notapoet's notebook

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

"Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch"

…the 1965 #1 hit by the Four Tops would have been Susie’s pick for “our song.” Mine would have initially been “Baby I Need Your Loving” from 1964 by the same group -- until the first time I heard “My Girl” by the Temptations. Of course “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” was the alternate title for “I Can’t... Sign in to see full entry.

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"It's The Same Old Song"

…part 2. The Four Tops had a big hit with it in 1965. K C and the Sunshine Band had a Top 40 hit with a discofied version in 1978. Both years stand out in my memory for different reasons. In 1965 I won -- and lost -- the first great love of my life while still a student at the University of North... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, October 9, 2006

"It's The Same Old Song"

…was -- no, wait. This time you tell me about it. I know, sort of. I feel brain-fried right now because I’ve picked up a cold from the grandkids and I can’t seem to make my memory work right. I’ve got three Whitburn references that would quickly refresh my memory. But I’m here at my son’s house... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, October 6, 2006

“We Are The Champions”

…was a smash hit by Queen in 1978. It was also the 1957 clarion cry of a happy fifth grader in Hope Mills, North Carolina. As intimated previously, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels went all the way in the 1956-57 basketball season, ultimately winning the 1957 NCAA championship in triple... Sign in to see full entry.

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Thursday, October 5, 2006

"Chances Are"

…I watched too much TV once we finally had a set of our own. It was also the title of a 1957 #1 hit by Johnny Mathis, amazingly his first and last to make it all the way to the top of the charts. It also seemed to make a nice transition from ‘56 to ‘57. It was no small feat to make it to #1 on the... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, October 4, 2006

"Along Came Jones"

…was a novelty song by The Coasters in 1959 that always reminded me of the likes of Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, and John Wayne in their westerns. I know, I’m doing it again. 1959 is three years removed from 1956. But I’m time trippin’ here and I reserve the right make use of anything that helps jog... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, October 2, 2006

"Saturday Night at the Movies"

…was a Top 40 hit of the Drifters in late 1964. It always reminds me of Saturday night dates during my teen years in high school and college. Strangely enough, it also reminds me of Saturdays nearly a decade earlier when movies were also a constant in my life, albeit earlier in the day. Throughout... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, September 25, 2006

"Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)"

…was a smash hit from the movie “The Man Who Knew Too Much” starring James Stewart and Doris Day. Doris, of course, sang the song. It peaked at #2 because it had the misfortune of being released just in time to compete with Elvis Presley’s double-sided hit “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog.” I loved... Sign in to see full entry.

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Sunday, September 24, 2006

"The Great Pretender"

…was the first of two #1 hits by the Platters in 1956. Yes, in the year Elvis emerged as “The King of Rock-n-roll,” there were other artists and groups that made some noise in popular music. I’ve mentioned several of them in my previous posts about ‘56. But none except Elvis and the Platters had... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, September 22, 2006

"Carolina In My Mind"

…was a minor hit by one of North Carolina’s favorite sons (and Carly Simon’s ex) James Taylor in 1970. Yeah, I know. I was talking about 1956 and Elvis and college basketball when I suddenly went off on a tangent to bring up 1964’s “Beans In My Ears.” Now I’m jumping even farther into the future and... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

"Beans In My Ears"

…was a novelty song by the Serendipity Singers that made the Top 40 for a few weeks in 1964 during my freshman year at the University of North Carolina. Whoa! Wait a minute. What happened to 1956? Not to worry. I’ll return to it soon. I’m just taking a brief break from Elvis and basketball because... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

"Memories Are Made of This"

…was the first #1 hit of 1956. Dean Martin was the popular crooner and straight man of the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy team, one of the greatest ever. The song title was prophetic for me. Music stepped into the forefront as one of the major influences in my life during this period. Elvis,... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, September 18, 2006

Why was Elvis the "King?"

He didn’t invent rock-n-roll. He wasn’t the one who first popularized it in the American culture of the 1950s. Bill Haley and the comets can take most of the credit for that, with a very big assist from Alan Freed. Let’s see, he wasn’t the best singer ever. Nor was he a songwriter of any note. He... Sign in to see full entry.

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Saturday, September 16, 2006

1956: The Ascension of "The King"

Elvis made the scene in 1956. Rock-n-roll had been born in 1955. But it did not yet rule. It was becoming a force on the pop charts, primarily because of all the kids from the elementary grades through college-age. Most of us loved rock on first hearing. But it didn’t take a decades-long strangle... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, September 15, 2006

"It Was A Very Good Year"

…was a Frank Sinatra hit from 1966. As it turned out, ‘66 was not a good year at all for me. 1955, on the other hand, was a very good year indeed for both me and the future of pop music. So, while I’m hung up on song titles, I thought I’d borrow the title of Frank’s tune to further describe this... Sign in to see full entry.

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Thursday, September 14, 2006

"The Long and Winding Road"

…was the title of a 1970s Beatles’ hit. The song title is an apt description of the path that has finally brought me back to Blogit. It’s been exactly one year since my last abortive attempt to rejoin the Blogit fold. That attempt lasted just a little over two weeks and ended with a series of... Sign in to see full entry.

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Notapoet's the name,

An’ bloggin' is the game. Been gone for a while -- Not zactly my style, So now I wanna say, "This time I’m here to stay.” And now you know why my moniker is notapoet. I never could write the stuff worth a damn. Whew! There’ve been a lot of changes around here. In less than a year the number of... Sign in to see full entry.

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Thursday, September 29, 2005

"Sixteen Tons"

…by “Tennessee” Ernie Ford was the working man’s anthem. I didn’t know it then. It would take years of striving to just get by before I would appreciate the truth of “You dig sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.” All a nine-year-old fourth grader knew was that he... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

"Rock Around the Clock"

…by Bill Haley and His Comets is the first rock-n-roll song I remember hearing, the first rock song I remember from a movie, and the first rock song I remember being featured on TV. That’s an awful lot of firsts for a nine-year-old youngster to remember. Music, movies, and TV were all a significant... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Missed opportunities

…seem to be a constant in life for most of us. Yet we continue not to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Even the ones that seem unimportant at the time may come back to haunt you. Last time out I detailed all the opportunity to post to this blog over a four-day period.... Sign in to see full entry.

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About this Blog

Notapoet's repository for all of his miscellaneous junk that he hope's to turn into the Great American Novel someday (whaddaya mean Samuel Clemens already wrote it?). It's also where he makes comments on some of his other blogs which are extentions of his notebook.

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