A Medium Well Done ... is Rare!

Ladies and gentlemen...

there is electricity in the air tonight.

I am excited and honored to welcome back that
great visitor from the East... the famous seer...
sage... soothsayer... all knowing... all seeing...
all omniscient... and former road manager
for Shecky Shady's Caravan of Cackles...

Carnac..... the Magnificent!

Oh mighty Carnac,

I hold in my hand... the envelopes.

They have been hermetically sealed

and kept in a mayonnaise jar on Doc

Severinsen's porch since noon today.

NO ONE knows the contents of these envelopes.

BUT YOU!... in your divine and borderline
mystical way, will ascertain the answers
without ever having seen the questions.
Is that not so, oh great one?

You are correct, Budweiser breath.

Let there be silence. I must have
complete silence as I concentrate
on the first envelope.

Hermetically sealed.

That's correct.

Since noon today.

Look, if they haven't bought
the premise by now...
they're never going to!

(ED laughs loudly) Hi-Yo!

Now let there be silence in the room...

(long pause)..... Gingersnaps.

Gingersnaps.

That's what I said, Spuds MacKenzie.

Is there an echo in here?

(Ed chortles as Johnny rips the end
off the envelope, blows it open and
removes the slip of paper)

What does Ginger do when
she's ticked-off?

(Ed laughs loudly)

On October 1, 1962...

...when The Tonight Show Starring

Johnny Carson made its debut...

this danceworthy ditty was rockin' you!

"Let's Dance" - Chris Montez

(Oct. 1962, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)

On May 22, 1992...

when Johnny hosted his final Tonight Show,
this R&B sizzler was riding high on the chart!

"My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"

En Vogue (Apr/May 1992, highest chart pos.

#1 Cash Box and R&B/#2 Hot 100)

I hold in my hand..... the last envelope.

(crowd cheers loudly)

May a weird holy man turn your

sister's bedroom into a sweat lodge.

Give him a big round of applause,
ladies and gentlemen...

Carnac...

the Magnificent!

JOHNNY CARSON & CAROL WAYNE - ART FERN'S TEA TIME MOVIE SKETCH

 HAPPY 

 APRIL FOOLS' 

 DAY! 

SCROLL DOWN

Friends, would you please help a fellow blogger?

My dear friend Mary Kirkland and her daughter Lizzie

are going through tough times, dealing with separate

serious medical crises.  Lizzie is hospitalized and

unable to work. A Go Fund Me page has been

set up to collect donations for Lizzie.  Click

on Mary's picture (below) to read about

Lizzie's situation and donate to her

help fund. Thank you!

Saved by the Belle Vol. 3: Way Cool SOLID COLD BEATLES SANDWICH!

 LADIES 

 AND 

 GENTLEMEN, 

 THE BEATLES!!! 

COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Now And Then" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz  (November 2023)

2ND COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"I'm Only Sleeping" - The Beatles

(from June 1966 album Yesterday And Today)

Smile and say "cheese!"

It's time to meet the micest member of

the Shady Bunch Rodentia Intelligentsia! 

 Hi, folks!  I'm... 

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

 ...the ladies' answer to Denny the Dell Rat. 

Welcome to my S-P-M-M radio show

 Saved by the Belle 

 The Music and Musings of 

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

I'm on a mission to save you from boring elevator music.

I'm no Minnie Mouse, and the tunes I play are not Mickey Mouse.

My show brings you the best and most memorable sounds

from the glory days of your boomer youth.

Volume 3 is a SOLID COLD edition.  Every song

I play on today's show has a cold open aka a cold intro. 

At the top of the show, my favorite band, The Beatles, sang you wide awake

with "I'm Only Sleeping," a great song written primarily by John Lennon

and first released in the U.S. on the 1966 album Yesterday And Today.

You saw a surreal animated video produced to promote the release

in October, 2022, of a remixed and expanded edition of Revolver,

the album that introduced "I'm Only Sleeping" to the rest of the

world apart from North America. Revolver marked the beginning

of The Beatles' psychedelic phase and is considered one of the

greatest, most innovative albums in the history of popular music.

Before that, you saw and heard a sensational cover of  "Now And Then,"

 also known as "the last Beatles song," a single and video released

in November, 2023, by Paul and Ringo, the surviving members

of the legendary band, and containing footage and dubbed

vocals by deceased members John and George.

The cool cover was performed by David A. Rodriguez, a U.S. singer

and musician who looks like Prince and sounds a lot like Beatle

John Lennon. David is "leader" of a one-man band he calls DreamerJazz.

 On his popular YouTube channel, David covers rock, jazz,

sunshine pop and more, but his specialty is doing remarkable

covers of Beatles songs. Today, I'm presenting a few of his best.

