Randy Tuesdays #10: The Downtown, Downbeat Guy

Like our very first Randy (Mr. Newman), the last on the list has made a successful career for himself in Hollywood composing scores for films such as Ghostbusters II, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, My Cousin Vinny and Vin Diesel's XXX. He even wrote the theme tune to MacGyver.

Prior to this, back in the 70s, he was a songwriter whose work was recorded by The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick and Olivia Newton-John, among others. He also had a big solo hit covering Unit 4+2's 60s hit Concrete & Clay.

But it's his lesser-known "hit" single (it just scraped the UK Top 30 in 1976) which has scarred itself onto my subconscious. To the point that I was truly amazed when so many of you failed to guess his identity. Really! How could you forget...?

10. Randy Edelman

Why do I love Uptown, Uptempo Woman so much? It fits my love of 70s piano balladeering, scratching my Billy Joel itch. It spins a moving, finely detailed yarn like Harry Chapin did so well. It's another Wogan song, I guess. It must be Terry who planted it in my brain. It tells a complete love story, from infatuation through to passion, cooling off to loathing. When the protagonist tries to leave, to avoid a bitter confrontation... that's the day his lady comes home early. Really, it breaks my heart. To me, it's a true story. I feel honest emotion every time I hear it.

I know. I'm weird.

Plus, it's got one of those lyrics that I always amusingly misunderstood as a kid. In the opening verse, when Randy first meets his Uptown, Uptempo Woman in New York, he tells us...

A thousand people crammed in one place
But the only face was you
I grabbed your hand and we raced out
Hardly said a word
I’d only seen you for a minute
But I was roundin’ third

That last line is obviously the popular American romance/baseball metaphor, but I didn't hear it that way as a kid. I thought he actually sang, "But I was round in third" and I always wondered why he couldn't get his car up to fourth gear? Was his gearbox knackered? Was that a metaphor? No, no, don't spoil this song with innuendo too...




All of which brings us to the end of Randy Tuesdays. Thank you for sticking with it. I hope your favourite Randy had their moment of glory. I don't know what I'm doing next... or even if I am doing another one of these for the time being. Haven't made my mind up yet, and I'm going to be shaking things up here from July, probably cutting down the number of posts I wring out every week to give you all a break. We'll see.

Randy Tuesdays #9: The Runners Up

Not The Village People.

And so we reach the penultimate Randy post, and - as has become traditional - I get to count down the runners up. Thanks for your suggestions... a couple of which I hadn't considered at all.


10. Randy Jackson

No, not the Randy Jackson I featured last week. Not the one from The Jacksons. An entirely different Randy Jackson who I came across higher in the rankings on google after searching for last week's RJ.

As well as being a former judge on American Idol, Randall Darius Jackson has worked as a bass player, backing singer and producer with a wide range of acts - from Journey and Boston to Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul. He's also worked with Keith Richards, The Divinyls, Madonna, Jean-Luc Ponty... and, in the early 90s when the E Street Band were having a rest... he played bass for Bruce. Click the link for one of my favourite Randy Jackson basslines... no surprises.

9. Randy Rhoads

Former Quiet Riot guitarist who then hooked up with Ozzy. Might not be your thing, but dude can play guitar.

8. Randy Howard - Suddenly Single

Cheesy 80s country balladeering which probably didn't improve this particular Randy's romantic prospects.

7. Earl Jean - Randy, You're Quite A Guy

The Cookies were a short-lived r 'n' b trio in the 50s who went on to become backing singers for Ray Charles (The Raelettes). A new version of the band was formed in the early 60s featuring Earl Jean McCrea, younger sister of original Cookie Darlene. Earl Jean also recorded a couple of solo singles (minus her surname), including the Goffin / King composition above. I have this track on a Cookies compilation, but I didn't know it was actually released as a solo recording until today. Well, you learn something new...

6. Randy Brecker

I can honestly say I'd never heard of The Brecker Brothers until The Swede suggested this guy. Further investigation is definitely required.

5. Randy Scruggs

Son of legendary bluegrass banjo picker Earl Scruggs, this particular Randy followed his pop into country music, working with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Waylon Jennings and Emmylou Harris, among others.

