It was on January 1, 1986, that my Pa started the tradition of having a Margarita (or two... or more) on every New Year's Day,which came to be called"Margarita Day". Somehow we both inexplicably forgot to have a Maggie on January 1, 1994, and that's how the humorous slogan came to be. Sadly, on April 10, 1996, my Pa passed on, but I have kept our tradition alive every year since then.
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My non-drinking friends (yes, I have a few) may need to be informed that the principal liquor in a Margarita is tequila (also known as "cactus poison"). If you didn't know that, this Battle Of The Bands installment wouldn't make much sense.
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So, please...
1) listen to these two songs,
2) vote for your favorite one in the comment section,
3) visit & vote on the BOTB installments posted at the other participants' blogs, and then
4) go out and have a Margarita (or two... or more) to celebrate the start of the New Year!!
The song was 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?' and our contestants were Ella Fitzgerald and Karen Carpenter. The Battle took place [link> HERE.
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It was a good turnout and some fun conversation was had. I sincerely thank each one of you who took the time to visit, listen, and bote.
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It was a very traditional Christmas discussion that took place in the comment section. We covered Taylor Gomez and Selena Swift; Earl Campbell and Larry Csonka; Lampwick, Mr. Magoo and Emily Ratajkowski; inflatable dolls, sex robots and hallucinogenic drugs. You know, just the typical stuffs you find being discussed during a Christmas holiday 'Battle Of The Bands' blog bit.
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I was expecting a likely blowout in Ella's favor, but it didn't play out that way at all. Here's the final tally:
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Ella Fitzgerald = 8 votes
Karen Carpenter = 7 votes
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(Near the end, I was actually starting to get nervous, thinking maybe I'd wind up with a second BOTB tie in a row.)
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I honestly feel that BOTH renditions of the song were excellent. Of course Ella has a marvelous voice and I loved the Big Band arrangement behind her. But my ol' friend G DogG zeroed in on something that I agreed with. In part, he said, "I think Ella does the phrasing like a Sinatra would, meaning ... a bit too ... practiced ... focused more on technique."
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Yeah, Queen Ella performs the song like the royal ruler she is. There is no hitch in her confidence. Ella gets what Ella wants. But with that natural, God-given quality of "loneliness" in Karen Carpenter's voice, the vulnerability that the song's lyrics are conveying comes through. According to the lyrics, the singer of the song is a little apprehensive, facing the possibility of rejection. You can definitely hear that in Karen's version of the song, because of that unique voice she had. Ella - as great as she was - just glides forward without the slightest bit of hesitation; rejection is an impossibility in Ella's world.
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So, really, Karen makes the song sound very personal; Ella makes it sound like a lovely performance. And THAT is why Karen got my vote in this Battle.
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I hope all y'all will have a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holiday, and I hope all y'all will return here again for my January 1st, 2022 Battle on New Year's Day.
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My friends, this is Stephen T. McCarthy saying, "Until next time, this is Stephen T. McCarthy saying, 'Bless And Be Blessed'."
Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
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A MERRYCHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all my friends (DogGs & DogGettes).
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BOTB has been a "thing" for over 8 years now (this is my 160th Battle), and during that time I have used many different kinds of Christmassongs during the Holiday season. Today's tune is actually NOT a Christmassong, but rather a New Year's Eve song.
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I've had 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?' on my 'SongsToBOTB Someday' list for many years, and 2021 is finally the year.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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Please pick your favorite between the two following recordings and then vote (bote) for it in the comment section. I will return here on the 8th or 9th of December with my own bote and will announce the winner. Until then, my friends, have yourself a humdinger of a little Christmas!
Well, I waited as long as I possibly could. I now MUST post the BOTB Results.
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The third and final part of my 'James Dean BOTB Contest' took place [link>HERE. It was between 'ROCK ON' (David Essex) and 'JACK & DIANE' (John 'Cougar' Mellencamp), and it wound up being a huge disappointment.
