Scotty McCreery singing Long Black Train on July 16, 2010.
Scotty McCreery singing Ol Red a Blake Shelton song in 2010.
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Johnny Mathis: Misty (55 Years as Recording Artist)
Johnny Mathis singing his standard Misty on a French television program in 1973.
Johnny Mathis singing Crazy from his country music album Let It Be Me.
Johnny Mathis is now in his 55th year of being a recording artist. His first No.1 hit was Chances Are in 1957. He wouldn’t have another No.1 hit till 1973 when I’m Coming Home was No.1 .
Too Much, Too Little, Too Late would be his last single to reach the No.1 spot in 1978. You would think he would have more than three No.1 hits.
Misty the song I most identify with Mathis topped out at No.12 on the charts. I can remember the first time I heard it was when I was at the service club in Hawaii in 1963. I didn’t know today that the song was already four years by then.
Chances Are, It’s Not For Me to Say and Twelfth of Never
Mathis was born in 1935, the same year Elvis Presley was born and will be 76 in September.
Peggy Lee: Class By Herself
Peggy Lee may have died nine years ago but her music lives on since she left behind her musical legacy to be treasured for years to come.
There have been many great female singers since the 30′s but the best in my book is Peggy Lee. She not only has a great voice, but you connect emotionally with her when she sings.
You can actually picture the folks who live on the hill in the song by the same name and who can forget Peggy singing Is That All There Is about the many disappointments in life.
The mark of a great singer is if they can transfer the emotions they are feeling in the song they are singing to the listener and none was better at that than Peggy Lee.
She lost her mother at the age of four and had a wicked stepmother that abused her. So when you hear her singing with so much emotion, it is because she has known life at its worst and its best.
Peggy Lee singing You Was Right Baby.
Peggy Lee may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.
Reese Witherspoon is slated to portray Peggy Lee in a biopic that we hope will be in theaters in the next year or two.
American Idol Update – May 8
It is less than three weeks now till the final vote is revealed by Ryan Seacrest on who will be the next American Idol. Nine contestants have gone home and after Thursday only three will remain. My prediction is that Lauren or Scotty may be home this week, but after the Pia Toscano shocker, nobody is really safe this season.
Paula Abdul may not be part of American Idol, but Idol fans who follow her will be glad to know she will be a judge on Simon Cowell’s X-Factor this fall on the Fox network. She apparently left American Idol when she requested $10 million after learning Ryan Seacrest was being paid $15 million, but the producers refused to pay the $10 million so she walked. Now she will be sitting next to Simon Cowell again, which should help the ratings of the new show.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/08/x-factor-paula-abdul/
Adam Lambert has picked Haley Reinhart to be the next American Idol. He told the Hollywood Reporter “It’s incredible how she makes it look so easy and effortless” and said “Plus she’s having fun up there.”
Lady Gaga will be the guest mentor on Wednesday’s show. Contestants might want to think twice before placing too much weight on her advice, since she likes to think out of the box, which might not go over well with the judges. Haley Reinhart, in particular needs to be careful with Lady Gaga as her mentor.
The contestants will be choosing music from the Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller catalog this week. Forty of their songs were in the Broadway musical Smokey Joe’s Cafe. This list at Amazon.com shows the titles and sound clips can be heard of each song. This list is not an inclusive list, but contains most of their better known hits.
Taylor Hicks has re-opened a restaurant-bar that he performed in while learning the music business. The restaurant is located in Birmingham, Alabama. He is one of the partners who re-opened the restaurant. This article gives many more details on the restaurant, including the menu being offered.
http://blog.al.com/bob-carlton/2011/05/american_idol_taylor_hicks_of.html
Haley Reinhart Singing in 2008, 2010, Dancing at a Wedding
Haley Reinhart is one of four finalists on American Idol.
Haley Reinhart singing the Frank Sinatra classic Night and Day with the Wheeling High School Jazz Band in December of 2008.
HaleyReinhart singing Like a Star in October of 2008.
Haley Reinhart singing with the Harper Jazz Ensemble in May of 2010.
Haley singing with Haley and the Rastitudes.
