AND YET ANOTHER CLASSIC SLOW JAM - THE WHATNAUTS

Here's yet another classic pair of slow jams for you from another little known group called The Whatnauts. Now I also own one of the original 45's from this group. The single I own is a two sided gem with I'll Erase Your Pain and I Just Can't Lose Your Love. Now the great thing about these two songs is that they ARE available on cd! The cd to buy is the one pictured. This is the import (UK) compilation and is a double cd which includes all three of the groups albums including: Introducing The Whatnauts (1970), Whatnauts On The Rocks (1972), & Reaching For The Stars (1971), along with some added tracks with The Moments. A really great cd and a must have for lovers of old school slow jams. Check out the two sided single which is also on the cd!

ONE MORE LITTLE KNOWN SLOW JAM - THE PONDEROSA TWINS + ONE

After my last post I got to thinking of some other long lost slow jams that aren't very well known. It's really a shame that some of these classics are not better known and issued on cd or played on old school radio stations. Oh well, here's another gem from 1971 titled You Send Me (yes, the one sung by Sam Cooke) but done by a young teenage group called The Ponderosa Twins + One. This group hailed from Cleveland, Ohio and consisted of two sets of identical twins plus one other member. A short lived teenage group that wasn't around for very long. I own the original 45 of this song still and am hoping one day for a cd release. In the meantime, enjoy!

LONG LOST SLOW JAM - J. KELLY AND THE PREMIERS

Now I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable guy on the subject of 70's slow jams (love songs). I still have several 45's in my closet that I am hoping someday will be released on cd. One of the gems I happen to own is this little known song by J. Kelly and The Premiers titled She Calls Me Baby. Now, SAXOMAN did not post this record on YouTube but thanks to whoever did. Another undiscovered gem. Now if anyone knows how I can take this video and put the audio into my iTunes, lemme know! Anyway, check out this classic, relatively unknown 70's slow jam. Oh yeah!

THE SYLVERS - WHERE IS THE LOVE?

One of the great under appreciated soul groups of the 70's is the musical family, The Sylvers. Now I'm not sure why, but I think that the Sylvers reputation as a serious musical act may have been tarnished by the fact that they hit it big with a couple of bubblegum type tunes (Boogie Fever, Cotton Candy, Hot Line). If you look beyond these "hits" and check out their first three albums titled "The Sylvers," "The Sylvers 2," and "The Sylvers 3", I think you will find some really great music. Songs such as Fools Paradise, How Love Hurts, I Wish That I Could Talk To You and Can You Remember The Rain to name just a few. What's really impressive is that most of their songs were written by one of the brothers (Leon Sylvers) when he was a teenager! A truly impressive musical family that you definitely need to check out! What? You say, you're not hip to the Sylvers? Well here you go.....Here are The Sylvers on Soul Train in 1972 performing their hit I Wish That I Could Talk To You. Check it out!

SOUL TRAIN

In the early 70's I would spend every Saturday afternoon like clockwork watching the tv show Soul Train. Now occasionally my Dad would come into the room and make some racist comment and switch the channel on me, but for the most part he let me be. Now I can tell you that Soul Train was the show to watch because it had the hippest musical acts, the latest fashions, the latest dances and the finest ladies. Now one of the great parts of the show was the Soul Train dance line. Here's a sample of the Soul Train dance line from 1973 dancing to the O'Jays song Love Train and even features Fred "Re-Run" Berry before he hit it big with the tv show What's Happening. Anyway, check it out!

LOVE JONES -THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF DARKNESS

Way back on 7/1/09 I blogged about having a Basketball Jones and the original inspiration for that song. Well here it is. The original Love Jones! Here's a clip of The Brighter Side of Darkness performing their hit Love Jones on Soul Train. Ya' gotta love the choreography as well as the mini capes they are wearing. The fashions from the crowd and Don Cornelius are too hip! A genuine classic and I happen to still own the original 45 of this song. Check it out and get hip!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Happy Thanksgiving to my many (2? 3?) readers out there! Today we should all stop and give thanks for all of the good things in our lives (our health, the health of friends and family, our jobs, etc....) Don't take things for granted as life is too short!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!!

