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"(If You) Love Me Just A Little" - La La
(1986 single)
From Queens, New York, that was singer/songwriter La Forrest 'La La' Cope
with "(If You) Love Me Just A Little," a 1986 dance single that captures
the sound of Rufus And Chaka Khan, the R&B girl group Klymaxx,
the S.O.S. Band, the Minneapolis Sound founded by Prince and
the 80s output of Janet Jackson. La La is credited with writing
the Whitney Houston hit "You Give Good Love," a song
released on Whitney's self-titled 1985 debut album.
Hello and welcome to a sneak preview
of the A to Z Challenge, a new series
beginning next April here at Shady's
Place. In our version, A to Z stands
for Alexis to Alice To Astrid to Zoe.
We invite you to play along!
I'm Alexis Wright
...the personal assistant to leading man
Michael Holloway on the psychological
thriller Netflix television series Gypsy
that stars Naomi Watts. Joining me
in this April Challenge are three
other up-and-coming starlets
from popular TV shows.
Rules of the A to Z Challenge:
* Taking turns, players advance through the alphabet from A to Z. Each player
must pick a music artist whose name begins with the corresponding letter and
play a song by that artist. No songs may be repeated in later rounds.
* Players are awarded 10 points for naming an appropriate artist and playing a song.
They can pick up bonus points for selecting specific types of songs, such as songs
with numbers in the title, or by picking artists with numbers in their name. There
are other ways to win extra points and they will be explained as we go along.
For example, if I had landed on the letter "L" and played that song by
"La La," I would have been awarded 10 extra points because both
parts of the artist's name begin with "L."
* When a player lands on the letter "Q," "U," "X" or "Z," she may choose to opt out
and play a song with a number in the title or artist's name. If she exercises that option,
she still receives her 10 point credit plus bonus points if multiple numbers are involved.
* 7 songs are played in each round of the game, meaning that three of the players will
get two song picks and two chances to score points, while the 4th contestant gets only
one song pick and one chance to score points. This, of course, is unfair, but remember
that this is only an exhibition round to demonstrate how the game is played.
More players will be joining when the game officially begins next year.
The A to Z Challenge continues now
as I introduce the next player - Alice!
Hi, I'm Alice Charles...
Payton Hobart's girlfriend on the Netflix comedy-drama series The Politician.
In this sneak preview of the A to Z, we're skipping around to various letters
of the alphabet to show you how the game is played and won. Let's say it
was my turn and I landed on the letter "R." I could score 10 points by
picking an "R" name artist, plus 10 bonus points if the song title
contains a number. Here's an example, composer, arranger and
bandleader Nelson Riddle and his popular instrumental theme
of the early 60s adventure crime drama TV series Route 66
starring Martin Milner and George Maharis.
"Route 66 Theme" - Nelson Riddle
(June thru Aug. 1962, highest chart pos. #30 Hot 100/#40 Cash Box)
You just heard a cool instrumental that
most Americans of the pre-Beatles 60s
could have identified in two seconds
flat in a game of Name That Tune -
Nelson Riddle's "Route 66 Theme,"
a top 30 hit in the summer of 1962.
By picking a song with a number
in the title by an "R" name artist,
I scored 10 + 10, a total of 20
points on that play. See?
Okay, now it's time for me to toss
to someone I know all too well,
my co-star on The Politician.
She's trouble with a capital
"T" and her name is Astrid.
I'm Astrid Sloan
...Payton's rival on The Politician
and not exactly Alice's BFF either.
It's a small world after all...
because I also appeared
with Alexis in her TV
series Gypsy.
Suppose my letter in the A to Z is
"I." I could grab 10 extra points
by choosing Janis Ian and her
mid 70s chart-topping hit
"At Seventeen."
"At Seventeen" - Janis Ian
(Aug./Sept. 1975, highest
chart pos. #1 Cash Box,
#1 Adult Contemporary,
#3 Hot 100)
You just watched folksinger and
songwriter Janis Ian perform one of
her signature songs "At Seventeen,"
a record that topped the Cash Box
and the Adult Contemporary chart
in late summer of 1975. That's
another number song and
20 points for me!
