BATTLE OF THE BANDS: APRIL 1, 2025 (Or, TODD SNIDER Versus BRUCE BLACKMAN)

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Today is that silly un-holiday, 'April Fools' Day', so here I am, the king of the court jesters, to amuse, entertain & tickle you with foolishness.

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This installment of Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze is going to feature a couple of silly songs that I consider to be pretty E-Tickety, as far as silly songs go.

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'Beer Run' by Todd Snider 

Versus 

'Less Thinking, More Drinking' 

by Bruce Blackman

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Last November, I introduced you to the song 'Ballad Of The Devil's Backbone Tavern' by Todd Snider, whom I consider to be one of the funniest & cleverest lyricists ever.  

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Snider ought not be underestimated! This guy writes songs across an amazing spectrum. He can write downright funny songs; also, downright serious stuffs. (At one time, I considered using his song 'You Think You Know Somebody' in my 'Battle Of The Booze' series, and then dismissed the idea because the song is just too depressing.) And, Snider wrote & recorded one of my two all-time favorite Christian Rock songs: > 'Somebody's Coming'. (Got any idea who that Somebody, "who don't need your vote", might be?)  

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Snider's song in this contest is about making "Beer Runs". When I was a member of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' in the early 1980s, we made a lot of beer runs. But we didn't need a car & a driver. Our headquarters were located at 824 Bay Street (where 98.97% of the executive decisions were made); and being a beer bottle cap-toss away from the intersection of Pico & Lincoln Blvds., we had 3 different liquor stores "within stumbling distance" (i.e., within two blocks). 

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However, 99.87% of the time, we walked (or stumbled) to Lucky Liquor, which was located right next door to Jolly Jack's Bar. "Two great places that tasted great together!"

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Lucky Liquor & Jolly Jack's: an Alcoholic's Alliteration Award winner!

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Bruce Blackman, the leader of Starbuck, gave us the catchy hit song 'Moonlight Feels Right'. In his book, 'The Road To Moonlight Feels Right', Blackman tells the following story: 

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At a recording studio in Doraville, Georgia, Bruce had just barely finished singing 'Moonlight Feels Right' when Steve Clark, the recording engineer, walked in and said, "You done? We've got to stop now. Skynyrd is waiting."

Then Ronnie Van Zant [lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd] entered the room and said to Steve, "Hell's that? You ready to quit doing this stupid shit and work on something good?" 

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That "stupid shit" went to #3 on the Billboard music charts in 1976. Lynyrd Skynyrd's biggest hit? 'Sweet Home Alabama' in 1974 - #8.

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Years ago, I left a comment for Bruce Blackman at YouTube, telling him, "...It was actually your song 'Doing Nothing' that turned me on to Mojitos. Prior to that, I was strictly a Margarita man. Thanks, Bruce, you done good!

:o)

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He responded:

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@StarbuckMusic

8 years ago

+D-Fens DogG I've been known to down a mojito or two, or three on occasion.

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Alright, let's get on it! 

Let's get ON this thing!!

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Please vote here, there & everywhere.

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BEER RUN 

by Todd Snider 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ABFJACVrg

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LESS THINKING, MORE DRINKING 

by Bruce Blackman 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKS7b0K4WQ

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~ Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy 

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2025, MARCH 15 (Or, THE BABYS Versus THE BABYS)

The famous Whisky-A-Go-Go on the famous Sunset Strip. Photo by Mike Dillon.

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My friend, Sheboyganboy Six 👌 > "Be seeing you" (a.k.a. Sixgun McItchyfinger, The Amazing Sixwell, Sir Six-A-Lot, Sir Sixy, and Six), had a birthday not so awfully long ago. I ain't sayin' what month it was, nor even what year it was. I'm jus' sayin' that it was "not so awfully long ago". 

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Sheboyganboy Six and I met online briefly before BigBitch.com (a.k.a. Amazon.scum) "cancelled" me. He, along with Arlee Bird, was one of my earliest blog readers and is probably still the most regular reader of my blogs. So, this BATTLE OF THE BANDS' Battle Of The Booze installment is being posted in his honor!

