Battle of the Bands

BoTB 2021 Round 6 Rainbows, Pots of Gold, and Moonbeams Showdown

March 15, 2021 /

Participation in these battles have waned but I am trying to remain faithful to the challenge.  It does get tiring I admit but I am not ready to quit and if the truth be told I don’t know that I ever will.   St. Patrick’s Day is a few days away which got me to thinking about using an Irish theme for this battle.  At first I thought I’d used different songs using keywords rainbows and pots of gold when I came across a song from the 70s that I do not remember with two artists’ recordings.   I looked for other versions but came up empty handed. 

The first contender is Studebaker Hawk, the original recording artists, from the  Canadian are former members of the supergroup, Motherlode. You can read a little about them here, if you’re interested.  They released Rainbows, Pots of Gold, and Moonbeams written by guitarist Steve Cooley in 1975.    The song spent 8-weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart peaking at #15 but never charted on the Billboard Hot 100.  Isn’t that odd?  Listen now to Studebaker Hawk!

Quite by accident I stumbled on my next contender and is possibly the only cover artist of Steve Cooley’s Rainbows, Pots of Gold, and Moonbeams.   Diana Solomon is an American who moved to England in the late 70s to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.  She wanted to be an actress but the tides changed when a BBC television procedure heard her singing at a private New Year’s Eve party in London landing her a hostess spot of her own variety show which was quite successful.  You can read more here.   I couldn’t find any chart information so I supposed it didn’t go anywhere but after listening to her version I can’t help but wonder why not.  Please listen to Diane Solomon!

This might be one of the first time where I put a cover artist up against the original but I had no room to work with and decided to roll with it. Who gets your vote Studebaker Hawk or Diane Solomon?

Please visit these fellow BoTBers!

Polls close noon (EST) on March 21st

Next week,  in my Monday’s Music Moves Me edition, I’ll announce the winner in this showdown.  Please, mark your calendar to see if your favorite artist wins.   Don’t scoot away quite yet.  Following shortly after this,  you can boogie with me on the 4M dance floor with 10 Rock n’ Roll Songs from the 60s!  X💋X💋, Cathy

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Not included in this battle round.  This is simply for your enjoyment. 😉


24 Comments

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 22, 2021 at 5:44 am

      Dixie,

      I’m delighted that you stopped by and for your vote for STUDEBAKER HAWK. I hope you’ll join me again sometime. Now, I’m off to visit you. 😉

  • Stephen T. McCarthy

    March 17, 2021 at 9:11 pm

    HiYa, CAThy! It’s That You!

    I don’t think you need to worry about pitting an original artist against a cover version, UNLESS the original artist had a big, well-known hit with the song. If neither version is well-known, you’re safe to use ’em in BOTBs. (That’s the voice of Experience yakking there.)

    I enjoyed your St. Paddy’s Day-themed BOTB. I also liked the fact that you used an obscure song and obscure artists (I’d never heard-a neither of ’em).

    I remember 1975 pert-dern good, and this song has that mid-’70s vibe all over it (which is a pert-dern good thang, too).

    I could have voted either way — liked ’em both — but I’ll cast mine for Diane Solomon. Although I think there’s probably a verse or two in The Bible about that un-ladylike pose that she adopted on her album cover photo, which was seen multiple times in the video. (If there’s nuttin’ in the Bible about that pose, I KNOW there’s sumpin’ in there about her dad, Mr. SOLOMON. Wasn’t he a talking ass in Genesis… or sumpin’ like that? 😉

    FYI: You get TWO BOTB BOTES from my neck o’ da woods this time because…

    My Brother liked both versions also, but he sided slightly with the original artist, Studebaker Hawk.

    So, please tally one bote for each artist.

    ~ D-FensDogG

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 18, 2021 at 7:54 am

      Hey Stephen, ole pal! Yep, it’s me. Who else? 😀

      It’s good to know that I didn’t break some kind of protocol putting these two artists against each other. Perhaps the reason Studebaker isn’t tromping Diane in this round is because it’s a forgotten song. I agree both songs and artists do a good job. It came out of the 70s so I wouldn’t expect anything less. That was a great decade for music but anything composed and produced from the 90s back generally was excellent. Today’s song writers and musicians lack these qualities.

      You’re right, Diane isn’t sitting too lady-like in that pose but producers know that sex sells and the shot is a bit racy. I remember as a kid if I lazily sat down and didn’t have my knees together that my mother or grandmother would chide me for not sitting like a lady. I think in general girls aren’t getting proper instructions on how they should act. I guess the same goes for little boys, too. It’s crazy to see the explosion in numbers of conflicted people who don’t know what his/her gender is. I had to laugh over your comment about Diane’s dad. lol Solomon was a man just like any other. His songs of love are obscure tenderly elegant compared to what we hear in modern music allowing the readers’ imagination to interpret the beauty without being explicit.

      I’m always happy to register a vote for you (DIANE SOLOMON) and your brother (STUDEBAKER HAWK). Thanks for stopping to listen to some music and a visit, my friend. Have a good day!