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The last thing I wanted was a tie. Imagine watching a full season of the NFL or MLB and at the end, the Super Bowl or World Series was declared a tie!
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I kept waiting, hoping that someone -- anyone -- would show up at the end to vote for someone -- anyone -- and break this tie. But, alas, it was not to be and I just couldn't wait any longer.
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Nevertheless, I appreciate every one of you who took the time to visit, comment, and cast abote. Thanks, all y'all!
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(I'm listening to some [link>Tiny Tim while writing this, just to make me feel a wee bit o' better about this mess. Tiny Tim always puts a smile on my face! And later, I'm gonna get drunk and watch 'Pinocchio'... and that ain't no lie!)
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David Essex jumped out to an immediate 5-1 lead but... the lead didn't last.
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Final Tally:
David Essex = 7 votes
John 'Melon' Cougarcamp = 7 votes
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As much as I really dig 'Jack & Diane', my vote went to 'ROCK ON' by David Essex. There is just so much I love about that song. First of all, it's REAL Cool! I mean, it's just plain cool. It would be cool even if it didn't mention James Dean, the king of Cool. And as I previously described it, 'Rock On' sounds like a super-duper-slowed-down James Brown 'FUNK' song. But wait! There's more!...
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Aside from the repeated mention of James Dean (my acting hero), in the lyrics of 'Rock On' there's also a mention of 'Summertime Blues'. That song was by Eddie Cochran who has always been my favorite Rock artist from the 1950s. I love Eddie and still listen to him regularly. After a thorough, many-years-long study of it, I came to the conclusion that Eddie Cochran's 'Sumertime Blues' was the very first Punk Rock song (or more accurately, the very first Proto-Punk Rock song). 'Summertime Blues' was the first truly anti-establishment song I've ever found -- it was anti-parents, anti-boss, and anti-government (but with a sense o' humor, which I'll always have).
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References to James DeanandEddie Cochran in the same song! OF COURSE I voted for THAT! Hullo-oooo!
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Here's another FunFact:
Although I did own a red leather James Dean-inspired motorcycle-type jacket when I was in my early twenties (as seen in the M*A*S*H photos I displayed), that wasn't really my favorite leather jacket. In fact, I eventually gave the red leather jacket to my buddy Kelly "Andy" Anderson (who committed suicide in 1986), because my more basic black leather jacket was my favorite and the one I practically lived in for a decade or more.
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Here's me wearing that black leather jacket (sans a pin) at the Statue of Liberty in 1983:
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At different times, I wore a single pin on that black leather jacket, and there were only 3 pins that I ever deemed worthy enough of being displayed on that leather jacket:
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1) The first one was a black & white Eddie Cochran pin.
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2) Later, I replaced the Eddie Cochran pin with a Lone Wolf pin.
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3) And lastly, I replaced the Lone Wolf pin with a black & white James Dean & Julie Harris pin. This pin was handmade for me by my acting buddy, Marty "Party" Brumer. I think Marty cut the picture out from a Fox Venice Theatre or Nuart Theatre flyer advertising their showing of 'East Of Eden'. I LOVED that pin -- it was literally one-of-a-kind -- and I still own it to this very day. Marty Brumer was killed by a car thief in 1989, but the James Dean pin he made for me remains one of my all-time most cherished possessions.
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Here's me wearing that almost-famous black leather jacket (WITH my handmade, one-of-a-kind James Dean pin) in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1985:
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In the previous post, I showed y'all pictures of me on MASH during my "Dog Tag Years". I'll close this disaster with a few mo' pics of me on a few mo' shows:
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[Me, at far-far right ("in the vest, is it?"), as a member of The Shamrocks, the idiotic Irish gang on the ridiculous show 'Hill Street Blues'.]
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[Me, at right, playing the part of a martial arts gang member on the idiotic show 'CHiPs'.]
