nitty gritty dirt band – Curious as a Cathy

Hard Workin’ Man

CAAC — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 04:00:00 +0000

Caption reads: “‘kay, let me ‘splain it once more, Red. You’re big. I’m little. But, you’re a dog. I’m a cat and that makes me boss! Got it?” Click to enlarge.
Awww Mondays hosted by Sandee from Comedy Plus.

Thanks for joining Monday’s Music Moves Me on Sundays, my friends! Tomorrow is National Boss/Employee Exchange Day. What’s this you’re wondering, right? Basically, it gives you and your boss an opportunity to do the other person’s job for the day. The role playing probably sheds new perspective on the difficulties each person faces. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I thought it would be interesting if not challenging to put together a playlist of songs lyrics/titles that refers to filling another’s person’s shoes in life, the workplace, … Be dead-on or loose as you need to come up with some tunes for the 4M dance party. Whatever you do, just have fun!

Being a SAHW, I don’t have a boss because let’s face it the wife is the boss! I sure do appreciate all that DH has done over the years for his family and continues to do. What a dad does for his kids is often underappreciated until the kids have kids of their own. Wives sometimes don’t get what their husbands deal with to keep it together. The turning point for me came when DH worked out of state for several months. It sure put things into perspective fast. Today, I’m dedicating this post to my Hard Workin’ Man with this 10-song playlist.

Hard Workin’ Man playlist: 1. Walking In My Shoes ~Depeche Mode 2. Hard Workin’ Man ~Brooks & Dunn 3. Blue Collar Man ~Styx 4. Working Man’s Ph.D. ~Aaron Tippin 5. Workin’ Man Blues ~Merle Haggard 6. Working Man ~Rush 7. Workin’ For A Livin’ ~Huey Lewis and the News 8. Workin’ Day and Night ~Michael Jackson 9. Workin’ Man ~Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 10. God Bless Saturday ~Kid Rock

My song set mostly includes song titles with “workin’ man”. The first track, although it’s referring to someone’s spiritual struggles, the lyrics walking in my shoes is a phrase we’ve all used and none of us know just how hard it is until we try to fill the shoes of another. I certainly know DH’s job as the bread winner and head of the house is a tough one. One thing I always looked forward to over the years is the weekend to spend with him and my last tune selected seemed the perfect choice for wrapping up my playlist.

This month’s honorary co-hostess is little ole ME

This is a mewsic linky party. Every other week we have a suggested mewsic theme (see side menu) to build your song set around and all participants share YouTube or Vimeo videos for our mewsic enthusiasts. Failure to meet this basic guideline puts your URL in danger of being removed or labeled – NO MUSIC.

That’s a wrap for now. For my fellow music enthusiasts, I hope you’ll join me for my second edition of Top Ten Tuesdays. Stay safe, be well, and have a boogietastic week, my friends! XX, Cathy

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We’re having a party for Winnie the Pooh!

CAAC — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:00:30 +0000

Awww Mondays hosted by Sandee from Comedy Plus

How are you doing today? I hope everyone had a nice weekend. First thing let me give you an update from why Marie wasn’t around last week. In short Dave took a tumble on the ice. At first they thought he broke his hip but thank the good Lord it has a very bad bruised hip. Things have been crazy for her and on top of that she’s scheduled to get her back shot that makes her pain-free for a few months. Kindly keep them in your prayers until they both can get back on their feet again.

I borrowed inspiration from the National Day calendar for today’s theme honoring Winnie the Pooh. Everybody loves Pooh. I nearly forgot that I sketched Pooh & Piglet in 2018. Anyway, I sure picked a good one to challenge my lazy brain but I managed to pull together a playlist. I invite you to listen to my tracks while you’re read a little bit about each song selection and what prompted me to pick the title.

