Some would say the Dr Who Theme is the best of all time. I think it’s number two. This is just a personal opinion. Just listen to this banger. Someone took the time to remaster the track and make it stereo in the example above. It’s from Season one of Wonder Woman starring Linda Carter which ran for three seasons starting in 1975.
The first season theme music is better than what they ended up going with for seasons two and three. The removed the lead vocal. I think that was a big mistake.
The show had an excellent intro animation to go with the song as well. Here it is. Classic.
Who needs kitty treats? I’ve loved cats since I was a kid and I am always on the lookout for songs about them. Here are the first nine that come to mind. Most of them have entertaining music videos. If you love kitties and music, this list is for you. For best results, find your own meow-faces and have them join you while you check out these songs.
LIFE ONE “Cool For Cats” by Squeeze
LIFE TWO “The Siamese Cat Song” by Peggy Lee
LIFE THREE “The Love Cats” by The Cure
LIFE FOUR “What’s New Pussycat” by Tom Jones
LIFE FIVE “Pussycat Meow” by Deee-Lite
LIFE SIX “My Cat is Afraid of The Vacuum Cleaner” by Power Salad
LIFE SEVEN “Stray Cat Strut” by Stray Cats
LIFE EIGHT “Josie And The Pussycats” by Juliana Hatfield & Tanya Donelly
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the title of the fourth book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when the entire species evacuated Planet Earth just before it’s scheduled demolition to make way for a “hyperspace bypass”.
A song with the same name was created for the 2005 film. Right at the beginning of the movie we hear the vocal choir version of the song as performed by Hilary Summers, Kemi Ominiyi, & RSVP Voices.
But did you know that on the Soundtrack CD there is a second version of the song? That’s right and it’s done in the style of lounge singer Richard Cheese but it’s actually Neil Hannon.
The 2005 movie was good but this author highly recommends the six-part miniseries from the BBC. It’s streaming on Hulu right now in the USA. If you want to take a really deep dive, check out the BBC Radio-Dramas based on the books. They are far-out indeed.
The song had been done by other polka groups before. I remember hearing it on the radio but with lyrics and in German by some other group. The Emeralds did an instrumental version which became an international hit. Soon it acquired a goofy dance routine to go with it. You may have seen it at performed a wedding reception.
Shortly after I first heard the song on the radio, TV commercials started to air for a hits compilation titled Bird Dance by The Emeralds (Show and Dance Band), a group from Canada. It came out on K-Tel Records which had some distribution in the USA, especially in the Midwest.
There are two versions of the song. This one was recorded and released first, but also appears listed as “version 2” on the compilation. Originally called “Bird Dance” people quickly nick named it “Chicken Dance” and that became the alternate song title.
This exact recording is heard in the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story while the actors do the dance. You can watch it for free on the Roku Channel. If you have not you should. it’s a great time. The song also appears on the forthcoming CD and Vinyl soundtrack to be released in January 2023. I’ve heard the new mix and I prefer the original. The new mix is too tinny.
I believe my Grandma found her copy on a merch table at the Yack Arena in Wyandotte, Michigan. Dozens of ethnic festivals were held there every year in the 1980s. Polka music was popular among the elderly population that had immigrated from Central and Eastern Europe decades before.
But because I was a weird kid, the story does not end there. You see, ever since I was about 9 years old I knew that I wanted to own a radio station some day. I was also a bit of a nerd that liked to tinker with things.
One Christmas I received an electronic projects kit from Radio Shack that looked like this.
You would follow the wiring instructions in the manual to create a host of different circuits. It was fun to put them together. One of the projects was a low-power AM radio transmitter.
I put that circuit together but I wired in my cassette recorder and connected the TV antenna located on out roof. The tape in the cassette recorder was of course Bird Dance by The Emeralds (Show and Dance Band). I went out to the back yard to find my grandmother. I tuned her radio into the broadcast and it worked like a charm. Good times. :)
Let’s learn about interesting Mexican traditions while practicing some simple Spanish. The vocals are a little “pitchy” but they work well enough to help us learn. Play it twice and I promise you will have learned or relearned some vocabulary. By the way, Rockalingua has produced many more videos like this one that combine music with learning.
