A great country song from 1964. Jean Shepard had lengthy career, from the early 1950s through the mid 1970s, with a final album being released in 1981. She continued touring until 2015 and died at the age of 82 in 2016.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Johnny Mathis!  Today he turns 88 years old!   Here is his beautiful rendition of,  In the Still of the Night.  The visuals on this video are attractive and different, and Johnny's voice sounds especially clear . . .  you can hear and enjoy  every word. 

Johnny's only #1 hit, from 1957. This was the second of three straight top 10 hits for him (the others being "It's Not For Me To Say" and "The Twelfth of Never") and also the 2nd of 11 straight top 25 hits.

It is so very hard to pick out any one favorite Johnny Mathis song, so I'll just add one of my top Johnny Mathis renditions. Yes, I know it is a little early for Christmas. This is also one of my very, very favorite Christmans songs.

There are so many great versions of that song. He did another one of my favorite Christmas songs too, which I'll post when we get closer to the holidays.

Here's a funny one from 1953. This was an answer to/parody of the popular song "Dear John Letter", which was a big hit for Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky.

Another birthday!  Today it's Julie Andrews, who is also turning 88!   Most of her songs on YouTube are from either "Mary Poppins" or "The Sound of Music", but I decided to go with something entirely different.  One of my favorites:  We'll Meet Again.  There is a very short introduction at the beginning between Julie and Dick VanDyke.

I have never been a Julie Andrews  fan. My favorite movies were Thoroughly Modern Millie and Victor/Victoria.

Mars, I forgot about "Millie". . . it was good!  She was also in a number of non-musicals.  Two I  remember liking are, "The Americanization of Emily" and Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain".  I'm going to look for all of those on Prime or Netflix.   

A classic Halloween novelty song from 1959.

The first 45rpm I ever bought was Shev Wooley's Purple People Eater.

I am no longer sure, but Monster Mash was either on the other side, or it was another of my very early acquisitions.

Oh Gosh! I never saw this one before.

Quote from: MarsGal on October 04, 2023, 09:51:22 AMThe first 45rpm I ever bought was Shev Wooley's Purple People Eater.

I am no longer sure, but Monster Mash was either on the other side, or it was another of my very early acquisitions.

Sheb Wooley never did "Monster Mash" to my knowledge. That was done by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and came out in 1962, 4 years after "Purple People Eater".

Here's another fun one from Bob McFadden and Dor. A Halloween-themed parody of "The Sheik of Araby" done cha-cha style. From the 1959 album Songs Our Mummy Taught Us (likely released after the success of "The Mummy").

Yeah, I forgot to mention Bobby "Boris" Pickett in my post. I can't check what was on the other side of my Purple People Eater because my sister has all my vinyl's over at her place at the moment.

Quote from: MarsGal on October 05, 2023, 05:38:27 AMYeah, I forgot to mention Bobby "Boris" Pickett in my post. I can't check what was on the other side of my Purple People Eater because my sister has all my vinyl's over at her place at the moment.

You just need to know where to look. According to https://www.45cat.com/record/k12651 it was this.

A great song about Elvis from 1989. It was the biggest (and only top 30) hit in the US for Canadian singer Alannah Myles. She had several other hits in her home country of Canada, but never managed to hit the US charts again after this, which I find surprising given how good her voice is.

A great recording of "I Who Have Nothing" by "Little Ray" (real name Ramon Jiminez) from California, who was just 15 when this was released in 1965. This song started out as an Italian-language tune called "Uno dei tanti" ("One of Many"), recorded by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The English lyrics were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and originally recorded by Ben E. King in 1963. King's version was a big hit, peaking at #29 on the pop charts in the US. In the UK, it was a big hit for Shirley Bassey, whose version peaked at #6 in October of 1963.

Michael, I don't ever recall hearing "Black Velvet"?  I do remember, "I Who Have Nothing", but only the recordings by Shirley Bassey and Ben E. King.  I remember 1963 very clearly.  It was a very good year.     

Jim Reeves - He'll Have To Go, followed by, Jeanne Black - He'll Have To Stay...

Change of tempo...Percy Sledge - My Special Prayer

And now for something completely different. Following the success of "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!", Jerry Samuels (the real name of "Napoleon XIV") made an entire album, and the songs on the album are even crazier than the one that was a hit.

Musician, singer and composer Paul Simon, turned 82 today.  He's written lots of great music over the years, but this beautiful song is my favorite. Full of sadness and hope.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water", accompanied by Simon Garfunkel.

Paul Simon is great. Here's one of his big solo hits. This hit #6 in the US in September of 1980. It apparently wasn't very popular in the UK, only peaking at #58 there.

My second favorite Simon and Garfunkel song.  Another one that brings on a feeling of sadness. 
The Sound of Silence

And a newer, somewhat darker take on that.

One of the most memorable songs from the 50s. This was the group's biggest hit, though far from the only one. It was the first in a string of 5 top 20 hits for them in the US in 1957, and one of 9 total.

A fun theme from a horror film. I've never seen the movie but apparently the light-hearted theme song doesn't fit the film at all.

A fun one from 1961

Getting away from Halloween for awhile, to remember a beautiful and thought provoking song from the musical The Fantasticks - Try to Remember

Here's a funny one I found a couple years ago thanks to the local oldies station. The weekend before Halloween, they do a "wacky weekend" theme and play all sorts of zany things. This is a jab at the various vocal groups that were popular at the time. The Four Preps had a few hits in the late 50s, most notably "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)" in 1958. This was their final top 20 hit, peaking at #17 in 1961.

Just a bit of trivia:  I'd forgotten all about "Twenty Six Miles -  Santa Catalina", etc.  It was very popular in  Southern Cal, where we were living in 1958.  My  husband was in the Army, stationed at Fort MacArthur.  From the beach there, you can see Catalina Island.  Seemed like the song was played on the Top Ten radio stations constantly, all summer long.  I haven't heard it since!