My Little Red Dansette

It was not just about the 'oohs',  the 'aahs' and the 'la-la-las'. I bought " Ram"  by Paul & Linda McCartney from Harveys Record Shop in Upton Park the day the album came out. There is an effusiveness in the playing and arrangements I rarely hear in records these days. The melodies   are very fine indeed. Lightweight or not, I think the lyrics work and compliment the rhythms and cadences in the songs. Do you really care what Paul is singing when it sounds this good?  And then you of course you get to the backing vocals and harmonies.  No bum harmonies here They are sung just by Mr. & Mrs. McCartney. Paul admitted "..it is all very well having Linda on harmonies but I'm not having her do bum harmonies.. [S]o I worked her like mad.". You hear the endeavour and effort in the grooves. Friends of mine who earn a living as professional backing singers say great b/vs don't happen by accident. There is much more ...

I am enjoying the sunshine in London. It brings back memories of my childhood summers, when the weather of course was always glorious (but not as hot). It also reminds me of  " Strawberry Fields Forever”  and  "Penny Lane" (w. John Lennon & Paul McCartney) put out by EMI as a double A-side single. I do not think there is another Beatles' 45 that boasts two better songs. Without doubt Lennon and McCartney were at the very height of their powers. If this is what fans had to look forward to in 1967, then it certainly vindicated the band's decision to quit touring.  In " Strawberry Fields " John recalls playing in the garden of this Salvation Army children's home in Liverpool during the summer as a boy. So he invites the listener to go back there with him ("Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to..). Lennon remembers what its like to be young with no cares, no responsibilities ("Nothing is real and nothing to get hung abo...

One Saturday my dad walked into the house hugging a pile of 78 rpm records. There was a smug look on his face that said "look what I've got here". I spent the afternoon having that look; going through what must have been a hundred shellac discs,  diligently  hunting  for hidden gems. I found nothing of any great interest or import. No Bill Haley. No Elvis or Buddy. Not even a Gracie (Fields) or a Tommy (Steele). The 10 inch discs were strewn across the carpet. There were just two records familiar to me. One  was Mario Lanza singing "The Donkey Serenade" ( w. Rudolf Frimi and Herbert Stothart). The other was a 1926 recording of "The Laughing Policeman" by Charles Penrose  (w. Mabel Penrose aka Billie Grey) . This was an early example of what was known in the music world as the 'novelty song'. D ad enjoyed listening to novelty records when they came on the wireless or TV.  H e especially liked "Hev Yew Gotta Loight Boy?" by The Sin...

Do you remember the EP? They were played at 45 rpm on seven inch discs with two tracks on each side. Until I had a regular Saturday job and some spare cash, Mum was in charge of buying records to play on the Little Red Dansette. She was a fan of the extended play format. Not only did a number of her favourite artists release EPs, she saw they were good value too - twice as many songs for an extra four shillings and sixpence. Some of the songs on these discs have stayed with me: the Peter, Paul & Mary version of "Blowin' In The Wind" (w. Bob Dylan);   "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin (w. Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor & Ken Lane);  and my absolute favourite "The Summer Wind" by the peerless Frank Sinatra (w. Heinz Meier & Johnny Mercer - English lyrics). The light and breezy arrangement by Nelson Riddle perfectly suits both this song that tells the story of a summer love and Sinatra’s style. As a fan on the family forum put it, “I can ...

I remember walking into the lounge one Saturday to find my dad standing over a box with wires protruding from the back that was set up in the corner of the room. What is it? Is it? It couldn't be. It is and the evidence is right in front of my eyes - a portable record player - a little Red Dansette. How did Fred know this was what I wanted ?  Christmas was a few months away. So was my birthday (my twelfth ).  Of course this was a present for the whole family and not just me. Ever since John Bird, five years my senior and lived across the street, popped over with his portable record player and a copy of Dylan's latest LP  "Bringing It All Back Home" , I knew we must have a record player at 43 Lansdown Road. The Dylan record,  by the way,  made hardly any impression on this nine year old. My favourite songs on the radio at the time were  " Help !" by The Beatles (w. John Lennon & Paul McCartney)  and Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" (w....