What a cute little thing this is; I saw it advertised in this Sundays' paper, in a Kohl's ad. It plays cds, cassettes, vinvl and even MP3s...

So when I was sick a couple of weeks ago and my viewing standards considerably lowered I watched a lot of  "I Dream of Jeannie." In one very likable episode ("Jeannie, The Hip Hippie") I couldn't help but find the "fake" music group Jeannie put together very catchy.

I didn't realize that two of the guys she blinked into her living room were actually Tommy Boyce and Bruce Hart, often associated with the sound of the Monkees. They had a huge hit with "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" (a song I used to love as a little girl.)

But a bit unnerving (and unexpected) was the sight of a young Phil Spector playing himself and nodding enthusiastically to the "new sound" of the group Jeannie slipped in to his office.

...'65 love affair...

Last night I suffered a bit of 80s nostalgia and found myself on iTunes, downloading some songs I'd long forgotten about...but used to really love. Until recently it was impossible to find the single "65 Love Affair" by Paul Davis (look at that hair!) anywhere digitally, unless it was the Karaoke version..

"65 Love Affair" came out when I was ten and I have vivid memories of it always seeming to be on the car radio whenever I was riding with my family. It was different than "I Go Crazy" and some of his other well-known songs...it had more of a Hall and Oates wanna-be feel to it and it milked "wasn't it great when we were younger?" for all it was worth. (I love that he tries to rhyme "dum dum" with "pom pom.")

Wikipedia mentions that David originally wanted to call it "55 Love Affair," but was talked out of naming it that since he would have been 7 at the time and most of the target audience listening in the early 80s would relate much better to being young and in love in the 60s!:)

One night in the late 80s I was listening to a weekly Westwood 1 radio program which often played "extra" songs during popular music countdowns (it wasn't the official Top 40 by Casey Casem). The DJ started something featuring George Michael on vocals. It was a cover of "Jive Talkin'" and I was flabbergasted. At the time I loved George Michael and the Bee Gees with equal passion.

The next time I was out shopping I looked everywhere for the single, but it turned out (I would later discover) it wasn't an American release. It was only available in the UK.

Yesterday, for some odd reason, I thought of the song for the first time in years. I had tried a few times in the past to track it down, but George Michael wasn't credited for the track so it took some digging. On iTunes and Amazon it is available as a 7" inch single and a 12" Jellybean remix (Amazon only offers them in vinyl while iTunes--obviously--is strictly digital).

Without even pausing to consider that more than twenty years had passed since I last heard this particular "Jive Talkin'," I downloaded both versions onto my iPod touch...and I can say without hesitation that it sounds as good as ever. The Bee Gees once said that they had heard this cover and liked it very much!:)

Here's more background on the song and Boogie Box High:

Boogie Box High 

Back in the 90s , whenever I would get down, this album always kept me company and then one day I just lost the collection...so now (since it's hard to come by in physical form) I'm trying to get all the songs separately...this was an amazing cd when you just needed to go off and cry by yourself for a little! Of course you don't need to be sad to put the music on...it's a great listen, no matter what!:)

by Stewart Mason

Another typically eclectic, weird, and wonderful compilation from the unfortunately short-lived Risky Business imprint, The Big Hurt takes its name from Toni Fisher's classic 1960 single, an over-the-top early example of stereo phasing that sounds as if it were recorded in an empty water tower. The other 11 tracks tend toward this type of pre-Beatles soft pop as well, with only J.D. Souther's soft rock "You're Only Lonely'" and Don McLean's 1981 cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying'" deviating from a program that includes weepy classics like the Fleetwoods' gorgeous "Mr. Blue" and Del Shannon's paranoid classic "Runaway," along with relative rarities like Johnny Tillotson's countrypolitan gem "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'." The Big Hurt, as the subtitle implies, is just right for a good old-fashioned sobfest. It's good that it's only 33 minutes and change, though -- no need to wallow.

Tracks

				Title	Performer	Time
		1		Big Hurt	Fisher
		2		Cry	Ray
		3		Crying	McLean
		4		Mr. Blue	Fleetwoods
		5		It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'	Tillotson
		6		Hurt	Yuro
		7		I'm Hurtin'	Orbison
		8		Hurt So Bad	Little Anthony & the Imperials
		9		Mr. Lonely	Vinton
		10		Runaway	Shannon
		11		Suspicion	Stafford
		12		You're Only Lonely	Souther