Tracks 1. Christopher Robin ~Richard M. Sherman 2. Beat It ~Michael Jackson 3. Bright Morning Stars ~The Wailin’ Jennys 4. House At Pooh Corner ~Nitty Gritty Dirty Band 5. Return To Pooh Corner ~Kenny Loggins

A.A. Milan got the idea for his popular children’s story watching his son, Christopher Robin play with his toys which first appeared in publication in 1926. I didn’t know Christopher Robin was a Disney movie. I delighted to find the song Christopher Robin on the movie soundtrack. Richard Sherman has a delightful Pooh Bear singing voice.

The bear with fluff for brains was name first Edward. So to honor the late Eddie Van Halen, I made an interesting discovery that he played guitar for Michael Jackson’s hit song Beat It. Here’s a bit of trivia from the New York Times you might find fun.

When the producer Quincy Jones called Van Halen and asked him to play on a new Michael Jackson album, he didn’t think he was the right guitarist for an R&B track. “Beat It” is a song about being tough, and given free rein, Van Halen played a virtuosic, expansive solo, during which speakers in the studio control room caught fire. Eddie played on the song for free, and wasn’t billed in the album’s credits. As he told CNN in a 2012 interview, one day when he was shopping at Tower Records, “Beat It” came on and he heard a kid snorting, “Listen to this guy trying to sound like Eddie Van Halen.” (“That is me!” Van Halen told them.)

Winnie was named after the Canadian city, Winnipeg. This got me to wondering what famous singers and musicians might I be familiar with, so I browsed this list to discover I knew a few but the one that caught my eye is the international folk artists, The Wailin’ Jennys. Dontcha just l love the play on words? I mean the first thing I thought of was the late country artist Waylon Jennings. I was surprised to learn TWJs have been around more than a decade. Their song, Bright Morning Star, bluegrass album peaked #1 in 2011.

House at Pooh Corner was written by Kenny Loggins but he didn’t record it first. Loggins was 17 when he wrote the song. He caught the ear of an upcoming band the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band who wanted the song for their next album but the song nearly got squashed before it got recorded. This is what Kenny said:

“About a month later, I got a phone call from John McEuen, who at the time seemed to be the leader of the Dirt Band. He says, ‘Kenny, I’m really sorry, but we won’t be able to record that song. We’ve been inundated with phone calls from Disney lawyers for the last few weeks, telling us that we’re not allowed to record a song about Winnie the Pooh.'”

“I was going on a date that night, and I mentioned to my girlfriend, ‘I’m kinda bummed tonight because I thought I had my first song recorded, and it’s not gonna happen. The Disney lawyers put the kibosh on it,'” he continued. “She looked at me and says, ‘Disney lawyers? Let me to talk to Daddy about that.’ I did not know that I was dating the daughter of the CEO of the Disney corporation.”

*Songfacts

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band took the song to #53 in 1970. Loggins recorded his song a year later with Jim Messina for their album Sittin In. Many years later, Kenny rewrote the song after his third son’s birth, Return To Pooh Corner.

This month’s honorary co-hostess is…. Me!

Before I skip off, I have two things I want to mention. First, if you haven’t yet, I’d like to want to invite you to vote in my BoTB 2021 Round 2 from Friday. Alrighty, that’ll do it for today. If things go well then I’ll be back tomorrow with an edition of Tickle Me Tuesdays. Have a boogietastic week! XX, Cathy

Borrowed Cute Winnie the Pooh Quotes

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Hee Haw #humor, Grand Ole Opry #SWF, & Friendly Fill-ins

CAAC — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 04:00:14 +0000

Purrs and howdys, Kittens & Dawgs! Last Friday, we returned to Nashville for the day. When I think of Tennessee’s capital city, I think about a big part of my childhood days spend in front of the TV watching the popular show Hee Haw. Today’s Friday Sillies edition I thought I’d reminisce a bit with some of these giggles and hopefully bring a smile to your face.

For all you photo enthusiasts and Skywatch Friday fans, I’m sharing an iPhone8 capture from the end of last month on a gorgeous blue sky day in Nashville, Tennessee. There is just a hint of autumn color in the tops of the trees in the foreground of the Grand Ole Opry.