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I'm not sure that Sir Six finds it as humorous as I do but, although our genuine friendship has been ongoing for about 18 years, there isn't much that we agree on -- especially when it comes to music. We call it "The Great Musical Divide". 

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In fact, I maintain a rarely changing, very short list of things that we DO agree on. Here's the fully updated list as it appears today: 

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MUSICAL AGREEMENTS: 

1. Tom Petty 

2. Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 

3. The 'Who's Next' album.

4. Louis Prima & Keely Smith 

5. Joe Morello (best drummer ever).

6. Johnny Cash & U2 were highly overrated songwriters / singers / musicians.

7. The Dip

8. Rare Earth

9. The Babys

10. Loggins & Messina

11. 'Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee' by Jerry Lee Lewis (> is better than 'Rock This Town' by The Stray Cats).

12. Traffic 

13. Brian Auger

14. Steely Dan

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NON-MUSICAL AGREEMENTS: 

1. GOD Is!!!

2. Tiny Tim (er... 'The Tiny Tim Christmas Day Wish', that is).

3. Valerie Bertinelli was cute & hot! 

4. Jean Gonzalez was a VERY hot girl!

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If you were paying attention, 9. The Babys should have stood out for y'all. Sir 6 and I both dug & still dig The Babys. 

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Who are The Babys? A late '70s / early '80s English Rock band that had a couple big hits. Their first hit (#13 in Billboard), from their second album scored in late 1977, and was titled > 'Isn't It Time'. That song grabbed me immediately & I went out and bought both of their albums, 'The Babys' & 'Broken Heart'. 

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Other than the hook-laden songs, I think 6 digs The Babys primarily because of John Waite's vocals. I dig them primarily because of Wally Stocker's "Paul Kossoff School of stun-vibrato guitar playing" and drummer Tony Brock's "rolling thunder style & sound". In fact, Brock is one of my all-time favorite Rock music drummers! So... 6 & I disagree even when we agree. GOL! 😄

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Originally, I was planning to tell y'all 3 short stories about my strongest memories associated with The Babys. Like, Eric & I listening to > 'Dying Man' while drinking Southern Comfort & Coke in Redondo Beach. Like, my Ma & I seeing some sort of "Baby" while we were having lunch at Le Dome, where > Even A Dog Can Shake Hands. Like, Eric & I seeing The Babys live at The Whisky-A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip on December 31, 1978; and me yelling > "READ MY STARS!" all night, while The Babys pretended not to hear me. The Bloody British! I'd like to catch 'em sometime "in the town of New Orleans!" 😎 

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But I can't tell ya them 3 stories because it would take too long. So, let's get on it! Let's get ON this thing!

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Please vote for the song you like best. And then please visit all of the other BOTBers and vote in their Battles. I plan to return here on March 22nd with my own vote and the Final Tally.

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"At home on the Boulevard
Cheap whiskey and Tarot cards
Man, she's outrageous!"

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BROKEN HEART

by The Babys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UmOfGu9j0c

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"Feels like I'm falling on a whiskey sea

Come on, baby, and rescue me"

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RESCUE ME 

by The Babys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qanEPSICRO4

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~ D-FensDogG 

DogGtor of Alcohology & 

King of Inebriation Nation

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2025, MARCH 1 (Or, ELTON JOHN Versus BRIAN SETZER)

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2 MAJOR ANNOUCEMENTS 

before we begin this E-Ticket Show:

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#1) Judge Al Bondigas received an Email from Elon Musk (via dogGe.gov), informing him that he is no longer employed in the Federal Court System. Therefore, henceforth (and going into the future, too), Judgey will no longer be making "rulin's" in the Battle Of The Bands contests....

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...other than mine, of course. After all, he still owes me 'cuz I did save his life once, after he chased a badminton birdie and went crashing through my bedroom window, cutting his artery and slicing himself open from the armpit straight down Lincoln Boulevard to the bend in the road near Culver City! And then he had the audacity to tell me what to do: 

"Just let me die". 

I'm sorry but NOBODY breaks my bedroom window and then tells ME what to do!! 

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Scars? Judge Al's got 'em!

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New window & new (wealthy) homeowner.

