R. O. pre-K.

Since we’ve been so quiet lately, here’s a bunch of songs to try and make up for it!

Recently, my daughter has been learning about the solar system in school. As part of this, they put on a class play about all the planets and various other heavenly bodies (the sun, stars, comets, meteorites, etc.), which was a lot of fun to watch. In addition to the parents, they also performed it for the grade below them. As a result of this, she had been looking forward to being in the play since last year when she saw the grade ahead of her do it. Knowing this was coming, I figured it would make a good theme for a post, so I’ve been thinking about it for a little while now. It’s funny; there are a lot of songs that mention the moon, sun and stars, but most of them mention them in the context of love. Not a lot of songs are actually about the solar system, but here is what I was able to dig up from our collection.

PS – When I grew up, Pluto was a real planet…imaging me surprise as an adult when I found out that it had been downgraded to a “dwarf planet”!

“Interplanet Janet” by Lynn Ahrens, 1978
From the compilation School House Rock!
“Interplanet Janet” lyrics

School House Rock! is a great series of short cartoons from the 1970’s. They were designed to run on the weekends, in between the regular kid’s cartoons. At first, they covered four basic topics; science, American history, multiplication, and grammar. In each of the following decades a new subject was added; computers (in the1980’s), money (the 1990’s), and environmentalism (2000’s). In hindsight, it is funny how each of the new series seemed to reflect a major theme of their decade. If you talk to anyone who saw the original series as a kid, the odds are good that they could immediately sing the chorus of at least a half dozen of the S.H.R. songs. And they used to say that all TV is mindless garbage! “Interplanet Janet” is from the original series and was created to help teach kids about the solar system.

“Mr. Bass Man (Mister Spaceman)” by Holy Modal Rounders, 1964
From the album The Holy Modal Rounders
“Mr. Bass Man (Mister Spaceman)” lyrics

The Holy Modal Rounders was a group that was part of the folk music revival of the 1960’s. At the time, many musicians were rediscovering what is best termed “traditional” music (blues, spirituals, railroad songs, Appalachian mountain songs, etc.), largely thanks to a classic collection called The Anthology of American Folk Music, which gathered together a bunch of 78’s (records for you digital kids) from the 1920’s and 30’s. This anthology was instrumental in helping a whole new generation of musicians rediscover traditional songs from across America. As for the Holy Modal Rounders, whenever they learned an old traditional song, if they couldn’t understand the lyrics from the original record, they just made up new words to fit the music. As a result, their versions of these songs tended to be very funny. “Mr. Bass Man” is an original song that they wrote.

“Supersonic Rocket Ship” by The Kinks, 1972
From the album Everybody’s in Show-Biz
“Supersonic Rocket Ship” lyrics

Ahhh, the Kinks. This one is about how they will take off for space and leave the problems of earth behind.

“Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra, 1964
From the compilation The Best of the Capitol Years
“Fly Me to the Moon” lyrics

Ok, this one is about love and not outer space itself, but it is such a classic that I couldn’t resist including it. However, it does have a connection to outer space; when the Apollo 10 space mission orbited the moon in 1969, mission control broadcast this song to the astronauts. This version was arranged by Quincy Jones and features Count Basie.

“Rocket Number Nine” by Sun Ra and his Arkestra, 1973
From the album Space is the Place
“Rocket Number Nine” lyrics

Sun Ra was quite a character. He was probably best known for the fact that he claimed to have visited Saturn in the late 1930’s, decades before most people even considered the possibility of life on other planets. From that point on, he adopted the name Sun Ra and considered himself an emissary of the universe. In addition to this, he was one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century (composing over 1000 songs across 100+ records), with the vast majority of his music based on the concept of outer space. “Rocket Number Nine” is a little bit on the weird side, but it’s also strangely catchy.

