A to Z Challenge (Adalind to Alexis to Alice to Astridto Zari to Ziva to Zoe) Volume 1: Keep On Dancin'

 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

the fantasy police drama TV series Grimm. 

 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 

 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 -

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! 

Adalind Schade

(Nick brings out the beast in her.)

D i v e r s i t y D i V e R s I t Y d I v E r S i T y D o n ' t E r a s e i t - E m b r a c e i t

Hey wassup. I'm

Malcolm Winters,

Neil's brother and

Genoa City's top

fashion photographer

on the award winning

TV daytime drama

The Young and

 The Restless.

Today I invited a

few friends over

to Shady's Place

for a celebration

of diversity.

Let's all find out how good it feels to come together
as a party of one. Enjoy the show and I'll get
with you at the end.

I'm Iris West, Central City newspaper reporter, wife of Barry Allen

and co-leader of Team Flash on the television series The Flash.

The Fabsisters, the vocal duo of sisters Lola and Folake from the UK, went from

singing gospel in church and competing in talent shows to performing together at

charity events, open mics and gigs. Their YouTube channel has tens of thousands

of subscribers and their videos have attracted millions of views. To kick-off our

salute to diversity, The Fabsisters will cover a Sam Cooke song that is widely

considered his best composition, an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement

selected for preservation in the Library of Congress and classified by the

National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically

important." Here now are The Fabsisters singing-- "It's been a long

time coming... but I know A Change Is Gonna Come."

"A Change Is Gonna Come" -

Sam Cooke cover by The Fabsisters

My name is Kala Dandekar. I am a university

educated pharmacist and devout Hindu in

Mumbai, India, on the TV series Sense8.

More than ten years ago family and friends,

some young, some old, came together in

Smyrna, Georgia, to form a band called

Foxes and Fossils. Recently the gifted

group covered "Love Is The Answer,"

a Todd Rundgren song released by his

rock band Utopia in 1977, and a chart-

topping hit single for England Dan &

John Ford Coley in 1979. Tears may
come to your eyes as you experience
this wonderful 2020 performance
by Foxes And Fossils!

"Love Is The Answer" - Todd Rundgren/Utopia

cover by Foxes and Fossils

My name is Lito Rodriguez. On Sense8 I am

a closeted Spanish actor living in Mexico City

with my boyfriend. Independence Day is upon

us, and here to sing the patriotic song every

American knows is singer and bandleader

Mike Geier, famous on YouTube in recent

years as Puddles the sad singing clown, an

act he calls Puddles Pity Party. Here now

is Puddles and "America The Beautiful."

"Here's to empathy, progress

and hanging in there. We're

in this together." - Puddles

"America The Beautiful" - Puddles Pity Party

I am Sun Bak on Sense8, daughter of a

powerful Korean businessman and a

rising star of underground kickboxing.

We are traveling around the world in

today's salute to diversity. Here now

is Hindley Street Country Club aka

HSCC - a band based in Adelaide,

 South Australia. They will cover

the chart-topping 1979 hit by the

R&B duo McFadden and Whitehead.

The song, interpreted to be about the

experience of the African American

community, soon became known as

"the new black national anthem."

Here now is HSCC performing

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now."

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - McFadden And Whitehead

cover by The Hindley Street Country Club

"Just because

you look scary

...doesn't mean

you are scary."
—Mona Wu

Hi, I'm Mona Wu, the Chinese delivery girl

and the Time Bureau's expert on magical

creatures on DC's Legends of Tomorrow.

Up next, a special moment that was recently

captured by the camera in Washington, D.C.

 Nine year old figure skater Kaitlyn Saunders

improvised a roller skating performance on

the Black Lives Matter Plaza. Skating to the

Andra Day song “Rise Up,” Kaitlyn expressed

her hope for the future amidst social unrest.

 Kaitlyn explains she wants all people to feel

“free” - the feeling she gets while skating. 

"Rise Up" - Andra Day

June 17, 2020, skating perf. by Kaitlyn Saunders

I'm Nomi Marks from Sense8. Don't

call me Michael. I am a trans woman

hacktivist and blogger living in San

Francisco with my girlfriend. "Nomi"

stands for "Know Me." I am proud to

introduce a talented young woman

named Anne Reburn. Born in Okla-

homa, Anne moved to Los Angeles

and in recent years became a star

on YouTube doing covers as well as

original songs. Anne sings multiple

vocal parts in synced harmony and

plays a variety of instruments.

Recently Anne breathed new life into "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

(In Perfect Harmony)," the song that was originally the jingle of the 1971
Coca-Cola commercial "Buy the World a Coke." The soft drink reference
was dropped and the song re-recorded by two groups - The New Seekers
and The Hillside Singers and both acts scored major hits with it on both
sides of the pond. Here now is Anne Reburn singing "I'd Like To Teach
The World To Sing." Don't miss her spoken message at the 2:55 mark.

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 25 SEC. MARK!

"I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" - Anne Reburn

Thank you, Anne Reburn, for using your

platform to take a stand against racism,

and thanks to all the guest artists who

appeared on today's special. Can I get

real with you for a minute, my friend?

Peace, love and understanding is what

it's all about. United we stand, divided

we fall. If we don't get it together soon,

we all lose, and there will be no future

for our children and grandchildren.

Please, brothers and sisters, let's all

remember what Dr. King taught us

many years ago: "Darkness cannot

drive out darkness; only light can

do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;

only love can do that." Now for

Nomi Marks, Mona Wu, Sun Bak,

Lito Rodriguez, Kala Dandekar &

Iris West, this is Malcolm Winters.

Thanks for watching and listening.

We conclude our salute to diversity with Broadway United, an all-star
roster of theater artists, singing a classic song and calling for healing
and unity. It's a cover of the famous song written by Michael Jackson
and Lionel Richie and recorded 35 years ago by the supergroup
U.S.A. For Africa, a video that inspired millions of people
in America and all around the globe. Here are today's
stars of Broadway and-- "We Are The World."

"We Are the World" - U.S.A. For Africa

cover by Broadway United