Ron Dante & Tony Burrows: Two Men, Many Bands

21 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

(via CultureSonar) BY MARK DAPONTE

Singers Ron Dante and Tony Burrows are and were not a household name, but for a spell, a family with a working radio couldn’t keep their voices out of their house.

Dante’s first foray into being a household name was singing for The Detergents, who unleashed a 1964 parody of the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack” called “Leader of The Laundromat.”  Sadly, some people (like the three writers of “Leader of the Pack”) couldn’t take a joke and took the Detergents to the cleaners in the form of a lawsuit.  Five years later, one of “the Pack’s” composers, Jeff Barry, co-wrote (with Andy Kim) “Sugar, Sugar,” the biggest hit Ron ever sang on.  The song’s success compelled Ed Sullivan to ask Dante’s group, The Archies, to appear on Ed’s variety show.  Alas, the cartoon Archies were the Gorillaz of their time: an animated band whose members were heard and not seen which meant Ron sang as Reggie Mantle in his only appearance on Ed’s show…

Read more: Ron Dante & Tony Burrows: Two Men, Many Bands – CultureSonar

On a Lighter Note…

21 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in On a Lighter Note

Video of the Week: The 1978 BBC-TV Bread Special

18 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Video of the Week Tags: ,

Songs You May Have Missed #684

18 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Pomplamoose: “Something About Us” (2019)

Formed in 2008 by (now married) Stanford students Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, Pomplamoose are…uh…I think I’ll let them explain for themselves:

With over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, Pomplamoose have carved a non-traditional niche as a band. They don’t rely on record companies, extensive touring or physical album sales, instead creating a new “videosong” every week for their YouTube channel, streaming their songs, and providing music for TV ads for companies such as Toyota and Hyundai.

They mix originals and an eclectic variety of covers and inspired mashups, placing them in fresh and often jazz-tinged settings.

Remarkably, the performance you see in a Pomplamoose video is the same that you hear–it is never a lip-synched re-enactment but an actual recording session.

Watch the session for the above “single”, a cover of Daft Punk’s “Something About Us”.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/05/15/songs-you-may-have-missed-779/

Tina Turner says goodbye to fans with doc amid PTSD, stroke, cancer

17 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

Tina Turner performing in 1990.
Redferns

(via the New York Post) By Rod McPhee

Tina Turner bids a final farewell to her fans in a touching new film that shows how she has overcome her painful past and finally found happiness.

In the feature-length documentary, simply titled “Tina,” the singer looks back on camera for the first time at her younger years filled with struggle and pain, then the true love and global fame she found as a middle-aged woman.

Now 81 and plagued by ill health, including a stroke and cancer, the soul and rock music legend also suffered kidney failure that led to a transplant in 2017.

In the film, she tells how she wants to enter the third and final chapter of her life out of the spotlight, and it is revealed that she has a form of post-traumatic stress disorder from the domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband and music partner, Ike Turner.

Looking back, Tina reflects: “It wasn’t a good life. The good did not balance the bad.

“I had an abusive life, there’s no other way to tell the story. It’s a reality. It’s a truth. That’s what you’ve got, so you have to accept it…

Read more: Tina Turner says goodbye to fans with doc amid PTSD, stroke, cancer (nypost.com)

Songs You May Have Missed #683

16 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

B.C. Camplight: “Suffer for Two (Dave Bascombe Radio Mix)” (2007)

Calling any B.C. Camplight song the “radio mix” is laughable because I’ve never heard any of his tunes on radio. He’s typically too quirky and experimental for even the independent airwaves.

But “Suffer for Two” is a bit more accessible than most of his material. If it piques your curiosity I’d recomment you check out his debut LP Hide, Run Away

If you’re ready to be challenged a little by his more idiosyncratic output, give 2015’s How to Die in the North or 2020’s Shortly After Takeoff a try. Sometimes it takes repeated listens, but eventually the hooks take hold. And the genius.

This is what Brian Wilson might have sounded like if he grew up someplace without drag racing and surfing.

See also: Recommended Albums #6 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #499 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

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