Steam Powered Aereo Plane, New Grass Revival (1981)
NGR was a tight group of talented pickers who mixed traditional bluegrass styles with jazz and rock. (The song is a John Hartfield cover.)
Hello Stranger, Barbara Lewis (1963)
One of the prettiest songs ever written IMO.
Barbara Lewis was inspired to write a song with that title while working gigs in Detroit with her musician father: “I would make the circuit with my dad and people would yell out: ‘Hey stranger, hello stranger, it’s been a long time’.” The song is notable because its title comprises the first two words of the lyrics but is never repeated at any point in the rest of the song. [via Wiki]
Heartbreak Stroll, The Raveonettes (2003) Award winning indie retro post-punk noise rock duo from Denmark, The Raveonettes are Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. From the album Chain Gang of Love, the lineup includes Manoj Ramdas on guitar and Jakob Hoyer on drums.
Stardust, The Benny Goodman Sextet (1939) One of the most popular versions of Hoagy Carmichael’s 1927 classic, with Benny Goodman / clarinet, Fletcher Henderson / piano, Lionel Hampton / vibraphone, Charlie Christian / guitar, Artie Bernstein / bass, and Nick Fatool / drums.
New Life, Little Johnny Christian (1983) John Christian grew up in Cleveland, Mississippi singing gospel in local church choirs. He was 15 in 1951 when he left for Chicago and joined The Highway Q.C.s, a post-WWII group with an ever-changing lineup that launched the careers of many gospel and soul singers. Tire of touring, Christian sang and played bass guitar in bar bands around the Chicago area, eventually forming his own R&B group, The Chicago Players, in 1968. [More at the link at top.]
[Top image: Japanese decoy tank constructed from lava rock, Iwo Jima, WWII (colorized); Decoy Warfare: Lessons and Implication from the War in Ukraine,USNI Proceedings April 2024.]
Violent Love (live), Oingo Boingo (1983) Ska cover of Willie Dixon’s 1951 classic. From the Utoobage comments: “Fun fact: In the early 80’s when they performed this song, during the sax solo Danny Elfman would grab a random person from the audience and take them backstage. When they returned Danny would be zipping up his fly and the other person’s hair would be all messed up (and yes he did this with male audience members too).”
Tacky Raccoons 