The good news is that most kids today actually recognize this song. The bad news is, they recognize it as “that old song from BACK TO THE FUTURE”. The Chordettes released this song in the fifties, and it was a major hit. They were, it turns out, among the last of a dying breed… singers who actually knew how to harmonize. In any case, this is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I am very glad I was able to find it and share it with you today.

This song is chilling, in retrospect. Karen Carpenter’s death from Anorexia Nervosa sent the entire music world reeling. The only good thing that came out of it was that parents started checking their children a little more closely, and a lot of people who desperately needed it got help. It’s an incredible shame that it didn’t help Karen Carpenter. A voice like hers can never be replaced.

Elvis Presley had many different styles, but you could always tell who was singing. It didn’t matter whether it was rock, gospel, or country, it was still Elvis. Back in the seventies this song was making the rounds on th radio stations quite a bit, and it made me cry neasrly every time I heard it. This song was one of the first “conscience” songs of the era, songs that point out a social problem and hope someone does something. So, here we go, with IN THE GHETTO.

You know, a real disease among young people is that they think they were the originators of everything. I have literally had young teens tell me I wouldn’t like a specific song because the song was a “moves” song, with a great beat but the words didn’t mean anything. Aparently they believe that all older people must find meaning in their music. And every time I hear it, this is the song I want to pull out of the attic. Rosemary Clooney had it all over these modern performers, didn’t she:)

Back to the fifties again. Teresa Brewer hit it big with MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC. Her high pitched voiced earned her the nickname “Squeeky”, but it never hurt her populrity any. This one is the unedited 1950 version of the song, lots of instrumental to it, and she sounds as good as she ever did.

No matter what jokes have come out since, and no matter what may or may not be true legally speaking, in the eighties, Michael Jackson was IT. His “Thriller” album, as I recall, only had ONE song on it that didn’t hit the charts. Everyone was trying, and failing, to do the Moonwalk. This video, “Beat It”, was one of his most famous. Gotta face it, that boy can dance.

Even Weird Al had to get in on this, and he did a great parody song that most of the nation played till they were sick of it…. “Eat It”. Really, when you compare the two videos, Weird Al did an incredible job. I used to have this album, and I distinctly recall a thanks to Michael being printed on the sleeve somewhere.

Well, I may have missed on that last Hank Williams Jr. song, but I found thiss one, and this one is quite possibly the best song Hank Jr. ever did in his life (my opinion, of course). The song is TRUE, too. I live in the Ozarks, and everything he says about country folks is dead on.

Well, I can’t get ahold of an uncopyrighted version of this one, and I am not wanting to step on anyone’s toes. If you search it on YouTube, you are going to find it. Because this is a music history type blog, I really wanted to mention this one. Hank Williams did the original, but in the um, eighties, I think, Hank Jr. redid the song, and there was an extremely mixed reaction to the results. When he made the recording and the video, he used an old clip of his father singing, combined it with himself singing, and the way the effects were handled, he appears to be doing a duet with his father’s ghost. Instead of being entertaining, it was just… scary. At least, I thought so, and I wasn’t the only one. Look it up and decide for yourself.

This 1936 version of the classic song is performed by Gene Autry and the Sons of the Pioneers. Together, they make an icredibly good sound. Well, thy sound pretty good apart, too, for that matter. The Sons of the Pioneers had a lot of good hits, most notably the claassic cowboy song “Clear Water”. But this song is right up there.

Well, to begin with, this is NOT the song I was looking for. I was after a song of the same name from a somewhat later era. But this is a good song, and interesting. I actually had not seen this 1917 recording before. So this was a new experience for me, and I hope it will be a pleasant one for you. The title of the song is THE GYPSY TRAIL.