I'm a wee bit o' late getting this BOTB Results post up due to the Easter weekend. Although [link> THIS was the most fun I had constructing a Battle Of The Bands contest in quite some time, there wasn't exactly a top-notch voter turnout for this one. Nevertheless, I FULLY appreciate everyone who DID take the time to show up, listen / watch, and cast a vote. I enjoyed the contest.
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Despite the sad-assed low voter input, it was a really close Battle, which made me feel good, because I *definitely* foresaw this 3-Way match-up as being extremely competitive. It was a Battle between songs from movie musicals with some A-list performers included: Doris Day & Howard Keel from 'Calamity Jane' (song: 'I Could Do Without You'), Gordon MacRae from 'Oklahoma!' (song: 'Oh, What A Beautiful Morning'), and Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Pat Crowley & "The Smartest And Fastest Dog In The Movies", Mr. Bascom, in 'Hollywood Or Bust' (song: 'The Wild & Woolly West').
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Personally, I like every single one of these songs. But ONE of them I like far, Far, FAR more than the other two. 'I Could Do Without You' has a really terrific lyrical whiplash comedy sense. It's a MUCH better version of the earlier & similar 'Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better', which I almost used until I realized the song is just... annoying.
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Gordon MacRae's famous 'Oh, What A Beautiful Morning' is beautiful, and sounds almost like a [link> prayer!
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BUT(!)... my own favorite is easily 'The Wild & Woolly West'. Why? Uh... how much time do you have? Because I could go on for over an hour with 101 reasons I love this song *AND* the movie it comes from, 'Hollywood Or Bust' (H.O.B.) -- the final movie featuring both Martin & Lewis. H.O.B. is one of the silliest pictures ever made and it has become my #1 favorite "guilty pleasure" movie. The more depressing and insanely ridiculous this world and my country becomes, the more I watch H.O.B. as a form of escapism from the "real" nuttiness around me. I don't even want to tell you how many times I've watched the movie just since Sept. of 2021.
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As I wrote above, there must be at least 101 reasons I love H.O.B. Here is just a small sample of them:
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1) When I first started to study acting professionally, one academy I briefly attended was actually owned and operated by the first female "Redhead" who appears with Dean Martin in H.O.B.
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The Algiers (in 1956) shows up at the very end of the song 'The Wild & Woolly West':
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2) Hollywood Park race track is featured in a couple shots in this movie, and I spent many days & hours "playing the horses" there with my Pa. (He passed away 27 years ago today.)
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3) Some of the scenery in the movie is flat-out gorgeous, and this shot below even reminds me of a painting that hung in my Grandpa's living room for all of the years I was growing up:
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3) Some of the scenery in the movie is flat-out gorgeous, and this shot below even reminds me of a painting that hung in my Grandpa's living room for all of the years I was growing up:
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4) Although so-called "progress" bulldozed it years ago, my favorite place in Las Vegas was The Algiers Hotel & Lounge. The Algiers was a real blast to the past, and the lounge was one of my all-time favorites! It was so dark and old in the lounge that every time a person entered it, a beam of light from the Sun would pierce the room, reminding me that it was still daytime outside. And I always half-expected Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack to come in and sit down next to me at the bar.
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The Algiers (in 1956) shows up at the very end of the song 'The Wild & Woolly West':
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5) The ending of H.O.B. was so memorably zany that Mel Brooks stole "borrowed" the idea, elaborated on it a bit, and used it to end his classic comedy 'Blazing Saddles'.
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I literally chuckle-out-loud every time I see/hear that song! And there wasn't anything wrong with this scenery in H.O.B.:
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6) I have always been a huge fan of "Breaking The 4th Wall". This is a kind of 'wink & nod' when a movie or play acknowledges that there is an audience watching. (The audience serves as an imaginary 4th wall, and when a performer breaks that illusion, it's like he/she is saying, "Yeah, we know you're out there watching this game that we're all in on.") The TV series 'MOONLIGHTING' was constantly "Breaking the 4th Wall" and that's one of the reasons it was/is one of my very favorite shows ever.
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In just that one song, 'THE WILD & WOOLLY WEST', 'Hollywood Or Bust' hilariously Broke the 4th Wall at least twice, and arguably even three times. Here are some photos of the 4th wall being broken during the singing of 'The Wild & Woolly West':
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In just that one song, 'THE WILD & WOOLLY WEST', 'Hollywood Or Bust' hilariously Broke the 4th Wall at least twice, and arguably even three times. Here are some photos of the 4th wall being broken during the singing of 'The Wild & Woolly West':
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I literally chuckle-out-loud every time I see/hear that song! And there wasn't anything wrong with this scenery in H.O.B.:
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So, now you have an idea of why my vote for 'The Wild & Woolly West' was a no-brainer for me. Here's how the BOTB "boting" ended up:
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FINAL TALLY:
'I Could Do Without You' = 2 votes
'Oh, What A Beautiful Morning' = 4 votes
'The Wild & Woolly West' = 5 votes
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Whoa-Nelly! That was a close outcome! I loves it!
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My thanks again to everyone who participated in this Battle. I intend to return with another one on May 1st. Be here or be... somewheres else.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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FINAL TALLY:
'I Could Do Without You' = 2 votes
'Oh, What A Beautiful Morning' = 4 votes
'The Wild & Woolly West' = 5 votes
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Whoa-Nelly! That was a close outcome! I loves it!
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My thanks again to everyone who participated in this Battle. I intend to return with another one on May 1st. Be here or be... somewheres else.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