  • XmasDolly

    March 17, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    Hello Sweetie, How are you? Hubby’s at the store so I’m gonna type fast here. He’s workin’ today. So anyway how are you my sweets? Fine I hope & our girls they’re all doing okay? Please tell them hello for me & I hope they’re all well & stay that way & their families & that I miss them so much & they better save a couple of dances for me. hehehe How are you doin’ Cat? I’m so sorry to dump all this on you I feel so very bad, but I HAVE NEWS! Last I heard my daughter is supposed to come in next weekend with my brand new computer! WOO HOO! I CANNOT WAIT. I’ll be sitting in front of that bugger around the clock. hahahaha My husband even bought me NORTON & it cost 40 smackers. I was soooooooooooooooo surprised. He was saving up for it. So I’ll even have a bug catcher for my new computer. Woo Hoo I’m so excited. I’ll keep you informed as much as possible…. I MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! Are you okay? I surely hope so…. you & your whole family I wish them all well. You’re always in my prayers as well as your family. Gotta run I hear a car. HUGS & STAY WELL…. MISS YOU & ALL THE GIRLS. LOVE, MARIE BLOWING KISSES TO ALL HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS YOU’RE DUH BEST! Have a great weekend. oh wish me luck I’m finally starting therapy tomorrow. LOVE YOU, MARIE

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 22, 2021 at 5:59 am

      Marie,

      Happy belated St. Paddy’s Day to you, darlin’! Last week was a bit wild. I’m very happy to read the good news that you’ll soon have a new computer. Don’t worry about a thing. I’m here to help if I can, so don’t think anything of it, Sweetie. We miss you on the dance floor. Hopefully, you’ll be back boogieing with us before the month is gone! 🙂

  • Mary B

    March 17, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Hi Cathy!

    Finally making my way here. Studebaker Hawk does a fine job of this song, but I really liked Diane Solomon. Diane gets my vote today!

  • Debbie D.

    March 16, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    What a surprise! I know this song by Studebaker Hawk but hadn’t heard it in years. Thanks for the memories Cathy! 🙂 Diane has a lovely voice, but I’m choosing the original for the contest. My thoughts are similar to Arlee’s.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 17, 2021 at 6:11 am

      Debbie,

      It’s great to see you casting a vote and it’s for STUDEBAKER HAWK! The originals are now down by one vote. There’s time for them to steal the lead. I hope a few others make it over to have their say-so before the polls close. Have a great day, darlin’!

  • Arlee Bird

    March 15, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    Diane does a nice cover, but Studebaker Hawk takes me back to the hippy dippy days of psychedelia and a music style that I used to listen to a lot back in the seventies.

    Give my vote to Studebaker Hawk.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 17, 2021 at 6:09 am

      Lee,

      Yay, a vote for STUDEBAKER HAWK! With the light turn out for this round I was beginning to wonder if the originals would get any hits. At least now I don’t have a shut-out. 🙂

  • Birgit

    March 15, 2021 at 3:43 pm

    I enjoy these battles so if it ends up that you and One Hand Typing do it, I will always listen. I love Diane Solomon. Her voice is so ethereal and she seems to know the lyrics so she gets my vote.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 17, 2021 at 6:07 am

      Hey Birgit,

      DIANE SOLOMON gets a third vote. Thanks for popping over to play along and I’m happy that you will continue to support me when I do them. 😉

  • Thomas Anderson

    March 15, 2021 at 6:58 am

    Hi, Cathy!

    Happy mid-month BOTB Day, dear friend! I hope you and DH had a nice weekend.

    This might be the most impossibly difficult decision I ever needed to make as a voter in a band battle. “Rainbows, Pots of Gold, and Moonbeams” is a wonderful song, and both artists you presented made excellent recordings with it.

    I remember the Canadian mixed race one-hit-wonder group Motherlode and their only successful single “When I Die” I think Hy Lit played it on his TV show. That song was released in July 1969, only a few months after Blood, Sweat & Tears topped the chart for 7 weeks with its second album which contained a song with a similar theme and title “And When I Die.” That same year, the band Marmalade had a major hit with “Reflections Of My Life.” My point in mentioning those three is that 1969 was a year when songs about summing up one’s life and preparing to die were well received by record buyers. I vaguely recall the band named Studebaker Hawk, named after the model of automobile manufactured from the mid 50s to mid 60s. I see that members of that band also have a connection to two other Canadian rock bands – Lighthouse, which I definitely remember, and the rock band April Wine that was popular on the MTV style station where I worked in the 80s. There is also currently a band out of Ventura, California named Studebaker-Hawk that coincidentally performs classic 70s rock. On “Rainbows,” your Canadian band Studebaker Hawk has a great sound that reminds me of melodic, lighter rock bands of the period such as America and The Eagles.

    Diane Solomon has a voice that reminds me a little of Karen Carpenter and a lot of Linda Ronstadt. There’s a great video on YouTube of Diane performing the Phil Collins song “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now).” The original recording you posted of “Rainbows Pots Of Gold” by Studebaker Hawk has the advantage of having been been nicely remastered, making it a joy to hear. However there is apparently only one video on YouTube that has Diane’s version of “Rainbows Pots Of Gold” and it’s the one you needed to use for this battle. Diane’s recording isn’t as clean sounding. It suffers from slight distortion, and therefore I hope other voters take that into account and try to “remaster” her version in their heads as I did before making up their minds. To my ears, the two recordings in your contest are equally matched, equally great, but since I need to choose, I’m giving my vote to Diane Solomon. Having cleaned up the audio in my mind, I’m going with Diane’s version because I prefer female vocalists, and because her voice combined with the updated Linda Ronstadt-style arrangement won me over by the slightest edge.

    I know you’ll be back with a 4M post, and I’ll see you then, dear friend Cathy!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 15, 2021 at 8:07 am

      Tom,

      I assume you’re doing well after your second Covid vaccine, my friend. I appreciate you being the early bird in this showdown. I love reading when I’ve made it hard for someone to pick his/her favorite artist. I’m doubly glad you found a better version of Diane covering this song. Like you I hear a bit of each of the artists you mentioned in Diane’s voice. Thanks for turning my attention to Diane’s cover of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds”. Although, the video I used isn’t remastered, I still very much like it and can clearly hear that Diane has beautiful vocals. The first vote goes to DIANE SOLOMON!

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