Haley at the Milwaukee audition earlier this season, mentioning that she had not been chosen in the 2010 auditions.
Haley dancing to Michael Jackson music at a wedding.
After watching these videos, it is clear that Haley Reinhart has paid her dues to get where she is today. If she survives the next two weeks, she will be in the final two on May 25.
Haley was a slow starter this season staying in the bottom three for a good part of Season 10. She has been coming on strong lately and could be on the verge of being the next American Idol.
However, an even better singer Pia Toscano was sent home five weeks ago, so nobody is really safe until Ryan Seacrest names them the next American Idol later this month.
The best thing about Haley is that she sometimes sings music from the 40′s.
Whether Haley wins American Idol or not, we should be hearing her music for a long time through her recordings.
Pia Toscano Singing National Anthem and God Bless America
Pia Toscano singing the National Anthem at a New York Mets home game in 2009.
Pia Toscano singing God Bless America at a New York Mets game on an unspecified date.
It looks like being voted off of American Idol hasn’t slowed down Pia Toscano. She probably will lose money going on the American Idol tour this summer.
Last weekend she earned $100,000 for singing a few songs at a private party.
Fool That I Am: Adele Version
Adele singing Fool That I Am at Somerville Theater in Massachusetts.
The Adele version to me was missing the bluesy sound. There is one part in particular where she seemed to struggle to get the same sound as Etta James.
Her version might have been alright if I hadn’t been used to hearing the Etta James version.
This is best rockin’ blues song Etta James ever recorded in my book when she sang Next Door to the Blues.
Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 and is now 73 years old. She will go down as one of the best female blues singers in our lifetime.
Who Goes Home Next on American Idol?
This is the first week that there is no clearcut answer to the question of who will go home next week. Casey Abrams went home a week early in my book, but did gain some extra weeks after being saved by the judges earlier this season.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that Jacob Lusk would be going home last night. On my little poll 74 votes said that Jacob would go home out of 94 votes cast.
Next week we could see Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina Suddeth go home depending on how the competition goes next Wednesday night. Unless Haley Reinhart or James Durbin stumble badly on Wednesday night, we may be headed to a Haley and James Final Two.
James is in the only contestant to not have been in the bottom two or bottom three this season. Haley seems to have really turned her chances in her favor after being in the bottom three earlier in the season.
I am not sure if Lauren can handle the pressure coming up in the last three weeks of the show, if she is still there at the end. She will be watched closely by the mentors and judges to see if she backs off high notes, like she did last Wednesday night. As I have stated before, whoever goes home first between Scotty and Lauren will leave their votes to the other for the most part.They are both young and both are from the south, so either one of them should pick up a lot of votes, once the other leaves, unless they both wind up in the Final Two.
Right now, like Randy said James is the one that is most likely to win American Idol. It is unclear who will get the votes of Jacob Lusk, since none of the remaining singers sing his kind of music.
Personally, I am still rooting for Scotty and Haley, but Scotty could be gone when the votes are counted from the next results show.
The only total surprise would be for James to be voted off the show, but think his followers are very loyal, since he is the only contestant singing heavy metal music.
Now is the time for the singers to not let the mentors, Jimmy Iovine and Lady Gaga pick their songs. Otherwise they may lose because they didn’t go with their gut feeling, as to which song to sing.
The poll question asks which of the final four is most likely to go home on Thursday night.
Vote as often as allowed.
Elvis Presley Meets With President Nixon To Join Fight Against Drugs
It is ironic that Elvis Presley wrote a letter to President Nixon, to set up a meeting at the White House, so the president could declare Presley a federal agent in the war against drugs.
The meeting was held on December 21, 1970 and Presley was designated a federal agent at large in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
The irony comes in, when Presley becomes a drug addict himself, which led to him dying in August of 1977 from an apparent drug overdose.
In the time between the meeting and his death Presley had become a drug addict of the worst magnitude.
After the meeting President Nixon thanks Presley for the gift of a Colt .45 in a letter written to Elvis. However, the president did not sign the letter but had his name stamped at the end of the letter.
