Barry Manilow-Mandy

  曾經寫過“Bend Me Shape Me”與“Mandy”二首名曲的作曲人Scott English，11月16日於倫敦的家中去世（81歲）。

  Scott English出生於紐約Brooklyn區，他除了寫歌之外，自己也推出過“High On A Hill” (77-1964)及“Brandy” (#91-1972)二首進Billboard Hot 100的歌。

Barry Manilow起初並不覺得原名“Brandy”的“Mandy”是一首特別的歌，因作曲Scott English 錄製的“Brandy”曾在1972年進排行榜只得過第91名。

  Barry Manilow於1974年錄第二張專輯的時候，很希望新唱片能夠在市場上有些成績，他考慮改變歌路錄一點搖滾、步吉舞曲…，但製作人推薦“Brandy”給他，當時他只覺得那是一首可以放在專輯裡的小曲，沒想到卻使他一曲成名。

  “Mandy”剛錄好的時候有一點節奏感，但Bell唱片公司的老闆Clive Davis建議改為歌謠並推出單曲，Barry Manilow事後回憶，他覺得對新人來講，推出歌謠有點冒險，可是這首歌很特別，就聽老闆的意見去改成情歌了。

  “Mandy”是Barry Manilow第一首進排行榜的單曲，1974年11月16日進榜獲得第67名，經過九個禮拜之後於1975年元月18日獲得排行榜冠軍。

  Barry Manilow作品很多，在歷年暢銷歌星排行榜獲得第75名。

      Scott English的另一首名曲“Bend Me Shape Me”則由the American Breed於1967年底推出，獲得第5名。

  The American Breed組團於芝加哥，是一個pop-rock樂團，主唱吉他手Gary Loizzo，他們的團員Kevin Murphy（鍵琴手）、AndreFisher（鼓手）後來組過另一個二度得Grammy獎的R&B樂團RUFUS。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XeSQVWleqY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3mUO268OkY

Mandy

-Words and Music by Scott English and Richard Kerr

I remember all my life

Rainin' down as cold as ice

Shadows of a man

A face through a window

Cryin' in the night

The night goes into

Mornin', just another day

Happy people pass my way

Lookin' in their eyes

I see a memory

I never realized

How happy you made me, oh Mandy

CHORUS

Well you came and you gave without takin'

But I sent you away, oh Mandy

Well, you kissed me and stopped me from shakin'

And I need you today, oh Mandy

Standin' on the edge of time

Walked away when love was mine

Caught up in a world of uphill climbin'

The tears are in my mind

And nothing is rhymin', oh Mandy

CHORUS

Yesterday's a dream

I face the mornin'

Cryin' on a breeze

The pain is callin', oh Mandy

CHORUS

You came and you gave without takin'

But I sent you away, oh Mandy

You kissed me and stopped me from shakin'

And I need you

Roy Clark-Yesterday When I Was Young

  鄉村歌唱界傳奇歌手與著名的鄉村歌曲搞笑節目Hee Haw主持人Roy Clark，11月15日病逝於奧克拉荷馬州Tulsa（85歲）。這位Grammy、CMA 及 ACM獎的得主，也是鄉村歌曲名人堂的一員。

  Roy Clark會演奏斑卓琴、吉他、曼陀林等多種樂器，表演時臉上總是帶著微笑，他能成為家喻戶曉的黃金時段鄉村歌曲電視綜藝節目Hee Haw的明星，主要因為二十年來他擔任鄉村歌曲教父級歌星Buck Owens的助理主持人，另外他也是第一位從鄉村歌曲跨界流行歌曲的歌手，而且在米蘇里州Branson經營的現場演唱劇場也很成功。

  Roy Clark出生於維吉尼亞州Meherrin，1950年贏得一場全美斑卓琴比賽冠軍後應邀上鄉村歌曲聖堂Grand Ole Opry節目表演，接著受邀替Ernest Tubb 及Red Foley伴奏，Jimmy Dean的鄉村歌曲電視節目也是他定期上的節目，1960年他接手Wanda Jackson在拉斯維加賭場表演的樂隊，當時他的演出融合了鄉村歌曲、早期搖滾、爵士樂、與流行歌曲的樂風，加上他舞台上的反傳統表演，使他一夕成名。

       

  Roy Clark有52首歌進過鄉村歌曲排行榜（1963-1989），包括1973年的冠軍曲"Come Live With Me"，他有9首top 10、 24首 top 40 暢銷曲，另外，他有6首歌跨界進Billboard Hot 100熱門排行榜，包括1969年八月獲得第19名的"Yesterday, When I Was Young"。

  Roy Clark除了歌唱事業外，他於1970年代也常在廣告和電視節目露臉，1976年他成了第一位在前蘇聯演出的美國藝人，1983年他在米蘇里州Branson開了一家the Roy Clark Celebrity Theater劇場，1987年並重新加入the Grand Ole Opry演出團隊，他的自傳My Life -- In Spite of Myself! 也於1994年出版。

  

  "Yesterday When I Was Young"是一首動聽的歌，歌詞寫得很好-，是一首「感時」的歌，其中的這幾句歌詞看得出作者對青春時節的深情回味。

I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day

and only now I see how the years ran away.