“Starship” (edit) by the MC5, 1969
From the album Kick Out the Jams
“Starship” lyrics

This one is a bit of a rocker, but it is still a lot of fun, especially the part where they start the countdown to blast-off. On the record, there is a lengthy improvisation (including the recital of a poem) which represents a voyage through space, but I cut that part out. The song and poem are based on a Sun Ra composition, as he was a big influence on the MC5.

“Space Oddity” by David Bowie, 1969
From the compilation The Singles Collection
“Space Oddity” lyrics

This is probably the best known song about traveling through space. It has a bit of sad ending, as the main character (Major Tom) ends up being unable to return to earth. David Bowie later recorded an album about a character named “Ziggy Stardust”, who was an alien being that came to earth in order to help save the human race.

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” by Shiny Toy Guns, 2009
From the single Major Tom (Coming Home)
“Major Tom (Coming Home)” lyrics

This song is a tribute to “Space Oddity”, and was originally recorded by Peter Schilling in 1983. In the song, Major Tom does not consider himself lost in space, but views himself as “coming home”. I wanted to post Schilling’s original, but all I could locate was the German language version, which he had recorded first. You have may have heard the Shiny Toy Guns cover already, since it has recently been used in a car commercial. In addition to this song, there is another “Space Oddity” tribute called “Mrs. Major Tom”, which tells the story from the perspective of his wife. I haven’t heard this though, so I can’t say if it is any good.

“Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band” by Meco, 1977
From the album Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk
This song is an instrumental.

Now what collection of “space” music would be complete without the Star Wars Theme? This is a disco (dance) version that incorporates the Cantina Band song in it.

“Jingle Bells” (edit) by Nina Rota, 1960
From the soundtrack to La Dolce Vita
This song is an instrumental.

You may be wondering what this song has to do with outer space. Well, it was actually the first song played in outer space! Here is the full story, as originally posted on our sister site http://musicalknowledge.org:

“In 1965, after the Gemini 6 space mission was cancelled, a new mission was designed and named Gemini 6A. Their primary objective was an in flight rendezvous with Gemini 7. On December 15, the mission was accomplished, with the two spacecraft spending almost 3 hours orbiting together, at some points as close as 30 centimeters. When it came time to sleep, they broke their orbit and drifted apart. However, before the crew of Gemini 6 went to sleep, they broadcast the following message;

“Gemini VII, this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit…. Looks like he might be going to reenter soon. Stand by one…. You just might let me to pick up that thing…. I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit.”

Certainly, the first tinges of panic must have started to rise back at Mission Control. Had something happened to Gemini 7? Was there an unidentified spacecraft approaching Gemini 6A? Was 6A in any danger? What was happening?

All of a sudden, the song “Jingle Bells” was transmitted, played by the Gemini 6 crew (Wally Schirra on harmonica, and Thomas Stafford rocking the sleigh bells). After they finished, they reported that the UFO must have been Santa Claus making a test run for the upcoming holiday. Quite a twofer: not only the first song played in space, but most likely, also the first practical joke. Today the harmonica and sleigh bells are on display in the Smithsonian Institution.”

So the next time you hear “Jingle Bells” at the holidays, take a moment to think about a pair of lonely astronauts floating up above the planet and broadcasting the song through the universe.

Well it’s been a busy few weeks here (a few out of state trips, filing taxes, painting our kitchen, and other fun stuff), so please pardon our recent silence. Today is going to be a quick post to celebrate one of the most important holidays of the year, Mother’s Day.

”Here’s To Mothers” by Hannah, 2009
”Here’s To Mothers” lyrics

My daughter came home with the lyrics to this song and sang it to her mom this morning as she woke up. It’s so cute that we sat her down later to record it for posterity. So, for all you moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Finally, the songs about chickens!!!

