Good Lovin' Battle
This isn’t the battle I had in mind for this month. I was planning a post about returning to school and renewing friendships. I picked out a song that was written by a duo who are rightfully excellent on their own. However, one version (the best version in my opinion) had a gazillion different offerings by one part of the writing duo, and the other - sad to say - on their own, or even with a different singing partner - sounded like someone had stepped on a cat’s tail. YIKES! I did finally find a viable contending duo to put up against the most popular one, but unfortunately the videos are blocked by YouTube regional restrictions. So… I gave up on that song and moved on down my list of ‘potential battles’ that I keep.
I've recently discovered a YouTube channel that I listen to on a regular basis now. It’s done by a guy named Adam Reader, and he calls himself ‘Professor of Rock’. It’s a pretty decent channel where he talks about his favorite hits from decades past and he shows interviews he’s done with various artists. Fun Fact: I recently learned that Mr Reader grew up in the tiny (approx 12K residents) spudtown where I now live. In a recent interview with Felix Cavaliere is where I got the idea for today’s battle. The story Felix shares about our song today is fascinating.
The original version was done by Lemme B Good. I’ve got 3 contenders for you to choose from today.
The first contender is Young Rascals (later known simply as Rascals)
Second Contender: Tommy James & The Shondells
Third Contender: Grateful Dead
In the event that you are new here, or you have simply forgotten… Here’s a review of how a battle works:
Listen to each of the contenders. Try not to be persuaded by the videos. I like to close my eyes and let the music transport me.
Pick the contender that you prefer the most
Leave a comment with the name of the contender you have chosen. Feel free to expound upon your choice.
Visit the other bloggers that have battles taking place. Their battles are different from each other, so be sure to check them out. *I think this is a recent list, if not, Cathy keeps a current list on her battle posts.
Alright now… Cast your votes in the comments!
Voting results will be posted on Sept 8!
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThe Young Rascals get my vote without a thought. The other two just didn't do anything for me. Great battle song! You'll find my battle showdown pinned to the top of my home page. I hope you're feeling more rested. Take care, my dear!
A Facebook vote from Tammy Campbell
ReplyDeleteYoung Rascals
Since the version by The Rascals is the quintessential one, and really the one most of us consider the original, I'll skip it and move to the two covers.
ReplyDeleteAnytime I see The Gratgeful Dead, I think of this joke:
What do they say at Grateful Dead concerts when they don't have any more weed? "Man, this music sucks..."
A vote for Tommy James & The Shondells!
I'll give a vote for the Grateful Dead on this one. Lowell George of Little Feat did some production on this album and there is an outtake with George doing lead vocals on this song.
ReplyDeleteMMQE ~
ReplyDeleteSeeing as how The Rascals version was a #1 Billboard hit, it's pretty difficult to vote for any other rendition. As the old saying goes: "Familiarity breeds advantage".
The Tommy James & The Shondells take on the song didn't really offer anything significantly different from famous Rascals arrangement, so I can think of no reason to give them my vote.
Despite that funny joke John told, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much the Grateful Dead version appealed to me. For the first handful of notes in the introduction, it almost sounded like they were going to be doing a cover of 'Low Rider' by War. I like how they made the song their own, rather than just doing another Rascals-like version of it. But nevertheless, I gotta cast my BOTB bote for the advantage that comes with familiarity. That would be those wascally Rascals.
I'll admit to a slight disappointment that Bruce Willis wasn't given a shot to win this Battle. (Or are you saving him for a future Championship round?)
'MOONLIGHTING' is one of my very, VERY favorite TV shows of all time. And although they had a LOT of great episodes that I love, unquestionably their best of the best was the episode titled 'Atomic Shakespeare'. Here's a scene from that ep:
[Link> Moonlighting: The Wedding in 'Atomic Shakespeare' / Good Lovin'
Bruce got robbed! He could-a, should-a won this Battle.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS