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First things first: My Pa started the Margarita Day tradition on Jan. 1st in 1986. Git you one today or... I'll know the reason why!
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Now, on to other matters . . .
I'm using Margarita Day 2024 to announce my new theme. I call it Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze.
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My self-imposed rules for BOTB's BOTB are. . .
Every song I present in Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze will contain at least one of these three references:
1 -- The name of some type of booze (e.g., gin, bourbon, tequila, etc.), or 2 -- the brand name of some kind of booze (e.g., Beefeater, Old Grand-Dad, Jose Cuervo, etc.), or 3 -- the name of some sort of cocktail made with booze (e.g., salty dog, mint julep, margarita, etc.)
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STMcC's "BOTB's BOTB" #1
Let the hooch flow like water!
This being Margarita Day, I am kicking off my new 2024 BOTB theme with "Tequila". Let's drink it! listen to it!
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Tequila -- Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra
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"Alright, let's slow it down a little" so we don't pass out before the evening's entertainment is over.
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Tequila -- Buddy Morrow & His "Night Train" Orchestra
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Please let me know in the comment section which Tequila you liked better, Xavier's or Buddy's. And then please visit all the other BOTBers (*see links in right sidebar) and support their music battles, too.
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I'll return here on or about January 8th with my own vote and the Results of the first Battle in the bar.
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~ Stephen
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation
Intersting theme, Stephen! ☺ Happy Margarita Day. 🍹 The Champs' version of Tequila is burned into my memory and although Cougat did a nice job, I much preferred Buddy Morrow's peppier rendition. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteThank you! And a Happy Margarita Day to you, too.
Funny story here... This is how Margarita Day got started:
My Pa was basically a beer & bourbon guy. On January 1, 1986, he went out to do something and while on his way home he decided to stop in at a restaurant / bar. There must have been a special price on Margaritas or something, because he ordered one for the first time in his entire life.
It was so tasty and went down so easily that he ordered another one. And then another one. And then... at some point he called me to come pick him up and drive him home. Guffaw-Out-Loud! And that's how the tradition began. Pa and I would go out on every New Year's Day after that and have a couple of Margaritas together. (Except for Jan. 1, 1994, when we both inexplicably forgot to do it. Hmmm.... But that's how I came by the funny Margarita Day motto, "A tradition since 1986, except for 1994".)
~ Stephen
Funny story! ☺ I listened to the songs again and realized I used the wrong adjective. I should have said "jazzier" version. While I do still like it more, the absence of the "tequila" refrain was more noticeable the second time around.
DeleteDEBBIE ~
DeleteI'm a bit confused about why you and Sixgun are claiming that the word "Tequila" is missing from the Buddy Morrow version.
Granted, it's not shouted; but I can clearly hear it whispered when I listen to the recording. It's kind of whispered in a very smooth, seductive way in a voice that sounds like it could be Astrud Gilberto. She says, "Tequila-aaaa". Sometimes she even adds a little "Stephen-nnnn" after the T-word. :^D
~ D-FensDogG
Hmmm, I must be losing my hearing. Either that or my laptop has a lousy sound system, because I listened again and didn't hear anyone say anything. Are you putting me on? ☺
Delete>>... "Are you putting me on?"
DeletePutting you on?
No. I'm bullshitting you. [;^D}
~ Dr. DogG
☺☺☺
DeleteThe name Buddy Morrow was unfamiliar to me, but after looking him up, I realize that was a hole in my knowledge. Quite a trombone player with quite a history. His version is missing the classic "TEQUILA" shout by the orchestra, but one can assume that the audience filled that in themselves when he played it.
ReplyDeleteBut as good as his slower version is, I will vote for the one I am familiar with by Cugat. Your booze theme will keep you going for a while! As a prohibitionist, I look forward to it with apprehension!
Sixgun McItchyfinger
MR. McITCHYFINGER ~
DeleteYou may have never heard of Buddy Morrow before, but I had never heard the Xavier Cugat version of 'Tequila' before putting this Battle together. So that makes us 'Even Stephen'.
>>... As a prohibitionist, I look forward to it with apprehension!
Ha! Here's my standard response to prohibitionists: Somewhere between 757 to 908 bottles of wine. That's how much wine was made from water in Jesus Christ's first miracle! I often refer to wine as "miracle water", and I love how generous Jesus was with his unmatched Power.
Famous evangelist Ray Comfort wrote a book titled 'THE ULTIMATE HEALTH FOODS: 9 Foods That Jesus Ate Or Recommended'. Somehow, Ray neglected to mention wine, which Jesus both made *and* drank. His book could have featured 10 - not a mere 9 - foods that Jesus ate or recommended. But Ray Comfort is that sort of person whom I refer to as a "Christian Pharisee".
Red wine, in moderation, is known to have health benefits. And that's probably one reason Jesus made so much of it in the first public miracle He performed.
In fact, as soon as I finish drinking this Margarita, I think I'm going to have a glass of red wine to balance out the damage that this tequila is doing to me. :^D
~ D-FensDogG
Happy Margarita day, McBruddah! 🍸 Maybe it's just the iced cold margarita talking, but that is such a fun idea for a battle series. Now, I will die on the hill that the karaoke version of tequila is forever and always the best version that has ever been recorded. With that said, I listened to Xavier, and then I listened to Buddy, and then immediately afterwards I had to go right back and listen to Xavier again. The karaoke king might be dethroned. That lively chorus, particularly once the horns start opening up and you get that beautiful big band sound, makes me want to just find a pretty trad girl and start spinning her around until she's sick. Give my bote to Xavier... and give my margarita to no one else but me.
ReplyDelete~Chief Julio (he who day drinks firewater)
6-B ~
DeleteWhat I do NOT like about the karaoke version of 'Tequila' is that it doesn't include the song's lyrics ("Tequila!") I mean, how can you like the song when *ALL* of the lyrics have been edited, excised, expunged, and cut out?! Waz up wid dat, homeboy?!
I love the Xavier version of this song! It kicks the tables over and then dances on top of them. In fact, it even dances on top of some of the dancers!
A Happy Margarita Day to you, McBuddy. I greatly appreciate your BOTB's BOTB "BOTE".
~ McDogG
Hey there Stephen
ReplyDeleteHappy Margarita Day!
I'm pleased as spiked punch to be joining you in this battle theme., even though I rarely touch the stuffs anymore.
I thought about your selections here. While I liked the first one, it reminded me of a younger person trying their best to drink as much as possible in one night. The latter reminds me of a seasoned drinker who understands and appreciates the value of a good drink so they take their time savoring it for what it is.
I'm voting for the latter because I'm not about rushing the drink only to drop my wallet later.
-MMQE
MMQE ~
Delete>>... "pleased as spiked punch"
"drop my wallet"
Guffaw-Out-Loud! You do a pert-goot impersonation of me.
FUN OLD FACT:
[Link> HERE is where the expression "dropped my wallet" got invented. A friend to Bonehead (my sister) had some trouble keeping her hooch down, and kept dropping her wallet underneath the table we were all seated at. Finally, someone (me?) got curious and looked under the table. Wow! What years we stumbled through! I'm gonna say that was quite likely 1982.
Not mentioned in that Wackypedia article was a band called The Gumbys. We saw them play there *many* times, and they always closed every one of their sets with [Link> THIS SONG. That song is like Mr. Peabody's Waybac Machine to me.
~ Dr. DogG
The Buddy Morrow cut was really cool, but Cugat's version would be good for juggling. I think we even used to practice by that one.
ReplyDeleteXavier gets my vote.
Lee
BOIDMAN ~
DeleteOh, yeah, I can definitely imagine some (fast 'n' fancy) juggling in my mind while listening to Xavier's rendition.
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteIf it's Margarita Day, why are you serving Tequila? That sounds like a stupid question probably, but I don't know beans about liquor and that's the truth! :)
Although, I can never remember the name of this song, I do know it when I hear it. I liked both versions but in all fairness I prefer Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra best. So, kindly give my vote to them.
Happy New Year and may God's blessings spill over in your life in all directions, my friend!
CAThy! ~
DeleteHa!-Ha! Your hooch innocence (0-proof) is almost... almost... I can't find the right word, but I think "endearing" is pert-near the target.
A martini is a cocktail and the primary alcohol type used in it is gin.
A mint julep is a cocktail and its primary alcohol is bourbon (and bourbon is one form of whiskey).
A margarita is a cocktail whose primary alcohol ingredient is tequila.
I'll also add that tequila is nut'n more than "cactus poison". The *ONLY* value it has in this whole world is for making margaritas. Other than that, it's worse than useless -- it's downright dangerous.
The worst trouble that drinking ever got me into, back in that other lifetime, was due to too much tequila. It was never my fault; it was always the "cactus poison" talking! And that's why even today (although I now "drink like a gentleman"), the only time I drink tequila is on Margarita Day. And I never have more than two margaritas.
May the blessings you wish for me, also softly descend upon you, my friend!
~ D-FensDogG
Thanks for the clarification. I sort of figured margarita making used tequila but that was just an assumption due to my lack of consumption in this department. Hee-Hee! I'm really, really grateful I never took a liking to liquor. I just wish I hadn't taken such a liking to chocolate. That's my evil down. :) It use to bother me because I do have a lot of innocence about so much stuff but DH put my mind at easy saying that's one of the things he likes about me. This is just the way God made me and wanted me to stay. Who am I to argue or go against the Big Man? :)
DeleteThe Big Man gets the final Word, ever' time. I'm just happy to know that when I get to Heaven, there's going to be waiting for me the best wine ever fermented, courtesy of the Good Shepherd Winery. ;^D
Delete~ D-FensDogG
No one does it like the Champs, but Xavier Cugat is a close rico suave second. Two beats of Buddy Morrow and Fred and Rita have left the building ;-) Xavier for me, please.
ReplyDeleteHappy new beginnings, Stephen.
dEAR dIEDRE ~
DeleteI would never have put The Champs' original version of this song up against any cover. That would be like drinking tequila all day and night in Ensenada, Mexico. (Think: Trouble, Shutout & Locked-Up.)
However, one Margarita Day I *did* use 'Tequila' by The Champs against Jimmy Buffet's 'Margaritaville'. The Champs won, but if memory serves me, it wasn't a massive blowout.
I know you enjoyed dancing, so your vote for Xavier does not surprise me. But I has a Q 4 U: Back in your dancing prime, how many times in a row do you think you could have danced to Xavier's version of 'Tequila' before collapsing on the dance floor in an exhausted heap?
~ D-FensDogG
Ha! Herein lies the key to not collapsing: the more you dance the less you drink...or you burn it off or something ;-)
DeleteWait! Are you telling me *now* that if I had learned how to dance I wouldn't have had to suffer all those hangovers in the 1980s?
Delete"I'll take Hangover Remedies for $500, Alex."
~ D-FensDogG
Aw, I didn't know you didn't know. Menudo is supposed to cure the evil drinking revenge. I can't even think about the nasty stuff.
DeleteYes, I've heard that about menudo. But having been a vegetarian since 1985, today, the remedy (menudo) would make me more sick than any amount of alcohol ever could.
DeleteMy Pa once brought some menudo home from the grocery store. When we found out what it was, the family wouldn't touch it. So Pa gave it to our dog, [Link> GEORGE. HOKEY-SMOKE!! He loved that mess so much that it really brought out the wolf in him! When he finished every lick of it, we thought he was going to then eat his plastic dog food bowl.
Thereafter, we would give George menudo on special occasions, such as his birthday, etc.
~ Stephen
Gotta go with "Coogie," as his beautiful ex-wife calls him. (If you ever get to Hawaii, try to catch Charo's show, it's excellent.)
ReplyDeleteBROTHER JOHN ~
DeleteHelck it all to pieces! I had no idea that Charo was ever married to Xavier Cugat.
I learn new things every single day.
(About a hunnert new things every single day, which probably says something about the depth of my knowledge.)
~ D-FensDogG
OMG! This one is tough! This isn't fair...lol. I will vote for Cugat as I do like the skunk and the name stated..Tequila. John Wayne's drink of choice. I've had too many margaritas one night in Panama so I will not partake
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteI'm pleased as spiked... tea (I mustn't become so predictable that folks can start impersonating me better'n I can impersonate me) that you found this Battle so difficult to make a decision about. That's almost always my BOTB goal.
Oh, I hear ya loud 'n' clear! Tequila is cactus poison, and only a fool drinks too much of *that* hooch. (I've been a fool, but... "I got better" -- to steal a line from Monty Python.)
Tequila may have been The Duke's favorite hooch, but I know he also liked Superior (Mexican) beer. My all-time favorite Mexican restaurant, 'Antonio's', which used to be a famous eatery in Los Angeles, had pictures on the walls of countless celebrities eating in the place. And there were several pictures of The Duke there, with bottles of Superior beer on his table.