Now meet the fourth and final
contestant in the Shady's Place
A to Z Challenge. Her name is Zoe.
I'm Zoe Baker
...Beth Pearson's cousin and Kevin
Pearson's girlfriend on the hit TV
drama series This Is Us. If you
think I look like Alexis Wright
from Gypsy, you aren't the
only one. I get that a lot...
and so does she.😊
Another way of scoring points in
our version of A to Z is by making
a Six Degrees connection. If, for
example, I landed on the letter "M,"
I could score 30 points by playing
a song by Mandy Moore, the star
of my show This Is Us. In this
scene from the 2002 coming-
of-age romantic film A Walk
to Remember, Mandy covers
"Only Hope," a song first
released in 1999 by the
rock band Switchfoot.
"Only Hope" - Mandy Moore
(scene from Jan. 2002 film A Walk To Remember)
That was my beautiful co-star
Mandy Moore back in 2002
performing "Only Hope" in
her hit movie A Walk to
Remember. By playing
that song, I earned 30
points - 20 for the
double "M" in the
artist's name and
10 more for the
Six Degrees
connection.
Now back to my sista
from another mista -
Alexis - who is ready
with her second song.
Zoe, if it were my turn to tackle
the letter "M"... I could collect
10 bonus points by choosing
Roger Miller's number song
"Engine Engine #9."
"Engine Engine #9"
- Roger Miller
(May/June 1965,
highest chart
pos. #7 Hot 100,
#9 Cash Box)
That was King of the Road Roger Miller
performing one of his other major hits
in the country-pop category "Engine
Engine #9," a top 10 record in the
spring of 1965 and an additional
20 points in the game for me.
Now here again is Alice.
Alexis, I'm going to play another
countrified classic, a folk song by
"F" artist Tennessee Ernie Ford.
The single hit number one on
the Country chart and crossed
over to top the pop chart from
Thanksgiving 1955 through
the first week of '56. Here
now is Tennessee Ernie
and another number
song-- "Sixteen Tons."
"Sixteen Tons" -
Tennessee Ernie Ford
(Nov./Dec. 1955, highest
chart pos. #1 Hot 100 &
Cash Box & Country)
You just saw and heard country
& Western music star Tennessee
Ernie Ford performing "Sixteen
Tons," his monster crossover hit
single from the holiday season
of 1955. That pick for the letter
"F" earned me 20 more points
in this exhibition round.
Now here's Astrid with her
second song and the last
play of the game.
Well "F" you, Alice! You can eat my dust,
baby... because I'm going for the glory
with my final artist and song selection.
If it were my turn to do the letter "T,"
I'd pick Tommy Tutone, the California
based power pop/new wave band, and
their 1982 top 5 hit "867-5309/Jenny."
The play is worth 90 points - 20 points
for the double "T" in the artist's name
and 70 more points for the 7 different
spoken/sung numbers in the song title!
"867-5309/Jenny" - Tommy Tutone
(Apr/May 1982, highest chart pos.
#4 Hot 100/#5 Cash Box,
#1 Mainstream Rock)
In your face bitches...
I just hit a grand slam - a 90 point play for the win!
SCOREBOARD
ALEXIS: 40
ALICE: 40
ASTRID: 110
ZOE: 20
Checking the scoreboard at the end of this exhibition round,
we see that Astrid did indeed win by a landslide after playing
that "Holy Grail" number song by Tommy Tutone. Alexis
and Alice finished tied for second with 40 points each and
I wound up with 20 points but only had one chance to play.
That gives you an idea of how our
A to Z Challenge works. We hope
you enjoyed the songs the players
picked for this exhibition round.
Stay tuned. When our series
officially begins next year,
three more players will be
joining the game, the gloves
will come off for real, and
we'll all do our best to score
the most points and win.
For Astrid Sloan, Alice Charles
and my look-alike doppelganger
clone Alexis Wright, this is
Zoe Baker saying so long
and see you next April
for the Shady's Place
A to Z Challenge!