Learn more about the traditions associated with Día de los Muertos with this extensive National Geographic article.
Today is Halloween and this might be the most appropriate song. Released in 1993, it became an instant classic. It’s not quite as ubiquitous as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or Bobby Picket’s “Monster Mash” but it fit’s the occasion like a spooky glove.
“Danny Elfman, who has scored many of Tim Burton’s imaginative films (Edward Scissorhands, his two Batman films, etc.), is a perfect musical partner for the somewhat macabre director, and never more so than here, where, Elfman gets to play the main character. The Nightmare Before Christmas is an animated movie musical about the abduction of Christmas by the denizens of Halloween land, and Elfman sings the part of Jack, the Pumpkin King.” (allmusic, edited)
Danny Elfman is the man. He’s having a moment right now having recently performed a career spanning concert.
Here’s an unofficial video for created by a pop music chart show from Bremen, West Germany. The song is a funky jam and I think better than their other well-known single “Come And Get Your Love”.
Redbone released a recording of the song in 1971. Pat and Lolly Vegas, brothers and band-mates wrote the song together. Their recording combines elements of Southern Swamp-Rock, Native Folk-Rock and Funk.
Redbone was actually the first All Native American band to reach number one on a singles chart in any country. It was with this song. “Witch Queen” reached number one in Belgium. It hit number two on the UK Singles chart. It got to 15 in Canada but only 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.
courtesy of discogs
Because of the subject matter, the song has become a favorite for Halloween celebrations in the US, UK and Canada.
The song is about a 19th century Voodoo practitioner named Marie Laveau. You probably didn’t read about her in your high-school history book. She was a free woman of color, Creole, born and died in New Orleans, 1801-1881.
1920 portrait formerly identified as Marie Laveau (1794–1881) by Frank Schneider, based on an 1835 painting (now lost?) by George Catlin.
Her life story is long and interesting. There is far to much to cover here in this blog. The short version is that she was a famous Herbalist, Voodoo Priestess, Beautician and Midwife. Despite being a person of color, she herself owned slaves. For a while she was the elected leader of The New Orleans Voodoo Organization. This is why they gave her the nickname “Witch Queen”.
Her unique life experience has inspired many writers and musicians to referenced her in their work. You can still visit her grave today. Notice the marker refers to her VooDoo organization as a cult. Her former home and grave-site are both thought to be haunted by her dead soul.
“This song certainly did not begin it’s life intended for Halloween. The lyrics even mention summertime. Nevertheless, the obvious connection between Halloween and candy has made the song slowly find its way into Halloween mixes. It is now considered a standard include by DJs worldwide. We probably need more songs about candy.
Most of our readers will remember the New Wave version that came out in 1982. The band was called Bow Wow Wow. The single hit No 9 in the UK and 22 in the USA.
12 inch single cover courtesy of discogs
The song was originally written from the male perspective. The narrator is talking about a woman named Candy. In the Bow Wow Wow version, Candy is now a male but it feels like it’s secretly woman to woman in this listener’s mind. The subtle lesbian-code did not register with the mainstream audience at the time.
But of course the story does not end there. The song was first made famous in 1965 by The Strangeloves. The band used a type of syncopation called The Bo Diddly Beat on the track. Some footage has unearthed of the band performing on TV. It is thought to be from a show called Shindig. Tony Basil might be one of the dancers in this video, though that has not been verified. See if you can spot her.
Since then a number of other artists have performed or recorded this song. A British group called Candy Girls charted with the song in 1996. Aaron Carter performed the vocal modulation for auto-tune back in 2000. I won’t ask you to listen to Charlie XCX murder the tune live but you can find that on YouTube.
You know you’ve made it as an artist if your song gets covered by The Kidz Bop franchise. Looks like The Strangeloves and Bow Wow Wow have really hit the big time now. The Kidz Bop version appears on the 2012 release Halloween Hits.
Don’t forget to tune in to FunHouse Radio for more Halloween Fun!
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