BOTB RESULTS: DECEMBER 1, 2023 (Or, MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER VERSUS LAWRENCE WELK & COMPANY)

.
CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY GREETINGS, All Y'all!
.
I thank you all for giving me the only gift that really matters (i.e., a vote in my Battle Of The Bands installment HERE). The song was 'CAROL OF THE BELLS' and the contestants were Mannheim Steamroller and Lawrence Welk & Company. I won't go quite so far as calling it a "Christmas Miracle", but Larry & his Goils completely wiped out Mannheim & his Steamroller! It wasn't beyond my ability to imagine Lawrence Welk winning this Battle, but I surely thought that it would be a close reindeer race.
.
I like the Mannheim version quite well, except for that section around the midway point in the song when they introduce about 20 seconds of very un-Christmassy electronic robot voice & sound effect stuffs. Thankfully, the music quickly returns to a majestic Christmas sound (as is proper).
.
For so many of the same reasons that Welk voters mentioned in the comment section, I also prefer Champagne Larry & his bubbly Goils' version.
.
FINAL TALLY:
Mannheim Steamroller = 2 votes
Lawrence Welk = 11 votes
.
Beginning on January 1, 2024, I will be presenting a brand new BOTB theme and ongoing song challenge. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and will include an extremely wide range of different musical styles. So I hope you'll all rejoin me in the New Year. Until then, I wish for each and every one of you a joyful Christmas and a very safe, healthy and Happy New Year!
.
If you're looking for a great playlist to enjoy during these next two or three weeks, check out my YouTube...
[link> E-Ticket Christmas Song Videos! (playlist)
.

.
I'll leave you all for now with this bit of weirdness from me, D-FensDogG, your favorite Christmas Canine:
.
God is Love & Jesus Christ is our Sinless Savior!!
.
Me? I have a twisted sense o' humor and it's just not quite Christmas until I've heard Tiny Tim coughing his way through 'Amazing Grace' in his 'O Come, All Ye Faithful' medley.
.
Every year on Christmas Day, my Brother and I drop a coin into a body of water and make a wish that someday Tiny Tim will have a second hit song! This December 25th tradition is now roughly 20 years old. But I believe 2024 is the year the Tiny Tim wish will finally come true (...maybe). Please join us on Christmas Day and "Make A Wish For Tiny Tim".
.
O Come, All Ye Faithful (medley) -- Tiny Tim


.
~ Stephen

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: DEC. 1, 2023 (Or, MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER VERSUS LAWRENCE WELK & COMPANY)

.
Howdy, Xmas DogGs and DogGettes. 

Welcome to my traditional Christmas / Holiday Battle Of The Bands installment!
.
How many of you remember this really old television commercial?
.

.
When I was a kid, that Andre Champagne TV commercial always merrily reminded me that Christmas (my very favorite Holiday) was right around the corner. I've never particularly liked champagne, but I still love that commercial in a very heartwarming, nostalgic kind of way. It probably wasn't until I was about 21 years old that I learned the music used in that Andre commercial was a real, genuine Christmas song titled 'Carol Of The Bells'. Today, that is amongst my all-time favorite Christmas songs. And I really appreciate that it's about "The Reason For The Season":

.

Photo credit: 'I Love L.A.' music video by Randy Newman

.

So, I've chosen two versions of 'CAROL OF THE BELLS' to share with you in this December BOTB contest. One is instrumental-ish and the other is a song with singing and harmonizing and stuffs like that. I like them both. (It'd be difficult to really mess up this great carole.)

.
Pour yerself a glass of champagne (or Revel Stoke Roasted Pecan Whisky & ekker nog) and vote for your preferred rendition in the comment section below. And then please be sure to visit all of the other BOTBers (links in the column over there somewheres ---->) and vote in their Battles also.
.
I intend to return here on or about December 8th to cast my own vote and announce the winner.

.
Alright, let's get on it. 

Let's get ON this thing!
.
CAROL OF THE BELLS -- 

Mannheim Steamroller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8405nEFJXpk

.

Santa signals the "BEEE!" sign. (Some of you Al K. O'Holics know what that means. 😉)

.
CAROL OF THE BELLS -- 

Lawrence Welk Orchestra & Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIntt9md7ok

.
We'll yak again soon.
.
May you all...
Bless & Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen T. McClaus

.

POSTSCRIPT:

LEARN THE HOLY BIBLE IN 15 MINUTES!

Part 1 & Part 2

.