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BTW, Judge Al's life wasn't the only one I've saved. I probably also saved my own Ma's life when she panicked and likely would have drowned in a Lake Tahoe motel swimming pool. (At some point, someone should have enough respect for me to address me as "Saint Bernard"). 

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It may possibly be within 'The Realm Of Possibility' that I also saved the life of some unknown young woman at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard & Gayley Avenue early one morning in early 1982.

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Northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd. & Gayley Ave.

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She had NO business... being near the scene of the crime 10 hours later! But then again, neither did I. ...Something about a massive bank window being kicked in (15 feet tall & 5 feet wide) and... somebody (i.e., the kicker, who was not me) having to retrieve the shoe that fell off his drunken foot and landed inside the bank. I dunno... I'm felly confused-uh! To me, it all seems like something from a Mr. Peabody's 'Waybac Machine' dream.

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Regardless & nevertheless, in the early morning fog, a speeding car ran a red light, and some exceedingly hungover guy -- who felt very remotely like me -- extended his right arm to prevent the lovely lady from stepping off the curb and getting hit by the speeding, red light-running asshole driver.

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That's all I can recall about the event, but if you greatly desire less info about it, you should consult your copy of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders', chapter 12 ('In Formation'), pages 80 & 81, wherein the incident is not at all mentioned.

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#2) Uhm... uh... Sorry, but I've forgotten what the second major announcement was supposed to be.

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Alright, let's get on it! 

Let's get ON this thing!!

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In my last BOTB's Battle Of The Booze [here], I featured two ballads (also Dodger Stadium, Lifeguard Station #26, as well as Disneyland and its formerly great Hotel). This time we're turning 180-degrees and listening to some high-energy Rockers! (You should must crank the volume up to eleven!) 

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In 1973, Elton John had a big hit with 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)', a song that I strongly feel deserves a place in the official Punk Rock timeline.

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Sometime after Brian Setzer broke up his neo-Rockabilly band the Stray Cats, he formed a new group called The Brian Setzer Orchestra. (Methinks it shoulda been called Brian Setzer & His Domesticated Dogs. But what could a poor, uncelebrated blogger like me know?)

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Anyway, Elton's hit is facing off against Setzer's remodeled Stray Cats hit 'Rock This Town'. Both songs mention booze ("belly full of beer" & "whiskey on the rocks") and both of them also mention Saturday night & fisticuffs.

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Please vote here and at the other BOTB contests. I intend to return here on March 8th with my own vote and the Final Tally.

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'SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING)'

by Elton John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhnZEmnuzgM

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'ROCK THIS TOWN' 

by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lvXC2DJ_7Y

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TTFN, 

~ Saint Bernard 

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: FEB. 15, 2025 (Or, LINDA RONSTADT & BRIAN WILSON Versus THE BEACH BOYS)

View of Santa Monica from Lifeguard Station #26.

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For me, this BATTLE OF THE BANDS' Battle Of The Booze installment is a kind of bittersweet stroll down Nostalgia Lane in my homemegalopolis. I'm going to explain that, but if you'd prefer to skip my yakking and cut straight to the action, feel free to scroll on down the blog bit. 

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I thank God that none of my friends and family members lost their homes during the recent outrageous fires in the Los Angeles area. 

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I've been known to frequently say: 

"I grew up at Dodger Stadium". 

It's true. When I was a tot, my Ma worked for the Dodger organization, and my Grandpa had season tickets at Dodger Stadium from Opening Day in 1962 into the 1990s. 

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Stephen (left) and brother Judge Al Bondigas (right) with some unknown Dodger player in 1962.

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Judge Al Bondigas on the cover of a 1962 Dodgers score book, painted by famous artist Nicholas Volpe.

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Stephen modeling the latest Dodger fashion for five-year-old future Hall Of Famers.

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I've also been known to frequently say: 

"I grew up in the shadow of Lifeguard Station #26" (on Santa Monica Beach).

It's true. While in school, all of my Summers were spent right next to Station 26 on "Dogtown" Beach. I still have my very old beach towel but, sadly, I now use it as a mat on my bathroom floor. However, truth be told, I didn't really spend a lot of time on that towel at the beach; I was usually in the water, riding the waves. 

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Lifeguard Station #26 in the distance, Santa Monica Beach.

