They did Raider hit after Raider hit, faithfully doing it like it is on the records, just like Paul told them to – and they have the talent to do it! 😎 I love it that they keep to the 1960’s Raider sound, not jazzing it up or trying to change it. Those songs were hits because they were great music – and great music is timeless. That means that those hits not only “were” hits, but also they “are” hits. Still bringing in the crowds, still selling records/CDs/digital downloads, still getting played on original and replica vinyl as well as every other media available. 😎 This is great music and these guys are a great complete band.

   This article is becoming my longest one yet, so I should probably do a couple of quick notes about original Raider/Paul Revere’s Raiders cool stuff that I cannot leave out. I’m looking forward to writing much more on this supercool, super-nice, super-rockin’ band in upcoming articles! 🙂 I must leave room to tell you about their epic last-song-of-the-night performance! 🙂

   “Steppin’ Out” – like the 1960’s Raiders, they do a cool move in unison – including the drummer – at just the right musical part of the song. That is just so cool!!!!!  They likewise do cool group moves in “Just Like Me” – just like the 1960’s Raiders’ style. 🙂 The drummer of a group has so much to do that often they don’t get in on dance moves, but in the Raiders they do so anyway. 🙂 Yeah, they’re that cool. 😎 🙂 Those who play the keys are limited in how much moving around the stage they can do as well, after all, you can’t carry a double layer of keys around much easier than you can carry around a drum set. 😉 But Danny does the cool 1960’s Raider moves to these two songs as well, as Paul would always do also. 😎 I saw footage of Smitty, that’s how I know about his sharp, cool moves in unison with Paul, Mark, Drake and Phil. He’s something else. 🙂 And so is Tommy. 🙂 Great drummers. 😎

   “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” – their voices blend together with powerful, masculine strength as they vocalize the “ahh-AH-ah-ahh” of the chorus. I’m talking about the 1960’s Raiders and the now Raiders. 🙂 Great stuff. 😎

   The show finishes with the customized, supercool Paul Revere’s Raiders’ rendition of “We’re an American Band”. As Paul Revere said before: they are an American band. Through and through. 🙂 I love it as Tommy continues to put his whole heart into his drumming – and somehow amps it up beyond that as the song reaches the awesomest part; Danny’s fingers continue to blaze across the keys and Jamie strides with strength of purpose to the front of the stage to join the other three guitarists, Ron, Darren and Doug, in a regimental guitar lineup as they play an electrifying portion of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star Spangled Banner”. Powerful. Poignant. Beautiful. The stuff of legends. What a band. What a blessing. What an honor to hear, to see, to witness the patriotic heartbeat pounding out through these men’s fingertips, to their selected instruments, and out into the atmosphere of this land, mingling with the breath of those in the audience who served faithfully for their country, so that we might be free to live and worship the Creator without fear or oppression. What a beautiful gift. Wado equa.

Jean247

If you are reading this article on the homepage and you would like to read others’ comments on it or perhaps leave some comments of your own, just tap on the word “comments” above this article’s title. 🙂

Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 1: What’s This?
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 2: Interlude x 2
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 3: “Rain Don’t Come” Single and Music Video
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 4: Meet Heffron Drive
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 5: “You Can’t Sit Down”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 6: “Don’t Let Me Go”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 7: “Money (That’s What I Want)”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 8: My Two Shekels Worth on Scheckel’s Drumming

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 7: “Money (That’s What I Want)”

This review features “Money (That’s What I Want)” – the second track from their Columbia debut album, “Here They Come!” by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay. 🙂

   “Money” is priceless. 🙂 And I’m not referring to dollars and cents; I’m referring to Paul Revere & the Raiders’ top-notch cover of the song originally recorded in 1959 by Barrett Strong. 😉 This is another song that Paul Revere & the Raiders performed at their live, in-studio concert on September 24, 1964 at Columbia Records in California. This song is also available for purchase on the highly collectible original vinyl as well as compact disc and digital download.