Presley mentions in one of the documents that the Beatles came to United States, earning a lot of money, then returned to England taking an anti-American stand. It is clear that Presley disliked the Beatles from his comments about them. After all his career took a hit when the Beatles led the British invasion that changed the American music scene.
The following article from the National Archives documents the meeting between President Nixon and Elvis Presley. There are eight documents and 26 photos commemorating the meeting at this website:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/elvis/elnix.html#meet
After reading these documents, it is sad to think of what happened to both participants of this meeting. Less than four years later the Watergate scandal would threaten President Nixon with impeachment, thereby causing him to resign from the office of president in August of 1974.
Less than seven years later, Elvis would die at the young ago of 42. It is sad that Elvis instead of fighting drug use, became a user himself, ending his life way too soon.
Flash Mobs Turning to Crime
This flash mob turns to crime as they rob this store in an undisclosed location.
Flash mobs used to be about large groups of people freezing in place, unexpected singing in places like malls and surprise wedding mobs.
Now the criminal element is embracing the mob mentality, by entering stores in large numbers, stealing what they can get their hands on, then leaving the stores en masse.
The store employee in the above video is helpless in the face of a huge mob entering the store and stealing everything in sight, before making a mass exit. There is no way one employee can stop stealing marauders like these criminals. Hiring a security guard probably would not even help in a situation like this.
Crimes like this will force stores to place their merchandise, on shelves behind locked glass doors. The thieves may be able to break the glass but may sustain injuries that may make it easier to apprehend them if store cameras can identify them.
These flash mob thieves steal clothes from this high end clothing store.
Flash mob thieves have no respect for anyone as all they are worried about is to get their greedy hands on as much merchandise as possible.
The following article and video tell about flash mobs stealing from Chicago stores:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/03/02/mag-mile-shops-on-alert-after-flash-mob-thefts/
I am reluctant to give the mob thieves publicity that might encourage others to form mobs and steal from stores. On the other hand, it may alert law enforcement authorities to devise ways to stop this form of thievery before it starts in other cities across the United States.
Watching flash mobs on You Tube used to be fun, but now joining a flash mob to steal merchandise, may be fun for the thieves, but it won’t be fun when stores start locking them in after they enter the store with no way out, but for the police to take them out of the stores in handcuffs. These miscreants may be not be joining any other flash mobs, but instead will be joining the mobs of criminals in state prisons.
Jacob Lusk Goes Home…And Then There Were Four
Ryan Seacrest said we might be surprised at the voting results, but think most Idol fans expected Jacob Lusk to go home and he did on Thursday night’s show.
We might have been surprised that Lauren Alaina Suddeth was in the bottom two, her first time to be in the bottom group. She took it really hard, but she should be back as strong as ever next week. Jimmy Iovine who has been mentoring the Idol contestants this season, said she held back on a high note, during her rendition of Unchained Melody.
Scotty McCreery was put on the spot by Ryan Seacrest and did the right thing by refusing to join the group that he thought was staying, so Seacrest led him to the right group. I thought he did great on Wednesday night, but it was a case of Haley Reinhart and James Durbin singing a little better.
Haley who was constantly in the bottom three earlier this season seems to be gaining momentum. She seemed to be on the verge of going home every week there for awhile, but now she just might be in the final two.
Iovine criticized Durbin for being too emotional during his 60′s song, but I think his emotions made his version of Harry Nilsson’s Without You even better. Durbin has gone through a lot, having battled Tourette’s syndrome for many years, and being taunted for his uncontrollable movements. So if anyone deserved to sing with emotion, it is Durbin and he didn’t deserve the criticism of Iovine.
It was almost anti-climatic when Jacob was sent home, since it was totally expected. Jacob should make a living as an artist, but he wasn’t the best singer on American Idol this season.
And then there were four after the departure of Jacob. Anyone in the final four could be in the final two on Finale Night on May 25. The contestants will have to impress the judges and America more than ever next week, since James is in it to win it as Randy Jackson says.
I am afraid that Lauren Alaina Suddeth could be the one going home next week, unless she has the confidence to reach the highest notes in a song and goes for it, instead of backing off like she did Wednesday night.