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[Me, at center, taking notes while Fonzie tells us guys how to pick-up-girls on the moronic, shark-jumping show'Happy Days'. The image quality is very poor, but that's apropos, because the show was incredibly low-quality, too!]
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Well, thanks again to ALL O' YOUZ for showing up and attempting to promote a winner in my 'James Dean BOTB Contest'. Sadly, there was no winner. What we had was a tie -- which is like kissing your sister, or so I've been told (by my Brother... the sick bastard! ;-)
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Anyway, I intend to return here on December 1st for a traditional ChristmasBOTB installment. I hope to see you here again for that. Until then...
This blog bit series is dedicated to three persons:
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1:My Ma ('East Of Eden'), who first made me aware of James Dean.
2: My great friend and publicity photographer, Kelly "Andy" Anderson ('Rebel Without A Cause'), who committed suicide in 1986.
3: My great friend and professional acting buddy, Marty "Party" Brumer ('Giant'), who was killed by a car thief in Los Angeles in 1989.
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Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
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[But first, a shout-out and special message for TheCountess. Countess, clickHERE!]
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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This has been a James Dean themed BOTB tournament, in which I've used my 4 favorite songs that mention Dean, who was my acting hero during my youthful venture into the world of Hollyweird.
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In Part 1 (HERE) David Essex's song 'ROCK ON' beat 'American Pie' by Don McLean, as explained HERE.
In Part 2 (HERE) John 'Cougar' Mellencamp's song 'Jack & Diane' beat 'James Dean' by The Eagles, as explained HERE.
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In this final installment, the two winners face off against each other for the 'James Dean BOTB Championship'.
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But before we do that, I promised to share some photos from my 'Dog Tag Years', also known as 'My Years Working OnM*A*S*H'.
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Although I'm not certain, I believe the first episode of M*A*S*H that I worked on was 'LIL', the third episode of the 7th season, which first aired on October 2, 1978. I was 19 years old at that time. The story involves Colonel Lillian Rayburn, who visits the 4077th. Radar O'Reilly becomes concerned that perhaps Colonel Potter is falling for Lil and is about to cheat on his wife. Major M*A*S*H fans might remember the episode more for the subplot, in which Hawkeye Pierce is being driven batty by the fact that he can't find out what the "B.J." in B.J. Hunnicutt stands for.
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There's a scene early on in the episode where Lil Rayburn and Colonel Potter visit the Post-Op. Colonel Rayburn says, "Look at that boy. He belongs in a playground, not a hospital." Then there's a close-up of my sweet, angelic face as I sleep on a Post-Op cot:
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Colonel Potter says, "You know, as much as I hate O.R., this room is worse."
Colonel Rayburn: "Why?"
Colonel Potter: "In there you only look at the wounds. In here you see the faces."
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And as far as I can recall, that was where I first appeared on M*A*S*H. Apparently, the powers that be liked something about me, because from then on, I was a regular on the show, always in the 4077th camp somewhere and occasionally having a couple lines of dialogue to say. I can find myself somewhere in nearly every episode from 'LIL' through and including the 2.5 hour 1983 series finale in Season 11 [link>'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen'.
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Although today I have great appreciation for my 'Dog Tag' experiences, sadly I didn't appreciate my time on MASH as much as I should have while it was occurring. I thought I was on my way to bigger and better things, so MASH just seemed to me, at the time, like a stepping stone on my way to becoming the new James Dean. Live and learn, eh?
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In the 2005 CNN.com Entertainment article [link>'Alda's Favorite 'M*A*S*H' Episodes', star Alan Alda named four of his very favorite MASH episodes, and as fate would have it, I appeared prominently in one of them: "Life Time", a 1979 episode done in real time, in which a soldier will suffer permanent injury -- or death -- if he isn't treated within 20 minutes. This episode is known for the clock in the corner of the screen, keeping real time (even through the TV commercials) as one soldier needs to die in time for the doctors to take a piece of his aorta and graft it into another dying patient. This episode is so famous amongst MASH fans that it even has its own Wikipediapage[link>HERE.