The song "Mister Moonlight" was written by Roy Lee Johnson and

first recorded by blues pianist Willie Perryman aka Piano Red aka

Dr. Feelgood. Released at the start of 1962, the single credits the

name of the artist on the label as "Dr. Feelgood And The Interns."

With John Lennon singing lead, The Beatles covered "Mr. Moonlight" on

two 1964 albums,  Beatles For Sale, released in the UK, and Beatles '65,

 issued in the U.S. As you listen to David Rodriguez aka DreamerJazz

perform the song, you might find yourself shouting "John Lennon lives!"

"Mr. Moonlight" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (January  2022)

Is it John Lennon? Is it Memorex?

...or is it David A. Rodriguez?

Answer: C - David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz.

You're boppin' with Belle on S-P-M-M

Rat-ro-sonic Radio... the station with

personality. You've got a rat to rock,

and I'm her, she's me. Count on me

 to pick the best sounds of the 50s,

60s and 70s, those Wonder Years

classics that never grow old.

In this special SOLID COLD edition,

I'm runnin' down the cool cool sound

of The Beatles and Beatles cover artist

and YouTube star David A. Rodriguez.

The Beatles song "Drive My Car"

was penned mainly by Paul, who

also sang the main vocal part.

I'm curious as a cat (EEEK!)

to see and hear what one-man

band David does with the ditty.

Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah!

"Drive My Car" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (May 2021)

(above) single released April, 1965, in Italy 

Written by John Lennon and recorded in the summer of 1964,

"I'm A Loser" was the first Beatles song to directly reflect

the influence of Bob Dylan and country music. "I'm A Loser"

was first released in the UK on the album Beatles For Sale

and later in the U.S. on Beatles '65. Here's another nifty

cover by David Rodriguez - aka - Dreamerjazz!

"I'm A Loser" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (December 2023)

Belle Rat the Dell Rat keeping you company

here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio.

Baby, it's cold outside... and it's even cooler

in the Shady where I'm serving today's lunch

special - a SOLID COLD Beatles sandwich! 

"Ask Me Why," a song

written mainly by Beatle

John, was originally

 released in America

in early 1964 on

Version 2 of the

Vee-Jay album

Introducing...

The Beatles.

Introducing...

David Rodriguez

and his clone quartet

doing their cover of

one of Dave's Beatles

faves-- "Ask Me Why!"

"Ask Me Why" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (March 2020)

"Ask Me Why"...

and I'll tell you a lie.

That was another crazy cool

cover by featured artist David

Rodriguez who plays all four

parts in his fabulous Fab Four

 cover band DreamerJazz.

If you're just tuning in, I'm

your Hostess With the Mostest...

Belle of the ball, leader of the pack,

queen of the Rodentia Intelligentsia...

 Belle Rat 

 the Dell Rat 

... the micest member of the

Shady Bunch deejay team.

Far from mousy, I'm the

pick of the litter - the

prettiest, perkiest and

 most personable

member of the

Rat Pack.

 I'm playing the best tunes in town and telling my rat tails tales

here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio. My show is called

 Saved by the Belle 

and we're right in the middle of a 10-in-a-row cheddar cheese block party, so let's

get back to the great Beatles songs that formed the soundtrack of our boomer youth.

Our all-Beatles spectacular continues with another

more than capable cover by David Rodriguez.

 In 1962, The Isley Brothers scored a top 20 hit with their cover of

"Twist And Shout," a song originally recorded the previous year

by the little known R&B group The Top Notes.

  In March of 1963, The Beatles released their version in the UK on the album

Please Please Me.  A year later, it was released as a single and soon joined

four other Beatles songs in the top 5 on the U.S. chart. Watch and listen

as DreamerJazz brings us their rendition of-- "Twist And Shout!"

"Twist And Shout" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (May 2022)

 A cover of a cover of a cover, that was David and Dreamerjazz

coming through for me and you with their exciting performance

of the Beatles' version of "Twist And Shout." 

John Lennon once said, "If you were to try to give rock and roll

another name, you might call it Chuck Berry." One of Chuck's

most covered compositions is "Rock And Roll Music," a song

he wrote and recorded in 1957 resulting in a top 10 hit. With

John Lennon on lead vocals, The Beatles covered Chuck's

song and released their version in late 1964 on Beatles

For Sale, the same album that contains "Mr. Moonlight."

Once again, here's David Rodriguez and DreamerJazz

with their rousing cover of "Rock And Roll Music!"

"Rock And Roll Music" - Beatles cover by David A. Rodriguez

aka DreamerJazz (June 2021)

Another fine performance there by Dave and his Doppelganger Doubles,

a cover of The Beatles' version of Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music."

