nouvelle vogue - this is not a love song
-ax and ~PM~
On this day in music history: December 4, 1965 - “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown hits #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart for 6 weeks, also peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 on December 18, 1965. Written and produced by James Brown, it is the third R&B chart topper for the artist known as “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business”. The “hit” version of the song is recorded by Brown on May 6, 1965 at Criteria Studios in Miami, FL. He had previously recorded the song in September 1964 for release on Smash Records. Brown’s label King Records blocks the release of the earlier version, though that does not stop the momentum of the record. Alan Leeds, then a disc jockey at WANT-AM in Richmond, VA (later James Browns’ road manager and also later works in the same capacity for Prince), dubs the song off of TV when Brown performs the song on the variety show “Where The Action Is”. Demand for the record skyrockets, forcing King Records to rush out the newly recorded second version of the song as a single. Released in October of 1965 on the heels of his breakout crossover smash “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”, “I Got You” quickly races up the R&B and pop charts simultaneously. Brown also performs the earlier version in the Frankie Avalon film “Ski Party” released earlier in 1965, which is recreated in the James Brown biopic “Get On Up”. In later years, The song is featured in the films “Good Morning Vietnam”, “The Nutty Professor” and quoted by actor Chris Rock (as Rodney the Guinea Pig) in “Dr. Dolittle”. James Brown’s recording of “I Got You (I Feel Good)” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2013.
On this day in music history: December 7, 1971 - “Wild Life”, the debut album by Wings is released. Produced by Paul McCartney, it is recorded at Rude Studio at High Park in Campbeltown, Kintyre, Scotland and Abbey Road Studios in London in August 1971. Coming very closely on the heels of “Ram”, released barely seven months before, Paul McCartney is joined by wife Linda and band members Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell, making up the first line up of the band Wings. Their first album is completed in under a weeks’ worth of studio time. McCartney records it wanting it to sound spontaneous like a live recording. Five of the albums eight songs are recorded in a single take. On the albums’ release day, it is launched with a party in London to both herald the new release and introduce the band. It takes a verbal pounding from critics upon its release, but still performs decently on the charts. The album is reissued on CD in 1993 with four additional bonus tracks, including the previously released stand alone singles “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Little Woman Love”. On December 7, 2018, the 47th anniversary of its original release date, album is reissued as a remastered as part of McCartney’s Archive Collection series. “Wild Life” is released as a two CD, two LP or three CD + DVD deluxe box set. The lavish boxed edition contains twenty five bonus tracks of previously unreleased rough mixes, single edits, non-LP B-sides and other rare material. The DVD contains home videos, rehearsal footage, and other previously unreleased film. The box als contains a one hundred twenty eight page book, annotated by Rolling Stone Magazine journalist David Fricke, and new interviews with Paul McCartney and the other band members. “Wild Life” peaks at number eleven on the UK album chart, number ten on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Mambo) - Billy May And His Orchestra (Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Mambo) / Loop-De-Loop (Mambo), 1954)