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Although I had no dialogue in this episode (just some death rattle gasping sounds in my dying moment), I was Harold Sherwood, the patient who died in time and provided the aorta that saved another soldier's life:
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[Stephen T. McCarthy, a bloody mess who is also known as Harold Sherwood]
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So, here are some more MASH pictures from my Dog Tag Years:
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In one episode, Colonel Potter took Sgt. Rizzo's drivers' education class, and sat in with the rest of us lowly soldiers. (I still can't get over how young I looked in this photo! That's me on the left.)
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Speaking of Rizzo, there was an episode where he kept getting caught playing craps in various places around the 4077th with his "craps-shooting monkeys!" as Father Mulcahy called us. I was one of Rizzo's "craps-shooting monkeys". That's me second from the right wearing my cap backwards:
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In another episode, an emotionally distraught soldier went AWOL and sought sanctuary in Father Mulcahy's Mess Tent chapel. In quite a stretch for this Maverick Christian, I portrayed a Catholic who was trying to hang around after Mulcahy's sermon in order to find out what the commotion was all about. In this picture, Mulcahy is trying to hustle me out of his Mess Tent chapel:
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This next shot was taken at the MASH compound set up in the Malibu hills, where most of the exterior filming took place. (The interior scenes were shot on Stage 9 at 20th Century Fox Studio in Los Angeles.) I have no idea which episode we were shooting at this time, but someone took a picture of me walking through camp in the background:
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A Malibu canyon fire in October of 1982 burned down the MASH set, so the writers incorporated the fire into the storyline of the show's final episode. Here's a picture of me - wearing my red leather James Dean-inspired jacket - at the charred remains of the exterior MASH set in Malibu.
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And lastly, below is an official photo of the MASH cast and crew taken during the 11th and final season. You can find me in the second row from the bottom, toward the left, and wearing that same red leather James Dean jacket:
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Alright, enough of this. Let's get on with the music Battle...
Please leave a comment telling me which of these two songs you like better, and why. I will return here on November 8th or 9th to cast my own vote and to announce the winner of the James Dean BOTB series. And perhaps I'll share a few more pictures and close with a story about my leather jacket and and an extremely special one-of-a-kind James Dean pin that I used to wear on it.
Part 2 of my 3-PartJames Dean 'Battle Of The Bands' series took place HERE, and it was one heckuva blowout!
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The songs battling it out were 'JAMES DEAN' (The Eagles) and 'JACK & DIANE' (John 'Cougar' Mellencamp). The turnout was good and the conversation was fun, as usual. What wasn't so good was the competition: Yes, I was pretty sure that 'Jack & Diane' would beat 'James Dean' - after all, it *WAS* two against one - but I didn't expect that level of a beat-down. 'Jack & Diane' had 5 votes recorded before The Eagles even got on the scoreboard! And The Eagles fortunes didn't improve much after that, either. It isn't often that The Eagles are dogs - I mean, "underdogs". Well, they were this time, and they got BIT!
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The Final Tally:
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The Eagles = 3 votes
John 'Cougar' Mellencamp = 12 votes
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My vote? Yeah, I went along with the majority. It's rare that I can be counted amongst the majority, rather than being a loud voice in the minority, but it happens once in a Chartreuse Moon.
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Why the Cougar rather than the Eagle? Well, I simply like the song better and find it more interesting, even though 'Jack & Diane' merely mentions James Dean while 'James Dean' is ABOUT... well, James Dean. Aside from the neat 'Rebel Without A Cause' reference in the line "Well, then, there, Diane", I can really relate to the lyric "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone". That line didn't particularly resonate with me back in 1982, when this song was a radio hit, but today I consider it one of the most profound observations ever sung in a song!