When I was a teenager and felt sad I listened to the Beatles for hours

in my bedroom. They always made me feel happy. To top-off my

Way Cool SOLID COLD Beatles Sandwich, here again are

the real Liverpudlian moptops with two more of my favorites.

From their 1967 EP and LP Magical Mystery Tour released in

late 1967, The Fab Four sing-- "Your Mother Should Know!"

"Your Mother Should Know" - The Beatles

(from Nov. 1967 US album and Dec. 1967 UK EP

Magical Mystery Tour)

Finally, another chart-topping international hit by John, Paul, George & Ringo.

 Written primarily by Paul who sang lead, "Paperback Writer" ushered in

the summer of 1966 as the #1 song in the U.S.,Canada, the UK and several

other countries . It was notably the first song The Beatles wrote and recorded

that wasn't strictly about love. Here are The Beatles and-- 'Paperback Writer."

"Paperback Writer" - The Beatles

(June/July 1966, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

#1 Canada/#1 UK/#1 Germany/#1 Scandinavia/#1 Australia)

RATS!!!

Shady's waving me off, so I need

to scurry on home. It's just a hole

in the wall, but the food is good.

I hope you enjoyed my Way Cool

SOLID COLD Beatles Sandwich

 on this special edition of my show

 Saved by 

 the Belle 

 The Music and 

 Musings of 

 Belle Rat 

 the Dell Rat.  

Now this is Belle Rat the Dell Rat reminding you that a Dell Rat

must be brave, and a Dell Rat must behave.  See you next time!

I gotta run

(because

Belle Rat's

hungry)...

but I hope

to see you

next time!

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

Artwork courtesy of my wonderful longtime friend Belle Unruh.

Born in California's Inland Empire... 

Belle moved to Canada as a teenager.

Thank you very much for contributing these delightful

"Belle Rat" drawings to Shady's Place, dear friend Belle

and, by the way...

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! 

SMOOCHES!

The AI-Team, Vol 2

"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's not a typo in the title 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

rapidly expanding

 cutting-edge

technology of

Artificial

Intelligence

art.

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 and dazzling

AI art renderings of the 21st century.

  

In a recent post hosted by

Dr. Mary Harris from the

TV series Mary Kills People,

you heard three Mary songs:

"Sweet Mary," "The Wind

Cries Mary" and "Along

Comes Mary."  In this

edition of AI-Team,

Shady Del Knight is

once again going all

girlie on you, playing

ten of his favorite songs

that also have a girl's

name in the title.

To illustrate the theme

of the post, the songs

are accompanied by

modern AI-generated

images of women

and girls.

How many of these

 girl name songs do

you know, remember

or like hearing for

the first time?

Lulu

Our first featured girl song is a real Lulu. Released

at the height of the surf-rock craze, this gem of

the genre swept the nation like a tidal wave.

 Jan And Dean tell the tale of the whale, introducing

the queen of the surfer girls-- "Honolulu Lulu!"

"Honolulu Lulu" - Jan And Dean

(Sept./Oct. 1963, highest chart pos.

#11 Hot 100/#10 Cash Box)

Linda

At the start of that same year, 1963, Jan & Dean released this

next song as their last single in the doo-wop/teen pop vein.

 (The record that followed, the chart-topper  "Surf City,"

firmly established J&D as a hit-making surf-rock duo.)

What an interesting story behind this song! It was written

for a baby girl who went on to fame as Linda McCartney,

the wife of Beatles' dreamboat Paul McCartney!

In 1942, while on a tour of Europe during WWII,

American songwriter Jack Lawrence dedicated

a ditty to Linda Eastman, the one-year-old

daughter of his attorney Lee Eastman.

The song, published in 1946 after Lawrence left the military,

was recorded by several artists, but Jan And Dean's version

is the grabber. Penetrating the top 30 in the spring of '63,

here's the toe-tapping song about-- "l-l, l-l-l, l-l-l-l-Linda!"

"Linda" - Jan And Dean

(Apr./May 1963, highest chart pos.

#26 Cash Box/#28 Hot 100)

Susan

In the mid 60s, American record buyers were going wild

over British bands. To imply that they too came from the UK,

a polished, horn-driven, blue-eyed soul and psychedelic pop

band from Chicago were given the name The Buckinghams.

1967 was the biggest year for The Bucks. All 5 of their top 40

hits charted that year... leading Billboard magazine to name

The Buckinghams "The Most Listened to Band in America."

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's lead singer Dennis Tufano and The Buckinghams with the

last single in the group's 1967 hot streak, a song about-- "Susan!"

"Susan" - The Buckinghams

(Dec. 1967/Jan. 1968, highest chart pos.

