Discotheque - The Discotheque Dance Album (1966)

Well, I finally did the Big Move of my furniture and stuff up from my old house to my new house over Memorial Day weekend. It was the drive from hell. It usually takes 8 to 9 hours to drive from Brownsville (the very bottom tip of Texas) to Dallas, but I was driving a 16-foot Budget truck (a piece of crap) and knew it would take longer. Well, when the truck started rocking from side to side in San Antonio, I knew it was not a good sign and had to drive even slower. I ended up stopping in Waco and calling a friend to drive down from Dallas to drive the truck the rest of the way. My friend said it was good that I stopped driving because there was something wrong with the front stabilizer, or something like that. But, he had driven big rigs so he knew how to handle trucks that drive bad. Anyway, I left Brownsville at 8 AM (with my teenage cousin to accompany me) and didn't get to Dallas until 11 PM - big fun. But, I have my stuff now - including the rest of my record collection! Woo hoo!

One of the albums I brought back is the one I've chosen for today's post. I liked the cover art and the name of the album, so that's why I bought it. It's an album of groovy instrumental hits performed by an all-star orchestra that includes Tony Mottola, Doc Severinsen, Dick Hyman, Bob Haggart, and is directed by Bobby Byrne. According to the liner notes, it is "played for continuous dancing discotheque style... the frug, the watusi, the swim, the fly, the twine, the hammer, the Prince Charlie, you name it..." Now, I've heard of the first three, but not the rest - and I have no idea how to dance any of them! But, it's a fun record to listen to, and also one to play at your next dance party! So, break out the cocktails and party dip, and prepare yourselves for "an unforgettably VIVID musical experience!"

Track listing for The Discotheque Dance Album:

Side 1:
1. A Taste of Honey
2. I'm Henry VIII, I Am
3. St. Louis Blues
4. I'm Telling You Now
5. Old Devil Moon
6. Mr. Tambourine Man

Side 2:
1. Bathtub Saturday Night
2. King of the Road
3. Gonna Build a Mountain
4. My Girl Sloopy (Hang On Sloopy)
5. Tonight
6. Baby Love

Eydie Gorme - More Amor (1965)

Y'all have probably figured out by now that I love Eydie Gorme, thanks to my mother playing the "Amor" and "More Amor" albums when I was growing up. Well, one of my early posts was the "Amor" album (click on the Eydie Gorme label to get all her posts), so now I'm finally getting around to posting "More Amor" (or "Mas Amor", depending which part of the world you are from). If you download both of these albums, you can easily burn them together to one CD! Eydie recorded both of these albums with the famous Mexican trio, the Trio Los Panchos. (I think I may have an album by them, and I'll post it if I do.) Once again, Eydie's voice is inspiring and beautiful as she is accompanied by the melodious guitars and harmonies of Los Panchos. This is a must!

Track listing for Eydie Gorme - More Amor:

Side 1:
1. Vereda Tropical (Tropical Trail)
2. Cuatro Vidas (Four Lives)
3. No Te Vayas Sin Mi (Don't Leave Without Me)
4. Mas Amor (More Love)
5. Desesperadamente (Desperately)
6. Guitarra Romana (Roman Guitar)

Side 2:
1. Oracion Caribe (Caribbean Prayer)
2. Flores Negras (Black Flowers)
3. Mala Noche (Evil Night)
4. Fuego Bajo Tu Piel (Fire Under Your Skin)
5. Luna Lunera (Bright Moon)
6. Nochecita (Little Night)

Paul Mauriat - Blooming Hits (1968)

Here's another album with a humdinger of a cover! Wow! I can definitely say that it was the cover that first grabbed my attention. I wonder what ever became of the girl on the cover...

Anyway, this is a great album! It's just perfect to play on a lazy spring or summer day - like today! I think it got up to close to 90 degrees in Dallas today - nice and sunny, barely a breeze, a beautiful day! It was the kind of day to just lie on the couch, or hammock, or outdoor lounger, and relax and listen to great music such as this. So, grab a cool drink, take it easy, and give it a listen.