A few weeks ago when I picked my daughter up from school, she brought me into one of the first grade classrooms to show me the results of the latest “chicken project.” Every year, a local farmer brings half a dozen chicken eggs to each first grade class for them to incubate. I remember her being so excited about this last year when her class was responsible for helping the eggs hatch…they even made a cool video of all the kids playing with the newborn little chickies. She loved the experience so much that she made sure to track the progress of this years eggs and couldn’t wait to show me the new hatchlings. Being a sucker for chickens (don’t ask me why, but I almost started a blog called “Songs About Chickens”) I thought it was really cool to see the fluffy little squawkers up close. Of course, my brain then started churning with all the chicken themed songs that I could post here…

“Little Red Rooster” by Willie Dixon
From the album I Am The Blues
Written by Willie Dixon, 1961
“Little Red Rooster” lyrics

Willie Dixon is probably the best-known unknown blues musician ever. He worked as the house producer and bass player for Chess Records, but will be forever remembered for writing innumerable classic blues songs for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, and others. Years later, these songs would be covered by The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Yardbirds, The Allman Brothers, Captain Beefheart, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Beck, Otis Redding, Eric Clapton and countless others. In many ways, Willie Dixon is one of the fathers of rock and roll music.

“Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens” by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
From the compilation The Best of Loius Jordan
Written by J. Whitney & A. Kramer, 1946
“Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens lyrics

As we have mentioned before, between 1940 and 1952, Louis Jordan had fifty-four top ten hits, including 18 number one songs. One reason for this is probably because his sense of humor was amazing; so many of his songs are so hysterically funny you can’t help but listen to them again and again.

“Do The Funky Chicken” by Rufus Thomas
From the compilation The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles - Volume 2, 1968-1971
Written by Rufus Thomas, 1971
“Do the Funky Chicken” lyrics

In a previous post, Rufus Thomas showed us how to walk the dog…this time he’s here to teach us how to do the funky chicken. In the 90’s, he teamed up with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to combine the two into the “Chicken Dog.”

“Feather Pluckn’” by The Presidents Of The United States of America
From the album The Presidents Of The United States Of America
Written by Chris Ballew, 1995
“Feather Pluckn” lyrics

These guys are a lot of fun, with a bunch of goofy songs about insects and bugs.

“Chicken Shack” by Amos Milburn
From the compilation Loud, Fast and Out of Control
Written by A. Milburn & A. L. Cullum, 1947
“Chicken Shack” lyrics

Amos Milburn originally released this song in 1947, but this is a faster, more rocking version that he put out in 1957. Have you ever eaten the last part that jumped over the fence? Strangely enough, it’s kind of tasty!

“Chicken Ain’t Nothin’ but a Bird” by Cab Calloway
From the compilation Are You Hep To The Jive?
Written by Babe Wallace, 1940
“Chicken Ain’t Nothin’ but a Bird” lyrics

Cab Calloway shared the honor of being the house band for the famous Cotton Club in Harlem with Duke Ellington. At one point, his band featured future jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. However, after an infamous concert where his own band pelted Calloway with spitballs, he fired Gillespie, assuming that he was the ringleader of the incident. So kids, don’t shoot spitballs at anyone, it could be a life altering experience!

“Chicken Reel” by Snuffy Jenkins
From the compilation American Banjo Three Finger and Scruggs Style
Written by Joseph M. Daly, 1910
This is an instrumental version with no lyrics. Lyrics were written for it in 1911, but frankly, it is best known as an instrumental.

This is a classic bluegrass song that has been used in a bunch of cartoons whenever they need music for a scene with chickens.

“Chick-Inn” by the Gories
From the album I Know You Fine, But How You Doin’?
Honestly, I’m not sure who wrote it, most likely The Gories as a group, 1990
“Chick-Inn” lyrics

While this may not be the best song in the world, for some reason, it is one of my favorites. The Gories were a group that didn’t let their lack of talent discourage them from starting a band…as a matter of fact, it almost became a point of pride that that they couldn’t play very well. Despite their shortcomings, they had a knack for picking great songs to cover and playing them with all their heart. “Chick-Inn” is actually an original song of theirs and a tribute to an actual drive in restaurant in Ypsilanti Michigan. God knows the singer sounds like a drowning cat, but it makes me want to get in a car and go get a hammy sammy and a strawberry banana milkshake. Just think, if the Gories can start a band, so can you!