4. Randy Travis

Arguably the most successful and famous of the runners up. Much as I like country music though, I've never really been drawn to Randy Travis. A bit too slushy for me... plus there's the whole driving naked while intoxicated thing to take into account.

3. Randy Jones

Thanks to Alyson for this one. I can honestly say I never knew any of The Village People by their first names... but I think I'd like to...

2. Randy California

Founding member of California rockers Spirit, who may or may not have "inspired" Jimmy Page to write Stairway To Heaven. Their Orwellian single 1984 was banned by American radio in 1970 for being a bit too political. C suggested this one.

1. Randy Bachman

For a while there, Smashie & Nicey may have killed You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, but I think enough time has passed for us to now reassess this as a classic. Randy was the lead guitarist and songwriter of this hugely successful Canadian rock band (even though they only had one hit in the UK). The lead singer, Mr. Turner, was called Fred. (Fred Mondays, anybody?) Sadly, there was no one in the band called Julian Overdrive.





There we go. Only one Randy left. That must be obvious now, surely? (No, Swede, it's not Randy Fuller of The Bobby Fuller Four. Sorry.)

Randy Tuesdays #8: The Most Insane Thing You'll See Today

OK, confession time. When I started this feature, I had EIGHT definite Randies... and a whole load of potentials. Posts #1 - 7 and #10 were the ones I was certain I HAD to feature. The others... I'm still not sure who the other two should be.

So this morning I sat down and went through the list of remaining Randies and having listened to music featuring all of them, this is the Randy I chose...

8. Randy Jackson

Mainly because of the video to today's featured song, which I'd never seen before, but it is utterly, utterly insane. If you think Michael only developed his messiah complex around the time of Earth Song, think again. The video to Can You Feel It? must make Jarvis Cocker's backside twist every time it gets played on youtube. That said, being someone who likes utter, utter insanity (I'm a Jim Steinman fan, after all) I found it very entertaining. And Can You Feel It? is a great song, so why not? Your mileage may vary.

Steven Randall was the youngest boy in the Jackson clan. That's him stood behind Janet (his only younger sibling) in the photo above. He wasn't in the Jackson 5, but replaced Jermaine when the band moved from Motown to Sony and Jermaine chose to stay behind. At 16, he co-wrote Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) with Michael, the band's biggest international hit... which surprised me, because Show You The Way To Go, Blame It On The Boogie, and the song below are all a lot bigger in my mind.

Randy could apparently play more instruments than any of the other Jackson boys, presumably because by the time he came around, Mummy & Daddy Jackson knew they were onto a good thing with those darn kids, so Randy was taught piano, guitar, bass and congas while still in the womb.

After the Jacksons finally called it a day in the early 90s, Randy formed another short-lived band that I won't name here because it features some very bad pluralised spelling.

I'll shut up now and cut to the crazy shit:



Yes, that does look like Russell Brand. Scary, isn't it?

All of which leaves me with one Randy left to fill. Remember, #10 is already set in stone. He's not that big a name, but those regularly confounded by what I laughingly call my "taste" in music will probably be able to work out his identity. Therefore, your suggestions / recommendations for Randy #9 will now be gratefully received. I'll try and count down the runners up next Tuesday.

Randy Tuesdays #7: Taking It To The Limit

Steady on, ladies.

7. Randy Meisner

There's a game I like to play whenever I listen to an Eagles song: I try to guess who's doing lead vocals. Henley or Frey? I'm aware that occasionally it might be Joe Walsh, but rarely do I expect it to be Randy Meisner.

Mesiner came to the Eagles from the band that paved the way for them, Poco. He quit that band in the late 60s before their first album was released and was replaced on the album cover by a dog. He was a founding member of the Eagles along with Henley, Frey and Bernie Leadon, and co-wrote songs for each of their first five albums, most notably the one below on which he also sang lead vocals (the first Eagles hit not to feature Henley or Frey on lead).

Randy was described by other members of the band as a sweet, shy guy who didn't like being in the spotlight and the degree of fame the Eagles achieved in the mid-70s was too much for him... hell, when you read the stories, it must have been too much for any of them. He was replaced by the bloke who replaced him in Poco: Timothy B. Schmidt.

