Welcome to Game 1
of the Shady's Place
A to Z Challenge!
(Adalind to Alexis to Alice to Astrid to Zari to Ziva to Zoe)
The celebrity players who compete in my version of the popular April blog hop
are favorite characters from popular TV series. Taking turns and working through
the alphabet from A to Z... the contestants play songs by artists whose names
correspond to the letters. A player scores 10 points for picking a valid artist
and 10 bonus points if the song title or artist name contains a number.
There are other ways to gather bonus points, and the rules will be
revealed as we go along. There are 7 players and 7 songs...
affording each player an equal chance to score points.
As you might expect, the player with the most
points at the end of the round wins.
(Please... no wagering.)
MEET THE PLAYERS:
 |
Adalind Schade
...a witch-like Wesen called a Hexenbiest on
Alexis Wright
...personal assistant on Gypsy, the psychological
thriller Netflix series that stars Naomi Watts.
Alice Charles
...Payton Hobart's girlfriend on the Netflix
comedy drama TV series The Politician.
Astrid Sloan
...Payton's rival on The Politician.
Zari Tomaz
... (above left) a time travelling superhero
on The CW series Legends of Tomorrow.
Ziva David
... a special agent on the action
police procedural TV series NCIS.
Zoe Baker
... Beth Pearson's cousin and Kevin's girlfriend
on the family drama TV series This Is Us.
Alrighty then, now that you've
Alrighty then, now that you've
met the players, let's all take the
A to Z Challenge!
Grimm's beasty beauty Adalind Schade is first at bat with the letter "A."
Adalind Schade -Grimm:
"A" is for Are & Be Soul Family...
an Italian trio featuring vocals by Greta Bragoni. I rack up 10 points
in the game for picking a valid "A" artist plus 20 bonus points because
the "Are" in their name stands for a different letter, "R," and the "Be" in
their name stands for the letter "B" forming "R&B." Watch and listen
as Are & Be Soul Family performs their cool cover of Wild Cherry's
chart-topping 1976 hit-- "Play That Funky Music!"
"Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry cover
by Are & Be Soul Family (Nov. 2018)
Alexis Wright -
Gypsy:
"B" is for Black Box...
another group from Italy.
I collect 20 points because
there are two "B's" in the
artist's name. I am about
to play the band's best
known recording, the
Italo house dance single
"Ride On Tme." The song
spent six weeks at #1 on
the UK chart and was the
best selling single of
1989 in that country.
"Ride On Time" - Black Box
(Aug./Sept. 1989, highest
chart pos. #1 UK)
Alice Charles - The Politician:
"C" is for Chicago aka Chicago Transit Authority...
and I get 20 bonus points for playing a song that has two numbers
in the title. Written by Robett Lamm, Chicago's principal song scribe,
this was the band's first single. Released in 1969, "Questions 67 and 68"
refers to a relationship Lamm had with a woman in 1967 and 1968.
"Questions 67 And 68" - Chicago
(Aug. 1969, highest chart pos. #71 Hot 100/#83 Cash Box -
Oct./Nov. 1971, highest chart pos. #13 Cash Box/#24 Hot 100)
Astrid Sloan - The Politician:
"D" is for "Damian," Michael Damian...
the actor and musician who joined the cast of the hit TV daytime drama
The Young and the Restless in 1980 in the role of teenage rock star
Danny Romalotti. In 1989, Damian gained a chart-topping hit
with a cover of "Rock On," written and originally recorded
by English singer David Essex. Damn! Only 10 points
for me in this round, but a great song and video!
"Rock On" - Michael Damian
(Apr./May 1989, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
Zari Tomaz (Tarazi )-
Legends of Tomorrow:
"E" is for "Everly" as in Everly Brothers...
and I move into a tie for the lead with Alice thanks to a 30 point power play
of my own. The artist's name, The Everly Brothers, begins with "E" and both
words in the title of the song also start with "E." Here are Phil & Don with
"Ebony Eyes," their top 10 tearjerker from early 1961, the A song on
a double-sider that includes another big hit "Walk Right Back."
"Ebony Eyes" - The Everly Brothers
(Feb./Mar. 1961, highest chart pos. #8 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
Ziva David - NCIS
I'm gonna have a hard time matching
those clever plays by Alice and Zari.
I'm drawing a blank. No-wait, I got one!
