Music & More

I Can't Dance

13 years ago today I posted:

January 21, 2009

I Can't Dance (and Leo Sayer)

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.

13 years ago today I posted:

January 21, 2009

I Can't Dance (and Leo Sayer)

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.

I Can't Dance (and Leo Sayer)

13 years ago today I posted:

January 21, 2009

I Can't Dance (and Leo Sayer)

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.

I Can't Dance (and Leo Sayer)

Watching the Obamas last night dancing at the inaugural balls, it reminded me that after 50 plus years of listening to music I still can't dance. (Goofus dancing doesn't count - see my post of October 27th on Delbert McClinton.) Don't ask me why I never took any dancing lessons. I just don't think it ever occurred to me, probably because I was very shy with girls as a youth. I'm the oldest of 3 brothers and I don't believe they can dance either. We all had music lessons - piano, accordion - but no dancing. Maybe I could do the Twist since if I recall correctly it can be done simply by standing in place and swiveling your hips, kind of like playing with a hula hoop without the hoop. Chubby Checker is still probably making  a living on his songs "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again".

When I heard Sam Cooke singing about how "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha", it never occurred to me to learn the Cha Cha Cha even though Sam sang that "even little children love to Cha Cha Cha". Of all the many, many 45's, LP's, tapes and now cd's I've purchased over the years, there is not one of them I bought because the song was good to dance to. I never looked at music from that perspective. Maybe that's why I never understood how some inane song with mindless lyrics could become a big hit and some beautiful ballad or story song, poetry set to music, would go nowhere.

This does not mean that I don't like songs with a "good beat" or something loud and crazy on occasion. In fact I like songs about dancing. Leo Sayer comes to mind. My wife and I saw him at Westbury in the late 70's or early 80's (I think) and he put on a great show, singing and dancing all over the stage. We couldn't believe his energy. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a fun uptempo tune that I'm sure would be great to dance to and a  slow love song "When I Need You" for dancing up close. The latter is the kind of song my wife and I could dance to because we could basically just stand in place and sway back and forth.

I do have a bone to pick with Leo and co-writer David Courtney about my favorite Leo Sayer song which was released as a single in 1974. Since the old Leo Sayer vinyl  LP I had somehow disappeared over the years, I wanted to replace it with one of his greatest hits cd's. Periodically, I would look at the various internet sites for purchasing music to see what was available. It's always frustrating to me when an artist puts out a greatest hits collection and leaves out one of my favorites. I looked at the lists of songs for every Leo Sayer cd I could find with no luck so I gave it up. Then one day I thought to check out Leo in the I-Tunes store and listened to a song that was apparently one of the songs most frequently purchased.

The song I wanted is about a hobo who must dance for his dinner. He's told "before you can eat, you gotta dance like Fred Astaire". Five times he sings "I Can't Dance" before hunger makes him reconsider. Fourteen times after that he sings "I Can Dance" plus he mentions doing a two-step, quick-step and bossa nova. This is clearly a song about DANCING. In the second stanza, he's singing about all the food and mentions one time that there were "long tall glasses, with wine ...". So they give the  song the title "Long Tall Glasses". GRRRRRRH! Give me a break. Rename it "I Can Dance". I always thought that was the song's title. Or, to be consistent, rename Leo's other great dance song noted above, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which he wrote with Vini Poncia and mentions dancing about a zillion times). Call it "Quarter to Four in the Morning" because that phrase appears once in the song's second stanza. Rant finished. And I still can't dance.