What are you celebrating?

Today, I Celebrate The Small Things like having a solid relationship with DH. I found out this week that some dear friends who I never thought this would happen to are divorcing. They are wonderful people and I hate this like crazy. I don’t know the situation and the details aren’t important but we hope to continue being friends with each one regardless. No judgment here just love and prayers.

This has been one of those weeks where I know I have more reason to celebrate but because of things going on around us then it’s hard to cut through the fog to notice these blessings and giving thanks for all the small things. That being said, I am truly blessed and am thankful for God’s goodness because without Him I don’t know how I’d make it through each day.

Might I impose on y’all one more time to say a special prayers our children? Something new with DD#1 happened this week, then as you may know DD#2 is moving to Portland Maine on Nov. 1st without housing or job. Her husband’s employer (Carmax) is opening soon up there and he’s been transferred to there. No company provisions are being made for their living arrangement or move. They set up a GoFundMe account hopefully to offset some of their expenses. It never hurts to ask for help. Blessings to each of you!

Switching gears, I’m rounding things out with these Friendly Fill-Ins hosted by the lovely, Annie and Ellen!

If I was a ghost, I would haunt the meanest, wickedest people.
I always push circumstances from my thoughts when something looks or sounds bad because giving a place in my mind for these things is exhausting emotionally and physically and leads to sickness.
My favourite scary story is …hmmm, I don’t know. I don’t believe I have a favorite.
I will be so glad when the clouds hanging over those I love dissipate and sunny blue skies return which in turns make my life happier, too.

That’s a wrap for now but I hope to see you on the dance floor with songs about cars or trucks on Mondays Mewsic Moves Me!

Mr. Bojangles #BOTB showdown!

CAAC — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 04:01:47 +0000

Mr. Bojangles was written and recorded in 1968 by Jerry Jeff Walker. The song inspiration came from Walker spending time in a New Orléans jail for public intoxication where he met a street performer. This is what he said…

I met a homeless white man who called himself “Mr. Bojangles” to conceal his true identity from the police. He had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his dog, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance.

In 1970, the country music band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) covered Walker’s song and it climbed the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart to #9.

This is the version I grew up hearing and I bet you did, too. Assuming you’re a member of the 50+…I mean 30+ club. Hey, 50 is the new 30! Don’t go against the grain folks just accept and move on.

Where was I? Oh yeah…the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band! I’m sorry to say, I won’t be using NGDB in this showdown, but I decided to go with lesser known or different covers altogether. Good thing? Bad thing? Call it what you will, but I just have to go with how the music moves me.

I invite you to listen to two different covers released in 1971 both by female artists in Mr. Bojangles #BOTB showdown!

I present to you the soft, jazzy vocals of Nancy Wilson and the smoky, bluesy tone of Nina Simone below!

Nancy Wilson

Nina Simone

In both versions the slow melody causes the lyrics to speak to my heart more over the slightly upbeat tempo of the original. The composition isn’t bad (or that of NGDB) in taking it down a notion. It allowed the story to fill my senses better. How about you, did you feel the song more?

The survey plugin is having issues, so I removed it. Please leave your vote in comments. Thanks!

Just for the fun when I was a kid I loved watching music variety shows. I remember watching Sammy Davis do Mr. Bojangles on his TV program and another popular one featured the handsome Tom Jones. I think my mom had a crush on him, but who can blame her? I found this vid with Tom (I don’t know if he actually recorded the song) singing and Sammy acting the part of Mr. Bojangles. I actually enjoyed Tom Jones’ song performance. If you have time, listen and enjoy!

Oh yeah, don’t forget to tell me in comments what you liked/disliked about today’s artists and which version moved you the most. I invite you to hop over to STMcC to learn how this all works and to visit more epic #BoTB performances. I’ll have the results next week this time so please come back to see if your pick gets named the winner. Have a bandtastic day!

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