Song of the Day – “Margaritaville” – Jimmy Buffett

When I said yesterday that the two Jimmy Buffett songs would be about alcohol, who was not aware that this would be the other song? Raise your hands! Not too many, I see.

Hope you’re not “wasting away” on this Memorial Day!

Song of the Day – “Boat Drinks” – Jimmy Buffett

Two years ago, over Memorial Day weekend, I ended up playing five Carolina beach music songs. Last year, it was a week of California surf music.

This year, I’m scaling back to a couple of Jimmy Buffett songs. A couple of songs about alcohol. Stay safe and don’t drink if you’re actually driving the boat!

Song of the Day – “Sweet Thing” – The Waterboys

It’s been over three years since I posted any Waterboys. It’s time to rectify the situation, because I love this Scot/Irish folk band.

Although this is a studio recording of a Van Morrison song originally on Astral Weeks, it has a loose, live feel to it – along with some lyrics from another tune you may be familiar with.

Song of the Day – “Mexico” – James Taylor

It’s that time of year when many of us are thinking about vacations. Where to go this year? How about…Mexico?

I love this arrangement of the song, which has much more of a Latin feel than the original.

Song of the Day – “Anyone for Tennis” – Cream

Somehow, I think that if you asked Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker about the time that they were introduced by frogs and swung tennis rackets at imaginary bugs, all you’d get is blank stares and perhaps a “Maybe. I don’t really remember a lot from those days.”

Song of the Day – “New Music” Wednesday – “Run Run Run”

Explorers Club

The Explorers Club’s first CD, Freedom Wind, was a straightforward homage to the Beach Boys (See the SotD entry from August 31, 2009, “Do You Love Me?”)

On their new release, Grand Hotel, they branch out to do faithful renditions of other types of music from the sixties and seventies. This number sounds like it’s from a Movie of the Week, and I mean that in a good way!

The video contains some of the best running shots from dozens of movies. See if you can spot your favorite!

Song of the Day – “Name’s the same” Tuesday – “Falling”

Roy Orbison

Is it just me, or did you ever think that Mr. Orbison’s voice was just going to keep on soaring up to the range that only dogs could hear? It is just me? Oh, OK then.

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Julee Cruise/Angelo Badalamenti

It’s time to go back to that little Idaho town on the Canadian border.

Did you hear those drape runners? I didn’t think so. They’re silent, you know.

Song of the Day – “One Toke over the Line” – Brewer and Shipley

Perhaps I should have played this on 4/20…

Just so you’ll know, Lawrence Welk did not actually introduce the song. And it was not called a gospel song. Nevertheless, that’s how it was sung by Gail and Dale, and it’s a hilariously tone-deaf rendition. (By tone-deaf, I don’t mean they had any trouble hitting the notes – it’s just they had no clue of the meaning of the song.)

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No, what actually happened is that Lawrence came on AFTER the song and thanked them for their “modern spiritual”. Anyway, see for yourself:

Song of the Day – “Like a Sad Song” – John Denver

Sometime I feel like a sad song

So, do I, John, so do I.

Song of the Day – “Little Bitty Pretty One” – Thurston Harris & the Sharps

Thurston Harris fronted the Lamplighters in the ‘50s, who had a few minor hits. When they changed labels, they underwent a name change to Thurston Harris and the Sharps, and cut the definitive version of Bobby Day’s “Little Bitty Pretty One”.

Yes, it was also covered by more famous acts like the Jackson 5ive, the Doobie Brothers and the Hollies, but this is still the best, in my opinion.