"F" is for Fabsisters...
the soulful vocal duo from the UK that the
Sense 8 cast introduced in Shady's 2020 salute
to diversity. In that post, sisters Lola & Folake
covered Sam Cooke. Now watch and listen as
they cover Doris Troy's hit "Just One Look,"
a song successfully covered by The Hollies.
"Just One Look" - Doris Troy/The Hollies
cover by The Fabsisters (Aug. 2015)
Zoe Baker -
Zoe Baker -
This Is Us:
Only 10 points for Ziva on
that Fabsisters play, and I can
double her score with this one.
"G" is for Gary's Gang...
and I collect 20 points because
both words in the name of the
artist start with a "G." Most
popular in the late 70s, the
Queens, NY, disco group
Gary's Gang topped the
dance chart in the U.S.
and made the top 10 in
the UK with their best
known hit, and this is
it- "Keep on Dancin'."
"Keep on Dancin'" - Gary's Gang
(Apr. 1979, highest chart pos. #1 U.S. Dance, #8 UK,
#15 R&B/#33 Cash Box/#41 Hot 100)
SCORECARD
ADALIND: 30
ALEXIS: 20
ALICE: 30
ASTRID: 10
ZARI: 30
ZIVA: 10
ZOE: 20
Thanks for joining us for this year's
A to Z Challenge!
(Adalind to Alexis to Alice to Astrid to Zari to Ziva to Zoe)
We'll all be back to play again next April!
(Nick brings out the beast in her.)
Good morning, Tom!
ReplyDeleteChicago and Michael Damian songs I knew. The big surprise came when I played Gary's Gang "Keep On Dancing". This one just didn't ring any bells. It climbed the chart straight to the top, so why do I not remember it? The released two before we got married. Perhaps in the madness of wedding planning to moving to Tennessee it went unnoticed. I'm going to check out more of Gary's music. The artist I'm curious to learn more about in your line up is Black Box. I understand why the band's song is new to me since this group is from Italy. The female lead reminds me a bit of Whitney Houston. While I'm at YT I'm sample more of their songs. :) Great A2Z contribution!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteWelcome to the 2023 A to Z Challenge, Shady style, dear friend! Without further delay, I will reveal my theme: FUN.
I'm happy that you remember the songs by Chicago and Danny Romalotti of Y&R fame. Yessum, it is somewhat of a surprise that you don't remember "Keep On Dancin'" - a biggie in my neck of the woods. However, keep in mind that the single topped the Dance chart, which refers to its popularity in disco clubs. It was merely a lower top 40 hit on the pop chart, the survey commonly used by most radio stations to program their playlists. The Gary's Gang song, in my opinion, is an example of a monotonous, annoying disco song. I put it in there because I found that rare remastered clip from Bandstand, and also to give Zoe a double letter (G.G.) bonus score in the game.
The Black Box band's hit recording "Ride On Time" is surrounded by controversy. The girl you see in the video is Katrin Quinola, a professional model, not the person who actually sang on the record. Zesty Katrin was used as window dressing, as the face of the group. She lip syncs the song and dances around in the video, but the vocals you hear are those of U.S. disco singer Loleatta Holloway. The producers of the Black Box recording had not acquired a license to sample Loleatta's vocals which came from her hit "Love Sensation." When legal action was taken, the song was re-recorded using the vocals of British R&B artist Heather Small, but she is not the woman shown in the video, and I believe the voice we are hearing in this clip is that of Loleatta Holloway, because I owned one of her CDs a few years ago and it sounds exactly like her.
i'm glad you enjoyed my A to Z parody post for the year. Thanks again for coming over and have a delightful Easter, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
DeleteI read about the controversy you mentioned surrounding Black Box. However, I don't believe this is the first time a band has used eye candy for their lead singer. It read about at least one other group who did this but it escapes my mind who I'm thinking of. The legalities of who recorded what first lost me a bit but I got the general idea that a no-no was done. Wiki mentioned that an American singer, Martha Walsh, did most of the songs for the group. Wiki also called to my attention that their 1990 debut album Dreamland was certified gold in the UK and US despite using the lip-synching chick. I suppose most people probably didn't know that at the time. It's a nice sounding album. I hope you and Mrs. Shady had a blessed Easter Sunday. Have a boogietastic week, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for returning to follow our thread, dear friend!