BOTB RESULTS: NOV. 1, 2023 (Or, JONNY LANG VERSUS JOHNNY HORTON)

.

Former bar owner, Stephanie, at far left.

.
I sincerely thank every one of you who stopped by to cast a vote in the "Super Bowl" (final round) of my Battle Of The Bands $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge which took place HERE. After six months of Battles, we have our champion!
.
This was a really terrific Battle; exactly the sort of neck-&-neck competition I had hoped to see in our $D$$C Super Bowl. And it seemed very fitting that a Jonny Lang song would wind up vying for the championship, since it was the Silver Dollar Saloon's former owner, Stephanie (now dwelling in the Spiritual realm), who made me aware of Jonny Lang in December of 2019.
.
I like the Jonny Lang song 'Lie To Me' quite well. Apparently The Kid was only 15 years old when this was recorded. What a talent! (This kind of nearly unreal "prodigy" stuff is one of many things that convince me of the truth of reincarnation. You don't come into "this world" with talent like that unless you honed it to some degree in a previous lifetime.)
.
Beforehand, I felt certain about how Debbie D'Doglady would vote (no "Purple Waylon Effect" this time), and also certain about how Judge Al Bondigas would "rule". And since I knew their votes would cancel each other out, a shutout was out of the question. I didn't feel confident in predicting how my other friends would vote, so I was anticipating a possible blowout... or a tie.
.
I love the Johnny Horton novelty song 'The Battle Of New Orleans' too much, and have far too much personal history wrapped up in it to possibly vote against it. My Ma bought the 45 single but we wee kids (my Brother, my Sister, and I) played it more than she did. I must have spent hours studying the record's dust sleeve.
.

.

.
What all that boils down to is...
.
FINAL TALLY
Jonny Lang = 5 votes
Johnny Horton = 6 votes
.
'The Battle Of New Orleans' by Johnny Horton is (in this blog's opinion) the supreme song of the Silver Dollar Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. The Silver Dollar Saloon, the only essential dive bar in Virginia City, where dogs are welcome and people are tolerated:
.

.

.
Fun Fact: Did you know that the Silver Dollar Saloon was once included in a Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon?
.

..

SPEND 1 MINUTE INSIDE THE 

REAL SILVER DOLLAR SALOON: 

CLICK RIGHT HERE!

.

Well, thanks again all y'all for making my $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge lotsa fun! I intend to return here again on December 1st with a Holiday themed Battle for your consideration. I hope you'll be here, too! Until then...
.
Happy Trails to you, and may you
Bless And Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: NOV. 1, 2023 (Or, JONNY LANG VERSUS JOHNNY HORTON)

.
Welcome to the $uper Bowl of the $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge! For you folks who don't know nut'n 'bout football, that means this is the LAST installment in this Challenge, and whoever wins is "the best", and they'll be going to Disneyland... Knott's Berry Farm... Virginia City, Nevada (my favorite place whole the world!)
.

.
ONLY songs that I have heard played at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Virginia City have been eligible to participate in this contest. That's the common thread: I've heard them at one time or another in one of the funkiest bars I've ever had the pleasure to pass out in!
.

.
No, the sign isn't a joke. Dogs ARE welcome at the Silver Dollar Saloon; and I have been tolerated there many times since February, 1992.
.

.

.
A quick recap of what's brought us to this point:
.
Dr. John (11) beat The Average White Band (4) in February, 2022.
Dr. John (9) beat Jonny Lang (4) in January, 2023.
Dr. John (10) beat Greg & Steve (3) in February.
Dr. John (8) beat Waylon Jennings (3) in May.
Jonny Lang (9) beat Dr. John (4) in August.
.
'Lie To Me' by Jonny Lang is our current reigning champion. I heard this song in the Silver Dollar Saloon on December 8, 2019. In this Grand Finale showdown, it is going up against 'The Battle Of New Orleans' by Johnny Horton, which I heard in the Silver Dollar Saloon on August 8, 2022.

.

I consider Horton's recording to be one of the all-time greatest American bar songs. In my 2016, "Margarita Day" Battle Of The Bands post, I explained why I feel this way, and how this song connects Arlee Bird, Sixgun McItchyfinger (a.k.a. Sheboyganboy Six) and myself together into a Terrible Trinity! If'n anyone is interested in that old story, you can read it HERE. (In a funny and twisted roundabout way, if you like Lee's blog, and if you like the April 'A To Z Challenge', you can probably thank Johnny Horton's song for their existence.)

