...to the Sublime

Under the Covers: "Somethin' Stupid"

Yet another chestnut from the '60s has gotten an update. "Somethin' Stupid," a big hit for Frank SInatra and daughter Nancy in 1967, is getting airplay for The Secret Sisters--Alabama siblings Laura and Lydia Rogers, whose debut album (due Oct. 5) was produced by T-Bone Burnett. But my favorite remake of this song remains Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Latin-tinged version, also released in 1967, and produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. (One more nugget: "Somethin' Stupid" was co-written by Carson Parks, the older brother of SoCal pop legend Van Dyke Parks.)

Download Something Stupid

Ice Ice Baby

The Black Keys are getting airplay with "Never Give You Up," but it doesn't measure up to the 1968 original by Jerry Butler, which he co-wrote with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. (Mama, here come those men again.) Butler was the original lead singer of The Impressions, which he formed in Chicago with his childhood friend, Curtis Mayfield. Butler (who was nicknamed The Iceman) wrote some great songs, including "For Your Precious Love," and he co-wrote "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with Otis Redding. With Gamble & Huff he also wrote "Only the Strong Survive," and with Gamble and Thom Bell he wrote "A Brand New Me," which would be covered by Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin." Thanks to The Black Keys for resurrecting this classic:

Download 04 Never Give You Up

 

Toasting a Fellow Blogger

My pal and former LA Times Magazine colleague Heather John Fogarty has a fantastic food blog, and she's the wine and spirits columnist for Bon Appétit. She's also a contributor to hemanmiller.com and it's there that she recently gave a shout-out to this humble little music blog. Thanks, HJ. This one (by Faron Young) is for you. (With a nod to Joe Escalante's late and lamented "Wino Wednesdays" on Indie103.)

 

Download 05 Wine Me Up

 

RIP, Kenny Edwards

Kenny Edwards, who died August 18 at the age of 64, was an unsung but crucial member of the Southern California folk-rock scene. From the L.A. Times obit:

Barely out of [Venice High School], he formed the Stone Poneys in 1965 with Bobby Kimmel, a Tucson musician who had moved to Los Angeles to explore the burgeoning folk-rock scene that had been spearheaded by the Byrds and would soon yield Buffalo Springfield and later the Eagles.

In an interview published last year, Edwards recalled: "Bobby said, 'I know this great singer from Tucson, why don't we see if the three of us can hit it off?' " That singer turned out to be Linda Ronstadt. The Stone Poneys would soon record Michael Nesmith's "Different Drum," and then Ronstadt would soon launch her solo career in which Edwards would play a vital part. He wrote songs and/or performed on most of Ronstadt's solo albums. On her 1976 record, "Hasten Down the Wind," Edwards and Ronstadt, along with her father, Gilbert, wrote "Lo Siento Mi Vida." It was her first Spanish-language recording, and the first time many of her fans became aware of her Mexican-American heritage. That's Edwards (and Andrew Gold) singing harmony.

Download 05 Lo Siento Mi Vida