   At the start of the track you can hear the audience clapping, cheering, waiting for more great Paul Revere & the Raiders music. 🙂 Paul doesn’t keep them waiting as he hits the keys with equal parts energy and talent; he’s got a huge amount of both! 🙂 Mark’s already into it vocally. 🙂 Then Smitty’s super magnificent drumming is heard along with Drake’s incomparable guitar playing and Doc’s very cool bass. 🙂 These guys are high energy and extremely great entertainers in personality as well as in talent. 😎

   The song, “Money (That’s What I Want)”, as it was originally written, is mostly appreciated for its great rockin’ sound, rather than the rather greedy theme of it. Every song that Paul Revere & the Raiders cover is, I believe, the best that that song can sound. Even when the original is excellent, these guys take it up to a whole ‘nother level! 😎 They usually follow the lyrics, but sometimes you will hear bonus ones. 🙂 “Stomp and shout and work it on out” is a dance-lyric line directly from Mark; it wasn’t in the original. 🙂 He sings that line in other Raider songs as well. 😎 Mark’s voice and singing style is like no other; he’s one-of-a-kind and I don’t believe it’s fair to anyone else to try to compare their singing to his. Yes, he’s that good. 🙂 Each singer should sing to the best of their own abilities – in notes as well as in heart – and stand on that. There is only one Mark Lindsay and there is only one you. 🙂

   The rockin’ instruments continuously play at an amazing rate of speed and proficiency throughout this song. 😎 I think it’s amazing that they have enough energy to do a whole concert on this level without taking a good break! And that’s just in reference to their singing and instrument playing; additionally, they’re dancing just as lively as the music that they are playing – and this with those heavy U.S. Revolutionary War styled uniforms on! Can you imagine how hot that is up on stage? With those hot spotlights shining on them? And the heat rising up from the crowd in the packed room? AND the effort the band is putting into their singing, dancing and instrument-playing?! And that’s without handy water bottles to replenish and refresh them.

   And they aren’t even at full throttle yet! 🙂 That comes at 1:57 courtesy one Drake Levin on guitar. 😎 Just listen to that amazing guitar work! 😀 His hand is moving at mach-like speed from 1:57 to 2:17 – when he drops back down to the speed of merely a mega-super-talented guitarist. 🙂 😎

   You hear all of the guys, at various times, vocalizing the great time they are having. 🙂 Paul is rockin’ it out on the keys, Doc’s bass is right on, you know how great Mark is singing and Drake’s playing, and Smitty – exquisitely talented drummer!!!!! 🙂 😎 Surely those drums and cymbals are the envy of all other drum sets. 🙂 What amazing music! 🙂 This song is filled with supercool musicality from its first notes to the closing ones; Paul Revere & the Raiders have done it yet again. 🙂

   The majority of the lyrics in this song aren’t to be taken literally, I think. 🙂 Although it is necessary to have money to pay for food, shelter and to pay required bills, the amount you have above that – or don’t have – isn’t that important in the whole scope of things. Or, more to the point: it shouldn’t be more highly regarded than that. For true necessities (the latest fads aren’t true necessities 😉 ) money is needed, but it isn’t more important than love. The lyrics do say in honesty, “Now money don’t mean everything – it’s true.” Faith and love are what truly counts; with these two gifts from the Creator, we have what our souls need. Faith in Him and His love toward us in sending HaMaschiach/the Messiah to save us is the life-giving source that our souls crave. He’s the only One Who can fill that void that no one and nothing else can fill. He is Who we seek. And as the Scriptures say, if we seek, we shall find. 🙂 The Creator doesn’t hide from us; it is only our pride that delays our putting our faith in Him. In Scriptures He tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotton Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As you can see, “World” doesn’t mean “Earth”; He is referring to people. That means you can put your own name in that spot where the words “the world” and “whosoever” are. 🙂 He loves you that much. 🙂 If you were the only person on Earth, He would have died in your place so that you could live eternally with Him instead of paying for your sins yourself. (This includes everyone – no matter how nice or how unkind they are. Every human since Adam and Eve has been born with a sinful, rebellious nature – no matter how nice a person is, they still need God’s forgiveness to get to Paradise/Heaven. All you have to do is believe in Him and ask His forgiveness for your inborn sin, trusting Him to save you. Yes, that’s all you need. Yeshua/Jesus died for all – it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are. All means all and that’s all “all” means. 🙂 )

