A Little Lesson

Feeling rather a bit blue and lonely earlier this evening, I decided that I needed to do something positive to lift my seemingly sagging spirits. So I sat for a while and did some serious thinking. After a few moments, I decided to do something that I haven't done in a long while.

So I decided to fix up a part of my living room, moved some of the furniture out of the way to create a little open space, and put up some striped drapes as background. I then went upstairs to put on a white shirt, dark trousers, and a pair of shoes that I haven't worn for quite a while.

Once I got back downstairs, I pulled out my tripod, set a video camera on it, and trained the camera on a particular spot on my living room. After setting the scene, I then rehashed all the complex movements in my mind, moves such as The Rolling Grapevine, the Eggbeater, the Travolta, and the Chicken. Ok, I think I'm all set.

Here it goes then, "a 5, 6, 7, 8...!!"

Ok, now if somebody could please get me a glass of water, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. :)

Seriously, the music you hear in the background is called "The Hustle". Released in 1975, "The Hustle", by Van McCoy, became one of the biggest dance hits during the disco era. In the US, it remains a favorite in dance clubs and ballroom dances more than 30 years after its release.

Now, if you would please excuse me, I think I'll just lie down for a while.

Monday, Monday

This song was the #1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart on this day in 1966.

The song is "Monday, Monday" by the group "The Mamas and The Papas", a group known for their elegant vocal harmonies. This song was written by the groups's founder, the late John Phillips. He is the gentleman with the guitar in both videos. For the information of my younger readers (ouch!), he was also the father of Chynna Phillips of Wilson-Phillips, a trio of ladies who shot to fame in the early 1990s.

Aside from John Phillips, the other members of The Mamas and The Papas were his then wife Michelle Phillips (Chynna's mom and also a former actress), the late Denny Doherty, and the late Cass Elliot. The group went on to win a Grammy in 1967 for this song.

They also scored another hit later in 1966 with the following song, "California Dreamin'". Although a big hit, this song failed to reach #1 unlike Monday, Monday.

Personal issues between the members led to the band's breakup in 1968. Ms. Elliot pursued a solo career for a while but suddenly died in 1973 from cardiac arrest. John Phillips died in 2001 because of illnesses suffered from years of drug abuse. Denny Doherty died in early 2007. Although these folks have long been gone, their music still lives on.

Photo Hunt: Time

This week's Photo Humt theme is Time.


My take on this week's theme is the Passage of Time as illustrated by the two photos below that I took over the last few months.


This photo was taken a few months ago when Winter was at its height. Not a single leaf on any of the oak trees.


A few months later, we see the signs of Spring. We're witnessing the greening of the exact same oak trees. We're also seeing a more generous amount of sunlight being cast on those trees.

Dancing to "Superstition"

While we're on the subject of Stevie Wonder and his song "Superstition", I want to post a request for help to any of YOU, my dear readers out there.

But first, please watch the following video:

If there's anybody out there who can dance the way these folks danced, please let me know. The request is urgent. I need to learn those moves. My SO wants us to dance to this song the next time we meet. She claims that she can do these moves with ease. Hahaha

HELP!!!

Seriously, I'm not sure from what program this footage was taken. I'm speculating that it might have been Soul Train but I'm not positive on that. The video has not aged that well and the audio is quite out of sync with the video. But I still posted it anyway because this whole video presents a snapshot of how those times were. Plus, the dance moves are still quite cool even by today's standards.

A Day of "Wonder"

When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain't the way.

I was in my early elementary years when this particular performance on my favorite educational television show turned me on to both the artist and the song.

The artist was the great Mr. Stevie Wonder and shown above was a live performance of his 1973 hit "Superstition" that was featured on the popular children's tv show Sesame Street.

As a child, I had spent a lot of time in the company of older cousins. The music they listened to at the time became my music too. Thus, at a very early age, I was already exposed to both electric and electronic sounds on a number of pop and rock songs that were popular at the time. That early exposure to rock and pop music quickly turned me on to this song the moment I heard its opening notes. My eyes stayed glued to the tv throughout the entire performance. I became an instant fan.

It wasn't a surprise to me then when many years later, I read on some magazine that some music critics consider the above performance of Superstition on Sesame Street as one of Mr. Wonder's finest live performances ever of the song.

Superstition wasn't his first hit. Prior to this song, he had already scored hits with the songs "For Once In My Life" and "My Cherie Amour", the latter being another personal favorite. He first became famous in the US back in 1963 when he scored a hit song called "Fingertips (Pt. 2)". But it wasn't until the early 1970s when he truly became a worldwide superstar.

Mr. Wonder went on to score more hits throughout the 70s and the 80s with songs like "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", "Isn't She Lovely," "I Just Called to Say I Love You", "That's What Friends Are For", and "Part Time Lover" to name a few.

But to this day, Superstition remains a sentimental favorite of mine simply because a great live performance of this song on a children's television show introduced me to a great artist.

To honor such a great artist, let me end this write-up with the following:

Question: Have you seen Stevie Wonder's new house?

Response: Nope, but neither has he.