The friedns I made all seemed somehow to drift away

and only I am left on stage to end the play.

The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTAt5nuRoKI

Yesterday When I Was Young

Herbert Kretzmer

Yesterday when I was young

the taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue.

I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,

the way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame.

The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned

I always built alas on weak and shifting sand.

I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day

and only now I see how the years ran away.

Yesterday when I was young

so many  happy songs were waiting to be sung,

so many wayward pleasures lay in store for me

and so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see

I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,

I never stopped to think what life was all about

and every conversation I can now recall

concerned itself with me and nothing else at all.

Yesterday the moon was blue

and every crazy day brought something new to do.

I used my magic age as if it were a wand

and never saw the waste and emptiness beyond.

The game of love I played with arrogance and pride

and every flame I lit too quickly quickly died.

The friedns I made all seemed somehow to drift away

and only I am left on stage to end the play.

There are so many songs in me that won't be sung,

I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue.

The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young.

Freddie Hart-Easy Loving

  1971年以一首動聽的抒情歌曲"Easy Loving"跨界鄉村與熱門歌曲排行榜大受歡迎的鄉村歌星Freddie Hart，十月27日病逝於美國加州Burbank(91歲）。

  Freddie Hart本名Frederick Segrest， 1926年出生於阿拉巴馬州Loachapoka，二次世界大戰時他虛報年齡15歲就加入海軍，在投入音樂圈之前曾在洛杉磯教警察學院教過自衛術。

   "Easy Loving"曾經獲得1971年鄉村音樂協會CMA頒發的年度最佳歌曲獎， 1959-1987年Freddie Hart共有48首歌進鄉村歌曲排行榜，而於1971-1973年他曾有6首歌連續得到鄉村歌曲排行榜冠軍。

  Freddie Hart的 "Easy Loving" 1971年在鄉村歌曲排行榜獲得第3名，而在熱門排行榜獲得第17名，這首歌也是他唯一一首進Billboard Hot100的歌。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlrmSH4WkK4

Easy Loving

Words and Music by Freddie Hart

Easy lovin', so sexy lookin'

I know from the feelin' that it comes from the heart

Easy lovin', every day's Thanksgivin'

To count all my blessings, I wouldn't know where to start

Every time I look you over

So real-to-life it seems

For upon your pretty shoulders

There's a pair of angel wings

Easy lovin', seein's believin'

Life with you's like livin' in a beautiful dream

Every time I look you over

So real-to-life it seems

For upon your pretty shoulders

There's a pair of angel wings

Easy lovin', seein's believin'

Life with you's like livin' in a beautiful dream

Michael Jackson-Thriller

Michael Jackson的'Thriller' 回到Billboard雜誌 Hot 100排行榜了，這要感謝萬聖節帶來的經濟效益。

這首恐怖感十足的歌再度進Billboard Hot 100排行榜獲得到第31名，這是1984年以來這首歌名次最高的一次。

按Nielsen Music的統計， "Thriller"在網路上有15,000次下載購買，比前一週成長百分之189，還有一千五百二十萬次串流，比前一週成長百分之198。（11月1日前）。萬聖節經濟效益也幫這首歌在數位歌曲銷量獲得第11名，而在串流歌曲則得到第30名。

"Thriller"於1984年3月3日在Billboard Hot 100排行榜最高獲得第4名，且已重回排行榜三次，這一次再回排行榜獲得第31名，已是1984年4月7日以來名次最高的一次。

一首超過30年的單曲如何再進Hot 100？需要是很獨特的，是最近在串流很受歡迎的歌曲、最好有廣播與銷售數字，歌要沒有出現在最近發行週期中，就有可能再進排行榜，假如他們在知名平台上就更有機會獲利或進top 50榜內。

此外，Michael Jackson的代表性專輯"Thriller"在Billboard 200專輯榜也是大贏家，它從103名升到42名，成長百分之83，約相當14,000張專輯。

  在Billboard 200專輯榜62年的歷史中，僅電影"the West Side Story"｢西城故事｣的插曲專輯得過54週排行榜冠軍，成績比"Thriller"好，而Michael Jackson 的 "Thriller"專輯在歷年最受歡迎的200張專輯排行榜排名僅次於Adele的 "21 "與西城故事的"The Sound of Music soundtrack"獲得第3名。