Randy Tuesdays #4: The Crusader

4. Randy Crawford

While I don't consider myself the world's biggest fan of Veronica 'Randy' Crawford, I had a devil of a time picking this week's Randy Tuesday track. Four or five of her UK hits (despite being American, she never cracked the Billboard chart) have insinuated themselves into my musical back pages to the point where I consider them comfortable old friends, even though I never actually went out and bought a Randy Crawford record. (Well, until today... when I ordered a cheap Greatest Hits just so I could inhale these songs into my record collection.)

The choice was between...

One Day I'll Fly Away: her first big hit. So laid back. Beautifully sad.

You Might Need Somebody: much better than the 90s cover by Shola Ama.

Almaz: has a piano in it, so you know I'm sold. Also reminds me of an old boss who had a name that sounded a bit like 'Almaz', to the point I'd sing at him to take the piss. He was the bloke who gave me my first job in radio, back when it was fun. He never sacked me.

Rainy Night In Georgia: probably the best song Ms. Crawford ever recorded, though I still prefer the Brook Benton original. It's just one of those songs that sends a shiver down my spine.

In the end, I had to settle for this, the track that brought her to fame... even though it was the only record she ever recorded with The Crusaders.

Randy Tuesdays #2: Before The Gender Swap

2. Randy & The Rainbows - Denise

Dominick "Randy" Safuto and his gang had a one hit wonder with their doo wop classic 'Denise' in 1963. 15 years later the song would be re-recorded as 'Denis', the song that gave Blondie their first big international hit. This much I know for sure. There are, however, a number of things I don't know about this record...

• Listen to the intro of Denise. Is that Peggy Sue or what? Maybe four years after Buddy Holly's death, they were safe to steal that so blatantly...
• Despite only ever having one hit single, Randy and the Rainbows are still together today... In fact, there are TWO different bands currently doing the circuit with that name: one featuring Randy Safuto and his brother Frank, one featuring another original member, Mike Zero. What terrible event split them asunder? No one knows. And was their longevity aided at all by the success of the Blondie cover?
• Why did Deborah Harry change Denise to Denis... and not Dennis? On the surface, the answer is blatantly obvious. Dennis isn't a very sexy name. But still... is Denis French? Is that why Debbie slips into cod-French halfway through the song? Why is Denis sexier than Dennis anyway? Are French men just sexier in general?
• I wonder if the change from Denise to Denis was at all influential to David Lynch & Mark Frost when they created David Duchovny's cross-dressing DEA agent Denis/Denise Bryson in Twin Peaks...?

And finally...

• Does anyone prefer the original to Blondie's recreation? Or is this one of those rare examples of a cover version that improves on the original?

Randy Tuesdays #1: Where else am I going to start?

1. Randy Newman

Randy Newman is a mystery wrapped in an enigma with oxymoronic tendencies that lead to a serious dichotomy. On the one hand, he wrote some of the most razor sharp, acerbic lyrical throwdowns of the 60s, 70s and 80s: brickbats such as Rednecks, God's Song and Short People that took sarcastic songwriting to a whole new level. And let's face it, this particular track, written in 1972, is more appropriate today than ever...



On the other, he ended up writing heartfelt ballads for Pixar films, most notably Toy Story's You've Got A Friend In Me, a song guaranteed to force a lump into the throat of even the most hard-hearted cynic (i.e. me). Actually, I think that must be why Pixar gave him the job... and why he did it so well. I've resisted watching any of the Toy Story films for the last 20 years because of my severe Hanks allergy, but I finally relented for Sam's benefit and found them both enjoyable and moving... as long as I hammer nails into my ears whenever Woody speaks, I can really see their appeal. If you want sentiment without saccharine... yeah, Randy Newman was a good call.

Anyway, I've been a fan of our first and foremost Randy for a great many years, but the song that initially brought him to my attention was the glorious 80s pop sunbeam of I Love L.A., a recording that truly manages to have its cake, eat it, then throw the cake back up again... and go back for another piece. You know he's taking the piss, but you also know he genuinely loves the place. No song sums up the curious contradictions of Randy Newman better than this one...