Thank you for coming by with your two cents to feed the BOTB kitty... er--- the BOTB jug.
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! Tequila.....hmmmm not many a good decision made when good ole Tequila found its way inside me. The battle was good. Xavier and Buddy were almost a photo finish but Buddy gets my vote as it is a bit more up tempo and energetic.
Hope your year is a good one!
JW,
Pooooooh!
...AND, GENERAL POOHREGARD, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
DeleteThank you, ol' chum, for coming by with a bottle for the punch! It just wouldn't be the same without ya!
Somehow, I still remember those days when I'd go to Hollywood Park in the mornings to place my bets and then you and I would open up the .99-Cent Club. (I always tried to get a couple Margaritas in me before Noon, to set the proper tone for the day. Uhp!)
Then there was that night we went to the .99-Cent Club (also known as Azteca) to see a boxing match and Dean almost wound up in a boxing match of his own in the restaurant. Uhp!!
>>... "Hope your year is a good one!"
Stay cool. Have a bitchin' Summer, and I'll see you in September.
~ D-FensDogG
Good battle here bro. I liked both versions much better than I thought I would. Youse done goot. I guess I'm gonna make a rulin' fer Xavier Cugat, but just slightly. On any given day or mood I could reverse that rulin', but, fer now, rulin fer Cugat!! That's it, that's muh rulin'. By the way, I liked that little inside joke with the ping pong balls in the photo. Man, your BOTB friends must think you're awfully strange. And you are. That's another rulin'.
ReplyDeleteIs THAT what those are? I should have asked. 1) they seem the wrong color for ping pong balls. 2) one seems larger than the other... so it didn't occur to me that's what they were.
DeleteHowever, it is indeed so weird that every single reader should have asked you about it. Who is Mr. T.? Not Nappy, because he would be Mr. N. And what's the (4) about? And why are you a zookeeper?
Six
JUDGE AL ~
DeleteI really wasn't at all sure how you might vote in this one. If forced to guess, I think I would have guessed you maybe, perhaps, possibly would lean slightly toward Buddy Morrow. And this tells us quite a bit about... nut'n at all.
>>... "your BOTB friends must think you're awfully strange. And you are."
"Oh, that's fine, Potter, coming from YOU!"
You, the Wizard of Weirdness!
~ D-FensDogG
Sir Six-A-Lot ~
DeleteAs you know, Nappy and I play ping-pong about 3 days per week at the local Senior Citizens' Center. And we have our own team or club of ping-pong balls, white & orange, and 13 total. Each ball his its own name which it acquired for one reason or another. Here's some of them:
Pinky
Maureen O'Hara (a.k.a. "The Angry Redhead"), who is supposedly Pinky's mother.
Papillon
Franklin (based on the Twilight Zone episode 'The Fever').
Granville (based on the 1974 movie 'The Longest Yard').
The Girl From Ipanema (a.k.a. Hoyt Wilhelm).
Shoebooty
Wally George
Orange Ball Bad
Son Of Gypsy Boots
Sloopy (We always leave her "hanging on the ping-pong table" when we leave, as our calling card, to show we'd been there.)
Zookeeper K-Dogg is a tribute to my friend Kevin Mollahan, who passed away in 2019.
The Senior Center has a *small* number of *oversized* balls. I guess they're for beginners, or something. Because of their girth, they don't fly quite as fast & hard as the regulation-sized balls do. Mr. T is the only oversized member of our team. He's the fourth "big boy" we've had on our team; the first 3 magically disappeared! It's still an unsolved mystery. I should have written his name as 'MR. T the IV'.
Whenever Mr. T gets served on the table, Nappy or I - whichever one of us puts him into play - will immediately say (like all the musicians invariably do while playing before an excited live audience) "Let's slow it down a little."
So... Mr. T appearing in my blog bit, right after Xavier Cugat's massively uptempo version of 'Tequila', and just before Buddy Morrow's slower-paced rendition, was an inside joke for Judge Al. No one else could have possibly understood the meaning of that photo.
~ Dr. DogG
I like the Blues-y feel of Buddy Morrow so that's my vote!
ReplyDeleteThanks, CHRISTINE!
DeleteYes, the drastically different stylized approaches to this song is what convinced me to use these two versions in this Battle.
I think they're both exceptionally done, but almost like night and day in terms of style and feeling.
~ D-FensDogG