I have been enjoying Dan Blakeslee‘s 2011 album Tatnic Tales. Blakeslee has a folk sound rooted in his upbringing in Maine, and the album includes his band The Calabash Club, a group that started out in a Dover, New Hampshire basement in 2008. Check out his other music at Blakesee’s website).
The Calabash Club includes Mike Effenberger (piano), Nick Phaneuf (bass), and Jim Rudolf (drums). As for Blakeslee, he is not only an accomplished musician; he also is an artist who has created a large number of rock posters and designed the albums for artists such as Slaid Cleaves. For a review of Blakeslee’s new album Owed to the Tanglin’ Wind, head over to No Depression.
What is your favorite Dan Blakeslee song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In this video from Marty Brown’s backyard, the country singer is joined by his wife Shellie on another Marty Brown original, “Love Swing.” As Brown explains in the video posted on his Facebook page, the real-life swing where they sit inspired the catchy song, which appears on his independently sold CD, Country Strong.
Brown also seems to be having a fun time making the video for us fans. Check it out.
What do you think of “Love Swing”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Stevie Nicks is getting ready to release a new solo album, 24 Karat Gold — Songs From the Vault, her first since 2011. In anticipation, she has released the official video for one of the songs, “The Dealer.”
Nicks wrote “The Dealer” in the late 1970s when she was with Fleetwood Mac, but the song has never seen an offical release until now. 24 Carat Gold will feature other songs from “the vault.” Check out the “new” song.
Warner Bros. will release the album 24 Karat Gold — Songs From the Vault on October 7, 2014, with pre-orders starting already and an earlier vinyl release. Starting in September, Nicks will begin a reunion tour with Fleetwood Mac, so look for her to come to your neighborhood. What do you think of the new Stevie Nicks song “The Dealer”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The Civil Wars duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White officially announced that the band is no more. Fans already knew there had been a loss of real-life harmony between the two and that they had gone on hiatus in 2012. They then put out a self-titled album, which gave some hope, despite the dark clouds on the cover. But on their website now they have announced they will not be creating another. The website notes, “The difficult decision ends a tumultuous period for the four-time Grammy Award-winning band, who has been on indefinite hiatus since late 2012.”
In consolation, Williams and White announced they are giving away a free download of “You Are My Sunshine” that was recorded in 2010. The track was originally released in 2011 as a B-side to the limited edition Barton Hollow 7” vinyl release. So, you are getting no more music from The Civil Wars, but you can go to their website for this goodbye gift.
For some more music from The Civil Wars, check out these other songs from Barton Hollow (2011). We wish Williams and White well and look forward to whatever music they make by themselves in the future. RIP Civil Wars.
Are you disappointed The Civil Wars broke up? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Helen Kane had a successful career, but she may be most remembered for being the inspiration for a cartoon character.
On August 4, 1904, Helen Clare Schroeder — who became famous as Helen Kane — was born in the Bronx. Kane, who started out as a performer in vaudeville and Broadway, became famous as a singer and in films.
Despite Kane’s successful career, she’s mostly remembered today for two things. Kane introduced the world to the hit song “I Wanna Be Loved by You” in 1928 in Oscar Hammerstein’s show Good Boy. And she inspired the cartoon Betty Boop.
The Betty Boop connection resulted in a lawsuit. Kane sued Paramount Pictures and Boop-animator Max Fleischer for unfair competition and wrongful appropriation.
Fleischer had initially created the character as a dog, but by 1932 when Kane filed the lawsuit, Betty Boop was an animated human. Kane lost the lawsuit because the judge decided she could not show that she had originated the singing style herself. She may have copied the style from African-American performer Baby Esther.
Below, in movie footage from 1929, Helen Kane sings “He’s So Unusual” and “The Prep Step.” The performances of “He’s So Unusual,” written by Sherman Lewis Silver, and “The Prep Step” with Jack Oakie are from the 1929 movie Sweetie, which is currently available in its entirety on YouTube.
In 1983, Cyndi Lauper reflected Kane’s style in her own cover of “He’s So Unusual” on her album She’s So Unsual. Kane’s hit “I Wanna Be Loved by You” has also been covered, but Kane’s performance remains the definitive version that can only be imitated.
This video’s creator took Kane’s version of “I Wanna Be Loved by You” and added images of both Kane and Betty Boop.
For some pure Betty Boop, here is the 1932 cartoon, “Boop-Oop-A-Doop.”
As for Helen Kane, after the Boop lawsuit, her career went through several ups and downs. Her flapper style lost favor during the Great Depression, but she made several TV appearances in the 1950s and 1960s until she passed away on September 26, 1966 at age 62 in Queens, New York. She’s buried at the Long Island National Cemetery.
Dan Healy, Kane’s third husband who had been married to her for 27 years, was with her when she died. To hear more Helen Kane, head over to the Internet Archive. For more photos of Kane, check out 21st Century Flapper.
As for Betty Boop, her popularity has fluctuated through the years too. But she still appears in various media today and will help keep Helen Kane’s memory alive for a long time to come.
