BOTB RESULTS: FEB. 15, 2024 (Or, NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND VS. BRUCE BLACKMAN)

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As always, first & foremost, my sincere thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to visit my Battle Of The Bands installment, listened and submitted a "bote" in the comment section. Y'all Cool Cats! The Musical Battle took place HERE, and it was between 'An American Dream' by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and 'Doing Nothing' by Bruce Blackman.
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This was a close contest. "Ya see?"...
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FINAL TALLY:
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band = 7 votes
Bruce Blackman = 5 votes
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Anyone who was paying even the least bit of attention already knew from my comments in the Comment Section that I was going to vote for Bruce Blackman. After all, as I wrote, Mr. Blackman (unbeknownst to him) really helped me to overcome my immense shyness! I know! I know! I know what y'all thinkin': "No way was STMcC ever shy!"
"Wrong again, Fishface!" (as my dearly beloved Ma used to say).
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I was so shy that I flunked out of Kindergarten. My teacher called me "anti-social". (I wish she could see me now!)

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Right after graduating from high school, Bruce Blackman helped me in overcoming my shyness. (How? See the comment section.)
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Here's the comment I posted on Bruce Blackman's 'DOING NOTHING' YouTube video 7 years ago:
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@D-FensDogG
7 years ago
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think "DOING NOTHING" may be my favorite Bruce Blackman song of all time. Yes, even more so than "Moonlight Feels Right". I think... maybe. Sheesh! That's a tough call, but I do know that over the last few years I've become very fond of saying "I NEED A COLD MOJITO". (And most of the time I do, too! Ha!)
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And Mr. Blackman replied:
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@StarbuckMusic
7 years ago
+D-Fens DogG I've been known to down a mojito or two, or three on occasion.
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By the way, *that* mojito, pictured above, was the best one I ever had!  Courtesy of the bartender at the Claim Jumper restaurant in Reno. The first mojito I ever had was at Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix. Abuelo's is also where I invented the word [link>"goldenshadow". 

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Sadly, of the 114 songs I still currently have listed to eventually use during my BOTB's Battle Of The Booze series, Bruce Blackman's 'DOING NOTHING' was my #1 absolute favorite. I really thought he would win this contest and go on to clobber a whole lotta other songs in BOTB's BOTB future Playoff rounds. As Waylon Jennings sang: [link> "WRONG!"
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Oh well, that's how the cocktail glasses break in a dive bar blog like this one.
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(I once ordered a martini in a bar called Remedy's. The bartenderess asked me if she could serve it to me in a cocktail glass, because she didn't have any real martini glasses. Then she added, "I'm surprised the martini glasses lasted as long as they did... in a dive bar like this." That was perhaps the second funniest thing I ever heard in a bar!)

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Well, anyway... although my very favorite song that mentions booze has already been eliminated from BOTB's Battle Of The Booze, the show must go on! So I will return here on March 1st with a new round of BOTB's BOTB. Until then, may you all...

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Bless & Be Blessed!! 

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~ Stephen

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POSTSCRIPT: Bruce Blackman's 2018 'THE ROAD TO MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT: The Story Behind One Of The Most Popular Songs Of The '70s' is an extremely entertaining book! I highly recommend it. (And it goes great with 

"a cold mojito".)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: FEB. 15, 2024 (Or, THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND VERSUS BRUCE BLACKMAN)

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CONGRATULATIONS! You found it. This is the 4th installment of Battle Of The Booze, my new Battle Of The Bands theme (also know as BOTB's BOTB).
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You DogGs & DogGettes who have been paying attention know that so far 3 songs have been slated to appear in a future Playoff round. So far we've got these winners:
'Tequila' by Xavier Cugat
'My Name Is Bocephus' by Hank Williams Jr.
'Hotel California' by The Eagles
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Brief reminder: Every song I use in BOTB's BOTB must mention a type of booze and/or a brand name of booze or a cocktail made with booze.

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This week, the two songs vying for a Playoff spot share a kind of tropical island getaway feeling.
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First up this time is the song 'An American Dream' by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - a #13 Billboard hit:

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Keep on talking, mama, I can hear
Your voice, it tickles down inside of my ear
I feel a tropical vacation this year
Might be the answer to this hillbilly beer
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I think Jamaican in the moonlight
Sandy beaches, drinking rum every night
We got no money, mama, but we can go
We'll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove
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What is "hillbilly beer"? Is that Hamm's? Schlitz? Lone Star? Lucky Lager? (Does anyone out there remember Lucky Lager?!)
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Challenging The NGDB for that Playoff position is the song 'Doing Nothing' by Bruce Blackman. Who he? He's the man what gave us the massive 1976 hit song [link> 'Moonlight Feels Right'. And here's some of what Mr. Blackman is dreaming of in 'Doing Nothing':
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Well, I'm looking good and smiling big; I've got it made
Just wait until the evening sun pulls down its shade
A long tall senorita making a margarita just for me
Hoo-Wee!

