Lolitas - 'Fusée d'amour' (1989)

Les Lolitas were a Berlin-based band who sang primarily in French.

Their sound was a combination of influences that included American garage rock, rockabilly and French yé-yé, played with a punk sensibility. They formed in the mid-1980s and split around 1993.

Lead singer Françoise Cactus met Brezel Göring soon after, and they founded the fabulous multi-lingual
French-German electronica pop/rock duo, Stereo Total.

'Fusée d'amour' was the third Lolitas LP, recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in August of 1988 and produced by music biz chameleon
Alex Chilton.
Chilton plays just a bit of piano on the album, as does his friend and fellow Memphis legend Jim Dickinson.






(click on image to enlarge in a new window)

On the album cover, from left to right:
Olga La Basse - bass

Coco Nut - guitar

Françoise Cactus - vocals, drums

Michele Tutti Frutti - guitar, harmonica





- Follow link to view track listing & production credits.


From the Lolitas album
'Fusée d'amour' (New Rose Records, 1989),
Listen to:

Mummy
La Fille Qui Se Promene Sur Les Rails
Joli Johnny
Les Cactus

(click for audio)

- - OR download the full album (16 tracks) in one 46.5 Mb zipfile.





See also:
- Les Lolitas on MySpace
- StereoBio, A history of Françoise Cactus
- Stereo Total website

- As of this writing, the rest of the Lolitas catalog (and a Coco Nut solo record) are posted at cosmozebra. (This post hopefully improves upon Cosmo's slightly noisy vinyl rip of 'Fusée d'amour' - - unless you're a fan of clicks and pops)

'Charlie on the M.T.A.' in French: Eileen Grayam - Le Metro de Boston b/w Michel

If you lived through the folk music scare of the 1960's, you probably remember singin' or strummin' along to The Kingston Trio and their big 1959 hit 'M.T.A.' (a.k.a. 'Charlie On The M.T.A.', or
'The Man Who Never Returned').

(If you somehow missed it, check out an old video clip)

- - And here it is recorded in French, released in the U.S. way back when by a
Los Angeles-based record label...




Listen to:
Eileen Grayam -
Le Metro de Boston
(Prince Records 45, circa 1963?)
(click for audio)













Listen to:
Eileen Grayam -
Michel
(Prince Records 45, circa 1963?)
(click for audio)






There's a dearth of information out there regarding 'Eileen Grayam' and The Storytellers, but one possible theory suggests that this Eileen could be the same American-born yé-yé girl Eileen who recorded in France in the 1960's and had a hit with her French-language version of Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Were Made For Walking' in 1966.

That Eileen (a.k.a. Eileen Goldsen) had been in L.A. in the early '60's, had translated folk songs into French following her graduation from UCLA, and following her move to Paris, released a 4-song EP around '65 that included a version of 'Le Metro de Boston'.

The pieces fit for all these Eileens to be one and the same, but without verification it's still
just a theory...

See also:
Follow link for more background information on 'Charlie on the M.T.A.' - - the song, its history, and the Boston transit system.

The (now) MBTA, btw, in recent years has given a nod to the song by naming their electronic ticketing 'smart card' after 'the man who never returned'. ▶


ADDENDUM, 7.6.10:
A belated thanks to Pink Frankenstein (of 'Bardot-a-Go-Go' fame) for an initial Eileen confirmation, going back a couple of years ago when this item was first posted.

More up-to-date thanks go to an anonymous French poster (see comments), who has sent along a link to an illustrated Eileen discography page!

Machito Goes Memphis (1968)

A true pioneer of Latin Jazz, Cuban-born bandleader and vocalist
Machito (1909 - 1984) founded his influential orchestra, the Afro-Cubans, in 1940.

During that decade and beyond, he forged new bonds between Latin rhythm and progressive jazz improvisation, drawing established name jazz performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Mann, and others into his band as featured soloists.
A staple of New York dance clubs, he was at the center of the 1950's mambo craze.

By the '60's and beyond, his band was a juggernaut, but in '68 he was still happily exploring (and looking for commercial 'pop' hooks).
This 'Memphis Soul' album isn't necessarily indicative of typical Machito, and neither can it be said to be his best album.

But that doesn't stop it from cooking, just the same!

From Machito's
'Machito Goes Memphis' LP,
(RCA Records, 1968), Listen to:

Baby I Love You
Hip Hug Her
Knock On Wood
Alfie
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa
In The Midnight Hour
Shake
Green Onions
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
634-5789
Soul American
Hold On, I'm Comin'

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 12 tracks in one 28.2 Mb zipfile.

See also:
- Machito profiles at Space Age Pop and Descarga.Com

- At YouTube, video clips of Machito and his orchestra with vocalist Graciela in Japan, performing live and being interviewed live on Japanese TV in the 1960's!
(follow links to)
Part 1
Part 2

Peter Hinnen - Auf meiner Ranch bin ich König b/w Hü-a-hoh alter Schimmel

An old thrift shop score, of the type that makes me wonder about the travels this old 45 has taken over the years...

Peter Hinnen's talent for yodeling gained him a degree of fame as a child performer in his native Switzerland.

By the age of twenty he'd broadened his focus to apply his gift to Cowboy-Schlager
(Country & Alpine?), which brought much success on the pop charts in Europe's German-speaking countries in the 1960's.

The A-side of this hit single takes the familiar 'Mexican vaquero' song, 'Alla en el Rancho Grande' and changes it to 'On my Ranch, I am the King'.

I like the picture sleeve, and I love that the packaging includes a ready-made tag for juke boxes! ⬇




























































⬅ The copy I found of this record also contained a postcard-sized
hand-autographed promo photo!

(Again, it gets me curious about how many hands this record has passed through.)

That ballpoint signature has faded a bit, but it looks like Mr. Hinnen may have had his own insights on how to spell
"Hü-a-hoh". Hard to tell...

Probably it's just me, but I also enjoy the quiet creepiness of the promo photo being a simple mirror-image of the shot from the picture sleeve.
- - Like it's either the image of Peter Hinnen or perhaps it's his evil twin...

Click here to read the text from the back of the autographed photocard.

If you read German, you can learn the tale of how Hinnen was discovered by 'American Show-Boss' Jack Paar. (At least I think that's what it says)

- - And please feel free to correct (and hopefully forgive) any ignorance on my part in this post. Likewise, I'd love to hear from you if you've got any more info to share about this record and/or
Peter Hinnen.

Listen to: Peter Hinnen, with Charles Nowa and his orch. - Auf meiner Ranch bin ich König

Listen to: Peter Hinnen, with Charles Nowa and his orch. - Hü-a-hoh alter Schimmel
Ariola 45, 1962

(click for audio)

78s fRom HeLL: The Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band - 'In The Mood' b/w 'Skokiaan' (1954)

In 1947, when the nation of Zimbabwe was still known as Southern Rhodesia, musician August Msarurgwa first recorded his instrumental composition Skokiaan.
(the title refers to a kind of local moonshine)

By 1954, Msarurgwa and The Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band had released a version of it on the London label.

It then became a huge worldwide hit (perhaps the first international hit record to come out of Africa), and spawned many cover versions recorded in a variety of styles by many artists over the years.

(ADDENDUM, 9/01/08: Happily, the wikipedia entry on 'Skokiaan' and its history has grown substantially since this was first posted. Please follow the link for more information!)

*** BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FLIP SIDE ?? ***

I absolutely love this.
Glenn Miller's slick and classic big band number is turned on its head and given new life by a small African dance combo.
I'll assume the vocals are in Shona, the language of the area.

(ADDENDUM: I assumed incorrectly! Please see the comments on this post for translation info!)

Is it Msarurgwa singing?
Who knows... Enjoy!!

Listen to:
Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band - In The Mood (click for audio)

Listen to: Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band - Skokiaan (click for audio)


⬇ ADDENDUM, 10/31/07: The small story below delves just a bit into the 'Skokiaan phenomenon', as the record first became popular and begat its numerous cover versions.

I recently found this article in an old copy of Downbeat magazine, dated September 8th, 1954.

Raymond Legrand - 'Istanbul' in French

'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' became a big hit for a second time when a cover version was released in 1990 by They Might Be Giants.
The first time came in 1953, as recorded by The Four Lads.

With a melody seemingly based upon 'Puttin' On The Ritz', it was written by Nat Simon and lyricist Jimmy Kennedy.

Kennedy also penned lyrics for 'Red Sails In The Sunset', 'Teddy Bear's Picnic', and 'My Prayer', among others.

Raymond Legrand (1908 - 1974) was a French orchestra leader, having formed his own group after working as arranger for Ray Ventura's band.

He was also father to renowned film composer Michel Legrand.

Looks to me like this LP was released in the mid-1950's, the 'Istanbul' arrangement following fairly quickly on the heels of the Four Lads' hit.

Listen to: Raymond Legrand et son orchestre - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (click for audio)