Personally, I would like to see a Final Two of Scotty and Haley, but have a feeling right now it could James and Haley in the Final Two. James in my book is the best overall singer and will win American Idol barring any monumental mistakes the next three weeks.
If Lauren goes home next week, I look for Scotty to pick up a good portion of her votes. The worst case scenario for Scotty would be to have a Scotty and Lauren final, preventing him from picking up some of Lauren’s votes.
Casey Abrams asked his fans to vote for Haley and apparently that helped her avoid the bottom three this week.
The critiques of the judges will be more important than ever next week. A negative comment by all three judges could send someone home.
This time next week there will only be three contestants left.
Today’s poll asks again who will be the American Idol among the Final Four remaining contestants:
JFK May Be Alive If Oswald Had Killed General Walker
General Walker was in his home when Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to shoot him seven months before John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
General Edwin Walker was a controversial conservative who commanded combat troops in World War II and the Korean War.
He was arrested by the federal government after making some inflammatory remarks when James Meredith was the first black admitted to the University of Mississippi.
General Walker was charged with insurrection and sedition, plus two additional charges.
Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to kill General Walker on April 10, 1963, seven months and 12 days before he allegedly assassinated President John F. Kennedy during a motorcade in Dallas from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
The Warren Commission Report said Oswald was the sole killer of JFK, but Oswald never faced trial since he was killed two days after the assassination by Jack Ruby.
If Oswald had killed General Walker, he probably would have been apprehended and arrested, but he never was formally charged with the attempted murder of Walker.
We do know that Oswald admitted to his wife Marina that he did shoot at Walker. If Oswald had been behind bars on November 22, 1963, it is likely that John F. Kennedy would have lived to finish his first term and possibly be elected to a second term.
JFK was 46 at the time of his death and would be 94 this month if still alive. However, if there was a conspiracy and Oswald was only a patsy to take the blame for the assassination, while someone else did the actual assassination, it would not have mattered if Oswald was behind bars.
November 22nd of this year will be the 48th anniversary of the assassination. Though the Warren Report claims Oswald was the killer, I still not fully convinced that he acted alone.
Even an 18 year old that was in Dealey Plaza that fateful day will be 66 this year, while a 40 year old that day would be 88 this year. So time is running out on any witness that might refute the Warren Report and prove it was a contrived effort by the U.S. government point the finger at one man, rather than a government of any country.
Just a few of the people and organizations that have been mentioned as the ones behind the assassination are:
Lyndon B. Johnson (who didn’t like playing second fiddle to JFK)
Cuban refugees (who didn’t like the way JFK handled the Bay of Pigs invasion and reportedly asked for less air support which halved the 16 planes being used in support of the Cuban invaders down to eight planes. Then after the invasion failed JFK pointed at the CIA for being the reason the invasion didn’t work, while he was the one that wanted less air support for the invasion. He fired several top CIA officials, including the director Allen Dulles after the invasion failed.)
E. Howard Hunt of the CIA (who reports say was at the grassy knoll the day JFK was assassinated and also took part
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/300407deathbedconfession.htm
Cuba/Fidel Castro
Sam Giancana
Carlos Marcello
CIA
Russian government with possible KGB involvement
Organized crime in general since Bobby Kennedy, the attorney general was fighting organized crime with a passion.
Ku Klux Klan
There is no doubt that JFK had a large list of enemies who were angry enough with him or his brother Bobby to celebrate the death of JFK.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit for someone to point the finger at his own vice president Lyndon B. Johnson who knew he would take over the presidency if JFK was assassinated.
On the other hand 48 years have passed and no smoking gun has emerged yet. It will take a deathbed confession now, more than likely to ascertain who the killer was if it wasn’t Oswald.
Lizard Lick’s Amy Shirley Has Emergency Surgery For Blood Clot
Lizard Lick fans like me are glad to know that Amy Shirley is recovering from surgery for a blood clot. It was a very serious situation, which could have resulted in death if she hadn’t seen a doctor about a knot on her leg.
Amy is a big part of the success of the Lizard Lick Towing reality show on TruTV. After Ron Shirley and Bobby Brantley repossess a car, she has to deal with the owners of that car, the next day at the Lizard Lick Towing office.
