BOTB RESULTS: 2018, AUG. 15 (Or, MARK McCAIN VS. LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2018, August 15th: Battle Of The Bands (BOTB)' (Or, 'Johnny Crawford Versus Aileen Quinn') And The Final Tally:
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HOOT GIBSON! This was an excellent BOTB contest which far exceeded my expectations. The song was 'LONESOME TOWN' and the competitors were two former child actors -- Johnny Crawford (Mark McCain from 'The Rifleman') and Aileen Quinn (Little Orphan Annie from the movie musical 'Annie'). The Battle can be found HERE.
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I'll be honest -- before this Battle went live and open for voting, I believed that Aileen was going to take it pretty badly on the chin. I was thinking: [link> "Come on, Aileen!" But secretly, I was fearful of a blowout. Boy, was I ever wrong. And, but doggone, it can sometimes be hard to predict these BOTB outcomes even after 5 years of hosting them!
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The contest started the way I feared it would go: The first 4 votes all went to the little cowboy, Johnny Crawford, and I was thinking: Yip! Here it comes. Over as soon as it started. But then the next 5 votes all went to Aileen, and she took the lead. (It can be fascinating to chart the voting patterns that develop in these BOTB installments!)
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After 3 more votes rolled in, the Battle was tied 6-6. It wasn't until the very last day of voting, when Johnny Crawford scored 5 unanswered votes, that the coffin lid was finally hammered shut. Plainly, the contest was much, much closer than the final score would seem to indicate:
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Johnny Crawford = His votes went "up to 11"
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Aileen Quinn = 6 votes
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I liked BOTH versions of the song. And I appreciated the sparse musical arrangement of Aileen's recording, which enhanced the "lonesome" feeling of her 'Lonesome Town'. But -- with apologies to Lelly, whose guitar playing was indeed "spot-on" (as Calamity Kat said) -- I also had to side with Johnny Crawford's rendition. All those weeping strings and his surprisingly good vocal control leave me thinking that he might actually be able to give even Ricky Nelson a run for his money on this song.
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It was a very nice voter turnout (I sincerely thank all y'all for that!), and as is usually the case, I had a lot of fun in the comment section! I love the banter -- the clever and creative back 'n' forth -- that takes place in my BOTB comment sections. Over the years, I have often said that I think I have the best commenters in Blogland. I may have a meager following, but those folks who read and interact with me are truly A-list & E-Ticket commenters. They know how to ramp up the stream o' consciousness badinage.
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Someday, I'd like to go through all of my BOTB comment sections, excerpting many of the amusing exchanges, and create an entire blog bit out of them. I think that would be Comedy Gold!
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In The Battle Within The Battle, both The Magic 8-Ball and The Amazing Sixwell predicted the outcome accurately. So they remain tied at 7 hits and 3 misses. Pretty good prognosticating. (Can I say that on a family-friendly blog?)
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I hope you will all return again (and bring a friend!) for my next Battle Of The Bands installment here on September 1st. I'm strongly leaning toward doing a Twisted Battle with a twist that no one has previously conceived of. It will feature two rockin' hit songs that you're probably all familiar with. See ya then! Be here or... bring a note from Doctor Cheech or Doctor Chong.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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