.
It's JONNY versus JOHNNY "for all the marbles", as we kids used to say in the early 1960s on the playground at Iva Meairs Elementary School in Garden Grove. Jonny (without an h) or Johnny (with an h) - which one are you voting for in the comment section below?
.

LIE TO ME by Jonny Lang

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

.

.

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 

by Johnny Horton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_iRIcxsz0

.

After you vote here, please be sure to vote in the other BOTB contests. (See the Participants links in the right-hand column of this blog.)
.
I will return here on or about November 8th to cast my own vote and announce the final winner of THE $ILVER DOLLAR $ALOON $ONG CHALLENGE! Be here or be really, Really, REALLY uncool!
.
Bless And Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation

.

POSTSCRIPT:

If you'd like to view a beautiful 5-minute tour of Virginia City, Nevada, photographed from above by a drone, don't miss this super-bitchin' video:

.

VIRGINIA CITY by Drone World

.

BOTB RESULTS: OCT. 1, 2023 (Or, SINATRA & THE MOB VS. THE DOCTOR & HIS NURSE)

.

The song was 'Makin' Whoopee' and the contestants were Frank Sinatra versus Dr. John & Rickie Lee Jones. The Battle (if we can use that word) took place HERE.

.

Before I go any further, as always, I thank each and every single one of you who took the time to stop by, listen, and submit a vote (a.k.a. "spiking the punch" and "feeding the kitty"). This was a nice turnout... although the contest turned out nothing like I expected it would. 
.

Personally, I like both of the recordings, and I thought that John & Jones had a decent chance of squeaking out a win. However, since Ol' Blue Eyes is the "Chairman of the Board", I figured that made John & Jones the underdog(s) in this contest. 
.

Hokey-Smoke! Look at these results:

.

FINAL TALLY :

Frank Sinatra = 3 votes

Dr. John & Rickie Lee Jones = 10 votes

.

My own vote also went to John & Jones. I really like that slow, funky groove they had going on, and I also thought that this song worked great as a male / female duet.
.

Please join me here again on November 1st for the final (Super Bowl!) installment of my $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge. Until then . . . .
.

Bless & Be Blessed!!
.

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: OCT. 1, 2023 (Or, OL' BLUE EYES VERSUS THE DOCTOR & HIS NURSE)

.

.
Howdy, Friends! How all y'all?
.
Next month, on November 1st, we will be determining the ultimate winner of my year-long $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge. I'll be introducing the final challenger and it will be the Super Bowl of the $D$$C. Be here or be... the drunken dog in the saloon!
.
As you'll recall, Dr. John was wiping out all the competition in the $D$$C until that punk kid, Jonny Lang, threw him off the throne. And you'll recall that last month in an unrelated Battle Of The Bands match-up, Ol' Blue Eyes (with help from the Mob) beat Kenny Loggins in the 'Lady Luck' Battle.
.
Well, this week, we're going to put those two - The Good Doctor & Ol' Blue Eyes - up against each other on 'Makin' Whoopee', a song that's considered a Jazzy Standard. Dr. John will be getting some help in his duet version from Rickie Lee Jones. (Long-time Friends of my BOTB contests will remember that [link> John & Jones beat John, Krall & Costello on this same song back in 2014.)
.
OK, let's see if Sinatra & the Mob can beat The Doctor & his Nurse. Please vote in the comment section, and then be sure to visit all the other BOTBers and vote in their Battles also... or the Wolfman's gonna getcha!
.

.

.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing! . . .
.
MAKIN' WHOOPEE -- Frank Sinatra (& the Nelson Riddle Orchestra)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsMhSwMkJU0

.
MAKIN' WHOOPEE -- Dr. John and Rickie Lee Jones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNKEyN6_mtY

.
I'll return here with my own vote and the Battle Results on or about Sept. 8th.
.
Bless And Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen T.

BOTB RESULTS: SEPT. 1, 2023 (Or, FRANK SINATRA VERSUS KENNY LOGGINS)

.

.
First and foremost, as always, I sincerely thank you -- each and every one of youse who took the time to visit and drop "two bits" into my September 1st BATTLE OF THE BANDS slot machine here.
.

Martin & Lewis in 'Hollywood Or Bust'

.
We were playing with a Lady Luck (or, "Blow On The Dice") theme featuring 'Luck Be A Lady' by Frank Sinatra and 'Lady Luck' by Kenny Loggins. The conversation in the comment section was fun -- kind of like how Las Vegas used to be. The only thing missing was three olives surrounded by a Martini.
.

