Vinyl Gladiators Fight to the Finish!

 Welcome to 

Vinyl Gladiators, 

 another variation of my song cover 

 competition heretofore known as 

 Winning Hand... Version Sacrifice... 

 and BATTLE OF THE BANNED. 

 Today I present a lurid spectacle 

 staged solely for your amusement! 

Covers of popular songs will do battle today as you sit comfortably in your box seat

in the amphitheater eating grapes, getting a massage and having your feet washed.

The fate of these brave warriors rests in your hands. How many of them, if any,

 will survive the day? Let the squeamish be forewarned. Molten wax will

surely be spilled in the course of this gruesome contest!

 The combatants have 

 entered the ring. 

 Vinyl gladiators now 

 stand before you. 
 Allow me to introduce 

 them and... let the 

 games commence! 

 BEN E. KING  

Drifters lead singer Ben E. King co-wrote and originally recorded "Stand By Me,"

a secular love song inspired by the spiritual "Lord, Stand By Me." King intended

for the song to be recorded by The Drifters but they declined. In 1961, as a solo

artist, King waxed a version that reached #1 on the R&B chart and top 5 pop.

 "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King 

 (June 1961, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#3 Cash Box/#4 Hot 100) 

 SPYDER TURNER 

Born in Beckley (WV) and raised in the Motor City, Dwight David "Spyder"

Turner sang with doo-wop groups and signed a recording contract with

 MGM. In late 1966, Spyder released a cover of "Stand By Me."

The recording is novelty in nature because Turner imitates Ben E. King

and other R&B and soul greats including Smokey Robinson, David Ruffin,

Chuck Jackson and Billy "Motormouth" Stewart. Spyder's take on the song

made the top 3 on the R&B chart and brushed the top 10 on the pop survey.

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (Jan./Feb. 1967, highest chart pos. #3 R&B, 
 #11 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100) 

As a bonus, I'd like you to see and hear this very rare clip of Spyder Turner doing

his hit on Village Square, a weekly music TV show that originated from a studio

in Charleston, SC, and was syndicated across the country from 1965 to 1968. 

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (perf. on TV show The Village Square, Charleston, SC) 

 JOHN LENNON 

In February, 1975, John Lennon released a cover of "Stand By Me" on his sixth

solo studio album Rock 'n' Roll. The following month the song was released as

a single and reached the top 20 in the U.S. In April, John performed his latest

hit on the UK based TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.

 "Stand By Me" - John Lennon 

 (Apr./May 1975, highest chart pos. #20 Hot 100 & Cash Box, 

 perf. on Apr. 18, 1975, ep. of The Old Grey Whistle Test) 

SCARLET FEVER! 

That's right. Shady's come down with a case of scarlet fever,

because three exciting female rockers are about to join the

competition, each of them a ravishing redhead, each of

them covering an 80s hit. Let's meet the ladies now! 

 COLE ROLLAND & 

 HALOCENE feat. 

 ADDIE NICOLE 

I introduced this first fiery frontwoman

a few weeks ago in my special feature

 That Was Then - This Is Now. She's

Addie Nicole... lead singer of the

Phoenix, Arizona, band Halocene.

Once again, Addie is joined by

Canadian guitarist Cole Rolland as

they do a metal cover of Bon Jovi's

hit "You Give Love A Bad Name!" 

"You Give Love A Bad Name"

Bon Jovi  metal cover by

Cole Rolland & Halocene

(Feb. 2021) 

 ANDREEA MUNTEANU 

 & ANDREI CERBU 

Now, from Eastern Europe, and also making a return visit to Shady's Place, here's that

zesty rising star from Romania, zinger Andreea Munteanu. On her popular YouTube

channel, versatile Andreea is part pop princess and part classic rocker. Andreea

shines as lead zinger of guitar wizard Andrei Cerbu's band The Iron Cross,

and in this performance Andreea & Andrei collaborate on a cover of

English popper Samantha Fox's 1986 synth-rock hit

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)." 

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" - Samantha Fox

cover by Andreea Munteanu & Andrei Cerbu (Feb. 2021) 

 SHUT UP & KISS ME! 

 feat. DARIA BAHRIN 

The third sassy redhead is Daria Bahrin,

another Romanian singer discovered by

Andrei Cerbu. Daria fronts a band of

Andrei's called Shut Up & Kiss Me!

Enjoy this cookin' cover as sassy

Daria and her bandmates bring out

our animal instincts performing

Def Leppard's 1987 rock

anthem "Animal!"

"Animal" - Def Leppard cover

by Shut Up & Kiss Me! feat.

Daria Bahrin (Dec. 2020)

 Put down your 

 wine goblet... 

 slowly rise from 

 your throne... 

 face these vinyl 

 gladiators and 

 render your decision. 

 Which lucky cover gets thumbs up 
 and lives to play another day? 
 Which poor devils get the 
 dreaded thumbs down 
 and are reduced to 
 puddles of molten wax 

 on the Colosseum floor? 

 The decision is yours! 

That Was Then - This Is Now, Volume 7: The Jarring Juxtaposition of Female Vocalists Past and Present!