She doesn’t back off from even the most irate people that enter the office. If Ron and/or Bobby are in the office, they like to lurk in the background, knowing it will make the people owning the car even more angry, since in most cases they saw Ron and Bobby the day before, when the car was repossessed.
TMZ has more information on Amy’s surgery, but the comments below the article are more about how much the commenters dislike the show, with few mentioning her health problems.
Common Courtesy On The Way Out?
Common courtesy seems to be on the way out for the most part, in the United States, as people look out for themselves first, with little regard for others.
BREAKING IN LINE
It is not uncommon to be standing in a long line today and see someone break into the line, near the front of the line. That behavior shows they have no respect for those that have been waiting in line long before they arrived.
CELL PHONES BEING USED BY CLERKS AND CUSTOMERS
Cell phones come in handy, but they also can be used at times when they shouldn’t be used. I have seen someone trying to conduct a conversation with someone on their phone, while ordering food at a fast food place, which is disrespectful to the clerk taking the order.
On the other hand, I have seen fast food clerks talking on the phone, while ignoring someone waiting to place to place their order.
I talked to a Popeye’s Fried Chicken manager who says he has fired a lot of employees because of cell phones. He now takes their cell phones and puts them away when employees start their workday. Some employees would know where they were being stored and try to make calls.
He said one employee gave him a phone that was not working, while keeping their active phone. So dealing with cell phones is another problem, office managers have to deal with today.
ROAD RAGE
I remember when two church members were driving home from church in Pineville, Louisiana, when one of them cut the other off in traffic, probably unintentionally.
The other driver was so infuriated that he followed the one who had cut him off, till the other driver stopped at a convenience store and the one who was so mad shot and killed the other driver in front of his children.
Now the children of the murdered man will never see their father alive again, plus the killer will spend many years in prison, because he couldn’t control his emotions and couldn’t be courteous enough to realize it may not have even been intentional.
COMPLAINTS AT CASH REGISTER HOLDING UP LINE
I think everyone has at some place in time has been in a checkout line, when the customer at the front of the line complains about something, then asks to speak to the manager. While all this is going on, the line behind them gets longer.
The one complaining is so wrapped up in their complaining that they totally disregard all the people standing in line waiting to checkout.
COUPONERS BUYING LAST ITEMS ON SHELF
I have noticed on the Extreme Couponing show on TLC, that the couponers will empty display containers into their grocery basket. For instance one couponer bought 300 toothbrushes and dumped a whole basket of deodorant into his grocery basket.
It isn’t very considerate to take the last items, then leave the next customer with no remaining items, forcing them to go to another store, if they were out of that item at home.
UNCARING OFFICE CLERKS
I have called a particular law office in Alexandria, Louisiana which will go unnamed, finding it impossible to talk to a live person. It was frustrating being sent to voicemail, then to never have the call returned.
It is tiring to not be able to have a simple question answered because a human being in the office will not answer your question. Even when going to the office, it wasn’t easy getting a question answered, but someone will eventually answer the question to get me out of their office.
DISCOURTEOUS SALES PEOPLE ON PHONE
I don’t know how many times a salesperson called on the telephone, that refused to take no for the answer. They will do everything in their power to make a sale, so won’t let you off the hook. They have an answer for whatever reason you give for not buying their product.
Sometimes you just have to politely tell them you are not interested, then hang up once you can tell they are not going to take no for an answer.
Common courtesy will never go completely out of style, because some people have been raised to be courteous and will treat others with respect regardless.
Steven Tyler: “Snorted $20 Million Worth of Cocaine”
Steven Tyler has said in his new book that he snorted $20 million worth of cocaine which should boost sales of his new book Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? which hits the bookstores tomorrow.
The book is already #9 in sales at Amazon.com in pre-sales. The 400 page book came out at a good time with Tyler at the height of his popularity as a American Idol judge.
However, the American Idol producers may not be too happy with one of their judges saying he snorted $20 million worth of cocaine. It is the ultimate waste of money to me. There are hundreds of charities who could have used that money more wisely.
The main selling point of this book besides the debauchery (which is a selling point to some) is that it tells of how he rebounded from the depths of depravity to spark a resurgence for Aerosmith.
