Saturday, May 27, 2017

At the Hop!

Johnny Ace!



Johnny Ace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace photo.jpg
Ace in 1954
Background information
Birth nameJohn Marshall Alexander, Jr.
BornJune 9, 1929
Memphis, TennesseeUnited States
DiedDecember 25, 1954 (aged 25)
HoustonTexas, United States
GenresR&B
Years active1949–1954
LabelsDuke Records
John Marshall Alexander, Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an Americanrhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s. He died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.

Career

Alexander was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a preacher, and grew up near LeMoyne-Owen College. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he joined Adolph Duncan's Band as a pianist. He then joined the B. B. King band. Soon King departed for Los Angeles, and the band's singer, Bobby Bland, joined the army. Alexander took over vocal duties and renamed the band the Beale Streeters. He also took over King's radio show on WDIA.
He began performing as Johnny Ace. He signed with Duke Records (originally a Memphis label associated with WDIA) in 1952. His first recording, "My Song", an urbane "heart ballad", topped the R&B chart for nine weeks in September. (A cover version by Aretha Franklin was released in 1968, on the flip side of "See Saw".)
Ace began heavy touring, often with Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. In the next two years, he had eight hits in a row, including "Cross My Heart", "Please Forgive Me", "The Clock", "Yes, Baby", "Saving My Love for You" and "Never Let Me Go". In December 1954 he was named the Most Programmed Artist of 1954, according to the results of a national poll of disc jockeys conducted by the U.S. trade weekly Cash Box
Ace's recordings sold very well for those times. Early in 1955, Duke Records announced that three of his 1954 recordings, along with Thornton's "Hound Dog", had sold more than 1,750,000 copies.

Death

After touring for a year, Ace had been performing at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .32-caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car.
It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette. However, Big Mama Thornton's bass player, Curtis Tillman, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded… see?’ and pointed it at himself with a smile on his face and ‘Bang!’ — sad, sad thing. Big Mama ran out of the dressing room yelling ‘Johnny Ace just killed himself!'.
Thornton said in a written statement (included in the book The Late Great Johnny Ace) that Ace had been playing with the gun but not playing Russian roulette. According to Thornton, Ace pointed the gun at his girlfriend and another woman who were sitting nearby but did not fire. He then pointed the gun toward himself, bragging that he knew which chamber was loaded. The gun went off, shooting him in the side of the head.
According to his biographer Nick Tosches, Ace shot himself with a .32 pistol, not a .22, and it happened little more than an hour after he had bought a new 1955 Oldsmobile.
Ace's funeral was held on January 2, 1955, at Clayborn Temple AME church in Memphis. It was attended by an estimated 5,000 people. His remains were buried at New Park Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Pledging My Love" was a posthumous R&B number 1 hit for ten weeks beginning February 12, 1955. As Billboard bluntly put it, Ace's death "created one of the biggest demands for a record that has occurred since the death of Hank Williams just over two years ago."[10] His single recordings were compiled and released as The Johnny Ace Memorial Album.

Tributes

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed "Never Let Me Go" on tour with the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975.
Elvis Presley recorded "Pledging My Love" in his last studio session, in 1976. The song appeared on the album Moody Blue in 1977.
Paul Simon wrote and performed the song "The Late Great Johnny Ace", in which a boy, upon hearing of the death of Ace, orders a photograph of the deceased singer: "It came all the way from Texas / With a sad and simple face / And they signed it on the bottom / From the Late Great Johnny Ace." The song develops a touching counterpoint with the death of two other Johnnies – John Lennon and John F. Kennedy. Simon also performed "Pledging My Love" on his tour of Europe and North America in 2000.
David Allan Coe covered "Pledging My Love", introducing the song with his own recollections of hearing the news of Ace's death.
Ace is mentioned in "House Band in Hell", by Root Boy Slim, and in the song "Johnny Ace", by Dash Rip Rock.
"Pledging My Love" was used in the 1973 film Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese; the 1983 film Christine, directed by John Carpenter; the 1985 film Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis; and the 1992 film Bad Lieutenant, directed by Abel Ferrara.
The Teen Queens' song "Eddie My Love", originally entitled "Johnny My Love", was written in memory of Ace.
The Swiss singer Polo Hofer and the Schmetterband wrote the song "Johnny Ace" in 1985; it was released on the album Giggerig.
Rock-and-roll historian Harry Hepcat noted that "Johnny Ace was a crooner who sounded like Johnny Mathis with soul. ....Soon after the death of Johnny Ace, Varetta Dillard recorded "Johnny Has Gone" for Savoy Records in early 1955. She incorporated many of Ace's song titles in the lyrics. This was the first of the many teen tragedy records that were to follow in the later 50s and early 1960s."
Will Oldham noted Ace's death in the lyrics of his song "Let the Wires Ring", on his 2000 albbum Guarapero/Lost Blues 2.
Dave Alvin's 2011 album, Eleven Eleven, contains the song "Johnny Ace is Dead", about Ace's death.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers' Christmas album, Christmas Caravan, contains the song "A Johnny Ace Christmas", a love song about Ace killing himself on Christmas.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Friday Night Steam



We are off to Canada tonight! Watch how great working men made great working steam engines. I don't think these giants could be made today as most of the skills needed are lost to time....

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A must read article about these giants:

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_steam/3100.htm


:o)




Today's funny :o)












Odds 'n Ends.....

Have been under the weather for a wee bit and haven't been doing too much - so the pics aren't too exciting.....


Momma and her babies  - this pond is just down the road from us.


A cardinal sitting on the fire pit screen:



There are several here in Coopville :


These clouds look like fingers!



Thunder clouds!