Track listing for Paul Mauriat - Blooming Hits:

Side 1:
1. Somethin' Stupid
2. Penny Lane
3. This is My Song
4. Seuls Au Monde (Alone in the World)
5. Inch Allah

Side 2:
1. (There's a) Kind of Hush
2. Puppet on a String
3. L'Amour Est Bleu (Love is Blue)
4. Adieu a la Nuit (Adieu to the Night)
5. Mama

Lorne Greene - The Man (1965)

Here's one of my favorites from my celebrity albums! I have several Lorne Greene albums, and I posted the "Bonanza Ponderosa Party Time" album before. I also have one by Dan Blocker that I'll get around to posting. If anyone has anything by Pernell Roberts, I'd love for you to share it! :-)

I grew up watching "Bonanza" - and "Gunsmoke", "The High Chapparral", "The Big Valley", "The Virginian", "The Rifleman", "Branded", "Laredo", and many others! If it was a western or a war show (like "Combat!" or "The Rat Patrol"), then I watched it with my father. Those were the days when a home had only one TV (two TVs meant you were "rich"), and I even remember when we got a COLOR TV! My father would sit in his vinyl recliner and I would sit next to him in my little rocking chair. Oh - and I was the remote control, too! Well, I'm just glad I have cable TV and get the Encore Westerns channel and American Life Network - I get to watch a lot of these old shows and relive happy memories of my childhood.

Listening to this album also brings back pleasant memories of an era gone by. Henry Mancini wrote the liner notes and here's a snippet:

I like this album! It's a steel-drivin', mountain-movin' album full of exciting hammer-swingin', rock-splittin' rhythms....
Everybody knows Lorne Greene. Sure...he's the Big Boss of the Ponderosa Ranch on TV's "Bonanza," but that's NOT the Lorne Greene I'm talking about. In this album he takes off his shirt and bends these great work songs in his bare hands like some kind of way-out giant. In every groove there's pure, naked virility that will give your loudspeaker a real traumatic shock. There's bone, muscle and guts in these songs....

Okay - you get the idea! So, give it a listen! Lorne Greene is, indeed, The Man!


Track listing for Lorne Greene - The Man:

Side 1:
1. Pop Goes the Hammer
2. End of Track
3. Nine Pound Hammer
4. Bring on the Dancin' Girls
5. Oh! What a Town
6. Fourteen Men

Side 2:
1. Destiny
2. Sixteen Tons
3. Trouble Row
4. Chickasaw Mountain
5. Darling, My Darling
6. The Man

Here's a hilarious clip of Lorne Greene with Dean Martin:

Mother's Day Compilation

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I know the day is almost over, but I hope some of you get a chance to download this and play it for your mothers. Or, for those of you (like myself) whose mothers are no longer with you, play it for yourselves and remember your mothers with all the love they deserve.

Mother's Day is a bittersweet holiday for me, as my own mother passed away 15 years ago on Mother's Day. But I lovingly remember many a Mother's Day - my father and I going shopping for a card and present, going up-valley to my uncle's house and spending the day with his family. One of the traditions our family had on Mother's Day was to go to the cemetery and place flowers on my grandmothers' and great-grandmother's graves. I know that may sound odd to some of you, but I actually remember it with fondness - I think that's one reason why I have come to value my ancestors and heritage, thanks to my mother. In my adult years, after my father passed away, I moved away but I would take my mother out to lunch or dinner if one of us was visiting the other. I was lucky to have spent a week with my mother (she came to visit for a week) just a few days before she passed away.

So, I hope you like this compilation of songs (most of them seem to bring a tear to your eye).

Track listing for Mother's Day Compilation:

Mama - B.J. Thomas
Rock and Roll Lullaby - B.J. Thomas
Mama - Connie Francis
Que Sera, Sera - Doris Day
Mama Said - Dusty Springfield
You and Me Against the World - Helen Reddy
Mother of Mine - Jimmy Osmond
The Sweetest Gift - Linda Ronstadt
Mama Tried - Merle Haggard
Songs My Mother Loved - Milton Berle
Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon
Mother the Queen of My Heart - Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Mama Sang a Song - Walter Brennan
My Mother's Eyes - Willie Nelson