.

.
My Spidey sense Doggy sense told me in advance that Ol' Blue Eyes was destined to win this contest, but I felt it could be a pretty tight horse race. As the Battle went along, it felt like Frankie was clobbering Kenny. But to my surprise & delight, after adding in my own vote for Kenny, I discovered that the end result was indeed a tight horse race:
.
FINAL TALLY
Frank Sinatra = 7 votes
Kenny Loggins = 5 votes
.
In my opinion, Kenny Loggins' 1977 debut solo album 'Celebrate Me Home' was the best music he ever recorded! I did like a little of what he recorded with Jim Messina. Kenny's massive hit, 'Footloose', got played regularly in Los Angeles clubs in 1984 & '85. I always liked 'Footloose', primarily because it was the *only* song that I thought I could actually dance to fairly well. (When 'Footloose' played, I'd ask a gal to dance and I'd get on down with muh bad self!)
.
Sure, the title track, 'Celebrate Me Home', eventually became a Holiday staple. But otherwise, the album was completely ignored despite containing what I feel was Kenny's most impressive and expressive singing ever. It also included musical contributions by some exceptional players such as Bob James, Richard Tee, Lee Ritenour, Tommy Tedesco, Eric Gale, Robben Ford, Dean Parks, and Steve Gadd (one of my favorite drummers ever).
.
Hiram Bullock's playing at the end of [link> 'Lady Luck' has always been on my short list of very favorite electric guitar solos! That guitar is so amped up that you can hear the crackling of electricity just before Hiram hits the first searing note of his searing solo! "Cranked up to twelve, Baby! TWELVE!!" (Play it LOUD or... eat your prunes, brush your teeth and go to bed!)
.
I consider this album to be one of the all-time most underrated by anyone! Kenny's singing -- his control and range (sweet & guttural) -- *still* knocks me out, and 'Celebrate Me Home' remains one of my most frequently played compact discs. If I were going to recommend just *one* song from the recording to highlight the greatness of it -- Kenny's vocals & the terrific musicianship -- I think I would point people to 'Daddy's Back'.
.
'Daddy's Back' by Kenny Loggins 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVdA6l3S38

.
Well, thanks again all y'all for giving me another successful BOTB installment. Daddy'll be back on October 1st for another round o' fun. Until then, may you all have The Best Of Luck and continue to...
.

.

...Bless And Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen
(D-FensDogG & The Joker Of Clubs)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: SEPT. 1, 2023 (Or, FRANK SINATRA VERSUS KENNY LOGGINS)

.

.
Two or so weeks ago, my Brother and I were returning from a trip to a small casino in our area, when today's Battle Of The Bands theme occurred to me. I feel a strong affinity for Las Vegas themes - the flash, the glitz, Old School "Rat Pack"-like casinos & lounges - because, according to my dear departed Ma, I was actually conceived in this historic Vegas Hotel / Casino:
.

.

.
As I recently mentioned to Lee here, "I used to like Las Vegas a great deal and went there often in the 1970s through the early '90s. But 'Classic Vegas' probably disappeared in the mid-'90s and I have no desire to ever visit there again. The last few times I was driving in the area, I went right through Vegas without ever even considering getting off the highway. No thanks. Like everything else, it ain't what it used to be."
.
Everything eventually deteriorates, but I sure do remember and miss Old School Las Vegas, doggone it! One of my favorite Vegas memories is of seeing my Pa cleaning up in a Blackjack tournament at downtown's Lady Luck casino in 1988. Sadly, today, my Pa is gone, and so is the Lady Luck.
.

.

Also gone is [link> The Algiers, my all-time favorite Vegas establishment. What a trip back in time that place was! Even in 1990 the joint felt like 1956!
.

.

.

.

Although I always loved the atmosphere of Vegas, I've never really been a big gambler. The ONLY thing I know about poker is this:

.
Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy.
She'll beat you if she's able.
You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet.
.
Well, speaking of my conception, Classic Vegas, The Algiers, and the Rat Pack, let's have some fun with a LADY LUCK (or "Blow On The Dice") music theme. Below are two songs for your voting consideration. Please vote for whichever of the songs you dig the most. And then please make sure you visit all of the other BOTBers (see participation list in the right column--->) and drop your two bits into their slot machines also.
.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!
.
LUCK BE A LADY -- Frank Sinatra (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfiKk4wxiVM

.