 Michael Jackson於1958年8月29日出生於美國印第安那州Gary，2009年 6月 25日在洛杉磯去世（51歲），至今話題不斷。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEHsIcsjtdI

Thriller

Michael Jackson

It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking

in the dark

Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops

your heart

You try to scream but terror takes the sound before

you make it

You start to freeze as horror looks you right between

the eyes,

You're paralyzed

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to

strike

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside a killer,

thriller tonight

You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere

left to run

You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see

the sun

You close your eyes and hope that this is just

imagination

But all the while you hear the creature creepin' up

behind

You're out of time

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

There ain't no second chance against the thing with

forty eyes

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside a killer,

thriller tonight

Night creatures call

And the dead start to walk in their masquerade

There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien this time

(they're open wide)

This is the end of your life

They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on

every side

They will possess you unless you change the number on

your dial

Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close

together

All thru the night I'll save you from the terrors on

the screen,

I'll make you see

That it's a thriller, thriller night

'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would

dare to try

Girl, this is thriller, thriller night

So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller,

chiller,

Thriller here tonight

(Rap performed by Vincent Price)

Darkness falls across the land

The midnite hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood

To terrorize y'awl's neighborhood

And whosoever shall be found

Without the soul for getting down

Must stand and face the hounds of hell

And rot inside a corpse's shell

The foulest stench is in the air

The funk of forty thousand years

And grizzly ghouls from every tomb

Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive

Your body starts to shiver

For no mere mortal can resist

The evil of the thriller

(Into maniacal laugh, in deep echo)

Tony Joe White-Polk Salad Annie

  最近有幾位知名歌手去世，他們是鄉村歌星Freddie Hart、"Swamp rock"「沼澤搖滾」歌手Tony Joe White，和 Randy & the Rainbows的主唱Dominick "Randy" Safuto。

  Tony Joe White 1943年七月出生於美國路易斯安那州Goodwil，10月24日他在Leiper's Fork的家中因心臟病去世（75歲 ）， Tony Joe White自己所寫的 "Polk Salad Annie" (#8-1969)是一首swamp rock「沼澤搖滾」的經典之作，但同年他另一首top 50 的歌"Roosevelt And Ira Lee" 則只得到44名。Tony Joe 也寫過 Brook Benton的名曲"Rainy Night In Georgia" (#4-1970)。

  Tina Turner 1989年的專輯唱片"Foreign Affair"當中有四首Tony Joe White 的作品，其中"Steamy Windows" 1990年獲得過39名。

  1974年改編自莎士比亞作品"Othello"的搖滾樂劇"Catch My Soul"電影版有Tony Joe White與Richie Havens的演出。

  Swamp pop是路易斯安那州法國後裔區Acadiana的青少年Cajun及鄰近德州南部的朋友們融合紐奧良風味的rhythm and blues、鄉村與西部歌曲及路易斯安那傳統法語音樂而創的音樂。

  swamp rock「沼澤搖滾」 與Swamp pop不同類型，它更像1960年代的搖滾樂和 1950年代的 rhythm and blues。

   樂評家也把Tony Joe White稱為"bayou-rock"歌手，與"Swamp rock"意思相同。

 "Polk Salad Annie" 是一首 1968 年由Tony Joe White自寫自唱的暢銷曲，當年在阿拉巴馬州Muscle Shoals錄製，歌詞內容講一位貧窮的美國南方女子與她家的生活型態。歌詞也講到他們所吃的傳統食物。這首歌於1969年最高獲得第8名，因貓王翻唱版頗受歡迎，而使這首歌更出名。

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_PPEVq1Gao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGpjNnXNY4A

POLK SALAD ANNIE

Tony Joe White

(words & music by Tony Joe White)

(Recitation)

If some of ya'll never been down South too much...

I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this, so that you'll understand

What I'm talking about

Down there we have a plant that grows out in the

woods and the fields,

looks somethin' like a turnip green.

Everybody calls it Polk salad. Polk salad.

Used to know a girl that lived down there and

she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...

Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat,

But they did all right.

Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean

There lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame

Polk salad Annie polk salad Annie

Everybody said it was a shame

Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang

(a mean, vicious woman)

Everyday 'fore supper time She'd go down by the truck patch

And pick her a mess o' Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack

Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny

Everybody said it was a shame

'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang

(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,

Lord have mercy.  Pick a mess of it)

Her daddy was lazy and no count

Claimed he had a bad back

All her brothers were fit for was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch

Polk salad Annie, the gators got your granny

Everybody said it was a shame

Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang

(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it)