Yessum, the story about the "Ride On Time" song and video is confusing. I just read another article that said the record containing the vocal samples of Loleatta Holloway first caught on in clubs in Ibiza and went on to become a major hit garnering the group an invitation to appear on Top of The Pops and perform the song. That's when they hired the model to lip sync the song. When Loleatta Holloway and her record company got wind of the big hit sampling her vocals w/o permission, they took the producers to court. The story goes on to say that Loleatta's vocals were immediately replaced by a mystery singer. Later on, tte vocalist you referred to, Martha Wash (correct spelling) became the voice of Black Box and her vocals are heard on their Dreamland album which contains a great cover of "Fantasy," the hit song by Earth, Wind & Fire. You have probably heard Martha Wash's voice elsewhere, because she was a backing singer for disco great Sylvester, half of the R&B duo Two Tons O' Fun and one of the famous Weather Girls who had a major dance hit with "It's Raining Men."
You might be thinking of the German-French R&B duo Milli Vanilli who were blasted for lip syncing their hit, raising doubts that they had actually recorded the vocals. Reportedly they hadn't, even though they said they had wanted to.
Thanks again for coming back over, dear friend Cathy, and have a tunetastic week!
I've never heard covers of Play That Funky Music or Rock On before. The cover of the David Essex song was okay, but the other cover just didn't do much for me. (just my opinion!)
ReplyDeleteI like Ebony Eyes and anything by Chicago.
~Kelly (and Pat)
Hi, Kelly & Pat!
DeleteThe two of you arrived neck and neck to take second place this time, dear friends! Thanks for checking out my annual A to Z parody post.
It surprises me that you don't remember Michael Damian's monster hit cover of "Rock On," a chart-topper for "Danny" in the spring of 1989. I took a liking to that cover of "Funky Music" by the Are & Be band and chose to use it in this feature because it gave the lead-off player, Adalind Schade, a power play, reaping the Hexenbiest from Grimm a whopping 30 points in the round.
Glad you liked two of the other songs more, "Ebony Eyes," The Everly's teen tragedy hit (aka "tear jerker" aka "death disc" aka "splatter platter"), and the debut single by Chicago Transit.
Thanks again for stopping by, dear friend Kelly, and have a safe and happy Easter!
Good Thursday Shady! My head was spinning with all the TV shows and actors I didn't know! Ha! Wait, I did know Ziva because Jack loves NCIS and I manage to stroll by the TV once in a while. I even knew some of the songs. Of course I knew Chicago..I wonder why? I also know the Everly Brothers but not that song. 1960 was a little before my music time I guess. The only artists here I didn't like was the Fabsisters. Beautiful girls and all but the voice just sounded off key to my ears. But then I'm on the end of my Covid train that we've been battling this week so I hope they don't take it personally! I could relate to Adalind. I think I looked a lot like her this week! I couldn't believe we got Covid after all this time but I guess it was bound to happen. It's pretty much gone thankfully as we have family coming for some Easter fun on Sunday. Plus our weather is supposed to be wonderful this weekend too. Don't want to miss that! I hope you and Mrs. Shady have a lovely Easter and are doing fine and staying healthy! I won't be offended if you wipe down your computer screen after this comment! Take Care friend!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa! I'm delighted to see you, dear friend. Welcome to the long awaited, highly anticipated A to Z Challenge at Shady's Place!
DeleteYessum, I was just thinking about you the other day and remembering that you have seen very few of the movies and TV shows I reference in my posts, and yet you are a whiz when it comes to the songs and the vintage styles. I'm glad you know the character Ziva from NCIS because Jack is an avid viewer of the series.
Yessum, it doesn't surprise me that you know the band called Chicago. I did some digging and learned that it was formed in (wait for it)..... Chicago!!! :) I am happy to introduce the sad song by The Everly Brothers, one half of a doublesider single released in January, 1961, with "Walk Right Back" as the charting B side. Both songs on that 45 reached the top 10!
Yessum, I was going to ask how you are feeling, dear friend. I am shocked to learn that you and Jack actually caught COVID. That fact was undetermined the last time you and I connected. It doesn't surprise me, therefore, that you have still not bounced back to 100%. I am truly sorry. As I think I told you, Mrs. Shady, her son and I all had COVD a few months ago, and it was no picnic, took a long time before we felt normal again. I hope that day comes soon for you and that you are feeling fit enough to entertain family at The Pines for Easter. It's good to know that you aren't expecting a blizzard or anything of that nature. I am very sad knowing that you have been ailing all this time, dear friend YaYa. Thanks for being a trouper and coming over on day one of my latest post. Please take good care of yourself and have a glorious Easter celebration with your lovely family!