EMPTYING THE COKE MACHINE

On my last blog entry I talked about emptying the Coke machine at work. Now why should this deserve a special blog entry? Well lemme tell ya'......On occasion my boss would ask me to empty the change from the Coke machine. This was one of the truly special perks of the jobs, well maybe the only perk of the job. My eyes would get really big as she handed me the keys to the machine and a coffee can to put the change in. I would then open up the machine and there before me was more change than I had ever seen in my entire life! WOW! I immediately started alternating between filling the coffee can and stuffing change in my two front pockets. For a guy making $3 an hour (if that) this opportunity was too good to pass up. Anyway, after the machine was emptied of every last cent I would return the coffee can and keys to my boss. She would usually make some sarcastic comment like "hmmm, not too much change this week", striking fear into my heart! When returning the keys and change I would always try to walk really slow so my boss would not hear the jingling of all the change stuffed in my pockets. The fact that I was wearing an apron really helped to cover my bulging pockets. I was always afraid my boss was going to call me over and tap on my two bulging front pockets one day but she never did Whew! Anyway, I always thought I was going to get caught at this because I am definitely not a good liar or a good thief but I never did. I look back on it now as payback for all the verbal abuse I had to take from her. HAHA! So there you have the story of the Coke machine.

MY THIRD JOB - BUSTIN' SUDS AGAIN...WHAT?

OK, now way back on 5/6/09 I told you about my first job (delivering newspapers) and on 5/27/09 I told you about my second job (bustin' suds), now I want to tell you about my third job, bustin' suds again! What? Yes, it's true. Here's the story: Armed with a high school diploma and thankful to be done with school, I was ready to tackle the world! The only problem is that I had no real experience at anything other than bustin' suds (washing dishes) and I was kind of a knucklehead as well. I remember looking in the classifieds for a job and also going to the Unemployment Office as well and not having any luck. I just couldn't understand why no one would want to hire an unskilled, uneducated knucklehead like me. One day after leaving the Unemployment Office I noticed an Employment Agency close by and went to check it out. I told them of my vast experience (bustin' suds) and they said they had just the job for me. What? Really? The only problem is you have to pay us 75% of your first months wages! What? Are you serious? Is this legal? Well......with little options on the horizon I took them up on their offer and soon found myself bustin' suds at a Respiratory Hospital in Altadena and lemme tell you, this was one miserable job. The hours were horrible in that they consisted of split shifts meaning I started at 6:30AM and worked to about 1:00PM and then had to leave and come back and work from 4:30PM to 6:30PM. A really bad job and I can tell you that I looked just like the guy in this picture. Some of the many things I had to do were: load the trays with the correct food, deliver the food on a large cart to the proper areas, wash a ton of dishes after each meal, put away the food in the stockroom, make the salads, fill the Coke machine (an upcoming blog topic), make the coffee, clean the kitchen, and do any number of other things that my nutty boss decided she needed done. This job was no fun at all and I think I may have done this for at least a year if not longer. Oh yeah, I think I made about $3 an hour, if that. Jeez.....I sure can't imagine any kids working like this today.

OK, SO I'M A LITTLE SQUEAMISH

OK, now I have to admit that I'm a little bit squeamish. I don't know what it is but there are certain things that make me really squeamish and cause me to turn away. Just giving blood is a major ordeal for me so you won't ever see me being a blood donor (sorry). I have to turn away and close my eyes as they stick me with a needle and I definitely have to turn away as they fill up the vial with my blood. I made the mistake of looking at this once and almost passed out. Even watching a movie or tv and they show a needle being injected, or a surgery, or childbirth (gross) or any countless number of things and I can't bear to watch. It makes me just want to pass out. Sometimes just innocently flipping through the channels you may stumble upon an eye surgery or an open heart surgery. I can't turn the channel fast enough as that image I just saw is being embedded into my brain. Maybe this explains why I'm not a big horror movie fan. I dunno........all I know is if it's any of the things I mentioned above, count me out!