   If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them here or, if you’d like to ask non-publicly, just tell me you’d like to talk with me and I can contact you – at your request – by e-mail. 🙂

   Did you enjoy this article? 🙂 If you’d like to share your good thoughts about it, please let me know by typing your comments in the box provided below. And thank you! 🙂 I appreciate each one of you who takes the time to read my blog. 🙂 I have more reviews on the way – including “Louie, Louie” by Paul Revere & the Raiders from the 1964 concert, more articles on Paul Revere’s Raiders! 😎

Jean247

If you are reading this article on the homepage and you would like to read others’ comments on it or perhaps leave some comments of your own, just tap on the word “comments” above this article’s title. 🙂

Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 1: What’s This?
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 2: Interlude x 2
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 3: “Rain Don’t Come” Single and Music Video
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 4: Meet Heffron Drive
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 5: “You Can’t Sit Down”
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 6: “Don’t Let Me Go”

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 5: “You Can’t Sit Down”

From their Columbia debut album, “Here They Come!” by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay, comes the subject of this review: “You Can’t Sit Down”. 🙂

   “You Can’t Sit Down” is a cover (originally by The Dovells) performed at the start of a live, in-studio concert on September 24, 1964 at Columbia Records in California. This song is available for purchase on the highly collectible original vinyl as well as compact disc and digital download.

   In case you aren’t familiar with this amazing group, please allow me to give you a brief introduction. 🙂 Paul “Uncle Paul” Revere, co-founder of the original group (he also founded another group – using the same name – in the 1970’s), impressive wit, a ready answer, and blessed with great comedic timing, great musical talent, and a heart for those who fight to keep our country safe so we can live free – faithfully and actively supporting The Ride To The Wall Foundation. Mark “Mad Man Marcus” Lindsay, co-founder of the original, 100% genuine group, Cherokee, wise, observant, energetic, fun, top saxophonist, amazing vocals – soulful and gutty to tender and gentle. Drake “The Kid” Levin, top guitarist, no one can match his talent with the Epiphone guitar, brave, great vocals, cool moves. Mike “Smitty” Smith, Blackfoot, top drummer – amazing skills, peacemaker, deeply wise, entertaining. Mike “Doc” Holliday played the bass guitar for the concert song I’m currently reviewing, and, as you can hear in the song, he’s very talented and was another good part of the band, although he moved on and Phil “Fang” Volk replaced him before this album was finished. Phil is top bassist, very cool, nice, great vocals. Drake and Phil came up with most of the bands’ cool moves.

   On the subject of cool moves, the rocking-horse-leg-kick (which Bruno Mars borrowed a few years ago and did in concert with his groovin’ band), is one of the coolest dance moves ever – it goes perfectly with the music and keep in mind – these guys are singing and playing their instruments at the same time as doing this move! :).

   The group, as a whole, is amazingly talented in many areas: instrument playing – they get the most out of their instruments, singing, fun antics, entertaining with their wit and humor. Cool, fun and approachable. Great moves to the music. Behind-the-head guitar playing by both Drake and Phil. Songwriters, producers, musicians, singers – no end to the Raiders’ talents! 🙂 And they would do other cool stuff like entertaining the lunch crowds at Columbia Studios – very cool! Wildly popular, even when the record company didn’t have things quite in gear as far as promoting their artists, the guys music: consistently loved! Wherever Paul Revere & the Raiders performed, their records sold out. Their television appearances available on DVD are quickly out-of-stock and any footage of them on the Internet has huge hits! 🙂 Speaking of huge hits, “Kicks”, an anti-drug song their supercool producer, Terry Melcher, got for them from songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, is one of their most well-known hits. They also did the best cover ever of Richard Berry’s “Louie, Louie”. 🙂 They’re one cool, fun, talented group! 🙂

