There was only one track suggested by you guys for number 98, and luckily it was the one I'd chosen too: this sunshiny 60's pop song from one hit wonder James Barry Keefer, or Keith to his mates.
When I was younger, I always thought 98.6 was the frequency of an American radio station Keith was fond of, but it turns out that the song is actually referring to the ideal human body temperature... meaning Suzanne Vega (last week) was presumably getting a little hot under the collar if she was up to 99.9. (Then again, so was I.)
98. Keith - 98.6
One point to C then... or Mr. C... who got this first, narrowly pipping Lynchie to the post.
Once again, there was an OBVIOUS choice I had to go with for 97... we'll see who gets that first, but as always I'll be interested to hear any other suggestions you might have.
Les Crane was an American radio and TV host in the 50s and 60s, a direct competitor of Johnny Carson, though never quite as successful. His late night talkshow did feature the first US TV performance by The Rolling Stones though, as well as notable appearances by Malcolm X, Bob Dylan and Lee Harvey Oswald's mum.
I knew nothing of this, nor (until a few years back) did I know that Crane had released a spoken word album in 1971, including the single Desiderata which was a Top 10 hit in the States and even grazed the UK charts where nobody had ever really heard of him. I can't remember when I first heard the track, though I suspect it was on Huey Morgan's show... Huey has a habit of turning me onto American gems British radio has long since forgotten... or never known in the first place.
Desiderata, the poem which gave Crane his big pop hit, has an interesting story in itself. It was first transformed into a pop song by Brian Davison, ex-drummer of The Nice, but Crane's version was a huge hippy anthem, with a sung chorus written by Broadway composer Fred Werner. Around that time, many people believed the poem to be a slice of ancient wisdom (see the image above which claims the words were found in an old churchyard in 1692). It later transpired that it was originally written by an American poet called Max Ehrmann in 1927. Depending on which search engine you favour, the title either translates as 'Loss' or 'Things Desired'. (To be honest, I'm surprised there was ever any question of it being from the 17th Century... did they even have "careers" back then?)
There's a part of me feels the words - and Crane's performance - are cheesy in the extreme. (Having said that, I'd have loved to have heard William Shatner have a crack at it.) And if I'd heard it when I was 25, I probably wouldn't have given it a second play. But I'm 45 now, and you may be wondering why I'm calling this a Mid-Life Crisis Song...
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
...well, if you're gonna have a mantra, that doesn't seem a bad one to aim for...
(Plus, what's the betting Baz Luhrmann heard this sometime prior to deciding to use Mary Schmich's Wear Sunscreen speech to similar effect in the late 90s?)
Oh, and congratulations to Mr. C for remembering this one. I feel he's now in direct competition with Mrs. Brian for most Saturday Snapshots songs identified by someone who doesn't actually read this drivel. Which is some accomplishment.
The rest of you should just be glad that Martin stays in bed till the afternoon most Saturdays.
2. Good afternoon, Batgirls.
This was one of those clues where I didn't want to over-egg the pudding. Originally it was something like "Good afternoon from Japan, Batgirls and Dog Ladies", but really... you didn't need all that. Well, Martin didn't, anyway.
Here's a song I remember well from my radio days. It was out around the time the presenter's free choice of music was being restricted. I'll write more about that soon. On the late show I worked on (more about that soon too), we played it just about every night, while we still could. It wasn't a hit, but to me it was a Number One.
On the surface, it's a song about looking for love, the loneliness of trawling bars and clubs hoping to meet that special someone, maybe even winning a one night stand, but ultimately knowing they wouldn't be there in the morning or ever call you again. I think it's written from a woman's point of view, although I know for a fact there lots of men feel that way too.
But then at the end, come these lines... lines I keep coming back to as I grow older.
Then you walk to the window and stare at the moon
Riding high and lonesome through a starlit sky
And it comes to you how it all slips away
Youth and beauty are gone one day
No matter what you dream or feel or say
It ends in dust and disarray
Like wind on the plains, sand through the glass
Waves rolling in with the tide
Dreams die hard and we watch them erode
But we cannot be denied
The fire inside
No matter how old we get, we still have those same feelings from our youth. The passions. The loneliness. The longing. We may submerge those feelings, bury them, pretend they don't exist anymore... but the fire inside can never be denied.
I was 19 when I first heard this song. It seems so very long ago. It seems like just yesterday.
