Ain't That a Shame. One of my first assignments, when I was the reviewer for a small weekly paper, was one of his concerts. Wrote it with great musical seriousness (deserved) referring to him only as Antoine Domino. Actually got a very brief thank you note from one of the entourage. My article pointed out that "Blueberry Hill" was a cover for the Glenn Miller version that had reached #10 on the Billboard list sixteen years earlier.
Dr. Bear, Blueberry Hill is a classic from Fats Domino. For Stanislav's benefit, here is Putin playing Blueberry Hill on the piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4IjHz2yIo
That was back when the performers had little fear of the fans. I remember a beaming Tony Orlando surrounded by teenyboppers on the sidewalk outside of the Brooklyn Fox or Paramount.
Indeed it was. But Fats did NOT compose it. It's a 1940 tune - music written by Vincent Rose, lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis. Dr. Bear is AS ALWAYS correct - about the Glenn Miller recording. Also Sammy Kaye and others... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry_Hill_(song) Another great Louisiana musician gone. We're gonna miss you, Fats! I first heard and saw Fats Domino on the Ed Sullivan show, back in 1956. I was 13 and just starting to realize what a diverse and amazing Wonderland of music America was. 61 years later, I'm still amazed ... constantly. As some say in Louisiana - "Laissez les bons temps rouler." :smile: J.
Thanks for this. It's really quite charming, in a bizarre way. Reminds me of the LP I have of the Red Army Choir singing "Eets a long vay to Teep-a-rairy" in English. Here it is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QkXvDeDdlQ Now, where's that video of Josef Stalin on the banjo, singing "On Top of Old Smokey"?
Couldn't find a video, but here's a still I purloined from CHEKA archives. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i4zElY3uEfs/UFmu2auM6JI/AAAAAAAASdI/AxkhFXxsSX4/s640/1.jpg CHEKA was the first precursor of KGB - before OGPU, NKVD and MGB (not the car). Stanislav can fill you in, I'm sure. My thanks to the Felix Dzerzhinsky estate for the pic. :smile: You can find "Stalin: The Banjo Years" here. The Poor Mouth: Stalin: Royal Engineer and banjo player. Oh yes, his mother, Mrs. Djugashvili, taught Josef to play. Here's a pic of her, with banjo. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/98/ef/28/98ef28473dc3c64597491d43193c81c7--banjos-humor.jpg J. PS. I remember the Red Army's Teep-a-Rairy well. My early high school years, IIRC.
Speaking of dictators playing music, here's Kim Jong-Un playing an old Animals hit on guitar: https://i.imgur.com/GtTKJLJ.gif Who knew??? J. The song was written for Nina Simone in 1964. Authors: Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus. Story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Let_Me_Be_Misunderstood
FSB officers still call themselves "chekisty", from CheKa (Chrezvychajnaja Komissija, "emergency commission", short for All-Russian Emergency Commission for Combatting Counter-Revolution and Sabotage; charming Soviet way of making the Red Terror goons sound defensive. Hitler copied that from the Soviets). It's a term of great pride. There's a f#$%$ing anthem to "chekisty" written by composer Illya Reznik and performed by his children's choir . Shameless. Of course, the best among them are trained to work the piano and be charming, when the Motherland requires of it. Even such naturally charmless creeps as Putin.
Searched some old mugshots stored in the basement of Lubyanka Prison. Would you really want to play CHEKAs with Felix? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/%D0%94%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B2_%D1%82%D1%8E%D1%80%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%85.jpg J. To those new to the subject of Russian Secret police: Felix Dzerzhinsky was a member of several revolutionary committees - both in Poland and Russia. He founded and directed the CHEKA - the first of several secret police organizations. The Cheka quickly became notorious for mass summary executions and many other evils. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dzerzhinsky
I asked him about that, on my last trip to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-Un's reply: "Just because you can't - don't mean I can't!" Here's a picture of him trying out a bass - without gloves. http://40.media.tumblr.com/379af39263206817a28a43a3510f0e4c/tumblr_mkssfzBhTZ1r13d75o1_1280.jpg?.jpg Note the nouveau-rockabilly haircut and the "psychobilly" patch on his jacket! Man, is this cat, like, serious? For real? :smile: J.
Looks like Kim Jong-Un probably thinks of himself as the Asian Carl Perkins. Sooo wrong, dude! Unlike you, Carl was a great guy. Aside from the never-failing excitement of his music, he contributed much time and money to good works, mainly the prevention of child abuse. I miss him and Fats Domino, both. J.