Blowin' In The Wind

The Who at Super Bowl

The Who at Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. "Original drummer Keith Moon died in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle died in 2002, but The Who lives in the spirit of its two intrepid front men: guitarist-composer Pete Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey," says the Los Angeles Times, covering the show.

Let's start with Won't Get Fooled Again, followed by a clip where Daltrey and Townshend perform Behind Blue Eyes and Pinball Wizard. There are also clips showing them singing Who Are You? and See Me, Feel Me. Who Are You? begins in the middle of the third clip and See Me, Feel Me is in the last one.

Lonesome Valley; Turn!Turn!Turn!; Reason to Believe

Here are three songs I love: You Got to Walk that Lonesome Valley, sung here by Mississippi John Hurt; Turn! Turn! Turn!, the Pete Seeger song based on the Ecclesiastes which was one of the biggest hits for the Byrds; and Reason to Believe, performed here by the Carpenters. I heard the Tim Hardin original sometime ago featured in a programme on honesty presented by Mark Tully on the BBC World Service, and ever since I have wanted to post it here. But I couldn't find any live video of Reason to Believe by Tim Hardin. So I chose the Carpenters over the Rod Stewart version.

King forever: Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley would have been 75 today. Happy birthday to the King, who lives on in his music. There are a lot of clips here showing Elvis performing live, singing in movies, on television, and one in a studio. Long live the King.

Elvis and the Beatles: 1960s Christmas chart-toppers

It's Christmas! The 1960s were the golden era of music. The Beatles topped the UK singles chart four years during Christmas --- in 1963, with I Want To Hold Your Hand, in 1964 with I Feel Fine, in 1965 with Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out, and again in 1967, with Hello Goodbye. The 1966 Christmas No 1 was Green, Green Grass Of Home by Tom Jones. Before the Beatles came Elvis Presley. He had two Christmas No 1s: It's Now Or Never in 1960 and Return To Sender in 1962. Here they are --- Elvis and the Beatles.

1963 UK Christmas No 1

Pink Floyd, Queen and other '70s Christmas No.1s

What's Christmas without music? Some of the greatest music topped the UK singles chart around this time back in the 1970s. Queen reigned the chart with Bohemian Rhapsody during Christmas in 1975. Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd was the Christmas chart-topper in 1979.

Here's Pink Floyd followed by Queen and a couple of other Christmas chartbusters from the Seventies.

Christmas No 1s of the Noughties

Reading about the battle to top the UK singles chart this week --- won by Rage Against The Machine --- I wanted to find out the big hits during Christmases past.

Let's begin with the Noughties. My favourite is Somethin' Stupid by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra, which charted in 1967, but this was the version that topped the UK singles chart on December 22, 2001, and it stayed No 1 for three weeks, according to the Official Charts Company. Here is Robbie Williams with Nicole Kidman singing Somethin' Stupid. He is back on the charts now with You Know Me.

After Copenhagen: Where have all the flowers gone?

Here's an elegy to the Copenhagen climate conference --- written and sung a long time ago.

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.

It's one of my favourite songs --- and here it is sung by Peter, Paul and Mary; Pete Seeger; Joan Baez; and Marlene Dietrich. God bless the poets and writers and musicians, who speak for us when we are at a loss for words. 

A week's worth of vintage Rolling Stones

Blogging about Harold Evans in my previous post brought on a touch of nostalgia. So here's a week's worth of vintage Rolling Stones. Nothing to beat good old rock 'n' roll.

Elvis on Chinese TV

Here's Elvis Presley on Chinese TV. The King is affectionately remembered in China, making the news because of a new album to mark his 75th birthday. He would have been 75 on January 8 next year.

Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight, released by RCA/Legacy, features 13 classics:

• That's All Right: Recorded in 1954 in Memphis
• Baby, Let's Play House: 1955, Memphis
• Hound Dog: 1956, New York
• Don't Be Cruel: 1956, New York
• One Night: 1957, Hollywood
• Blue Christmas: 1957, Hollywood
• How Great Thou Art: 1966, Nashville
• If I Can Dream: 1968, Hollywood
• Suspicious Minds: 1969, Memphis
• Stranger In My Home Town: 1969, Memphis
• An American Trilogy: 1972, Las Vegas
• Burning Love: 1972, Hollywood
• Always On My Mind: 1972, Hollywood

My favourite here? One Night. Check the Los Angeles Times review.

And here's how China's CCTV.com reported the release of the new album. It's an affectionate tribute to the King. Born in 1935, he was only 42 when he died on August 16 in 1977.

UK top 25 karaoke hits

It's official. Waterloo, the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest winner by Abba, the Swedish pop group, tops the list of 25 most popular karaoke songs in Britain.

The list was compiled by PRS for Music, formerly the Performing Right Society, a licensing organization which monitors music use to collect royalties for songwriters.

Another Abba hit, Dancing Queen, is the fifth most popular karaoke song, reports the Telegraph.

The only other artists with two entries in the top 25 is the band Queen, with Bohemian Rhapsody, at number two, and Don’t Stop Me Now, at number 16.

Here are my own favourites from the top 25, followed by the full list.

The Beatles, of course, my all-time-favourites, singing Hey Jude surrounded by fans on the David Frost Show in 1968. The music begins after the first minute.

Next up: The Rolling Stones, Don MacLean, the Monkees, Neil Diamond, and --- yes --- Abba at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest!