I (who have nothing)

Here is a song that I have always loved. It has been recorded by a ton of artist but my favorites have been by Terry Knight and the Pack and Tom Jones. It is packed with emotion and I think it is just one of the best. I hope you do to. I also included a version by the incomparable Dame Shirley Bassey.

The Bugaloos

I know, I know this is a 70's Sid and Marty Kroft Saturday morning kids show. Well who said you can't find good music for a kitchy 70's kids show. I love the Bugaloos. They are British and they are very groovy. Take a listen. I think they rival Spanky and Our Gang. I believe you can still get their greatest hits on CD. It is worth it. The best songs of theirs are Sense of our world and Castles in the air. Here are a few I found to wet your appetite.

The title song "The Bugaloos" was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, the songwriters of  Killing Me Softly With His Song and Jim Croce's I got a name. They also wrote the theme songs to Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. 

Pussycat - Mississippi

Mississippi was a popular single by dutch group Pussycat.  Mississippi was the sole number one single for Pussycat, spending four weeks at number one on the UK singles chart in October 1976. The song was promoted by John Saunders Hughes in the UK through a Liverpool radio station. The lyrics are about the history of music, how rock music became more popular than country music.
Another version of this song was recorded by Barbara Fairchild. There is also a version in Spanish called "Te necesito" by the Colombian singer Fernando Calle.
In 1976 Swedish dance band Vikingarna covered the song in Swedish. The Swedish song title was also "Mississippi.
There was also a Czech version of this song performed by singer and actress Petra Černocká.

Shirley & Squirrely - Hey Shirley (This is Squirrely)

Here is one of the oddest songs to chart.

This is a novelty single based on the CB craze of the 70's.

Harpo - Moviestar

Here is a song I discovered on a biggest hits of the 70's CD's I got from the U.K. The song is Moviestar. I also love it because of it's ABBA connection.

On 27 February 1975, Harpo recorded the song for which he would become most famous - "Moviestar". One of the backing vocalists on that day was Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) from ABBA. It has sometimes been reported that Agnetha Faltskog also sang on the song but this is incorrect. The second female singer is Lena Ericsson. "Moviestar" went on to become a huge hit. It reached number 1 in Sweden and Germany, number 2 in Australia and number 24 in the UK. A Swedish language version was also released in Sweden which went to number 1 on the Svensktoppen radio chart.  Here is the video.

Harpo (born Jan Harpo Torsten Svensson, 5 April 1950,) is a Swedish pop star known under the stage name Harpo.

Baccara

Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos Logrono and María Mendiola.

Because I love singers with accents and music that sounds exotic, I love Baccara. Yes it is kind of over the top but hey that makes it even more appealing. Check out their 2 biggest hits, Yes sir, I can boogie and Sorry I'm a lady. They have other hits that are good but these 2 are the most infectious.

Baccara sold more than 16 million copies of “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” and featured in the 1977 edition of the Guinness Book of Records as the highest-selling female musical duo to date. They were the first female duo to reach number one in the UK, and had the only number one by a Spanish artist in the UK until Julio Iglesias, four years later. A follow-up single, “Sorry, I'm A Lady”, was also an international hit, peaking at the top of the charts in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and reaching the top ten in the UK, Sweden and Switzerland. Most of Baccara's recordings were sung in English although they did also record in Spanish, German and French.

Nancy Sinatra - Royal Crown Cola Ad from 1968

Here is a great retro commercial from one of the most under appreciated performers ever. Nancy Sinatra. It's totally Mod...or is that Mad?

D.I.S.C.O - Ottawan

"D.I.S.C.O." is a disco song by the french band Ottawan. It was originally recorded by Ottawan in French.

It was first recorded in 1979 and reached number 2 in the UK Singles chart the following year.
The song's name comes from the lyrics in its chorus, in which a woman is claimed to be 'DISCO', with each letter of the word standing for a certain quality ("She is disco // She is D delirious // She is I incredible // She is S superficial // She is C complicated // She is O oh, oh, oh"). I will take this song over YMCA any day. Now, who said music was not educational? Not only can you dance to this gem but it also teaches you how to spell. Fun and educational. I say F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

The Magic of Boney M

This is my first entry for my music blog so I wanted it to one of my favorites. The band that I chose to introduce to music lovers is Boney M. Boney M is a band that I discovered briefly in the late 70's one day when I was listening to Casey Kasem's American Top 40. Every Saturday I would sit down with a piece of paper and pen and write down the names of the songs that were on the top 40. I grew up in Portland Oregon and the only station I listened to was 62 KGW. They did not play the top 40. If we were lucky it was the top 20. One day I was listening to the countdown and debuting on the top 40 was Rivers of Babylon. It was nothing like I had ever heard before. Needless to say, it only got as high as #30 and fell of the charts in the next few weeks. Years and years later, I stumbled across this song and decided to buy a greatest hits CD. Boney M Best of. The first song on the CD was Rivers of Babylon. Then the next was a phenomenal song called Ma Baker and then the Coup De Grace that sealed the deal. Rasputin. Now, I have always been a lover of oddball songs, but this was the epitome of all things odd and wonderful in music. Russian sounding music, foreign sounding vocalists and a disco beat. And to top it off, they pronounce Rasputin as Rasp-U- Teen. Absolutely Phenomenal. It was love at...second sight, or should I say sound. As of this posting their songs are not available to be downloaded, so go out and buy a CD. I recommend the Best of Boney M.

Songs to pay special attention to are:

Rivers of Babylon
Ma Baker
Rasputin
Brown Girl In The Ring
Bahama Mama
Gotta Go Home

Also, they are quite visually interesting as well. Check them out on Youtube.

Interesting fact: Boney M has sold over 100 Millions records worldwide.