Music

J. Geils Dead at 71

J. Geils, the guitarist and leader of the J. Geils Band, has died according to reports from WCVB TV Boston. John Warren Geils, Jr. was reportedly found dead at his home in Groton, Massachusetts.

The local police department advise that foul play is not suspected at this time.

Geils formed the J. Geils Band in 1967 believe it or not! Their debut self-titled album was released by Atlantic Records in 1970.

They released a total of 11 studio albums, including their 1982 chart-topper “Freeze-Frame”. That album also included their biggest single “Centerfold,” which spent six weeks at No. 1.

The band broke up in 1985, though they reunited off and on throughout the years but Geils left the band for good in 2012.

RIP

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Tom Bailey live – 2014

I loved the music that The Thompson Twins released in the 80’s. Many favourites, and  like.many of my favourite bands I was hoping for them to play again now.

The history of the Thompson Twins is very interesting (checkout my post HERE!), and that’s probably another reason why I like their music.

Hanging around YouTube, I stumbled across this live performance in 2014 by Tom Bailey. It’s only him and not Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway 🙁 , but the performance is quite cool and well done.

Check out it below.  What do you think?

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867-5309

If you grew up in the 80s, you know exactly what this post is about.

867-5309/Jenny” was a song written by Alex Call and Jim Keller and performed by Tommy Tutone. Released in 1981, it did reach #1 on the US billboard charts in 1982, I think due to it’s very catchy chorus.

This song is about a guy who gets Jenny’s number off the bathroom wall. He can’t work up the courage to call her, but thinks he can have her if he ever does. Was the number and Jenny real?

Well, songwriter Alex Call came up with it while sitting under a plum tree. He said “Despite all the mythology to the contrary, I actually just came up with the ‘Jenny’ and the telephone number, and the music just sitting in my backyard. There was no Jenny”

I think it’s fair to say the number 867-5309 has reached a cult status. There are so many stories of people prank calling that number (as it is a valid number is many US states), the number has been used by many famous people and it has appeared in many other facets of life.

* Lets go a bit further into some trivia around this song:

* Tommy Tutone was actually the name of the band, not a singer

* A guy in New York tried to sell his 212-867-5309 number on eBay

* 867-5309 grosses more royalties today than it did when the song was climbing the charts in 1982

* Arnold Schwarzenegger put it on his Workout with Arnold

* Family Guy referenced the song

* Keith Urban sings 867-5309 at his live shows.

* In 1999, Brown University put in a campus exchange of “867.” The number 867-5309 went to 2 freshman girls, who got about 5 prank calls a day.

* 867-5309 has been referenced in several video game Easter eggs, including Duke Nukem, Everquest, and Deus Ex.

* 8675309 is a prime number. The chances of choosing a random 7-digit (telephone) number and finding that it is prime is about 13 out of 200 (about 6.5%).

Many women have used the fictional Jenny’s telephone digits to brush off unwanted male attention. More than one guy has gotten a girl’s phone number, only to discover it is 867-5309 🙂 . I would love to see how many times this has occurred.

Finally, here’s the song played live:

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Check out this site for an interview with the girl in the Jenny music video. Her name was Karen Morton, who sadly passed away on 2/11/14.

How much of that trivia did you know? Do you have any more that I can add to the above list? Leave a comment below

 

 

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RIP Casey Kasem

casey-kasem

image source: wikipedia.com

US radio personality Casey Kasem, has died at the age of 82.
“Early this Father’s Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends,” his daughter, Kerri Kasem, said in a statement posted online.
“Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken.”
Depending on what generation you grew up in, you either know Casey for American Top 40 franchise which he founded in 1970, or for providing the voice of Norville “Shaggy” Rogers in the Scooby Doo franchise from 1969 to 1997, and again from 2002 until 2009. He was a legend in both.
For me, even though living in Australia, I remember listening to the American top 40 every week. Casey had a distinct and very likeable voice.
Do you remember Casey Kasem as the voice of Shaggy, or perhaps as host of the American Top 40? Have your say and leave a comment below.

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