As an aside, I think I’m going to stop noting who wrote each song that I post. While I’m sure some of you may appreciate this information, I spend an inordinate amount of time tracking down the proper writing credits for each song, Personally, I think it is more important to spend the time transcribing the lyrics for each song than to figure out who wrote them.

This one is for my wife, who just told me that she thought the last post stunk because it didn’t really say anything…sheesh, tough crowd!

Anyway, when I went shopping tonight, I bought some prepared food to eat while I got my groceries. I wanted to put some salt on it, but couldn’t find any anywhere in the store. Sure, they had it for sale, but I didn’t want to open a new container just for a pinch of salty goodness. Anyway, I went to the cheese counter where the woman gave me a handful of some fancy salt that they sold loose (they had about 8 types for sale this way). Man, the salt was so good that I started eating pinches from the pile she gave me! It was so delicious that I ended up going back and buying some to take home. As I was driving home, I started thinking about all the different types of salt I already had at home. Feeling a little embarrassed, I figured I would write this post and humiliate myself publicly. Worst-case scenario, everyone will make fun of me. Best case, someone will go “me too, I love salt!” and I won’t feel so silly.

So without further ado, below is a list of all the types of salt in our kitchen:

1. Fine ground sea salt. For salting boiling water, or using when a recipe calls for a measured amount of salt. I also have a weird recipe of salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar that helps clear out sinks and tubs that are slightly clogged.

2. Course sea salt. For the grinder that sits on the dining room table.

3. Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt. This is a blend of salt and a few other spices. I discovered it when I was a teenage prep cook. It’s awesome, and I use it all the time when I want to sprinkle salt on or in something I am cooking.

4. Kosher salt. Sometimes a recipe calls specifically for Kosher salt.

5. Hawaiian Alaea Salt. We were at a luau in Honolulu (see here for the full details) and they served this with some raw onion. Sounds gross, but it was so tasty that we went and bought a container of it before we came home.

6. Murray River Australian Pink Flake. This is what I got tonight. It’s not ground or course, but flaky. It’s got a nice hefty texture that pretty much melts on your tongue. As the woman behind the counter said, “Here, I may as well give you the good stuff!”

That’s it, six types…who the heck has six kinds of salt in their house?

(PS – I know, I know, I haven’t forgotten about the chickens!)

“Salt Peanuts” by Dizzy Gillespie
From the compilation Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection
Written by Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, 1945
This is pretty much an instrumental song; the only lyrics are the words “salt peanuts, salt peanuts!”

This was the only song I could find in my collection that mentioned salt. It’s a really fun jazz number with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Mmmmm, salted peanuts!

Speaking of peanuts, what has happened in the last 20 years to bring about such serious peanut allergies in kids? I was allergic to everything when I was little, and yet I never heard of anyone being allergic to peanuts until the past 10-20 years. Strangely enough, after years of peanuts being banned from airplanes, I recently took a flight where they served them as the in-flight snack.

I know I said that the next post would be about chickens, but I have been caught up in writing a really long post for my other blog, “The College of Musical Knowledge” (http://musicalknowledge.org/). I’m almost embarrassed how long it has taking me to write it, and I’m still not done! Since I try to alternate my posts (one here, then one there) and I knew the chicken post would take a little time to compile, I wanted to post something quick in the meantime. Here’s another song that recently popped up on our iPod…

“You Can All Join In” by Traffic
From the album Traffic
Written by Dave Mason, 1968
“You Can All Join In” lyrics

I sat down after dinner and was in the middle of writing a post about chickens when my daughter called for help with her math homework. Her assignment was to measure her arm span and then find items in the house that were about the same length. While we were looking around, our iPod started playing the song below; strangely enough, I had been talking with someone else about the song just last week. As I watched my daughter start to dance around the kitchen, the proverbial light bulb came over my head, and here we are.

