Music Archives - Page 146 of 246

How a Bull Moose, a Bear, and a Beetle Gave Elvis a Hit Song

On February 15 in 1903, the first Teddy bears appeared in a toy store window. The name for the bears was inspired by the man who was the president of the United States.

Morris Michtom, who owned a toy store, had written a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt asking permission to use the name “Teddy” for his bears. The president gave his approval. Other toy makers soon followed Michtom’s lead in naming stuffed bears, leading to the popular Teddy bear.

The Inspiration for the First Teddy Bear

The stories of the details about the event that inspired Michtom’s letter vary somewhat. But it is clear that Michtom got the idea from President Roosevelt’s encounter with a bear. While hunting in Mississippi in 1902, President Roosevelt, who would later found the Bull Moose Party, showed mercy to a bear.

Some stories today claim the bear was a cub tied to a tree, but it more likely was an old bear. Either way, the incident illustrated another side of Roosevelt. Political cartoonists portrayed the event by illustrating a cub, showing the tough Roosevelt as a softy at heart.

“(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear”

The most famous song about Teddy bears was released more than five decades later in 1957. That year, a rock icon showed his softer Teddy bear side.

Elvis Presley sang “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” in the movie Loving You (1957), his second film and his first in color. The song went to number one on the charts that year.

“Boll Weevil” And Its Connection to “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear”

Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe wrote “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear,” but part of the inspiration for the song came indirectly from an insect. Wikipedia and other sources report that the song’s roots go back to a traditional blues song, “Boll Weevil.”

In “Boll Weevil,” a boll weevil talks to a farmer, threatening the cotton crop while looking for a home. The song has been around since at least the 1920s, and it may have its origins in Roosevelt’s time.

One of the most famous early recordings of “The Boll Weevil” was by Lead Belly in the 1930s.

Can you hear “Teddy Bear” in Lead Belly’s song? If not, listen to singer-songwriter Brook Benton‘s version of “The Boll Weevil Song,” which became a hit in 1961.

Now you hear it, don’t you? And now you know, how a bull moose, a bear, and a beetle helped give Elvis Presley a hit song.

Cartoon by by Clifford Berryman via public domain. What are your favorite songs about bears and bugs? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Mingo Sanders and Teddy Roosevelt’s Dishonorable Discharge

Anniv. of Civil War’s Start: Elvis’s American Trilogy

Lonely Street: The Sad Story Behind “Heartbreak Hotel”

“There’s No End to Grief, That’s How We Know There’s No End to Love”: The Story of U2’s “One Tree Hill”

Longing for the Freedom of My Chains: Dobie Gray’s “Loving Arms”

Chuck Jackson Was There Before Elvis: “Any Day Now”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Video for Marty Brown’s “Whatever Makes You Smile”

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, country singer Marty Brown has completed the final touches on the video for his new post-America’s-Got-Talent single. So, whether or not you are driving night and day to bring someone pretty flowers, check out the video for the love song “Whatever Makes You Smile,” which features the Glasgow Fire Department (and Brown’s real-life wife Shellie Brown near the end).

Official Marty Brown “Whatever Makes You Smile” 24 Hour Fan Preview from Kevin Smith Productions & FIlms on Vimeo.

What is your favorite Marty Brown video? Leave your two cents in the comments.

How Marty Brown Wrote “Whatever Makes You Smile”

Marty Brown Interview on WBKO

Sneak Peak at Marty Brown’s Video for “Whatever Makes You Smile”

Marty Brown on “Words & Music”

New Marty Brown Single: “Whatever Makes You Smile”

Marty Brown on WKCT Radio & “Whatever Makes You Smile”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Loss, God, and Allison Moorer’s “The Duel”

The New York Times reported on a 51-year-old man who died in the custody of the New York Police Department in January 2014 from apparently hanging himself with the cord from his coat. One may easily imagine the despair one might feel being held in a jail cell. But without a suicide note one can only speculate what led to Edward Soto’s death. Still, the article gave some clues.

Moorer song death Police arrested Soto, who had a couple of previous arrests, for attempted burglary. But family members explained that Soto, who was living with his sister, had been acting erratic since his wife had died in March 2013. Soto and his wife Antoinette had been married seventeen years, and they had seven children. Family members explained that after his wife’s death, Soto talked of hurting himself. They implied that perhaps his latest actions stemmed from his despair.

Allison Moorer’s “The Duel”

It is a tragic story about loss and how difficult it is to recover from losing someone so close, especially a spouse. One of the best songs about this bottomless feeling of sorrow is Allison Moorer‘s “The Duel,” the title track to the singer’s underrated 2004 album.

Moorer wrote “The Duel,” as well as the rest of the songs on the album, with her then husband, Doyle “Butch” Primm. Within a year of the album’s release, the two would divorce, so it is hard not to hear some of the dissolution of their marriage in the dark edges of the album.

The album was a surprise to reviewers who liked Moorer’s earlier music that sounded more country. I understand those first impressions, but the album is deep, requiring repeated listenings to mine its jewels.

When I bought The Duel, I listened to it a few times before putting it away, unimpressed. But many months later, looking for a CD to play in the car, I picked it up again and began listening to it closely, as one does in a car. And I listened again and again, as the CD stayed in my car CD player for months. It was only after hearing the song “The Duel” several times that I eventually really understood what it was about.