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Station 26, where the cool kids spent their Endless Summers acquiring future skin cancers.

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No doubt, I spent at least as much time at Disneyland & the Disneyland Hotel as I did in Dodger Stadium. But I never say that "I  grew up in Disneyland" because I didn't. I went to Disneyland and its formerly great Hotel in order to forestall growing up; in an effort to nourish & protect the life of the Neverland "Lost Boy" in me (a.k.a. "my inner Tom Sawyer").

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When I have trouble falling asleep at night, I imagine myself back in certain areas of the (fantastic but long gone) Disneyland Hotel and that usually does the trick.

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Alice... call me! I'm taller than the Mad Hatter, and I don't talk as funny as he does.

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STMcC, circa 1990, in front of his favorite Disneyland ride.

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Some time after learning of the massive fires in the helL.A. metropolitan area -- my homemegalopolis -- I wondered about 'Moonshadows'. Moonshadows was a unique restaurant right on the coast in Malibu, and it always made me think of a cute gal whom I nicknamed Chantilly Lace (after the Big Bopper's big hit song). 

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When I did an iNet search for Moonshadows, I was saddened to learn that it had burned down to the sand:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRLw5gnbTxU

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Then I thought about another really cool place on the  Pacific Coast Highway that I used to frequent called 'The Sunspot '. It was a dance club, and I have a couple of early 1980s stories from The Sunspot -- goot juans! But when I did an iNet search on it, I was shocked to learn that, what remained of The Sunspot after a mudslide, was razed in 1995! (The same year I moved away from Los Angeles for the second and last time.)

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The Sunspot, as it appeared in the 1945 Joan Crawford film 'Mildred Pierce'.

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The Los Angeles that I once knew and loved is mostly gone now, and all of this bittersweet nostalgia (eliciting E-Ticket goldenshadow feelings in me) inspired the following BOTB match-up: 

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What we have is Linda Ronstadt singing 'Adios' -- a "goodbye" song that was musically arranged by Beach Boy #1, Brian Wilson, and which also includes his background vocals. Booze: Margaritas.

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The competitor is 'Disney Girls (1957)' written by and featuring the lead vocals of long-time Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. The song appeared on the 1971 Beach Boys album 'Surf's Up'. Johnston said that he wrote the song "because I saw so many kids in our audiences being wiped out on drugs" and he had wanted to capture the feeling of an era in which people were "a little naive but a little healthier".

Booze: Wine.

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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!

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ADIOS by Linda Ronstadt 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0TUSYqLhDQ

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DISNEY GIRLS (1957) 

by THE BEACH BOYS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZMZgPHgKlc

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After voting in the comment section, please visit the other BOTBers and drop your two-cents worth in their Battles. I plan to return here on Feb. 22nd with my own vote and the Final Tally.

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Bless & Be Blessed!!

~ STMcC

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2025, FEB. 1 (Or, BEAUTY And THE BEAST... In Conflict)

We've been told that opposites attract. Hmmm.... well, sometimes... 

in some areas. 
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Obviously, the major theme in all of my Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze installments is booze. Every song mentions some sort of hooch or a cocktail made with hooch. Most of the time, I attempt to include a kind of secondary theme, such as a shared subject, shared musical genre, tempo, or mood. 

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This time I decided to present two songs that are opposites in almost every way (e.g., ballad vs. rocker, vocal group vs. solo singer, beautiful vs. beastly, etc.)

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For a very long time I have greatly loved the clever harmonizing by Spanky & Our Gang. I rank them higher than The Mamas & The Papas; lower than The Beach Boys; but at the very least, equal with The 5th Dimension. And I consider Tom Waits to be one of the two greatest lyricists of all-time. Let's see what happens when these two opposites square off against each other in Battle Of The Booze! (I think I know who's going to win, but I haven't a clue about the margin of victory.)

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It's champagne & beer versus whiskey . Please vote for the song you prefer, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and drop your two cents in their upturned hats. I intend to return to the comment section with my own vote & the final tally on Feb. 8th.