(we’ll listen to the chicken songs next time…)

“Pocket Calculator” by Kraftwerk
From the album The Mix
Written by Kraftwerk, 1981
“Pocket Calculator” lyrics

In addition (HA!) to measuring things, my daughter also had sample addition and subtraction problems to work on. She was having trouble with some of the subtraction and came to ask me “Can I use my calculator for this one?”

What? No you can’t use your calculator, sheesh! In the back of my mind I was remembering how she recently told us they sometimes use calculators in math class. Am I old and out of touch, or does it seem odd to help second graders learn math by using a calculator?

Today we’ll take a listen to songs that focus on the vocals. Selections include examples of a cappella (“without instrumental accompaniment”) and scat (“improvised nonsense syllables are substituted for the words of a song”) styles.

“Helter Skelter” by The Bobs
From the album The Bobs
Written by Lennon/McCartney, 1983
“Helter Skelter” lyrics

I know that in our first post I said I couldn’t understand why anyone would listen to someone covering The Beatles instead of listening to The Beatles themselves. However, when that was written, I had forgotten all about The Bobs. The Bobs are an amazing group of vocalists; their members started out delivering singing telegrams, but eventually formed an a cappella group. Sometimes they perform covers of classic songs, other times they sing their own material. In both cases they manage to be completely unique and unlike anything you have heard before.

“Over The Hiccups” by Negativland
From the album Escape from Noise
Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, 1987
“Over The Hiccups” lyrics

Negativland are a group that defies definition, unless “subversive and confrontational” is a valid musical genre. As far as children go, this may be the only song of theirs that is appropriate for kids. Regardless, it’s an endearingly funny cover of the classic song from The Wizard of Oz.

“Rockin’ in Rhythm” by Ella Fitzgerald
From the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
Written by Harry Carney, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, 1957
(This song is sung in “scat” style and has no real lyrics)

Ella Fitzgerald had an unparalleled talent for scatting, with this song being a prime example of her ability. Not only is it a cover of a Duke Ellington song, but she performs this version with him.

“Triumph of A Heart” by Björk
From the album Medúlla
Written by Björk, 2004
“Triumph of A Heart” lyrics

Björk is a singer from Iceland…did you know that Iceland is really green, and Greenland is really icy? Evidently they were named this way to confuse the Vikings; based on the names, which would you chose to invade, Iceland or Greenland? Anyway, this song uses no instruments; every sound you hear is made by a human voice. Your parents may remember Björk from when she went to the Oscars dressed like a swan and laid an egg on the red carpet…really!

“Tiger Rag” by The Mills Brothers
From the compilation Mills Brothers: Anthology 1931- 1968
Written by Henry Decosta and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, 1931
“Tiger Rag” lyrics

The Mills Brothers were a popular vocal group of the 1930s and 1940s who performed with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Jolson, and othere. In this song, the only instrument you hear is the guitar; the trumpet sound is actually the voice of Harry Mills.

This time out we have a bunch of…well, a bunch of “songs.” All that really ties them together is that they are a lot of fun to sing and they all have the word “song” in their title. So, grab yourself a pickle, a banana, and a fishing pole, then find someone to clap hands with and crank up the volume! Just make sure to watch out for the tornados…

“The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)” by Shirley Ellis
From the album The Name Game
Written by Shirley Ellis and Lincoln Chase, 1965
“The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)” lyrics

This song is just great. Fun, catchy, and funky, it’s the kind of song you can listen to a few times in a row. Believe it or not, this isn’t even Shirley Ellis’s most famous song. That honor goes to “The Name Game” (“John, John, bo bohn, banana fana fo fohn, fee fi fo fohn, John!”) which is such a classic song, you almost thing that it has been passed down from kid to kid for hundreds of years.