                                             Image courtesy of AsylumCreations @ DeviantArt

 You've come a long way, baby... 

 and these jarring juxtapositions 

 offer indisputable proof! 

Welcome to Vol. 7 of my series

Jarring Juxtapositions:
That Was Then - This Is Now!

It is not my intention to pass judgement. (That's your job. :) This series
merely invites you to compare apples and oranges. Hard as it might
be for you to believe, I enjoy all of the female recording artists
you are about to see and hear. Join me on this jarring journey
back and forth through time as we compare the look,
the sound and the attitude of female singers

then... and now!

THAT WAS THEN

LYNN ANDERSON

Today's Jarring Juxtaposition journey begins back then, in the early 70s, with multi-

award-winning country singing star Lynn Anderson. In 1967 Lynn began a series of

appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show.  Columbia took notice and awarded Lynn

a recording contract.  Lynn rose to national fame with her biggest hit, a cover of the

Joe South song "Rose Garden." In late 1970, Lynn's single spent five weeks at the

top of the Country chart, and in early 1971 the record reached #1 on Cash Box

and top 3 on Billboard. Lynn Anderson was only 67 when she took ill and

died in 2015. Let's turn back the clock to happier times and watch Lynn

on the TV show That Good Ole Nashville Music doing her signature

song "(I beg your pardon... I never promised you a) Rose Garden." 

"Rose Garden" aka "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden"

- Lynn Anderson (Dec. 1970/Jan. & Feb. '71, highest chart

pos. #1 Country/#1 Cash Box/#3 Hot 100) 

THIS IS NOW

 LETTERS FROM THE FIRE 

In stark contrast to Lynn Anderson is hard rocker Alexa Kabazie, lead zinger

of the San Francisco band Letters From The Fire. Alexa left the band in 2017,

but not before giving us this rock nugget, the first single released from their

debut studio album Worth the Pain. Here now are Letters From The Fire

with "Give In To Me" which went top 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

"Give In To Me" - Letters From The Fire

(May 2016, highest chart pos. #33 Mainstream Rock,
from Sept. 2016 album Worth the Pain)

START PLAYING VIDEO
AT 25 SEC. MARK!

THAT WAS THEN

THE SUPREMES

Now let's go back to 1964, with The Supremes and "Come See About Me,"

their third single of five in a row to reach the top spot on the pop chart.

Two days after Christmas that year, Motown's premier act of the 60s

performed their latest hit on The Ed Sullivan Show, the first of

17 live appearances by The Supremes on the program. In this

extended remix clip you will see The Supremes dressed in

hot pink as they sang on Sullivan, and in black and white

 appearing on other music variety TV shows of the period.

"Come See About Me" (Extended Remix) - The Supremes

(Nov./Dec. 1964/Jan. 1965, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B)

THIS IS NOW

 STITCHED UP HEART 

A far cry from Diana, Mary and Flo is Alecia "Mixi" Demner, lead zinger of

Stitched Up Heart, a Los Angeles based hard rock/metal band that toured

with the band you saw and heard earlier - Letters From The Fire. In 2016

Stitched Up Heart's debut album Never Alone reached the Top 10 on

the Heatseeker and Hard Rock charts. "Monster," the second

single released from the album, thrashed its way into the

top 30 on the Mainstream Rock survey.

"Monster" - Stitched Up Heart

(Apr./May 2016, highest chart pos. #27 Mainstream Rock,
from June 2016 album Never Alone)

THAT WAS THEN

MARIE OSMOND

It's safe to say Marie Osmond is a woman of many talents. She has hosted a popular

TV variety show and later a talk show with brother Donny. She is an actress who
has starred in Broadway shows, had her own TV sitcom, is a published author,

a doll designer and the pitchwoman for a weight loss program. Meanwhile,

I'm still learning how to wave bye-bye.  As a recording artist Marie sings

country and pop.  Here's a clip of Marie singing "Cry, Baby Cry," the B

side of her uncharted 1977 single "Please Tell Him That I Said Hello,"

on an early 1978 episode of The Donny & Marie Show.

"Cry, Baby Cry" - Marie Osmond

(late 1977, B side of "Please Tell Him That I Said Hello,"

perf. on Jan. 20, 1978 ep. of The Donny & Marie Show)

THIS IS NOW

 HALOCENE & FRIENDS 

Now meet my #1 favorite female rocker of the 2020s - Addie Nicole - lead zinger

of the Phoenix, Arizona, band Halocene. I am 100% SOLD on Addie and her band.

In this performance, Addie and her guys are joined by three other female rock stars

who rose to fame on YouTube in recent years. They include Audra Miller of the

Erie, PA,  band First To Eleven, Violet Orlandi, an artist based in São Paulo,

Brazil, artist Lauren Babic of Toronto, Canada, plus a Toronto-based

male musician, guitarist Cole Rolland. Watch and listen as this

dream team of hot, young and talented rock performers

covers the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'."

"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey cover by Halocene

ft. Audra Miller of First To Eleven, Violet Orlandi,

Lauren Babic and Cole Rolland (Dec. 2020)

Cry, baby, cry... and

tears will mend your heart.

Have a Shady day!