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Not that I'm complaining about my life, mind you. But I'm tired, and "there is nothing new under the sun".
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
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And unfortunately, I've reached the stage in my life where everything I do is something I've previously done. It may be fun, but it's been dun.
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There is a time to be young, energetic and full of life;
and a time to be bored and ready to go Home (capital H).
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However, below is a picture of me in my bedroom (circa 1983), when life was still wild and full of spirit (and spirits!) One of my drinking buddies, Cranium, has passed out on my floor, a can of Colt .45 malt liquor is just beyond his reach. My gesture for the camera seems to say, "You see what I have to put up with?" Right over my shoulder, you can see a red-jacketed 'Rebel Without A Cause' James Dean cardboard stand-up next to my bookcase.
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By 1988, the acting dream had burned out, or faded away. Truth be told, I had really begun to find my own true self, and the idea of pretending to be other characters didn't really thrill me. I guess "the thrill was gone", and I was now focusing more on writing. ("Writing is your forte, STMcC", my Pa told me a thousand and 3.5 times. Coincidentally, my Pa had actually been enrolled in the same California elementary school as James Dean. Although Pa didn't recall Dean, we did the math and it's a fact that they were in the same school at the same time.)
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I still believed that James Dean was the most naturally gifted actor of all time, and in October of '88, some of my fellow Dean fans and good friends whom I had met at the 1980 James Dean festival in Fairmount, Indiana, came out to Los Angeles where I escorted them to some of the important Dean-related sites in the area:
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[Left to Right: Russ Hodson, Larry Minor, Ed Lane, me, Bob Pulley --photo by Carole Redus]
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[Left to Right: Larry Minor, Sally Hinton, Mary Alice Rodes, Bob Pulley, Carole Redus, Russ Hodson, and me.]
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Those were some pretty big names in the world of James Dean Fandom in '88. Bob Pulley was one of Dean's friends and classmates in high school and he was the last surviving pall bearer from James Dean's funeral.
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The pictures were taken at Santa Monica High School, which is the school I attended and graduated from, and which also played the role of "Dawson High School" in the movie 'Rebel Without A Cause'. In that first photo, we're gathered around the very spot where Jim Stark (James Dean) accidentally stepped on the school seal on his first day at Dawson High and caught hell for doing so. Even in 1974-1977, when I went to "SAMOHI", there was an unwritten rule that you weren't supposed to step on the school seal.
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The photo above, also from October of 1988, was taken when Kenneth Kendall's bust of James Dean was first unveiled at the Griffith Observatory in L.A. That was Sylvia Bongiovanni, president of the We Remember Dean International Fan Club, posing with the artist.
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Once again, IthankEACHANDEVERYONEOFYOU who took the time to visit my blog, listen to the songs & cast a vote.
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On November 1st, the Super Bowl of my 'James Dean BOTB' series will appear here. Part 3 will be the finale, where the winner from Round 1, 'ROCK ON' by David Essex, will go up against the winner of Round 2, John 'Cougar' Mellencamp's'JACK & DIANE'. I hope all y'all will return to help determine the ultimate winner. I'll be yakking a bit and showing pictures of my years on M*A*S*H in Part 3. See ya then (I hope)!
[Above photo by The Wonderful & Terribly missed Russ Hodson!]
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This blog bit series is dedicated to three persons:
1:My Ma ('East Of Eden'), who first made me aware of James Dean.
2: My great friend and publicity photographer, Kelly "Andy" Anderson ('Rebel Without A Cause'), who committed suicide in 1986.
3: My great friend and professional acting buddy, Marty "Party" Brumer ('Giant'), who was killed by a car thief in Los Angeles in 1989.
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Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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This is Part 2 of 3. Part 1 was HERE, and the Results post for Part 1 was HERE.
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For years, I continued to work in Hollyweird - doing daily 'Background' work on movies, commercials and TV shows to pay the bills; scoring many 'silent bits'; and occasionally getting a bit part with a few lines of dialogue (primarily on 'M*A*S*H' and on a really awful TV show called 'Hill Street Blues').
