After a very successful career that spanned the better part of five decades, Robert Goulet passed away this morning while in the hospital awaiting a lung transplant. He was seventy three years old.

Back in the early seventies, when my daughter was in early grade school, her music teacher let the class have a “dance day” once a week. I believe the teacher, a very sweet lady by the name of (I think) Mrs. Weiss (from Washington Elementary in Davenport, Iowa) definitely knew what she was doing. My daughter STILL loves the songs played for those “dance days”, and she turned forty this year. Anyway, the kids were allowed to bring their own records to play, and everyone danced. And one song that showed up EVERY week and was very popular was DISCO DUCK.

Yesterday, on Sunday, October 29, Porter Wagoner passed away. He was 80 years old.

Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002, he is best remembered for his flamboyant style and sad country songs. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955. Not only did he give the world something very special with his own music and television show, he also gave the world a chance to hear the voice of the great country singer Dolly Parton.

From the Opry to Madison Square Garden, his performances made a difference in the lives of many, and his death, as a result of lung cancer, has silenced a great voice. He will be sorely missed.

One of the more popular songs of the sixties was SNOOPY VS. THE RED BARON, by The Royal Guardsmen. I had actually never seen the band until I watched this clip, but I have loved the song since the first time I heard it. The clip shows them in all their Beatles-bowl cut haired glory. It was very entertaining. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Okay, we heard from Manilow, now on to the OTHER power voice of the seventies and beyond, Barbra Streisand. I didn’t always agree with her politics, but I truly loved every single song I ever heard her perform, and I liked most of her movies as well… remember “For Pete’s Sake”? What we have here is a live performance, on the Dick Cavett Show, of one of her very best… THE WAY WE WERE.

Throughout the seventies and eighties, Barry Manilow, with his incredible voice, wrote and performed some of the best music ever written. This is not a video clip, just a karaoke thing, but the song is as incredible as it ever was. For “power voices” Manilow wins top honors every time, right up there with Streisand. Now, on to I WRITE THE SONGS.

Most people can’t quite place the name. Humorous music has been around since WAY before Weird Al (although my grandkids would argue that point). Sheb Wooley was responsible for one of the classic great comedy songs of all time, FLYING PURPLE PEOPLE EATER. You may not have heard of him but I bet you recognize his work:) The song was released in the late fifties, and very few people managed to make it through life this far without hearing it. For those of you musically deprived folks who have no clue what I am talking about, here is the classic clip.

My granddaughter, Nancy, has always loved hot dogs. As a very young child, her mother was hard pressed to get her to eat anything else. We thought she was going to turn INTO a hot dog. In this classic clip from the Lawrence Welk show, we meet a young lady with the same tastes.

This is a classic clip from the Lawrence Welk show. Actually, it wasn’t the one I was looking for, but I am having one heck of a time remembering how to spell the name of that sister act, the one with the cute little girl in it? Yeah. Them. So, while I was looking for it, I ran across this clip, which is also one of my favorites. Enjoy:)