Monday, August 21, 2017

BOTB RESULTS: 2017, AUG. 15 (Or, JIMMY DORSEY VERSUS HERB ALPERT)

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Well, well, well. Another BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB) installment in the books, and another embarrassing black eye for the MAGIC 8-BALL's reputation.
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The Battle (using that word loosely) took place (link:] HERE, and that makes two consecutive BOTB blowouts for me. WTH? I think I've lost my BOTB touch. (I must be low on the electrolytes I crave.) I'm in the doghouse with myself!
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Anyway... I sincerely do thank each and every one of you for coming by my blog doghouse to listen and cast a vote. You are all appreciated by me!
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This Battle, however, didn't end quit as badly as it began. I think the first five votes all went for HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS version of the song 'TANGERINE' -- causing me to begin fretting about a shutout. But then Sixgun McItchyfinger showed up to cast a vote for the Jimmy Dorsey team and that got the 8-ball rolling a little bit. Nevertheless, it was one-sided from the get-go and remained that way for the duration.
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Like the majority, my vote also went South Of The Border. For me, 'TANGERINE' is really all about that gorgeously lilting, haunting melody.
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The sad and final tally looked like this:
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Jimmy Dorsey (w/ Bob & Helen) = 6 votes
Herb Alpert & The TJ Brass = 11 votes.
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Yep. Herb's votes went "up to eleven".
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I hope to see you all here again on September 15th when I will have a real nail-biting Battle. Isn't that right, Magic 8-Ball? ...Oh, why do I even bother to ask YOU ?
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

2017, AUGUST 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, JIMMY DORSEY VERSUS HERB ALPERT)

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Yes, it's the 15th of the month and that means that 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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I associate the color orange with August because the eighth month is "the dog days of Summer" when it's hot... and the heat has gotten really old! It's like the Sun has gone from "happy yellow" to "just-leave-me-the-hell-alone orange". Also, those of us who were born in August are Leos, and lions are orange -- I ain't lyin' (sorry):
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And tangerines are not oranges but they're orange. And this brings us to my August BOTB song.
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I've always loved the melody of 'TANGERINE' and have been wanting to BOTB the song for quite awhile. Once, a couple years ago, I checked YouTube for recordings of it but didn't find any match-up that really appealed to me. But on August 1st I took a second look and then found what I felt were a good pair of Tangerines. Mmmm.... a pair of tangerines. You know wot I mean? Or do you want a picture?
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Wackypedia sez:
"Tangerine" ... was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941 and soon became a Jazz standard.
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It was introduced to a broad audience in the 1942 movie, 'The Fleet's In', produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Schertzinger just before his death, and starring Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Eddie Bracken, singer Cass Daley, and Betty Hutton in her feature film debut.
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The song portrays a fictitious South American woman with universally recognized allure: "When she dances by / seƱoritas stare / And caballeros sigh." 
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As one of Mercer's biographers explained the initial popularity: "Latin America, the one part of the world not engulfed in World War II, became a favorite topic for songs and films for Americans who wanted momentarily to forget about the conflagration."
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The most popular recorded version of the song was made by the performers who introduced it in the film: the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra with vocalists Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. ... The record first reached the Billboard charts on April 10, 1942, and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, including six weeks at #1.
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The tune was featured as background music in the films Double Indemnity (1944) and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).
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In 1976, All In the Family gave a nod to the song in the episode "Archie's Operation", when Archie Bunker burst into it repeatedly to interrupt son-in-law Mike's efforts to help pay for Archie's surgery.
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Alright, our first competitor is the original #1 Big Band hit. Have a listen:
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Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra 
with Bob Eberly & Helen O'Connell
Contestant #2 is Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. Their version appeared on the popular 1965 collection 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights', which any "confident heterosexual" male can tell you sported one of the greatest album covers of all time!
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"Confident Heterosexual" Old West Gunfight

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OK, and now for your consideration...
[COOL FUN FACT: Notice the sign at the very end of the Herb Alpert video paying tribute to Tommy Dorsey's original 'Tangerine' hit!]
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Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
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Question: Will Jimmy Dorsey And Friends Win This Battle?
MAGIC 8-BALL sez:   "Yes definitely"
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Alright now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whether I know "you" or notto vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. 

After voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. (If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice – and then return to their blogs to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)


Voice Your Vote...

@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE.

As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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