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The second 8" x 10" publicity photo I used was also taken by my dear friend Kelly "Andy" Anderson. In this picture (shot in the alley behind Kelly's apartment in "Dogtown"), I wore my redJames Dean jacket, but since the pic was black & white, it looks grey:
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You can't really see it too well in the photo, but that's my gold hangman's noose charm hanging from a chain around my neck! That hangman's noose hanging around my neck got A LOT of attention from girls, and some of the other 666 genders, also. (Oh, wait!! We only had 2 genders back then. My boo-boo!) The noose made girls curious to find out more about this dark, macabre character.
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Another publicity photo of me, taken by Kelly Anderson, underneath the Santa Monica Pier:
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I was going more for the 'hopelessly romantic, vagabond singer-songwriter poet' look in that picture. A Saint Christopher medal around my neck instead of the more traditional hangman's noose was meant to convey the idea that I'm dishwasher safe and that I "Play Well With Others". It's also sometimes called "acting". Ha!-Ha! 😉
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For many years, I always gave a name to every trip / vacation I went on. During 'The Family Affair Of 1984' (subtitled: 'The General & Us'), my family traveled together to see Cincinnati, Ohio, where my Ma had grown up. During that June trip, we travelled through several other states as well: Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana. And while in Indiana, I got to visit James Dean's gravesite in Fairmount for a second time, and my Ma got to see it for the first time.
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On Dean's tombstone, I left a copy of another poem I had written in 1980. Unlike 'September At Fairmount', today, 'A Chance At Heaven' makes me cringe quite a bit. In 1980, I was still 14 years away from becoming a "(Maverick) Christian" and now I can see that I idolized James Dean in an unhealthy, un-Spiritual way. Only one Man deserves the kind of intense respect that I had for Dean back then, but in 1980, I had no real understanding of what Christ Yeshua had done and what His Life & Death really meant. So, this poem(?) is now kind of embarrassing to me, but it certainly illustrates my intense, youthful admiration for Dean and the art of Acting:
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A CHANCE AT HEAVEN - 8-23-1980
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While I sit alone, reels of film play in my head
Flashing on the screen a reality
To all I have said
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There was a time when my words spoke my belief
But now the thought of each statement
Only brings grief
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For I am older but still the clocks tick away
And tomorrow is here
Before I've lived today
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And now in the dwindling days of my youth
I have chosen you
As my symbol of truth
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Because I know where you were, I can feel your doubt
And like you, I am searching
To find a way out
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I live in my mind, in a world of seclusion
For I can't find a way
To transcend the confusion
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Mislaid in this land, a lifetime to roam
Safety in loneliness
The place we call home
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To exhibit a vision with your rise to fame
This too is something
That I'd like to claim
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Breaking through all boundaries imposed by time
Yet I'm held back by a fear
Of attempting the climb
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And though people argue I have nothing to lose
What becomes of the dreams
That I might abuse?
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I guess the heroes are those who gambled that thought
Got up from the ground
And persistently fought
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This is my time to try the chance that I clutch
To ascend to the heavens
Beyond everyone's touch
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And now I am ready to act the ultimate scene
To reach immortality
Just like James Dean
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OK, enough of this crap! Let's get on with the music Battle!! Please vote for whichever of these two songs you enjoy hearing most, regardless of the James Dean references. The winner of this Round 2 will go up against David Essex's song 'Rock On' in the third and final installment of this James Dean BOTB series.
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In 1974, The Eagles and their high-speed, Punky guitars really did justice to the legend of Jimmy Dean! The lyric "along came a Spyder, picked up a rider..." is a reference to the Porsche Spyder automobile that Dean died in at the age of 24.
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"I know my life would look alright - I can see it on the silver screen"
WOW! What a great line! For 67 years, millions upon millions of us have agreed with that!!