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Well, I'm underpaid and under-slept; ain't nothing new
The ocean calls my name in twenty shades of blue
I need a cold Mojito
Gotta get away from where I'm at
I can flat do that!
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So, we've got hillbilly beer & rum going up against a margarita and a cold mojito. 

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Remember: This is really about the songs and not the booze. So, in ye olde comment section, please vote for which song you liked better betwixt these two, and then please visit the other wonderful BOTBers and also drop your two cents in their comment sections.

* See the BOTBer links over there --->

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I'll return here on or about February 22nd with my own vote and the final tally.
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Alright, let's get on it (said Howlin' Wolf)
Let's get ON this thing (said Lightnin' Hopkins)

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AN AMERICAN DREAM
by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvHgPE6Se_0

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DOING NOTHING
by Bruce Blackman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNIaOBUY4vY

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

BOTB RESULTS: 2024, FEB. 1 (Or, THE BEATLES VERSUS THE EAGLES)

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Well, I did expect The Eagles' 'HOTEL CALIFORNIA' to win my most recent Battle Of The Bands contest HERE against The Beatles' 'Rocky Raccoon'. However, I also thought it would be a bit closer than it was. Nevertheless, I appreciate each and every one of you who took time to visit 'n' vote!

Unfortunately, what surprises me most of all (not really - I believe most people have lost their sense of curiosity) is that no one asked me about the meaning of this dialogue in my 'League Of Soul Crusaders' manuscript:

That shtick came from the Laurel & Hardy movie 'Our Relations'. Click HERE! League members routinely quoted from the greats, such as Laurel and Hardy, W. C. Fields, Monty Python, Benny Hill, Wally George, and Mister R. P. McMurphy! 

Aside from the fact that both songs in the contest mentioned a type of booze (gin, wine & champagne), both songs also had a theme that pertained to checking into a rented room. Rocky checked into a hotel room above a saloon and found... "Gideon's Bible". The delusional dreamers checked into the Hotel California and found... they could "never leave!" 

Yes, 'Hotel California' - the massive #1 hit by The Eagles - was way overplayed (and probably still is!) But a song *that* famous and *that* good, which happens to mention two types of hooch, just HAD to be included in my BOTB's Battle Of The Booze series. It's definitely a well-crafted song with one of the most melodically memorable electric guitar solos EVER recorded! The song is justifiably considered a Classic. 

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Even so, I like 'Rocky Raccoon' better, although I certainly like The Eagles better than I do The Beatles! I just have too many (hazy) memories associated with that particular Beatles song. Plus, I love the loose rambling style of it (so unlike so much of the overproduced, drugged-out, artsy-fartsy crap The Beatles usually recorded during that same time period); and I really dig the "jig" sections in that tune. Oh, how many times did a hungover D-FensDogG dance in circles to that? God only knows... and He's protly tryin' to erase it from His Memory!

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FINAL TALLY: 

The Beatles = 4 votes 

The Eagles = 8 votes 

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So, 'Hotel California' advances to the BOTB Playoffs (to occur at some future time). And I plan to return here again on February 15th with a new musical Battle for your consideration. Until then, may you all be well and... 

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...Bless & Be Blessed!! 

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy 

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: FEB. 1, 2024 (Or, GIN Versus WINE & PINK CHAMPAGNE)

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Welcome to my 3rd installment of Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze (BOTB's BOTB). This time we have two of the most famous bands in Rock music history battling it out for a future Playoff spot. It's GIN (The Beatles) versus WINE & PINK CHAMPAGNE on ice (The Eagles).
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Brief reminder: Every song I use in BOTB's BOTB must mention a type of booze and/or a brand name of booze or a cocktail made with booze.
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As most o' youz peoples know by now, in my very early twenties I was a member of [link> 'The League Of Soul Crusaders', perhaps the funniest, most unusual and outrageous drinking gang of all time. Below are a few excerpts from "the book", if you're interested in reading them.
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.Click photos to enlarge:

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'ROCKY RACCOON' is the fifth track on the second side of The Beatles' "White Album", and it was also the center and highlight of "The Hangover Waltz". It includes these lyrics:
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Now, the doctor came in, stinking of GIN
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, "Rocky, you've met your match"
And Rocky said, "Doc, it's only a scratch
And I'll be better, I'll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able"
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In 1977, The Eagles had a massive #1 Billboard hit titled 'HOTEL CALIFORNIA':
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So I called up the Captain
"Please bring me my wine"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here
Since 1969"
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Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said, "We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device"
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Remember: This is really about the songs and not the booze. So, in ye olde comment section, please vote for which song you liked better betwixt these two, and then please visit the other wonderful BOTBers and also drop your two cents in their comment sections.
* See the BOTBer links over there --->
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I'll return here on or about February 8th with my own vote and the final tally.
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Alright, let's get on it.
Let's get ON this thing!
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ROCKY RACCOON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDcDCZGcZj8

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HOTEL CALIFORNIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BciS5krYL80

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~ Stephen