#6 Record World/#7 Cash Box,

#11 Billboard/#7 Canada)

Sally #1

Our next girl name song was originally waxed by rock & roll

legend Little Richard. In 1956, Richard's single spent 19 weeks

 atop the R&B chart and brushed the top 5 on the pop survey.

Eight years later, The Beatles, who admired Little Richard

and performed his hits during their concerts, released

a great cover. I found a brilliantly remixed version and

reimagined video for your listening and viewing pleasure.

 From May, 1964, here are The Beatles with Paul McCartney

on lead singing the praises of-- "Long Tall Sally!"

"Long Tall Sally" - The Beatles

(from May 1964 album The Beatles' Long Tall Sally,

rel. as single and reached #1 in Sweden & Denmark

in June, July & August 1964)

Jenny

Rock & Roll titan Little Richard is also the inspiration

behind the next featured girl song. In 1957, Richard's

original entitled "Jenny, Jenny" peaked at #2 on the

R&B chart and went top 10 on the pop survey.

 In late 1965, rock & roll/R&B wildman Mitch Ryder used

"Jenny, Jenny" in a mashup with "See See Rider Blues"

aka "See See Rider" aka "C.C. Rider," a blues song

from the 1920s about a lover who sleeps around.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here are Mitch Ryder and his band The Detroit Wheels on

Hullabaloo doing their top 10 hit-- "Jenny Take A Ride!"

"Jenny Take A Ride!" - Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels

(Jan./Feb. 1966, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100/#17 Cash Box,

live performance on Jan. 24, 1966, episode of Hullabaloo)

Pam

Now here's another Beatles song with the name of a girl in the title.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

From the September, 1969, album Abbey Road--

"(You should see) Polythene Pam!"

"Polythene Pam" - The Beatles

(from September 1969, album Abbey Road)

Elenor #1

Check out this groovy girl song by The Turtles,

the LA-based psychedelic pop band led by

Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman.

 With deliberately goofy lyrics, the ditty was penned as

a satire of the group's biggest pop hit "Happy Together."

 One of the first pop recordings to utilize the Moog synthesizer,

the Turtles' single had a vibe that listeners couldn't resist

and the record made the top 5 in the fall of 1968.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here are Howard & Mark ("Flo & Eddie") doing

their latest hit live on Kraft Music Hall!

"Elenor" - The Turtles

(Oct./Nov. 1968, highest chart pos. #5 Cash Box,

#6 Hot 100/#4 Canada, Sept. 1968 live perf.

on TV show Kraft Music Hall)

Sally #2

Now here's the second Sally song in today's lineup.  R&B singer

and songwriter Mack Rice wrote and first recorded this ditty

in 1965. Rice's version reached its peak at #15 on the R&B

chart, an achievement that was eclipsed the following year

when gravel-voiced R&B great Wilson Pickett covered it.

 Pickett's record went top 5 on the R&B survey and crossed over

to the pop chart, penetrating the top 20 on Cash Box and the

top 5 in Canada. Pickett's version is also ranked #114 on

my list of The 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's "The Wicked Pickett" with a single that made

Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs

 of All Time - "Mustang Sally!"

"Mustang Sally" - Wilson Pickett

(#6 R&B/#16 Cash Box/#23 Hot 100/#4 Canada,

#114 The 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell)

Renee

The Left Banke was a baroque psychedelic pop band

based in New York City. Millions of fans across America

and around the globe were saddened when news broke in

 January, 2020, that the group's lead singer, Steve Martin,

later known as Steve Martin Caro, died at the age of 71.

 Martin possessed one of the most beautiful and distinctive

voices in all of pop music, as you will hear as he sings

one of the most evocative songs ever recorded, the

band's debut single, a top 5 hit in the fall of 1966.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here are Steve Martin and The Left Banke with a song regarded as

 the definitive work of the baroque pop genre-- "Walk Away Renee!"

"Walk Away Renee" - The Left Banke

(Oct./Nov. 1966, highest chart pos. #2 Cash Box/#5 Hot 100,

#129 The 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell)

Eleanor #2

Earlier, The Turtles paid musical tribute to "Elenor."

To conclude today's show, here's a different girl song

with a different spelling of that same name. Released

along with "Yellow Submarine" on a double A-side

single in August, 1966, from the Beatles' Revolver

album, resulting in two chart-topping worldwide

hits, it's the story of a lonely, ageing spinster

by the name of-- "Eleanor Rigby!"

"Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles

(#1 UK/#11 Hot 100/#12 Cash Box,

from Aug. 1966 album Revolver)

I hope you liked these girl name songs of the past

and new AI generated images of women and girls.

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 next time!