"Just Plain Old Music"

[RAMMEL]

[Oldiesmann]

The guy on the far left in that video is the one who sang lead on "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"...

An oddity from 1969. Apparently someone really didn't like Ronald Reagan or his supporters ("A man who had so much hair / A man who is not all there / A man who just loves the chair / That's my Governor Reagan!", also purposely mispronouncing his last name as "Reegan").

[MarsGal]

Just catching up on the posts. I have not heard The Old Lamplighter in a very, very long time. What a pleasure. And I remember well Who Will Stop the Rain.

Speaking of rain, here is one of my all time favorites:

[Oldiesmann]

That's probably Toto's biggest hit. Certainly the most well-known song they did.

Here's a fun one from the late 60s. An interesting take on the song "Somewhere" from the musical West Side Story. Mostly instrumental with some vocals later in the performance. Crazy Elephant was a group created by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz (who were also behind groups such as Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company and Flying Giraffe among others). Their one big hit was "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'".

[RAMMEL]

Did someone say elephant?

[MarsGal]

I had the LP of the movie soundtrack. My sister has it and the rest of my LPs at the moment.

Here is another memorable Mancini piece (there were a lot of them). Mancini was one of the very few live performances I went to see when he was in Harrisburg eons ago. This version is done by a couple of well known actors. Remember these guys?

[Oldiesmann]

A lesser-known Mancini piece. This was used as the background music for the famous pie fight scene in The Great Race and later recorded by polka star Frankie Yankovic as well as Irish flutist James Galway.

[RAMMEL]

[RAMMEL]

A bit more calm.

[Oldiesmann]

Back to the craziness with actors Jack Klugman and Tony Randall from the 1973 album The Odd Couple Sings. This song dates back to at least 1950, when Frankie Yankovic and Johnny Pecon both recorded it. I haven't found any earlier versions.

[RAMMEL]

Ouch

[Oldiesmann]

In reality, Tony Randall was a great singer. Here's a fun version of "Winchester Cathedral". I assume he's the one whistling as well.

[Marilyne]

This is part of an article that I copied off the net a few months ago.  It's about music, and the positive  ways that our favorite music effects our brain.  It was written by Dr.Susan Rogers, a cognitive neuroscientist.

"When we listen to music we love, we experience pleasure in the form of a dopamine release in our brain. And over time, our brain learns to recognize the music we enjoy faster and releases the dopamine earlier",  says Susan Rogers, a cognitive neuroscientist .  "We get that feel-good rush just anticipating a favorite song. 
"One of the most powerful things music can do is to give our brain a rest. Listening to music we enjoy is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to activate our default mode network, or daydreaming mode.  This is what the brain does when it's not working or concentrating",  says Dr. Rogers. "This restorative state is essential to our well-being."

[RAMMEL]

[Marilyne]

There are quite a few old songs from my past,  that immediate activate my "daydreaming mode".  It's a good feeling that definitely does relax me.   Here's one that always makes me feel upbeat and hopeful.

[Marilyne]

The first song I remember listening to and memorizing, when I was about two year old.  Every time I hear it, by any vocalist or group, I get a good feeling, even though it's really a sad song.
Michael - This is the version you posted a couple of months ago, so I'm thinking you must like the song too?

[Oldiesmann]

I do like the song, and that's one of the best versions I've heard (though it does help that the singer is Scottish as well so she has a reason to put a lot of feeling into it). Here's a funny one from 1953. This is a humorous answer to "A Dear John Letter", made famous by Jean Shepherd and Ferlin Husky.