The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra starring Warren Covington - Tea for Two Cha Chas (1960)

This is an album I've had for awhile - bought it in the late 1980s when I first started ballroom dancing. I noticed that I bought a lot of cha cha albums back then - probably because it was my favorite of the dances that I was doing. When I bought this one, the only thing I saw was "Tommy Dorsey", who I knew about because of my mother's big band influence on me. Then I saw that Tommy Dorsey himself was no longer around and that his orchestra was being conducted by someone else. So I was disappointed when I found that out but I thought I'd listen to the album anyway. I loved it! I had heard "Tea for Two Cha Cha" on the radio, but I never knew who played it - until I bought the record. So I was very pleased with my purchase after all and thoroughly enjoyed all the songs on this album. It was just perfect for practicing my cha cha at home, and it remains one of my favorites to this day.

Track listing for The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra starring Warren Covington - Tea for Two Cha Chas:

Side 1:
1. Tea for Two Cha Cha
2. Por Favor
3. Patricia
4. I Still Get Jealous Cha Cha
5. Corazon de Melon
6. Dardanella Cha Cha

Side 2:
1. Rico Vacilon
2. I Want to Be Happy Cha Cha
3. Together 1-2-3
4. Trumpet Cha Cha Cha
5. Dinah Cha Cha
6. Cha Cha for Gia

Frank Sinatra - Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)

I have long been a fan of Frank Sinatra, thanks to my mother. He was her absolute favorite singer and she would get all giddy like a schoolgirl while listening to his records or if one of his movies was on TV. But this album is not one of hers. I bought it about 20 or so years ago and played it for her but she didn't really like it that much. To be honest, it had to grow on me, too. I love the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, especially the bossa nova tunes, but I guess I just wasn't used to Frank singing like this. I was lucky enough to see Ol' Blue Eyes in concert here in Dallas in the late 1980s (and the orchestra was conducted by Frank Jr.!), but I don't recall him singing any of these songs. But with time, I have come to really like this album. It's definitely worth a listen.

Track listing for Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim:

Side 1:
1. The Girl from Ipanema
2. Dindi
3. Change Partners
4. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars
5. Meditation

Side 2:
1. If You Never Come to Me
2. How Insensitive
3. I Concentrate on You
4. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
5. Once I Loved

Here's a video clip of Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim:

KAAM Most Requested - A Stax o' Wax Compilation (2009)

As I have mentioned on several occasions, I am an avid listener of a local Dallas radio station, KAAM 770. I started listening to it in 1987 quite by accident. I had a radio on my desk at work and had been out one day (jury duty, if I remember correctly). The next day, when I returned to work, I turned on my radio and thought it was weird that they were playing "How Much is That Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page. That wasn't the kind of music I listened to! Then I noticed that my radio station had been changed and was a bit put off. But I realized that I loved that song and that I hadn't heard it since I was a little girl. So I left the station on and really liked what I was hearing. That has been my favorite radio station since that day (except for a short period when the station went "dark"). The station has moved around a couple of times to different frequencies and it's been sold a couple of times, but it looks like the current owners intend to keep it around for awhile. I have won several contests through the years (free ballroom dance lessons - that's how I got started on that, autographed CD from Bobby Sherman, free tickets to see Patti Page) and have discovered a lot of wonderful music through this station. When my mother would come visit me in Dallas, she enjoyed the station, too, and often commented how she wished there was a similar type station back home. She even got to go with me to a couple of station sponsored events - tea dances and such. "Old" music and "classic" movies were something that my mother and I had in common and enjoyed sharing.

Well, a couple or so years ago, KAAM listed their most requested songs on their website. I copied the list and started compiling the songs. I finally finished putting it all together (I get sidetracked sometimes) so here it is. Every song is familiar and a classic. Check out KAAM on the internet and listen to it online!

Track listing for KAAM Most Requested:

1. My Way - Frank Sinatra
2. In the Mood - Glenn Miller and his Orchestra
3. Somewhere My Love - Ray Conniff
4. I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Tony Bennett
5. Moon River - Henry Mancini
6. Spanish Eyes - Al Martino
7. Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith and his Orchestra
8. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
9. It's Impossible - Perry Como
10. Downtown - Petula Clark
11. Sugartime - McGuire Sisters
12. A Man Without Love - Engelbert Humperdinck
13. A Certain Smile - Johnny Mathis
14. Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
15. On a Clear Day - Robert Goulet
16. Welcome to My World - Jim Reeves
17. Tammy - Debbie Reynolds
18. I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis Jr.
19. Tea for Two Cha Cha - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra conducted by Warren Covington
20. Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
21. Cast Your Fate to the Wind - Sounds Orchestral
22. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - Les Brown and his Band of Reknown
23. Rainy Night in Georgia - Brook Benton
24. Music, Music, Music - Teresa Brewer
25. Love is a Many Splendored Thing - Four Aces
26. Make the World Go Away - Eddy Arnold
27. Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra
28. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - The Platters
29. Today - New Christy Minstrels
30. Don't Be That Way - Benny Goodman and his Orchestra

David Cassidy - Cassidy Live! (1974)

Well, last night was a dream come true for me! After 40 years of waiting to see him in concert, I finally got to see David Cassidy perform!!! He and Davy Jones both performed in Dallas (actually, Grand Prairie) last night and it was just wonderful! Davy Jones was on first, and he sang lots of Monkees hits, his own singles, and a song from "Oliver!" He was very entertaining and full of jokes - just adorable! After a brief intermission, David Cassidy came on and he took us on his "musical journey", singing songs that inspired him when he was a boy, some Partridge Family songs, and some of his own singles. Of course, there weren't any girls fainting and it was all quite civilized - after all, most of the audience was made up of middle-aged women. But, some women did run up to the stage and tried to touch them, and a couple even got David to sign some stuff. Yours truly was not even close to the stage, but I did have a good view and was enthralled just the same. So, since I am still floating on Cloud Nine from finally seeing David Cassidy, I thought I'd post his live album from 1974 in Great Britain. I actually recorded this about a year ago as a request for someone, but did not post it then, but here it is now!

Track listing for David Cassidy - Cassidy Live!:

Side 1:
1. It's Preying On My Mind
2. Some Kind of a Summer
3. Breaking Up is Hard to Do
4. Bali Ha'i/Mae
5. I Am a Clown
6. Delta Lady

Side 2:
1. Please Please Me
2. Daydreamer
3. How Can I Be Sure
4. For What It's Worth
5. C. C. Rider Blues/Jenny Jenny
6. Rock Medley: Blue Suede Shoes, (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock, Jailhouse Rock, Rock and Roll Music, Rock Me Baby