   Paul Revere & the Raiders added “Featuring Mark Lindsay” after their group name after some people mistakenly assumed Mark was the “Paul” since he was singing lead. Their U.S. Revolutionary War era-style uniforms are way cool, too: tricornered hats with gold trim – white feathers along Paul’s hat, velvet jackets (they looked great, but they sure held the heat in), era-accurate white shirts, pants, boots. A note about those boots: Paul Revere & the Raiders’ boot style was later erroneously dubbed “Beatle Boots” by the media. I say erroneously because Paul Revere & the Raiders started wearing this style of boot before The Beatles wore them. Also, it would understandably annoy/irritate Mark Lindsay whenever someone called his haircut a “Beatle Haircut”, because it wasn’t – he had that cut before the Brits, too. Thus Mark grew a Revolutionary War style queue so people would stop saying that. It is irritating when people give credit to someone else for something you came up with – and then say you’re copying them!

   On to the featured song in this review! 🙂

   Track #1, “You Can’t Sit Down”, begins with the sounds of the big crowd gathered at Columbia Studios for a very fun concert. 🙂 You can hear Paul, Mark, Smitty, Drake and Doc’s good-natured bantering amongst each other. Soon, a few keys of the organ are played then Paul holds with a steady stream of notes. The banter continues, the drum roll begins, and then the emcee grandly presents Paul Revere & the Raiders! 🙂 A three-note cue from the band’s fearless leader on the organ signals the instantaneous response of the rest of the group as they swing into a high-energy, lively rendition of “You Can’t Sit Down” – perfectly together. The sax – with the organ echoing – is the voice taking lead in this instrumental (or, mostly-instrumental, even though many songs labeled “instrumental” contain some vocals as well) version, with a thrumming bass, amazing lead guitar and magnificent drums all being played the very best those instruments are capable of. 🙂

   Throughout this energetic piece you can hear the band banter back and forth, whistles (Drake’s a proficient whistler), with plenty of “Yeah!” and “Hey!” vocals as they perform. And, yes, that’s the sax man yelling in between long runs of sax playing – the Creator gave this man an amazing set of lungs!

   Partway into the song the individual instruments are highlighted. Sax takes point. Mark is amazing. 🙂 At 1:32 Drake’s guitar work shines; his precision and blur of speed is awesome, without missing a beat ( 😉 ). The spotlight goes from the guitar to the drums at 2:05. 🙂 Yes, you are hearing one man and one drum kit! 🙂 Smitty’s drumming is out of sight! The organ gets some highlight time and the deep bass of Holliday can be heard throughout. 🙂 Warning for anyone listening on headphones: at 3:41 Mark hits – and holds – a very high note on the sax! In the last seconds of the song, super-lungs Lindsay yells with strength and volume that an average person would be hard-put to match after resting quietly – and he just finished that amazing run on the sax! And he was dancing. 😎

   These guys are excellent musicians and way cool groovy! 🙂 I love the music of the 100% genuine Paul Revere & the Raiders!!!!!! 🙂 Their albums include: “Here They Come!”, “Just Like Us!”, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere & the Raiders” (also known as “Midnight Ride”) and “Revolution!” (although the album cover doesn’t include all of the original band members who were there for the actual recordings – like Drake Levin). There’s a lot of great music on these albums and they are available with bonus tracks – like the Italian single version of “Little Girl in the Fourth Row” in which Mark sings the song in Italian – from Sundazed and digitally. 🙂

   Please feel free to share any good comments you have in the box provided; I would appreciate knowing you enjoyed reading my review. 🙂 More reviews are awaiting posting! 🙂

Jean247

If you are reading this article on the homepage and you would like to read others’ comments on it or perhaps leave some comments of your own, just tap on the word “comments” above this article’s title. 🙂

Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 1: What’s This?
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 2: Interlude x 2
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 3: “Rain Don’t Come” Single and Music Video
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 4: Meet Heffron Drive

Note: Any advertisements seen here are not chosen by me.