In “The Duel,” the song begins with the singer standing in a cemetery as “a newborn atheist.” Eventually, the listener realizes the song is a conversation with God, and the singer is angry: “Even if you do exist / You’re far from almighty.”

By the end of the song, the singer explains that she does not know if she can go on. It is only in the song’s final line that we learn why the singer is so angry.

But one thing I’m sure of,
The King of Kings has lost his crown;
It’s buried here in marble town,
In the god forsaken ground,
With my only love.

Few songwriters are brave enough to go to such depths. And it is tragic that anyone like Mr. Soto has to face such unbearable heartbreak. We do not know if he had any conversations with God. But we can feel great sympathy for a man facing such pain alone in a jail cell.

As for Moorer, I do not know to what extent she felt the feelings in the song as her marriage came apart, but part of me is happy that she has never come close to this dark masterpiece again.

What do you think is the most depressing song of all time? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Steve Earle “Ain’t Nobody’s Daddy Now”

Steve Earle’s “The Low Highway” Coming Soon

Me and the Eagle

In Praise of Fuel Efficiency: Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”

Kasey Chambers: “We’re All Gonna Die Someday”

Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

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Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’s Last Waltz

Media largel focused on Jay Leno’s exit from The Tonight Show, but at the same time, Jimmy Fallon was winding down Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The focus was understandable, considering that NBC was merely moving Fallon down the hall to take a seat behind the desk at The Tonight Show. Last night on Late Night, Jimmy Fallon had an appropriately subdued farewell show that recognized a chapter was ending, not a book. Still, the show featured a number of nice moments. One of the highlights, which illustrated Fallon’s intelligence and respect for history, was going out with a nod the The Band‘s famous last bow, The Last Waltz (1978).

Before Late Night closed with Fallon walking down the hall to The Tonight Show studio, the final musical performance on a show known for music featured Fallon playing drums with the Muppets as the group performed “The Weight.” The video recreated the look of The Band’s own performance of the song in The Last Waltz, the Martin Scorsese directed documentary about The Band’s final show. Fallon, always respectful of his audience’s intelligence, made no reference to The Last Waltz, recognizing folks would either get the reference or just enjoy the song. Check it out.

The filming of the musical performance even echos the look and lighting of The Last Waltz performance, starting with the opening shot of Fallon playing drums and singing in the place of the late great Levon Helm. Check out the song from The Last Waltz, a performance that also featured Mavis Staples and The Staple Singers.

Earlier in his final Late Night show, Fallon also told a little Muppet history, explaining how many years ago when Jim Henson and Frank Oz had visited the studio, the two had painted characters on some exposed pipes. Fallon discussed how when he took over the show, they had remodeled so the paintings could be seen by more people.

In the Late Night time slot, Fallon already has set a high bar for himself as he transfers to the earlier more high-profile show. From fun performances like this one of “The Weight,” incorporating a classic music and movie reference that respected the intelligence of his audience, I am betting Fallon will be hosting The Tonight Show for a long time.

What do you think of Fallon taking over The Tonight Show? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Cover Songs: Wilco, Mavis Staples, and Nick Lowe cover “The Weight”

Michael Stipe’s Tribute to David Bowie

Reunited Replacements on “The Tonight Show”

New York Is Not “Invisible” When U2 Play on Fallon Debut

Springsteen and Fallon as Two Springsteens Stuck in a Traffic Jam

All-Star “Fairytale of New York” on Jimmy Fallon

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Del Shannon Rocks On

On February 8, 1990, Del Shannon died after shooting himself in the head with a .22 caliber rifle. Shannon, who had long struggled with depression, left no suicide note for his wife and children. But he left us some great music.

The singer, whose birth name was Charles Westover, is best-known for his 1961 hit “Little Runaway.” Here he is singing the song in 1973 on The Midnight Special TV show.

Shannon had some other hits with songs like “Hats Off To Larry,” “Little Town Flirt,” and “Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun).” Below is “Hats Off To Larry.”

But by the time the 1970s and the 1980s arrived, Shannon’s music career was not going well. He spent much of the 1970s battling alcoholism.

Other musicians such as the Beatles and Tom Petty admired Shannon’s music. And despite the lack of another big hit, Shannon continued to work.

He finally became sober in 1978. He even scored a top 40 song in the early 1980s with a cover of “Sea of Love,” which appeared on the Petty-produced album Drop Down and Get Me (1981).

Below, Shannon performs “Sea of Love” on the TV show Solid Gold in January 1982.

Around the time of his death in 1990, Shannon was on the verge of a comeback. He was preparing to release a new album called Rock On.

Also, it is rumored that Shannon was being considered to replace the late Roy Orbison in The Traveling Wilburys. Listening to his voice from that time, one can easily imagine him fitting into that group. But it was not to be.

The posthumous album Rock On was released on October 1, 1991 and received good reviews. Jeff Lynne (of ELO) and Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty’s The Heartbreakers) worked on the production of the album, so your enjoyment may depend on how much you like Lynne’s production sound at the time.

But it is worth checking out Rock On, which reveals that Del Shannon still had great talent to share with the world. Below is “Lost in a Memory,” which like most of the songs on the album was written by Del Shannon. I love it.

The Traveling Wilburys later covered “Runaway” in tribute to Shannon. And in 1999, Del Shannon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Rock on.