Next up is 'Jack & Diane' by John 'Cougar' Mellencamp.
"Jackie sits back, collects his thoughts for a moment; scratches his head and does his best James Dean"...
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James Dean doing his best "James Dean" :
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Me (on my 22nd birthday) doing my best "James Dean" :
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One thing I like about this song is the line, "Well, then, there, Diane..." It proves that Mellencamp really did know about James Dean, and he wasn't just name-dropping. He was actually quoting Jim Stark (James Dean). Check out these pictures I took recently while watching 'Rebel Without A Cause' for the godzillionth time...
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Dean also said the line in a slightly different way in 'Rebel...'. Why? Because... he was the greatest actor of all time, and like a world-class Jazz musician, he was always improvising 'in the moment'. (Don't worry. If you're not attempting to be a world-class professional actor, then the expression "in the moment" is not particularly important to ya.)
I will post this Battle's Results on this blog on October 8th (if I'm not late because I'm too busy improvising my way through life and refusing to be restricted by deadlines and other nonsense). And in my BOTB Results post, I will tell a couple more stories about my former James Dean-infused persona. Maybe we'll finally get to 'M*A*S*H' and 'HELL Street Blues'.
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Thanks for voting! And please spread the word! All voters (and Porsche Spyder riders) are welcome!
Hokey-Smoke & Hoo-Wee! I sure dropped the ball on this 'Battle Of The Bands'Results page, didn't I? It's a full three days late! {*Hangs head with great shame... unlike some shameless punks... who shall *STILL* remain shameless *AND* nameless.*} I dropped an easy fly ball in right field which allowed three SanCramcisco Giants runners to score and tie the game. Looks like I picked the wrong week to trade Duke Snider, Wally Moon, and Willie "Three-Dog" Davis! (And this is the LAST time I'll play right field!!)
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My first in the 'BOTB James Dean' series took place [link>HERE and it turned out to be fantastic!!
The first four votes all went to David Essex and his big hit 'ROCK ON'. At that point, I pretty much threw in the towel on Don McLean's'AMERICAN PIE'.
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But then a phunny thing happened on the way to the finish line: Don started collecting votes like baseball cards and the next thing I knew, the Battle was over and it was tied 6 to 6.
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That means MY vote is going to determine the winner of this first James Dean BOTB installment. (I LOVE this kind of ending!!!)
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Well, first I want to say that I love BOTH of these songs. Yes, 'American Pie' got played to death (like 'Black Water', 'Hotel California', and 'Stairway To Hellven'), but it's a truly great song, which is one reason it got played to death. So, with NO lack of respect toward McLean's 'American Pie', I cast my winning vote for 'ROCK ON' by David Essex.
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'ROCK ON' will now meet the winner of Round 2 of 'BOTB James Dean', which will appear here on this blog on October 1st. So please turn out to vote then like you did now.
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'ROCK ON' -- I will elaborate a bit more on my thoughts about this song in a later 'BOTB James Dean' installment, but for now I just want to say that one of the things I find so appealing about this song is that it is amazingly original in sound. Off the top of my head, I can't think of ANY other song, before or since, that resembles 'ROCK ON'. I would describe it as a super-duper-slowed-down James Brown 'FUNK' song with big-bumping bass, and orchestral strings added for sweetening. Plus, there's those percussion touches to emphasize the underlying "punch!" It may be slow, but it's serious! (Don't underestimate this Bad Boy!)
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What *other* song can match that description? None that I've ever heard. And that's just for starters. Later, I will say a bit more about why I love 'ROCK ON' like I do.
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I very, Very, VERY sincerely appreciate each and every one of you who voted in this contest. (And the comment section "badinage" was fun, as always.)
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FINAL TALLY:
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David Essex = 7 votes
Don McLean = 6 votes
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It doesn't get any better'n that, as far as I'm aware of.
