Frequently when I am doing something somewhere and I feel it's time to go somewhere else to do something different, I will say, "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie". Basically it means 'My work is done here. Moving on...' It's just part of my personal lingo.
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Decades ago, I was turned onto a great deal of terrific music by my dear departed Ma. She turned me onto artists like Count Basie, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Ralph Marterie, Bill Doggett, Clyde McCoy, Cannonball Adderley, and Bill Black's Combo, to name a few. Ma also made me aware of 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', a Swing song made famous by Louis Jordan in the 1940s.
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For your consideration, I present two excellent cover versions of Jordan's classic Swing hit by a couple of modern groups. I sense this will be a tough decision to make for a lot of voters. It may primarily come down to whether a person prefers good sax or good guitar; and whether the voter prefers solo vocals or more vocal harmonizing. Both of these videos are a helck of a lotta fun to watch, but try not to let the images influence your "bote". But if they do, I dersn't really mind.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!!
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Choo Choo Ch'Boggie - Alpha Rhythm Kings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5dRQNmVnDM
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Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - Swingabella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DriUGDZsjzY&t=181s
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After voting for one of these songs here, please be sure to visit the other BOTBers and cast your votes there, also. (See links to their Battles in the right-hand column.)
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I intend to return here on or about the 8th of June to cast my own vote and to announce the winner.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteYou're right it's not easy to pick a favorite between these two contenders. Both modern bands are fantastic! I definitely plan to visit YT to listen to more of their stuff. Generally, I love male vocals to female but in this round I'm going with Swingabella. One, I love the name and two, they have a sweet sound like The Andrew Sisters. Your Ma did alright turnng your ear to such a fun song/sound with Choo Choo Ch'Boogie! :)
CAThy!
DeleteI'm pleased as spiked punch that you enjoyed this Battle so much. I kind of tossed it together at the last moment, when what I was originally planning to use didn't really spark my enthusiasm all that much.
I find it somewhat humorous that today I dig my parents' music more than the music I loved as a teenager. The older *I* got, the better *THEIR* music got. I guess they weren't such square fuddy-duddies after all. ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen,
DeleteIt's interesting how our views change about our parents as we get older. That's something every kid has to learn first hand. They will totally not get it if you tell them otherwise. :)
CAThy...
DeleteYip! It's all part of the stages known as "Growing Up". We all went through it. Er... well, most of us did. I can't speak for the Millennials and Generation Z, who seem to be about as bright as their dim-bulb parents were.
~ D-FensDogG
Both of these are very good and the song is "swingin." My sense is that the band for Swingbella is better. The first guys are good and I think I like sax better'n guitar for this sort of song. But the musicianship for Swingbella seems like a 9.8 (except a 8.5 from the Hungarian judge,) where the ARK's get straight nines (except that pesky Hungarian again, who holds up a 10!) So Swingbella gets the nod in this contest.
ReplyDeleteSo, my vote being done: I will say, "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie".
Sixgun McItchyfinger
SIXGUN MacGILLICUDY ~
DeleteThere's one in every crowd,
But for crying out loud,
Why is it always turning out to be
the Hungarian?
>>... So, my vote being done: I will say, "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie".
Ha!-Ha! You catch on quickly, Grasshopper. Soon it will be time for you to leave.
~ D-FensDogG
Oh I vote for Swingabella because it felt more upbeat and not dragging at all. Live these swing bands
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteYou know what I like best about Swing bands?
They swing!
Thanks for swinging by with a vote.
~ D-FensDogG
Make mine Swingabella, for all the reasons listed PLUS they're from Ireland! The Alpha Kings were excellent as well, and they did a great video, so it was a tough choice...
ReplyDeleteBROTHER JOHN ~
DeleteThanks for dropping your two pingins into my BOTB kitty.
I was quite amused the first time I watched that Swingabella video and heard the gals yakkin' with that strong Irish accent after the song ended. You'd never know they were from the Emerald Isle while they were singin'. Sounded just like the Andrews Sisters to me!
~ D-FensDogG
You're right, this WAS a tough one. I tried not to let the videos sway me too much, since the first one was a lot of (corny) fun, and the lead singer is quite the eye candy, with that fetching blue dress.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I prefer sax over guitar. I thought Alpha Rhythm Kings would take it for me. But Swingabella has that delicious Andrews Sisters style of sound that I'm a sucker for, and the guitar is rip-roaring fun that makes you want to get up and move. And the craziest part, to me, is that they're all Irish. Yet that entire song sounds like classic Americana to me, and I can't get enough of it.
Give my bote to Swingabella.
6-B ~
Delete>>... But Swingabella has that delicious Andrews Sisters style
Hmmm.... You may have a point there. The first time I heard them, I immediately thought of a different trio: Rush.
Seriously, I'm glad you enjoyed this contest so much. I really like it too, even though it hasn't been so competitive, vote-wise.
~ D-FensDogG
Such a quandary! Sax and Guitar are both attractive to me, so what to do? Listen a few more times...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm bucking the popular trend and voting for The Rhythm Kings, as I preferred the male vocal to the female choir sound of Swingabella.
DEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteAh-Ha! You turned out to be the 'shutout buster' this time! Good deal.
This one is really tough for me, too! I could very happily vote either way on this Battle. And for that reason, I thought the voting would be much closer than it is. Oh, well... BOTB, where nut'n is a fer-sure thing.
~ D-FensDogG
Hi, Stephen T.
ReplyDeleteThe Swingabella ladies were impressive and charming. But I'm hopping on the fanciful Alpha Rhythm Kings train for the fun. Cool battle!
dIEDRE ~
DeleteI'm happy that you were happy with the match-up. Oh, yeah, the Alpha Rhythm Kings sure know how to make the trains run on time... with fun! They ain't nut'n like Amtrak!
I feel bad for that last guy in the video because "he couldn't hardly run fast" and that train had no intention of slowing down and getting off schedule!
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen,
ReplyDeleteNot my favorite song but good battle nonetheless. I thought Alpha Rhythm Kings would be hard to beat but I guess I did like the guitar and harmony by Swingabella a little better.
On another note, could it really be coming up on 40 Years since "THE PARADE"? GTBA (glad to be alive)
Extra JW,
Pooooooooooooooooh!
...AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!!...
DeleteThanks for coming by to spike the BOTB punch bowl! Somebody had to do it, 'cause it wasn't gonna spike itself.
>>... could it really be coming up on 40 Years since "THE PARADE"?
You gotta "follow the math" and "trust the math".
But I'll admit, that *IS* hard to believe. It feels like it was only 6 beers ago!
[Link> THE LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS' Greatest Moment (July 4th, 1983)
Speaking of '83, just how perfect does one's timing have to be to get a picture like [Link> THIS? I sometimes wonder if any of those three Greenwich Village girls remember that specific moment from that particular day. What were the odds that some dude from Dogtown, California, would happen to be walking by with a camera in his hand at that exact second?!?!
~ Stephen T. McMe
And Stephen,
DeleteNice Shot! An even better one would have them splashing into the puddle, but then again that's not very nice is it? Do I spy the Bust Stop Cafe in the background? I remember you take me there. The reason I remember is because it was after the Show No Emotion in a Big Way Tour. Now when you say six beers, do you mean six or thirty?
JW,
Pooooohregard
...AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
Delete>>... An even better one would have them splashing into the puddle...
Maybe. 'Cept that didn't happen. And you can't photograph what done didn't happen. Plus, I think I'd still prefer this moment of sudden realization when the three girls simultaneously learned the invaluable lesson of: "Look Before You Slide".
>>... Do I spy the Bust Stop Cafe in the background? I remember you take me there.
Yeah. Well, the Bus Stop Coffee Shop. (You only missed it by 6 letters, and that's close enough.) Did I take you there? That part I don't remember... what with the drinkin' an' all.
>>... The reason I remember is because it was after the Show No Emotion in a Big Way Tour.
No, no, no, man! Yer memory sux... what with the drinkin' an' all what you dun back when you dun it!
If I showed you the Bus Stop Coffee Shop in Greenwich Village, it wasn't during the 'Show No Emotion In A Big Way' Tour of '86. We only went East as far as the Devil's Tower on that trip.
It must have been during The 'Big Fucking Deal' Tour of 1987. (Which was followed by 'The Blistering Bicker Brothers' Reunion Tour' of 1988.) That was when you nearly missed getting on the subway with me and I blocked the doors open for you. You tried to pull a 'Pooh' on me but I said, "Not TODAY!" Man, if you had failed to get on that subway, we'd have been in big trouble. There were no cell phones back then and we both knew New York City about as well as we knew Gertrude's bedroom (Montezuma's grandmother).
Remember what I always used to say:
"Mickey's for better memory!" (Well, it was *something* like that. I don't zactly remember all the details. ;^)
~ D-FensDogG
One is about the same as the other for me. I'll give my vote to the version by Swingabella mainly for the electric guitar.
ReplyDeleteLee
LEE ~
DeleteNo surprise here. I had you pegged as a Swingabella voter due to the guitar.
~ D-FensDogG
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteGuess who is finally making the rounds? That'd be me o'course!
I sure did appreciate your kind words of support whilst I was going through one of my toughest months. It's good to know that someone out there cares 😁
As for your battle - they are both good , but I really liked The Alpha Rhythm Kings. Must have been that sax!
-MMQE
MMQE ~
DeleteHey, Hello, and Howdy-Doody!
I'm pleased to see you up and about and doing the town. (Apparently my Wild Turkey 101 remedy is working wonders for ya. ...The bill's in the mail.)
I'm also pleased to see the ARK get another vote. What I thoughted was going to be a pretty tight race has, instead, become a pretty loose floozie.
>>... I really liked The Alpha Rhythm Kings. Must have been that sax!
Good sax is hard to find!
~ D-FensDogG
BE IT KNOWN THAT...
ReplyDeleteJust as they were about to turn off the lights and lock up the courthouse, Judge Al Bondigas made a rulin' for the Alpha Rhythm Kings.
~ D-FensDogG
(Court Reporter)