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Cherry blossoms lose their bloom in the autumn

You lost your cool in the fall

You stumbled and you fell right down to the bottom

Nobody cared at all

But for me

You would have stood there with egg on your face

The bitter taste of old CHAMPAGNE

Up to your neck in rain 

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Here's a prescription for convalescent hippies

You oughta know

Get some Japanese BEER that I call sipsies

Ah-So,

Ret yourself go

Northwest Orient

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(It Ain't Necessarily) 

Byrd Avenue 

by Spanky & Our Gang 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shjU99o3kls

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Hang on, St. Christopher, on the passenger side

Open it up, tonight the devil can ride

Hang on, St. Christopher, and don't let me go

Get me to Reno, got to bring it in low 

Put my baby on the flat car, got to burn down the caboose

Get 'em all jacked up on WHISKEY, then we'll turn the mad dog loose

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Hang On, St. Christopher 

by Tom Waits 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WMeJJ3LdHU

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~ STMcC

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: JAN. 15, 2025 (Or, THE RAT PACK, BING & COLUMBO Versus HANK & HIS ROWDY FRIENDS)

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This'll be a "goot juan" or my name isn't 

Baby-Face Braunschweiger D-FensDogG!
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This installment of BOTB's Battle Of The Booze is "demon RUM" & "bootleg GIN" versus "BEER on ice"... 

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OR... 

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Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk, and King Tut Victor Buono versus Hank "Bocephus" Williams Jr., George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Little Jimmy Dickens, Paul Williams, Cheech y Chong, George Thorogood, Mel Tillis, Kris Kristofferson, Grandpa Jones and Porter Wagoner, etc. (Psst! I love Mel Tillis. But don't mention that to my Momma... she's tryin' to forget about it.)
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This is one of the rare occasions when I am allowing voters - should they wish to do so - to also take the videos into consideration while deciding how to vote. And you can click the video URL links if'n you want to see them more bigger.
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The first song is 'MISTER BOOZE' from the 1964 movie 'Robin And The Seven Hoods'.
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MR. BOOZE
by The Rat Pack & Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFyX2sSTGs

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When you were younger, did you have any rowdy friends? I've always wondered what that would be like, as all of my friends were teetotalin', tie-wearin', church-goin' wallflowers. We never got invited to hang out with the "cool kids".
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ALL MY ROWDY FRIENDS ARE COMING OVER TONIGHT
by Hank Williams Jr. & Rowdy Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2GBQqSKl8w

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Please vote for the song and/or video you liked best, and then be kind enough to visit all of the other BOTBers (see links in right sidebar) and deposit your two cents in their Battles.
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I intend to return to the comment section here on January 22nd with my own vote and the final tally.
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~ STMcC
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: MARGARITA DAY 2025 (Or, THE CHAMPS Versus THE BUTTON-DOWN BRASS)

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 HAPPY  MARGARITA  DAY!  

"A Tradition Since 1986 

(...Except For 1994)"

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A couple of announcements before The Main Event:

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1) Remember that Mary, Mary, Quite Extraordinary (MMQE) is now bloggin' & BOTBin' at this site:

https://jinglejanglejungle.blogspot.com/

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2) For the foreseeable future, I am reverting to my original practice of posting my BOTB Results at the bottom of the comment section of the actual contest, rather than creating a separate BOTB Results page. 

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BOTB's 2025  Margarita  Day 

Battle Of The Booze

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My Pa experienced his first-ever Margarita on New Year's Day in 1986, thus beginning the 'Margarita Day' tradition. Pa went Home in 1996, but I carry on the tradition in his absence. And, as most everyone knows, the primary booze in a Margarita is tequila. 

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This blogfest, Battle Of The Bands (BOTB), began 11.5 years ago. There are no real "rules" in BOTB, except for this: There should be, at the very least, some tenuous theme that ties the two (or three?) combatants together. I mean, we don't want to see a Battle between 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?' by Patti Page & The Sex Pistols' 'God Save The Queen'. 

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Nevertheless, anyone who's been participating in BOTB for awhile knows that there are some unwritten forewarnings in the unwritten 'Book Of BOTB Forewarnings'; and the very first unwritten forewarning is this: #1: One should not put (or, "Thou shalt not pit", as it's worded in the unwritten Prince James Version) a cover version of a massive hit song against the original massive hit song... unless one seeks a massive blowout or even a complete shutout. 