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James Dean died in an automobile accident on September 30, 1955. In 1980, my Ma showed me a brief newspaper mention that in Dean's hometown of Fairmount, Indiana, they were planning a 25-year celebration of his life that September. I decided to attend this event. I was 21 years old at the time. I flew from Los Angeles to Indianapolis, rented a car and then a motel room in Marion, and attended the James Dean festivities in Fairmount. I was completely alone and didn't know a soul in Indiana. But like any good Method actor would, I purchased some overalls to get into the James Dean farm boy mood.
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At this point, I should probably mention that, due to many odd coincidences - even before I went to Indiana - I thought there was a real possibility that I wasJames Dean reincarnated. And although I never really think about it anymore, I still believe it's a possibility. As a [Maverick] Christian today, I don't care one way or the other, but... "it could be true".
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At James Dean's high school, where they were having a ceremony, Dean's old high school Drama teacher, who had never seen or heard of me before, walked up to me and asked if I would hand out flyers to people who showed up. So, I did, like any good student would. (It was in handing out flyers at James Dean's high school that I met Inga and her sister who had driven down from Wisconsin to attend the celebration. As a result, Inga and I had a kind of... sort of long-distance "thing"... and she later flew to L.A. to meet me there.)
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I met a great old guy named Russ Hodson from Indianapolis, and we immediately clicked. And through him, I met Carole Redus from Alabama. They were both long-time James Dean fans and (unbeknownst to me) "insiders".
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I'd read in a newspaper that Martin Sheen was going to attend the celebration. So, when Russ asked me if I wanted to go with him and Carole "to pick up Martin at the airport in Indianapolis", I said I would. On the way to the airport, I discovered that "Martin" was NOT Martin Sheen but Martin Noakes, who was flying in from England.
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But it turned out great, because I really liked this "Martin". (Sadly, Russ passed on many years ago, but I'm still in contact with Carole and Martin.) Russ & Carole & Martin had so many connections that I found myself invited to go to the farmhouse where James Dean was raised, to meet Ortense Winslow, the Aunt who raised him when his mother died. I got to go into Dean's childhood bedroom, see his black leather jacket, see his childhood artwork hanging on the walls of his bedroom, tap his bongo drums, and see his handprint in the farm's barn. Yeah, things like that happen all the time, by coincidence, when you're all alone in a state where you know noone and have never been before:
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[Me, in 1980, at the farmhouse where James Dean was raised. Carole Redus saying Goodbye to Dean's Aunt in the background.]
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[Me, in 1980, in James Dean's childhood bedroom, with my hand on one of his bongo drums.]
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[Me, in 1980, in the barn where James Dean's hand print is still remembered by very old cement.]
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Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, the small town country atmosphere of Fairmount, Indiana, made quite an impression on me, and shortly after returning to L.A., I wrote a poem about it:
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SEPTEMBER AT FAIRMOUNT -- 10/4/1980
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In soft, willowy grass you can lie down
At a sun-spotted place under a tree
Listening only to the breeze as it dances over you
In a little park resting from activity
In September at Fairmount
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Walking past the grandest of houses
Containing people who are real
Barefoot in the small and quiet streets
Of a town with great appeal
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Scuffling down tree-lined railroad tracks
Until the horizon has taken you in
These lazy days of sun bring to mind
'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn'
In September at Fairmount
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You can stop to watch the birds
And the squirrels that abound
Or catch a glimpse of painted leaves
As they spiral toward the ground
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And of all the peaceful things to keep you occupied
These are just a few
But then again
There ain't nothin' that you have to do
In September at Fairmount
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[My shoes, in 1980, "at a sun-spotted place under a tree, in a little park resting from activity", in September at Fairmount.]
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I intend to be back with another 'BOTB James Dean' installment on October 1st. We'll do a Round 2 in this contest, and I will tell some more stories about Dean 'n' me. I thank All Y'all again for participating in this Round 1.
