The AI-Team, Vol 1

"I pity the fool who don't like these songs!"

 Old School's the Rule 

 In the Battle Against 

 The Anime From Within! 

No, dear friend. That isn't a typographical error

in the title of my post at the top of the page.

 Today's post does not focus on The A-Team.

 It focuses on The AI-Team... delightful characters emerging

from the breakthrough territory of Artificial Intelligence art.

These creations are out of this world. World? I mean universe!

As you can see, the sky's the limit in this

rapidly expanding cutting-edge technology.

Above, for example, incredibly detailed and lifelike but totally unreal,

is the "charming and mischievous space adventurer" Nova Stardust.

Yessum, we're in the middle of an AI boom...

and today's post offers a mix of past and present...

...20th century boomer songs combined with

dazzling... mind-blowing...

21st century AI art renderings.

  

Shady's going Old School - playing ten of his favorite songs

that have the word "school" in the title or make reference to

School days, school days,

dear old golden rule days,

Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic

Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick

To illustrate the theme of the post, the songs are accompanied

 by modern AI generated images of teachers...

college women...

bookworms in the school library...

 and studious schoolgirls doing homework.

 How many of these old school songs do you know or remember?

Okay, here we go with the first of our school related songs.

When we were at school, our games were simple

I played a janitor, you played a monitor

So sang the English pop rock band The Hollies in 1967. 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

 Here they are on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour doing

a song that was a top 3 hit in the UK and made the top 10

in the U.S. The Hollies sing-- "Carrie Anne!"

"Carrie-Anne" - The Hollies

(July/Aug. 1967, highest chart pos. #9 Hot 100/#10 Cash Box,

#9 Canada/#3 UK, live perf. on Dec. 10, 1967, ep. of

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour)

I used to carry her satchels

She used to walk by my side

But when we got to her doorstep

Her dad wouldn't let me inside

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

The following year, The Hollies changed their tune

and their schoolgirl's name and gained a top 40

hit in the U.S. with-- "Jennifer Eccles!"

"Jennifer Eccles" - The Hollies

(July/Aug. 1968, highest chart pos. #40 Hot 100,

#54 Cash Box/#19 Canada/#7 UK)

The chicks are jealous of the new girl in school

They put her down and they treat her so cruel

But the guys are goin' out of their minds

'Cause she's the finest girl you'll ever find

Jan And Dean scored a double-sided hit single thanks to this school-

girl song on the B side of their top 10-charting "Dead Man's Curve."

From the early spring of 1964, here's "The New Girl In School!"

"The New Girl In School" - Jan And Dean

(Mar./Apr. 1964, highest chart pos. #26 Cash Box,

#37 Hot 100, B side of "Dead Man's Curve")

So kids, stay in school,

don't be no drag

Take a fool's advice and

stay out of that bag

Tell me one more time people,

looka here, what he said

Without an education

You might as well be dead

In the fall of 1966, Soul Brother #1 James Brown was riding

high on the charts with a musical public service announcement.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

The single reached the top 5 on the R&B chart and is ranked

high at #27 on my list of The Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell.

Brown's message to the kids of America: "Don't Be A Drop-Out!"

"Don't Be A Drop-Out!" - James Brown

And The Famous Flames (Oct./Nov. 1966,

highest chart pos. #4 R&B/#39 Cash Box,

#50 Hot 100/#35 Canada)

Up in the mornin' and out to school

The teacher is teachin' the golden rule

American history and practical math

You're studyin' hard and hopin' to pass

Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll, it's the merry mister Chuck Berry

with his chart-topping hit from the spring of '57--

"School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)."

"School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)" - Chuck Berry

(Apr./May 1957, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,

#3 Cash Box/#5 Hot 100/#24 UK)

After school we have to rendezvous

Gonna plan all the things that we're gonna do

Trade bookin' for cookin' and I'll quit my lookin'

When our days at the school are through

In the spring of 1960, Bobby Rydell, one of the most

popular teen idols of the pre-Beatles era, scored a top 5

hit with a song about a school that's most definitely cool. 

Enjoy this rare colorized clip as Bobby does-- "Swingin' School!"

"Swingin' School" - Bobby Rydell

(May/June 1960, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)

Don't know much about history

Don't know much biology

Don't know much about science books

Don't know much about the French I took

Three music giants co-wrote this next school-related ditty:

Lou Adler, Herb Alpert and Sam Cooke. Sam was first to

wax the song, resulting in a top 10 hit in the spring of 1960.

 Fast-forward to the summer of '65 when England's Herman's Hermits

cracked the U.S. top 5 and topped the Canadian chart with their cover.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's kid tested - mother approved Peter Noone

and his Hermits' doing-- "Wonderful World!"

"Wonderful World" - Sam Cooke cover by Herman's Hermits

(June/July 1965, highest chart position #4 Hot 100,

#5 Cash Box/#1 Canada)

I used to get mad at my school

(Now, I can't complain)

The teachers who taught me weren't cool

(Now, I can't complain)

You're holding me down (Ah-ah),

turning me 'round (Ah-oh)

Filling me up with your rules

(Fool, you fool)

Released by The Beatles in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's

Lonely Hearts Club Band, this song features Paul on double-

tracked lead vocals and John and George on backing vocals.

McCartney sings:

It's "Getting Better" all the time

Lennon sings:

Can't get no worse!

"Getting Better" - The Beatles (from May 1967

album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)

Everybody screamed

When I kissed the teacher

And they must have thought they dreamed

When I kissed the teacher

Now, here's the opening song on the Swedish

pop group ABBA's 1976 album Arrival.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

This rare clip captures ABBA in a live performance that fall

on Polish TV, performing-- "When I Kissed The Teacher!"

"When I Kissed the Teacher" - ABBA

(Oct. 1976 live perf. on Polish TV in Warsaw)

When the ivy walls

Are far behind

No matter where our paths may wind

We'll remember always

Graduation day

To conclude my musical essay on old school songs that are

old school cool, let's go way back to June, 1956, and listen

to the best known hit by The Four Freshmen, a male vocal

quartet from Indianapolis. The nostalgia song was a major

early influence on The Beach Boys who went on to make

it a regular part of their concert lineup. This special Y/T

hybrid took the original Four Freshmen studio recording

and remixed it to sound more like The Beach Boys.

We'll remember always-- "Graduation Day!"

"Graduation Day" - The Four Freshmen

(May/June 1956, highest chart pos. #12 Cash Box,

#27 Hot 100, remixed in the style of The Beach Boys)

I hope you learned your lesson today.

Meet more enchanting members of

 The AI-Team 

next time, and remember... 

 Old School's the Rule 

 In the Battle Against 

 The Anime From Within! 

  See you soon!