(Note: this series was originally published elsewhere.)
Something in music: origin
One evening at a hot, trendy L.A. nightclub on a rare solo outing, yours truly found himself standing alone at the bar preparing to review the upcoming act. Before he had taken more than a few notes, however, he was bookended by a pair of vivacious vixens who insisted on engaging your rockin’ writer in cozy conversation. Strangely, the subject of “marriage” arose.
One of the young ladies noted that when a gal is about to get hitched, she needs “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” Your provocative penman was immediately inspired. After all, those very same terms could be applied to music too: “Something old” or classic, “something new” or recently released, “something borrowed”, a cover, and “something blue”, a blues song or a song with “blue” in the title. The rest is history.
‘Something’ in Music 290
Something Old
Our “something old” in this edition is the classic cut “No More Mr. Nice Guy” by the American rock group known as Alice Cooper. It was co-written by band members Michael Bruce and Cooper himself. It was originally a single off the group’s 1973 platter titled Billion Dollar Babies.
Something New
Our “something new” this time is the new single, “A Golden Smile”, by Chattanooga, Tennessee-based firefighter, singer-songwriter and banjo picker Randy Steele. The video was recorded live at The Woodshop. According to a recent e-mail, the song is based on Steele’s memories of his “self-doubt and fear” when he first began dating the woman who is now his wife.
Steele added: “The click is an old Seth Thomas metronome that is sitting in front of a microphone. This very metronome sat on my Mom’s piano for decades and she recently gave it to me. It’s one of those crank up styles that will hold time for a bit but eventually slows then just dies. It does have a more aesthetically pleasing acoustic sound than most of the modern-day metronomes. I’ve played banjo and guitar scales with that old thing for so long now that the song feels like a duet with an old friend.”
Something Borrowed
Our “something borrowed” this time is the song “Now & Then”, an old, incomplete demo by the late English musician and former Beatle John Lennon. This creative cover of the unfinished work is by American singer-songwriter and musician Pamela Davis. It is off her 2020 album titled Dear John.
According to a message Davis shared on social media, the disc “is a loving tribute by Pamela Davis to John Lennon’s 1976-80 lost Dakota demos.” Lennon was never able to professionally record the songs, so Davis “decided to turn his demos into a full rock band production. Now, the listener can hear these twelve tracks as they might have sounded, had John Lennon lived.” “Now & Then” is one of her dedicated covers.
Something Blue
Finally, our “something blue” this edition is the song “Heidelberg Blues” written and recorded by American singer-songwriter and musician Malcolm Holcombe. It’s the off his 2016 disc Another Black Hole. If you’d like to hear his more recent work, be sure to check out my full review of his new, upcoming disc titled Bits & Pieces. The new album drops on June 23, 2023.
Did we mention your favorite “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”? If not, let us know. Don’t forget to send us your bride photos too!
(Images courtesy of Green Wedding Shoes)