Jingle Jangle Jungle

Spandau Ballet are a British new wave band formed in London in the late 1970s. The band initially was inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic movement, becoming one of the most successful groups to emerge during the New Romantic era. The group's debut single " To Cut a Long Story Short ", was the first of ten UK Top 10 hits, including a No. 1 single in 1983 with the song " True ". The No.2 single " Gold " is considered an 80's classic and is their most requested song while performing live today. The band also has had eight UK Top 10 albums, including three "greatest hits" compilations and an album of re-recorded material. " True " was composed by group leader Gary Kemp who wrote the song at his parents' house, where he lived at the time. It is a six-minute (in its original album version) slow pop-ballad love song that in part pays tribute to the Motown artist Marvin Gaye , who is mentioned in the lyri

Today's post comes by way of request from reader, Bill Cunningham. Thank you, Bill, for your request. While I had heard most of their music, I did not know much else about this band until I did the research. Badfinger were a British rock band that originally consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Ron Griffiths. The band evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys that was formed in 1961 by Ham, Ron Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales. They were signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968 as The Iveys . In 1969, Griffiths left and was replaced by Joey Molland, and the band renamed itself Badfinger . In 1970, the band engaged American businessman Stan Polley to manage their commercial affairs. Over the next five years the band recorded several albums for Apple and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple Records ' dissolution. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "

Welcome to "The Guest" Jingle Jangle Jungle’s Guest Blogger Series I'm really excited to share with you today's guest. I met Danielle via various blog hops, and have enjoyed reading her blog posts. Danielle writes from a very personal aspect, but her story draws you in. I'm sure you will enjoy this blog post as much as I have.  I have booked some really AWESOME bloggers (and non-bloggers as well), from all over the internet, and I just can’t wait for you to “meet” them all. Each and every Sunday, you will find a new Guest here. Thank you for stopping by today to join us for this week’s "The Guest". My name is Danielle (Perillo) Hughes. I am a 38-year-old mother of one 11-year-old boy and a wife-to-be. I am a full-time student going for my paralegal degree and then eventually to law school. I’m trying to show my son the value of an education and that is never too late. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, we moved to the Austin, TX

"Give Me One Reason" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on her 1995 album New Beginning, and as a single in 1996, her first since 1992's Dreaming on a World. It is also Chapman's biggest US hit to date, reaching #3 on the US Hot 100. Chapman also performed the song six years before its release, on the December 16, 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live. A music video was released to promote the single. Chapman earned the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the track, that was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Female Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1997. A well known version of this song featuring Eric Clapton was released in 1999 in the compilation album A Very Special Christmas Live. The song is the story of an ending relationship, and a plea from the narrator to her partner for the partner to convince her to remain, to "give me one reason to stay here, and I'll turn right bac

The Archies was an American fictional garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show. The group is also known for their real world success, through a virtual band. The fictional band's music was recorded by session musicians featuring Ron Dante on vocals and released as a series of singles and albums. Their most successful song, "Sugar, Sugar", became one of the biggest hits of the bubblegum pop genre that flourished from 1968 to 1972. The Archies play a variety of contemporary popular music, consistent with the era in which the comic is drawn. They seem to have a preference for rock and roll, however. Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge later also joined the group. Every member sings vocals, with Jughead handling the bass voice on a few tracks. Though their singing voices were soft and appropriate for pop vocals, their speaking

The Turtles are an American rock band led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, later known as Flo and Eddie. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965. They scored their biggest and best-known hit in 1967 with the song "Happy Together". The band, originally a surf-rock group called the Crossfires, was formed in 1965 in Westchester, Los Angeles, by high school friends Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Chuck Portz, Don Murray, and Jim Tucker. With the help of KRLA and KFWB DJ and club owner Reb Foster, the Crossfires signed to the newly formed White Whale Records and adhering to the prevailing musical trend, re-branded themselves as a folk rock group under the name the Tyrtles, the intentional misspelling inspired by the Byrds and the Beatles. However, the trendy spelling did not survive long. At the start of 1966 drummer Don Murray and bassist Chuck Portz qui