Astrid would've done better had she picked the original Rock On and not the remake.
ReplyDeleteDef Leppard also did a cover of that song and did it well.
Hi, Alex!
DeleteIt's great to see you, good buddy! Thanks for taking the A to Z Challenge with celebrity women from popular TV series and miniseries. Astrid would not have been allowed to pick the David Essex version of "Rock On" because the judges have ruled that a player cannot use an artist's first name for their letter, only their last name. However, the judges say that Def Leppard would have been an acceptable "D" choice. I favor the version by Damian, Y&R heartthrob Danny Romalotti.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, good buddy Alex!
What a great contribution to our A to Z Challenge my friend! I enjoyed "Play that Funky Music" by Are & Be (I got the R & B reference right away). Interesting I have not heard of Italo House but my dad's first name was Italo.
ReplyDelete"Rock On" is a favorite of mine. We saw Def Leppard give their interpretation at a concert several years ago. I was not familiar with the Everly Brothers song. It is really sad. I was surprised by the deep voice of the Fab Sisters. They did a great job with "Just One Look." Finally, the background lights in "Keep On Dancing" reminded me a little of my tree light show in today's Entwined. Sometime you should do the actual A to Z!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteWelcome to my version of the A to Z, dear friend!
Wow, I'm happy that you like act #1, Are & Be The Soul Family, doing their cover of Wild Cherry's claim to fame. I like it, too. I don't know what happened to the Italian band. I just checked their YouTube channel and see that they only uploaded a total of four covers and then stopped. Nothing new from them in the last three years. It's a shame. How interesting that your dad's name was Italo!
Thanks for letting me know that you saw Def Leppard perform "Rock On" at one of your area venues. Yessum, I remember "Ebony Eyes" playing on my local top 40 station when I was age 11. It was one of the many hit songs of the late 50s and early 60s that dealt with the sudden death of a teenage girlfriend or boyfriend.
i am also pleasantly surprised that you enjoyed the cover by The Fab Sisters. Their version is faithful to the original, because Doris Troy also had a deep, soulful voice. They also nailed their Sam Cooke cover. I posted that video back in 2020. Yessum, the colored laser lights around the perimeter of that Gary's Gang video are similar to what we saw today in your "E" post. Thanks for calling my attention back to it.
Well, I'm delighted that you got so much enjoyment from my A to Z parody. As you can plainly see, I was bluffing last time, because the music is back at Shady's Place. Stay tuned. I've got more of the kind of music I think you'll remember and like coming up in my next post on Wednesday, April 12. In the meantime I will see you day by day at Janet's Smiles for your A to Z entries.
Thank you again for your kind visit and comment. Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be over to see you tomorrow, dear friend Janet!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteI'm only familiar with Rock On and Chicago. The others are all new to.me and I enjoyed them..I like this new series.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteBack from the beach, dear friend? I'm happy to see you!
Whether originals or covers, all of these songs were hits that your dad should remember. For someone your age, they are worth getting to know because they offer an exciting mix of styles including funk, Italo-house, jazz-rock horn band, rock, teenage tragedy, R&B/Soul and Disco. You should run them by your dad.
I'm glad you like my concept of the annual A to Z Challenge, dear friend JM. Thanks again for coming and have a wonderful Easter!
Heidie-ho Mr. Shady. I hope you are having a nice Easter weekend. I enjoyed all the music here..except one...oops, 😞
ReplyDeleteWild Cherry reminds me of Janis Joplin and is really good to listen to.
The Ride on Time...not so much. She has a good voice but it became repetitive and a bit irritating. She did too much yelling for my taste
Chicago...love it!!
Michael Damien..oh I remember hiscrendition of this song and he was a hot commodity back then.
I never heard this Everly Bros. Song and its so sad.
The next song are really good and I love their deeper voices. And Keep on Dancing...yes, of course.
This was a good listen and very fun to listen to. Harley had a fun walk and then had the zooming. He is loving his bone and is munching away. Have a great Easter and may you find plenty of colourful Easyer eggs
Hi, Birgit!
