Bizarre Song Spotlight: Sadler and Young-"Dominique" (1966)

No, this does not count as a Song of the Week, but it may well factor in the 2013 Worst Song Ever category.

HOW I HEARD IT

I have CD's, flash drives and radio in the car. As always, I encourage staff to flip any rock they can find to discover something worth featuring on this blog. My flash drive was corrupted, I was tired of my cd's in the car and it was a tough day with lots of traffic going home. I went with the radio search button and came upon WKTZ, which apparently has been "proudly broadcasting beautiful music in Jacksonville, Florida".Well I'm cool with that, something for everyone and so forth.

The first song was "Mack the Knife". Hey, no problem there, a classic. Second song was a violin arrangement of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", O.K., fine. I still wanted to kill the guy driving in front of me but this WAS calming. Then what I think was a Jerry Vale version of " Up, Up and Away" came on. Hysterical! If you made me listen to it several times in interrogation, I would crack. My finger was on the preset when...

WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS HEARING
 
I heard the singer doing a sultry version of "Dominique"

I heard the singer doing "Dominique," which, upon hearing the version by "The Singing Nun" is normally a license to slam your car into a tree, but I was in tight traffic (for Jacksonville) at that point. I almost thought it had a Hawaiian quality to it so I hung. Maybe a ukulele might come in. After the first verse, someone harmonizing started singing "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" in a Barry White voice? Oh no, it doesn't stop there, the guy keeps singing "Dominique" as the other bottom voice goes into "Down By the Riverside," "When the Saints Go Marching In", etc. Wow...

I played this song for staff member Suzi Suarez, who promptly got into her car and drove right through the garage door without opening it. Haven't seen her for days...but hey, listen for yourself. Please ask some one you know to hide your keys first.



SO WHO ARE THESE GUYS AND WHY THIS SONG?

According to Allmusic.com: One sang in French, the other in English, and that, in a nutshell, was easy listening vocal duo Sandler and Young's gimmick. Although they didn't approach every number that way, it became the formula for which they were best known...  and a delightful French version of Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bass Man." (which we listened to as well, causing Mike Yasich to stick a fork in his ear). Back to Allmusic.com... Sandler & Young may have been a pair of hopelessly square lounge singers, but for a while they mined a vein of light intellectual pop that provided them with a successful album career.

Perhaps all this comes as a Civil Rights Act tribute. The song actually charted on the easy-listening list in 1966. Also, Dominique means "Lord" in French and was perhaps a base for the spirituals sung in the background.

We think their greatest hits album would make a wonderful gift for someone you want to weird out.

Professor Longhair: "Big Chief" (1964,1980)

It is Carnival Time! Mardi Gras & Fat Tuesday are happening and there is no better way to mark the event than featuring the great music of Professor Longhair.

Professor Longhair (Henry Roeland Byrd), also known as Roy "Bald Head" Byrd and also as Fess was born on December 19, 1918 in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He did not learn to play piano (self-taught) until he was in his 30's and even then it was on a piano with missing keys. Many say this helped him shape his style of playing which has Afro-Cuban influences and is also referred to as "rumba-boogie". This really comes through in "Big Chief" which was written by the great Earl King but covered by Longhair in 1964. Much was made of the addition of horns to the composition and it was a New Orleans hit for many years. It is stll a Mardi Gras favorite much like his other signature songs like "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" and "Tipitina".

Fess would fade away for many years and would work as a custodian to help make ends meet before claiming fame again.

How did the "new Longhair" happen? He got on the roster for the 1971 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival which led to his playing the Newport Jazz Festival in 1973. He would play at a party Paul and Linda McCartney were throwing on the Queen Mary in 1978 which was recorded and released. His fame was ensured with the release of the album Crawfish Fiesta (1979), which was a big seller for Alligator Records,

To us, the whistling, which is part of many of his songs, really stand out on his 1980 version from Crawfish Fiesta, and is therefore our favorite. The song is about the African-American tradition of dressing as decked out Indians for their Mardi Gras Parade. Indians used to hide slaves and this is a nod to their heroism. The "Big Chief" is the leader.

Me got fire, can't put it outHeap fire water gonna make me shoutI'm goin' down an-a get my squawMe might buy a great big carI'm gonna do ev'rything I couldMe Big Chief, I'm feeling good
Me Big Chief, I got um tribeGot my squaw right by my sideMy Flagboy, he just went byMy Spyboy, he's full of fireMe whole tribe is havin' funWe gonna dance 'til mornin' come
In 1980 he would pass away during the filming of a documentary he was starring in.Crawfish Fiesta shipped out to stores the very day he died.

He lived his last years as a very famous man in New Orleans and today, 32 years after his death he is justly worshipped as a founding father of New Orleans R&B. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Two versions here. The 1980 Crawfish Fiesta version of "Big Chief" and the original from 1964:

Jimmy Wayne: Sara Smile (2009), Hall and Oates (1976)

An amazing story here, so pay attention...Jimmy Wayne (Barber) was born on October 23, 1972 in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. His father abandoned Jimmy and his sister who were in and out of foster care or sometimes in the streets when their mother would disappear or do time. Jimmy would eventually move in with an elderly couple down the street from where he lived after mowing their lawn. He would complete high school and get an associates in criminology while working as a prison guard. He learned some of his songwriting skills from an inmate. Years later he would try his luck and moved to Nashville.

His songwriting caught on and the DreamWorks label signed him up with a debut album in 2003 that made it to #7 on the country charts. The album featured "Stay Gone" which was inspired by his sister Patricia who, according to a Wikipedia entry said: " Everything would be better if her husband would just stay gone." 

His next album would do even better, reaching #4 on the country charts.

In 2009, Jimmy Wayne released Sara Smile which was the title song and cover. Daryl Hall and John Oates originally did the song (reaching #4 on the charts in the U.S.) and provided backing vocals for Jimmy on the song.

The song  was written about Hall's girlfriend, flight attendant and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen.

"Sara Smile" as a single would reach as high as #31. Many country critics panned it for not being a country song. One wonders why it did not cross over to other charts.

The song is exceptional for a cover, and Jimmy's vocals absolutely nail the sentiment conveyed in the lyrics:

Baby hair, with a woman's eyes,
I can feel you watching in the night,
All alone with me, and we're waiting for the sunlight,
When I feel cold, you warm me,
And when I feel I can't go on, you come and hold me,
It's you, and me, forever...

According to the Great American Country (GAC) Blog:

“I’ve had a lot of friends who… I lived in group homes with that ended up dead,” Jimmy said during a press conference at Monroe Harding, a Music City facility for at-risk kids. “When I worked in prison as an officer, I had a lot of friends come in as convicts. I had a foster brother who I spent half of my life with come in as a convict. It was a very hard experience seein’ that stuff.”

In 2010, Jimmy completed a 1600 mile walk between Nashville and Phoenix called "Meet Me Halfway" to promote awareness of homeless youth. He broke an ankle but made the trek. He continues to champion foster care issues.

Three versions to peruse here. The first is the official video of Sarah Smile by Jimmy Wayne. The second is a banjo free gem that doesn't pander as much to country with Daryl Hall sitting in. The third is the original cut by Hall and Oates off of their first self titled album.

Special thanks to Trish Norton Lindsay for the suggestion.