Amazon is selling the hardcover book for $15.05 which is a reasonable price these days and is actually cheaper than the Kindle price of $14.99.
American Idol Update: Pia Toscano Starts Work on Debut Album
Pia Toscano is scheduled to start work on her debut album as early as today. It is strange to know Pia is working on album, before Season 10 of American Idol has ended.
She should have her album released if all goes well, long before the next American Idol releases their debut album this fall.
This weekend Pia will be performing at a private party in Los Angeles, while earning $100,000 for the singing gig.
She will be part of the American Idol tour this summer. Be ready to dip into your savings account to buy tickets though. The tickets at Reliant Arena in Houston are going for $88 for the nosebleed seats to $1,885 for the front row center seats.
I know it will be a great show, but the high price tickets may be out of reach for average working Americans who surely won’t be traveling very far to see the shows, with the exorbitant gas prices, plus the high ticket prices.
JENNIFER LOPEZ TO SING THURSDAY
Jennifer Lopez will sing in a pre-recorded appearance this Thursday on American Idol. She will be singing her first single On the Floor off her new album Love which will be released
Poll:Who Will Go Home This Week On American Idol?
After next Thursday’s night results show, there will be only four contestants left in Season 10 of American Idol.
Assuming the show will have a bottom three this week, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk and Scotty McCreery should be there this week.
Lauren Alaina Suddeth surprised me when she was safe and Scotty was in the bottom three last Thursday. I think Lauren is a very good singer, but have a feeling she was safe last week, due more to her popularity than her singing ability. She has never been in the bottom three and James Durbin is only other contestant to not have been in the bottom three this season.
Unless we are in for a shocking elimination on Thursday, I see Jacob Lusk or Haley leaving the show. Scotty may have showed he slipped a little last week in the voting, but I look for his fans to vote in large numbers next week to insure he stays on the show.
There is no way of knowing, but it will be interesting to guess on who will get Casey’s votes next week.
Since American Idol isn’t releasing the vote totals, we can’t be sure that Lauren Alaina Suddeth or James Durbin haven’t been the leading vote-getters since the show started.
James has knocked it “out of the box” (Randy’s catchphrase) every week and should be safe on Thursday. Jacob keeps hanging in there, despite being in the bottom three.
The poll question asks who will be going home this week:
Who Was Oscar Peterson That Casey Mentioned on American Idol?
Casey Abrams mentioned how much he liked Oscar Peterson before leaving American Idol. Just who is this Oscar Peterson Abrams spoke so highly of? I have a Christmas cassette by Oscar Peterson, so had heard of him, but know very little about him.
Peterson was born in Montreal, Quebec Canada on August 15, 1925 and died December 23, 2007 in Mississiauga, Ontario, Canada.
He won seven Grammy Awards between 1974 and 1991. He was different from most pianists in that he played 100 notes, while other pianists were using ten in a song.
Oscar Peterson playing Sweet Georgia Brown both very fast and very slow.
Oscar Peterson playing an audio only version of Yesterday the Beatles classic.
Piano duet with two of the greatest jazz pianists of all time Oscar Peterson and Ray Charles.
The classis song Georgia On My Mind being played by Oscar Peterson.
Casey Abrams playing Georgia On My Mind on bass.
Close to two million people have watched this video on You Tube. It is Casey at his best. He may be growling as Jimmy Iovine calls it, but it doesn’t bother me, since it just shows how emotionally involved Casey is involved with his music.
Casey may not be the next American Idol but this is not the last we will hear from him. He is by far the most musically talented contestant on American Idol. Even if his albums don’t sell well, he can always find work in a jazz band or studio band.
His love for the older jazz music may have cost him a chance to be the next American Idol, because his growling apparently turned off some of the voters, who went more for the music of the other contestants who stuck to one music genre for the most part unless forced to sing something different.
The fact that Casey even knew who Oscar Peterson was told me all I wanted to know about him, showing he truly loves the music of those who came before him.
Casey may be gone, but he surely won’t be forgotten. It would be worth seeing the American Idol tour, just to see Casey sing and play the bass, unless he is told not to play the bass on the tour.