DeleteI'm thrilled to see you, dear friend! Thanks for coming and welcome to my one-and-done salute to the annual A to Z Challenge.
Now that you mention it, I see a resemblance to Janis Joplin in the look and vocal style of Greta Bragoni. On the Are & Be channel, she and her band also cover the Marvin & Tammi hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and Dusty Springfield's "Son of A Preacher Man."
Yessum, I agree that the Black Box song drones on and on and gets monotonous. The mix was clearly intended for club play to keep the party people out on the dance floor. The girl lip syncing the song is not the actual singer. She's a flashy model and dancer picked to be the face of Black Box in the video and in public appearances. The producers of the record borrowed (w/o permission) the vocal samples of U.S. soul thrush Loleatta Holloway from her hit single "Love Sensation." So, if you want to blame anyone for the yelling, blame Loleatta.
Yessum, I am often mistaken for soap heartthrob Michael Damian (and you know the rest of rest of the story by now). I'm glad you appreciate the deep voiced Fabsisters covering a hit by deep voiced Doris Troy. England's Holles waxed a Brit-pop cover of the song that shot to #2 at home in the UK but lingered near the bottom of the U.S. chart, peaking at a miserable #98. History has been kind. Their version has since become a fan favorite on both sides of the pond.
Thanks for the update on what my good buddy Harley has been up to. Please give him lotsa smooches and thanks again for joining the fun. Have a happy Easter, dear friend BB!
It's just a coincidence but my favorites are the first three that you played. My favorite cover is "Play that Funky Music" by Are & Be (clever punning name, too.) I was skeptical at first but that young woman pulled it off. My favorite song that I'm hearing for the first time is "Ride on Time" by Black Box. I'm surprised it wasn't a hit here in the U.S. My favorite song I've heard before I'm surprised to say because they're not a band I seek out too much is "Questions 67 And 68" by Chicago. I guess I haven't heard horns in a while.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirk!
DeleteGlad to see you, my friend! Thanks for checking out my star-studded celebrity parody of the annual A to Z Challenge.
It is quite a coincidence that the first three players in the game chose three of your favorite songs. Yes, I think if the naysayers would give Greta and her band a chance to get rolling as you and I obviously did, they'd start getting into their "Funky Music" jam and conclude that it's pretty darned good. The Are & Be channel only has a total of four uploads, and this Wild Cherry cover is my Pick to Click.
I'm glad you found the Black Box! (See what I did there?) Birgit (above) no likey their song "Ride On Time." She thinks it's irritating. Don't tell BB, but I actually do like the song more than I let on in my reply to her. I remember dancing to it in clubs.
I could listen to the early recordings of horn band Chicago Transit Auth. all day every day and never get tired of them. In my vinyl collection, I had this "Questions" song on a single and on the band's debut album. It's good to know you like their sound as well.
Thanks again for being here to experience the A to Z - Shady style. Have a safe and happy weekend, good buddy Kirk!
I didn't know most of the songs but I've always liked Chicago.
ReplyDeleteGrimm was such a great show up until they brought Trouble on the show and then it just went downhill for me. I loved that show. A very Happy Easter to you.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteThanks for stopping over, dear friend! The gremlins are taking their Easter holiday and therefore your comment sailed right through! :)
I'm happy that the horn band sound of Chicago is pleasing to your ears. Hey, I agree with you about Grimm. When they introduced the character Trouble it upset the delicate balance, changed the course of the show and made it all about her. Me no likey. I also thought Grimm had one of the most preposterous series finales ever.
Thanks again for coming to chat, dear friend Mary. I hope you and my buddy Falcor are having a happy and peaceful Easter, and I wish you a wonderful week ahead!
You have the best list of amazing women, Shady. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Scary too but mostly gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lux!
DeleteI'm excited to see you again, dear friend! Thanks for coming to witness my version of the A to Z Challenge. I'm delighted that you saw and liked this post featuring some of my favorite women from TV series and miniseries. I'll let you in on a secret. Alexis and Zoe are played by the same actress - Melanie Liburd. I like her so much that I included two of her characters in my A to Z game. In addition to her roles on This Is Us and Gypsy, Melanie recently appeared in 18 episodes of the dramatic TV series Power Book II: Ghost.
Thank you again for swinging by, dear friend Lux. Enjoy the rest of your week!