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Therefore, I know perfectly well that what I'm about to do in my first BOTB installment of 2025 is playing  with fire. However, I enjoy the challenge of messing around with matches and a bottle of 190-proof Everclear. Call me crazy MISTER Crazy.

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'Tequila' -- The Champs' original recording was a #1 Billboard hit & has been heard by everyone many times. So, putting a relatively unknown cover version against it is simply BOTB insanity, no? Here ya go... 

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TEQUILA 

by The Champs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_JFLb1IItM

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TEQUILA 

by The Button-Down Brass 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJTwBIrDhk

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Please vote in the comment section for the recording you like best, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and "bote" in their Battles. 

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I'll return here on or about Jan. 8th with my own vote and the Final Tally.

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy 

BOTB RESULTS: 2024, DEC. 15 (Or, SIMON & GARFUNKEL Versus FRANK SINATRA)

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My sincere thanks to everyone who came by to listen and vote in my BOTB's Battle Of The Booze contest which took place HERE. It was between Simon & Garfunkel's 'Hazy Shade Of Winter' & Frank Sinatra's 'It Was A Very Good Year'. It was a very good Battle and I had fun foolin' around in the comment section.

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The contest went back & forth, and with 6 votes in it was tied up at 3 to 3. 

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As much as I dig Simon & Garfunkel in general, and 'Hazy Shade...' specifically, that Sinatra recording contains oodles & oodles of saudade (or what I refer to as goldenshadow - a term I invented for that feeling). So, my own "bote" went to Sinatra, leaving us with 2024's final Final Result looking like this:

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FINAL RESULT: 

Simon & Garfunkel = 7 votes 

Frank Sinatra = 5 votes 

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Therefore, S&G will advance to the eventual Battle Of The Booze playoff rounds. For Sinatra, it was a very good year but... it's essentially over now. 

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Mary (MMQE) of 'Jingle Jangle Jungle' will be rejoining us BOTBers on January 1st, 2025. And I will also be back with a boozy 'Margarita Day' battle on that same date. Please return here for that goot stuffs. Until then...

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I Wish You A Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year (to coin an expression). 

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~ D-FensDogG 

The Original Christmas Canine

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2024, DEC. 15 (Or, SINATRA Versus SIMON & GARFUNKEL)

Santa Badenov sez, "Brrr! Shrinkage!"

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Welcome to my last BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment of 2024. I'm thinking about Winter and The End Of Another Year. 

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I've always been a big fan of Simon & Garfunkel's music in general. However, their song 'Hazy Shade Of Winter' will always be intertwined with my memories of the late > Linda Haley (a.k.a. Anniee). In 2011, I wrote this about her:

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I’m rather jaded ... so it really requires something quite out of the ordinary for me to sit up and take notice. And then just when you feel that no one can much impress you anymore, you meet someone who, by the force of their personality, almost demands that you get to know them better, that you make the necessary effort to develop and maintain a friendship with that person. In other words: One day you’re surfing your little strip of Blogosphere Beach when Anniee enters.

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And, lucky for us, 'Hazy Shade Of Winter' includes a reference to booze:

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Funny how my memory skips

Looking over manuscripts

Of unpublished rhyme

Drinking my vodka and lime

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My Pa liked Frank Sinatra's singing, but my Ma greatly loved it; while I was very slow in recognizing any distinctly notable talent in his vocals. For many years, he just sounded like most of the other crooners to me. 

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However, even before I came to appreciate Sinatra's singing, I always did really embrace his recordings of 'Winchester Cathedral' and 'It Was A Very Good Year'. 

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Luckily for us, that second song includes these lyrics:

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But now the days are short

I'm in the autumn of the year

And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs

From the brim to the dregs

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So, it's "vodka and lime" versus "vintage wine". Please vote in the comment section for the song you prefer, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and drop your two cents in their Battles. I'll return here on or about Dec. 22nd with my own vote and the final final tally. 

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HAZY SHADE OF WINTER 

by Simon & Garfunkel 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSd4QJBEMvk

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IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR 

by Frank Sinatra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxCafXgPL8

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Bless & Be Blessed!!

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~ D-FensDogG 

The Christmas Canine