Banging for Entrance

 Song 600: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Keep A-Knockin' by Little Richard, written by Richard Penniman, J. Mayo Williams and Bert Mays, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This LR shaker gets credit for inspiring last week's Led Zeppelin jaunt, and hearing the two next to each other would make that connection quite obvious. During my HS stretch I mistakenly thought that the British Invaders had invented RnR, but as the 1970s arrived and I had the freedom to explore the real story of the music style I craved, I soon found out how folks like Mr. Penniman had laid the foundation for rock. Along that decade, the Chicago-area rock stations did a 1950s revival, and so sometimes I would get to hear compelling hits like this that hadn't previously crossed my ears, thereby increasing my respect for such moving pioneers. It makes sense that if you want to enter a particular building and you keep a-knockin’ but you can't come in, probably the best option would be to simply come back tomorrow night and try it again.

Genre Personified

 Song 599: This week the playlist applauds Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin, written by John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. As the 1970s unfolded and I began living a life independent from the fundamentalist household where I had grown up, I had the freedom to listen to the devil's music as much as I wanted, and some punchy rumblers came along that quickly grabbed my attention. I added the untitled 33 commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV to my LP collection not long after it showed up in late 1971, and it became a regular spinner on the turntable. This marks the second appearance of an LZ4 cut on this list, with Stairway to Heaven being Song 288. Around the time this mover shook the airwaves, it became the quartet's concert opener, and understandably played that role (and roll) for a while. Now, for way too many Americans, most of the last two years have been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time, and it sure seems so long since we walked in the moonlight, but my advice is to open your arms and let some love come running in.

Colored Indigestion

 Song 598: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's amusing jaunt Heartburn Blues comes from my colleague Rob Lytle, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I hooked up with him back around 1989. He animated the New England folkie scene, while I hung out in the NYC singer/songwriter circle, and we would often bump into each other when I would head up to NE music events like the Sober in the Sun Festival. Recently finding his YT channel, I soon gave this gem a listen, and it quickly raised a grin on my end. When I first started my own YT channel (which resides at https://www.youtube.com/user/daveelderdotcom), I did a weekly segment performing a tune live (which I labeled a rough cut video), and I felt a bit disappointed that I came across very few similar efforts by comrades, so I savor discovering a buddy who does do that, as Rob does here, and on other videos from his channel. In addition, over the years I have found very few lyrical word games of the kind I relish that enliven compositions coming from my cronies, so when I do catch one of those, as in this clever sparkler, it tickles me all the more. Of course, there is a learnin' and a burnin' when someone's stomach gas is churnin', but is there some purple pill that person can take to free that stomach from all the trouble? Probably not.

Monarch Snoozing This Evening

 Song 597: This week on the playlist you can hear The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens, written by Solomon Linda, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss and Albert Stanton, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Once again, just like 8 of my last 10 blogs here, tonight marks the premier of The Tokens in my favorite song bunch. I probably did not hear this ramble for the first decade after it appeared in 1961, because, growing up in a family that opposed the devil's music, I knew next to nothing about RnR until the Fab Four rocked my world in February of 1964. As an independent young adult in the early 1970s, though, a lot of the older gems that I had missed caught my ears, including this engaging sparkler, as the rock radio stations went through a pre-Beatle revival. While I generally leaned towards guitar-centered arrangements, whether electric or acoustic, a few jaunts like this one expanded my appreciation for multi-layered vocal-driven ventures. This being the part of the year with shorter days and longer nights, we can easily believe that The Lion Sleeps Tonight, even if the animal has approached the peaceful village, so don't fear my darling - there's no need for anyone to lose any sleep this evening.

Country Music Center Felines

 Song 596: This week the playlist recognizes Nashville Cats by The Lovin' Spoonful, written by John Sebastian, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Happy Meow Year! Just like 7 of my last 9 blogs here, tonight marks the first appearance of this particular group in my favorite song gathering. Soon after I finished and released Purrfection: The Cat Single last spring, I decided to put together a YouTube cat song playlist, and I did a Facebook post asking for suggestions that might fit the concept. Among the replies I got, someone mentioned this roller, and while it’s not really a cat tale and doesn't belong on the playlist of those (which is called CATegorically-Correct Songs and which you can find by clicking on the title), being reminded of the gem led to an intention to add it to this bunch. I don't remember exactly when these talented Tennessee musician types first crossed my radar, but by the early 1970s, as I accumulated a growing LP collection, I definitely had a 33 that featured the anthem, and it got plenty of spins on the turntable, expanding my appreciation for singer/songwriter Sebastian in the process. It felt inspiring to hear about mothers from somewhere who were not uptight about possibly having one of the kids (or more) wanting to play music, especially in light of my own parents' opposition back then to my interest in melodic rambling where I also intended to play clean as country water and wild as mountain dew.

Historic Memorable Evening

 Song 595: This week on the playlist you’ll find December, 1963 (Oh What a Night) by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Now at the last week of the year and in the first week of the winter season, we can celebrate by picking a hit with December in its title. This chart topper brightened the winter of 1976, and I remember shivering so much in the freezing Chicago temperatures of that stretch while at the same time learning about the milder climate of the SF Bay Area, leading me to plan on making a western move in the coming summer, though tooth problems would lead to a 2-year delay in that trip. With frost on the apartment windows, I could savor riding along an energetic heated amorous lyrical jaunt. Hearing it, sometimes I felt a rush like a rolling bolt of thunder spinning my head around and taking my body under, making it a very special time for me, whether or not it ended much too soon.

Colorful Observance

 Song 594: This week the playlist comes around to Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley, written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Considering the special day that will arrive at the end of the week, this seems like the appropriate moment to feature a major noel classic. Mr. Presley's version of this yuletide ride first appeared on his 1957 LP Elvis' Christmas Album, but growing up in a household where the adults despised the devil's music, I knew next to nothing about the RnR star, the exception being Hound Dog (Song 433). As a young man in the 1970s, though, I soon learned a lot about the 1950s rockers that had laid the foundation for the musical style I had come to savor, and at a certain point I got an Elvis hit collection 33 that included this shiner, which would become one of my repeated 12/25 spinners. Last year my neighborhood had a white Xmas after a record blizzard at the beginning of December left behind very deep piles that lasted well beyond the holidays. This year, the community looks quite green, but that doesn't bother me. If those blue snowflakes start fallin', however, I will know that's when those blue memories start callin'. Regardless of what does or does not come out of the sky this week, Merry Happy!