The Sylvers were a popular R&B/soul and disco family group during the 1970s. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, the family would later relocate to Watts, California. Prior to becoming "The Sylvers", the four eldest members recorded as The Little Angels , appearing on shows such as Make Room for Daddy and You Bet Your Life , and opening for such acts as Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles . During this time, two singles were released: " Santa Claus Parade " b/w " I'll Be a Little Angel " on Warwick Records and " Says You " b/w " Olympia " on Capitol Records. The Sylvers consisted of ten siblings:     Olympia Ann "Olan" Sylvers (born October 13, 1951) — vocals     Leon Frank Sylvers III (born March 7, 1953) — bass, vocals     Charmaine Elaine Sylvers (born March 9, 1954) — vocals     James Jonathan Sylvers (born June 8, 1955) — keyboards, vocals     Edmund Theodore Sylvers (January 25, 1957 – March 11, 2004) —

Garth Brooks is an American singer-songwriter. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while crossing over into the mainstream pop arena. Troubled by conflicts between career and family, Brooks officially retired from recording and performing from 2001 until 2009. During this time, he sold millions of albums through an exclusive distribution deal with Walmart and sporadically released new singles. In 2005, Brooks started a partial comeback, and has since given several performances and released two compilation albums. On October 15, 2009, Garth Brooks announced the end of his retirement. In December 2009, he began a five-year concert deal with the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Following the conclusion of his residency in Las Vegas, Brooks announced his signing with Sony Music Nashville in July 2014. In S

Some of you older kids might recall this song from the late 1970s into the 1980s as being used in commercials for Heinz Ketchup. Anticipation was written and performed by Carly Simon in 1971. She wrote the song in 15 minutes on her guitar, while waiting for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date. The pair had become romantically involved shortly after Simon had opened for Stevens at L.A.'s Troubadour around the time her debut album was released. A few facts about Carly Simon: Carly Simon was born in New York city. Her father was Richard L Simon (co-founder of Simon & Schuster). Her father was also a pianist who often played Chopin and Beethoven at home. Her mother was a civil rights activist and singer. Carly was part of a short-lived music group with her sister Lucy, as The Simon Sisters. Carly wrote a second song about Cat Stevens "Legend in Your Own Time" Carly was married to James Taylor from Nov 1972 to 1983 She was also married to James Hart fr

Welcome to "The Guest" Jingle Jangle Jungle’s Guest Blogger Series I'm really excited to share with you today's guest. I met Alan via twitter, and have enjoyed reading his blog posts, and I'm sure you will enjoy this one as much as I have.  I have booked some really AWESOME bloggers (and non-bloggers as well), from all over the internet, and I just can’t wait for you to “meet” them all. Each and every Sunday, you will find a new Guest here. Thank you for stopping by today to join us for this week’s "The Guest". Born in 75 I'm hitting my 40th birthday this summer. Born of Irish parents in England, I was adopted by Americans. Spent time in an Orphanage run by Nuns and a boarding school for emotionally disturbed children. Diagnosed with depression. Worked in many industries, retail, hospitality, food and customer service. I moved to Ireland 10 years ago. Now I'm a stepfather to two boys, father to a son and now a daugh

Welcome to Weekend Mashup!  A week or so ago, I introduced you to Ed Sheeran, and his song "Thinking Out Loud" ( you can read about that HERE ) There's another artist that has been doing quite well in the charts and he managed to take home a large number of Grammy's this year. That would be Sam Smith. Think of Sam Smith as the male version of Adele . His album and songs were derived from a broken heart. (We'll talk about the whole Tom Petty thing in a future post) Now enter in 2 additional musicians. Sam Tsui and Casey Breves. These 2 musicians (Sam Tsui and Casey Breves) have sat down and combined Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and Sam Smith's "I'm Not The Only One". The end result is absolutely brilliant! First the originals: Ed Sheeran's Song: https://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA Sam Smith's Song: https://youtu.be/nCkpzqqog4k And now..  the masterpiece: https://youtu.be/gGgakt3niys

The recent passing of Andy Fraser, has prompted me to write about this band. Andy Fraser recently passed due to complications from cancer and AIDS. He was a co-founder of this group, and co-writer of their best selling song. Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 best known for their 1970 signature song " All Right Now ". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler and died from a drug-induced heart failure at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks . The band was famed for its sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums did not sell very well – until the release of Fire and Water which featured the massive hit " All Right Now ". The song helped secure them a place at the huge Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where they played to 600,000 people. By