A BIG big on the door:


Thought these clouds were pretty neat - reminded me of ocean waves:


These are going every-which-way:



Charlie found a worm in the grass - see Betty run to get to it first!


:o)


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Why and Because




1. WHY?
Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?
BECAUSE
When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left.  Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right. And that's where women's buttons have remained since.
 
2. WHY?
Why do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help?
BECAUSE
This comes from the French word ‘m'aidez’ - meaning 'help me' - and it is pronounced, approximately, 'mayday'.
 
3. WHY?
Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?
BECAUSE
In France, where tennis became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called 'l'oeuf', which is French for 'the egg'.  When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans mispronounced it to 'love'.
 
4. WHY?
Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?
BECAUSE
In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.
 
5. WHY?
Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called passing the buck'?
BECAUSE
In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal.  If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, he would 'pass the buck' to the next player.
 
6. WHY?
Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
BECAUSE
In earlier times, it used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host's glass with his own.
 
7. WHY?
Why are people in the public eye said to be ‘in the limelight'?
BECAUSE
Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer 'in the limelight' was the center of attention.
 
8. WHY?
Why is someone, who is feeling great, 'on cloud nine'?
BECAUSE
Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.
 
9. WHY?
In golf, where did the term 'caddie' come from?
BECAUSE
When Mary Queen of Scots went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scottish game 'golf'. He had the first course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and, when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it into caddie.
 
10. WHY?
Why are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?
BECAUSE
Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks'.  When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig and it caught on.

:o) 

Today's funny :o)





:o)




Flowers, flowers and....

...... MORE flowers!





















Kinda like irises.....    :o)




Monday, May 22, 2017

Walks better than I do.....

It REALLY does!!!!






Now if they could only do the dishes.....


Ooops! They CAN:


Today's funny :o)













Happy Birthday to......

.... the one AND only Charlie!!!!!!!!!


Six years ago today, he hatched in my hand!


2011

Charlie now:




Out of all the roosters that have been here,  I'm so glad I picked Charlie to stay!

Happy, Happy Birthday Charlie!!


:o)





Sunday, May 21, 2017

Easy Listening for a Sunday Afternoon


Jimmy Durante



Us older folks remember this one! Enjoy!




 "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." 


:o)




Saturday, May 20, 2017

At the Hop!

Dale and Grace!





Dale & Grace


Dale & Grace cracked the top forty twice in the 60's. The two Southerners took one of their songs all the way to number one not long after they had met each other.
Grace Broussard was born in 1939 in Prairieville, Louisiana and Dale Houston was born the following year in Seminary, Mississippi. Dale was the son of a minister and grew up with the music he heard in church, singing and playing piano. His family moved from Seminary to Collins, Mississippi, then to Ferriday, Louisiana and eventually to Baton Rouge. By the time he was in his teens, Dale knew that he wanted to make music his career.
He recorded a song titled Lonely Man that dented the top 100 nationally and brought him to the attention of Sam Montel, a local record producer in Baton Rouge. Montel signed Dale as a songwriter. A Cajun band from nearby Prairieville headed by Van Broussard found its way to Montel's studio, and the singer in the band was Van's sister Grace.
Dale and Grace worked together for the first time in 1963. At the end of their first recording session together, they recorded I'm Leaving It Up To You on the Michelle label -- one that Sam Montel had named for his daughter. Sam sent it to a disk jockey in Houston and the record was an immediate hit there. It was re-released a short time later on Sam's national label, Montel. It entered the national charts in October, 1963 and began to soar. Dale and Grace joined Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars and began to tour almost immediately.
As their record became more and more popular across the United States, their tour stopped in Dallas, where President Kennedy was scheduled to visit. Dale and Grace stood along the motorcade route with Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland, Jimmy Clanton and others from the Caravan of Stars and waved as Kennedy's motorcade passed by. By the time it had travelled another three blocks, some gunshots were fired in the distance from an office building along the motorcade route. A few hours later they learned that those were the shots that ended the life of the assassinated President. That same week, the number one song on the chart was Dale & Grace's I'm Leaving It Up To You. The following week, Thanksgiving found them having dinner at Dick Clark's house in Philadelphia. They appeared on Clark's American Bandstand television program.
The duo recorded a follow-up hit, Stop And Think It Over, which reached number eight early in 1964. Then the British Invasion hit the shores of America, and pop music began to change drastically. Dale & Grace disbanded their act in 1965.
Dale Houston complained of stomach pains and experienced congestive heart failure; he checked into a hospital in Seminary, Mississippi, where he had been born, and passed away on September 27, 2007.
I'm Leaving It Up To You has been a favorite of male-female duos ever since it left the charts in 1964, and has been recorded by artists such as Sonny & Cher and Donny and Marie Osmond, among others. Donny and Marie brought it back to the top ten in 1974. Dale and Grace performed, together and separately, off and on in the intervening years. In the 90's they were inducted into the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and the Texas Music Hall of Fame.




:o)

Friday, May 19, 2017

Friday Night Steam

Found a super-duper good one for tonight!




Mallet  type #225:



The Challenger 3985:




The UP 9000:


And even a song about the UP9000!


UP 9000 ~ A Man and A Train ~ Marty Robbins

  
5,727 views
Published on Apr 5, 2015
A video dedicated to the Steam Engine UP 9000 Series operated once by Union Pacific. Pictures of different Locomotives in the series (copyright by the holders) and with real sound from UP 9009 running in Nebraska 1954 (copyright Don Stack / http://utahrails.net/up/up-4-12-2-sou... ) and Music file overplayed (copyright Marty Robbins). The only surviving Locomotive in this series # 9000 you can luckily find in California / Pomona at http://www.railgiants.org/union-pacif... ,,, I hope you can enjoy. The whole video project is dedicated to my wonderful friend Marianne!

:o)