.
LADY LUCK -- Kenny Loggins (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClnyOy-xyeU

.
I'll return on or around September 8th to announce the winner.

.

.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy 

(a.k.a. The Joker Of Clubs)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS RESULTS: AUG. 1, 2023 (Or, THE DOCTOR VERSUS THE KID)

.

.

My thanks to EVERYONE who participated in my latest Battle Of The Bands $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge which took place HERE.
.
After wiping out the competition in four previous rounds of this challenge, Dr. John (song: 'Right Place, Wrong Time') finally lost to a 15-year-old Kid (song: 'Lie To Me'). "Inconceivable!" However, in a way, this seems like kind of a fitting tribute to Stephanie, the former owner of the Silver Dollar Saloon who turned me on to Jonny Lang back in 2019 and unfortunately passed away earlier this year. Maybe this underdog victory was in the stars, or in the cards (i.e., predestined to occur somehow).
.
I expected Jonny Lang to do pretty well, but figured Dr. John would be the one moving forward to the final round of the $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge in November. Reason being is because I, myself, actually like Lang's song [link> 'Rack 'Em Up' better'n I do 'Lie To Me', and 'Rack 'Em Up' lost to Dr. John's song by a fairly large margin back in January.
.
My own Battle bote went to 'Right Place, Wrong Time', but the Good Doctor needed a whole lot more help than I could provide him with:
.
FINAL TALLY
Jonny Lang = 9 votes
Dr. John = 4 votes
.
Oh, well, so the Battle rolls. There was some surprising BOTB "boting" going on in this round, and it has given birth to a new term: The Purple Waylon Effect (thanks, Debbie! 😎)
.
The Super Bowl of the $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge is scheduled to occur on November 1st. Jonny Lang will be the defending champion going up against a song that actually has notable history connected with Lee, Sixgun McItchyfinger and myself. I'm real curious to see how that ultimate Championship Battle is going to turn out!
.
Meanwhile, I plan to be back here again for a different sort of Battle on September 1st, and I hope all y'all will return here for that one, also. Until then...
.
Bless And Be Blessed!!
.
~ Stephen T. ("D-FensDogG") McCarthy

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2023, AUG. 1 (Or, JONNY LANG VERSUS DOCTOR JOHN)

.

TODAY IS THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF

THE 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' SERIES

.
Wow! Time flies when you're listening to Rock, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country, Gospel & Show Tunes!
.
I'm also pleased to announce that 'Battle Of The Bands' has a new participant. Kindly welcome Christine @ STINE WRITING. And please be sure you visit her debut BOTB installment, cast a vote, and add her to your linked list of BOTB Participants. Christine is one of us now. [Link> HA!-HA!-HA!-HA!
.
After a two-month break, we are revisiting the ongoing $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge. This is the penultimate match-up in this series. You'll recall three things:
.
1) In order for a song to be eligible in this challenge, I *must* have heard it played at one time or another in Virginia City's Silver Dollar Saloon (where dogs are welcome and people are tolerated).
.

.

.
2) Doctor John's 'Right Place, Wrong Time' has been running the table in this contest, having already clobbered these artists:
The Average White Band
Johnny Lang
Greg & Steve
Waylon Jennings
.
3) Although he lost the Battle back in January, so many voters were impressed by that kid, Jonny Lang, that I promised him a rematch against The Doctor.
.
I recently learned that Stephanie, the owner of the Silver Dollar Saloon, passed away some months back. It was Stephanie who, on December 8, 2019, made me aware of Jonny Lang by playing two of his songs for me in her saloon. Therefore, this installment in the $ilver Dollar $aloon $ong Challenge is *DEDICATED TO STEPHANIE*. May she Rest In Peace.
.

.

Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!
.
We'll start with Jonny Lang. Although he is 42 today, he was only 16 years old when he released 'Lie To Me'. Sheesh! Shaking-My-Head!! I was still reading Encyclopedia Brown & The Hardy Boys when I was 16!

.
LIE TO ME -- JONNY LANG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tigVYfHVmQ

.

.
And here's the defending champ, Dr. John:
.
RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME -- DR. JOHN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuvIrvgoCag

.
Please vote for The Doctor or The Kid in the comment section. Then please be sure to visit the other BOTBers, and don't forget about our new member of the family, Christine @ STINE WRITING. I will return here on or about the 8th of August to cast my own vote and announce the winner.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy (the D-FensDogG)