“Tornado Song” by King Kong
From the album Funny Farm
Written by Ethan Buckler, 1993
“Tornado Song” lyrics

While King Kong pretends to be a band for adults, they are not fooling anyone. Their leader Ethan Buckler quit the band Slint (who have since become something of an underground legend) so that he could focus on his own stuff, with the aim of creating goofy dance music like the B-52’s. One of their best-known releases (Me Hungry) is a full record that tells the story of a caveman and a yak as they navigate the ice age.

“The Crawdad Song” by The Meat Purveyors
From the compilation The Bottle Let Me Down
A traditional song (meaning that no one knows who wrote it)
“The Crawdad Song” lyrics

Unlike “The Name Game”, The Crawdad Song is a song that has been passed down from generation to generation (“crawdad” is another name for crayfish, which are like little lobsters, and completely delicious!). The album that this version is from is a great record for kids, featuring lots of underground country(ish) bands.

“The Motorcycle Song” by Arlo Guthrie
From the album Alice’s Restaurant
Written by Arlo Guthrie, 1967
“The Motorcycle Song” lyrics

Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land is Your Land” as well as many other classic American folk songs. Arlo is a well-known singer in his own right; if your parents are old enough, they probably know his song “Alice’s Restaurant”, a funny story about littering on Thanksgiving.

“Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” by Harry Belafonte
From the compilation My Greatest Songs
A traditional song (another one that no one knows who wrote it)
“Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” lyrics

This one is a traditional song from Jamaica, sung by the men who worked all night picking bananas.

Happy New Year everyone!!! No spare time to describe these songs, I’ve got a party to go to!

“Wang Dang Doodle”, by Koko Taylor
From the box set, Chess Blues
Written by Willie Dixon, 1965
“Wang Dang Doodle” lyrics

“House Party Time”, by Dan Zanes
From the album House Party
Written by Dan Zanes, 2003
“House Party Time” lyrics

“Having a Party”, by Sam Cooke
Written by Sam Cooke, 1962
From the compilation The Best of Sam Cooke
“Having a Party” lyrics

“Dance to the Music” , by Sly and the Family Stone
Written by Sly Stone, 1967
From the album Dance to the Music
“Dance to the Music” lyrics

“Rockin’ with the Clock”, by Shirley and Lee
From the compilation The Aladdin Records Story
Written by Leonard Lee and Edward Mesner, 1957
“Rockin’ with the Clock” lyrics

“Happy New Year”, by Lightnin’ Hopkins
From the compilation Blues, Blues Christmas (1925-1955)
Written by Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1953
“Happy New Year” lyrics

My wife and I were recently digging through our record collection and started listening to some of the 45’s she had collected when she was in grade school. For you digital kids, 45’s (or “singles”) were mini-records that had one song on each side. Before the invention of cds and mp3s, they were what bands used to release their most popular songs. As we listened to record after record, we became immersed in the music of the 1970s, singing and dancing around to the songs we grew up with. One of the records we pulled out was “Little Willy”, by Sweet, which had been one of her favorite songs when she was a kid. After listening to it, she turned to me and said “You HAVE to do a post on Sweet!” So, this one is for her…

“The Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet
From the album Desolation Boulevard
Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, 1973
“The Ballroom Blitz” lyrics

Some time ago, we played this one for our daughter. By the time it was over, it was one of her favorite songs. Now, whenever we play it, she insists on hearing it at least three times in a row.

“Little Willy” by Sweet
From the compilation The Best of Sweet
Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, 1972
“Little Willy” lyrics

It’s amazing how listening to an old song can bring memories flooding back to you. Especially if you haven’t heard them in awhile, certain songs can bring you back to a specific time in your life like nothing else. After my wife listened to this song, it seemed like she was eight years old again…