Monday, June 7, 2021

Mighty Catchy Stuff: Mob Hits

 

This one has family connections like last week's, but in a broader sense.  

The music that occupied the second of the three one-hundred minute tapes that lived in the TDK driving cassette pouch was something I experienced from many sources.

Frank Sinatra could be heard coming from most cabins Up the Lake at some point or another.  Mom and Dad had Louis Prima mixed in as a pretty heavy rotation with the Oldies, and I knew him from Jungle Book and some Disney albums he did. 

Also, because their director was Italian, not because every Italian family has crime ties, there are many aspects of the Godfather films that reminded me of my family.  Heck, I thought "Eh Cumpari" was made up by my Grandmother or Mother for years, and the "Tarantella" never sounds right when it's not coming out of my Grandfather's brother's accordion.

Aside- the alarm for our refrigerator door being open too long sounds exactly like the whistle of the "Eh Cumpari" friscalettu.  That means when it goes off, I sing "tipiti tiptii ta!" 
Then my wife and daughter yell to stop singing and close the fridge.

When Mob Hits was first released it was only a mail order offer. The commercials and early website were filled with apologies that they couldn't get the rights to Sinatra or Tony Bennet songs. They had a deal set up where they bundled a greatest hits CD of each of them with the first volume of Mob Hits.  Those artists did show up on later volumes.

Aside 2- Another song that arrived on later volumes was "Dominic the Donkey." This is a song my mother would constantly say we should play for Laughter Hours Christmas shows.  We didn't find it that funny and foolishly ignored her. In a display of Italian hit level Karma, my daughter thinks the song is fantastic and plays it in the car all the time during the Christmas season.

Due to my aiming for the Chewbacca or Mr. Spock position in most life's situations, having Dean as my favorite in the Rat Pack was a natural choice, and I had more of his solo music added to my collection in along with the later volumes of the Mob Hits series as time passed. 

By this point in my life, "Mob Hits" has gone from an album to a full playlist. It also includes Phil Harris, because I felt like he'd enjoy hanging around with those guys, (and the Disney connection in both the Jungle Book film and Robin Hood album with him and Louis Prima).  Tom Jones is in there, because one of my Mother's cousins really likes him, so I figured he'd fit in with other Italian music.  James Darren's record as his DS9 character Vic Fontaine was a no brainer addition as well.  The Vocal Trash gang did an album of their "Lin and Ray" lounge act, that joined the mix.  Of course, my pal Joe from Up the Lake's versions of "San Francisco" and "My Way" (best rendition ever) will be on it once we get the tape to MP3 thing fixed.

Pat Boone's big band album of metal songs goes here too, because where else would I put it?  The trombones and tubas on "Crazy Train" are amazing.

The Reprise Musical Repertory Theater "Guys and Dolls" CD is an interesting one.  Partially because Frank was miffed he got the non singing role in the film, but mostly because they loved performing together, the Rat Pack and friends assembled to do it, and three other cast albums for shows they never appeared in, in order to have a blast making them together.  There is not, has never been, nor will there ever be another group who's natural habitat is the stage as much as these folks.

To step backwards a bit, when I was listening to Mom's novelty Rock and Roll 45's, she bought one that was just for me, Sammy Davis Jr. singing, "The Candyman."   Semi-recently I realized there was an extreme shortage of Sammy on my "Mob Hits" playlist.  However I found it was easier and cheaper to fill that gap wit a Rat Pack box set rather than an individual album for him.

Getting some more Frank was a nice bonus, and you can never have too much of Dean's laid back baritone.

The music is definitely not for running, but it's cool to have some quality and a little "family time" on long car trips, pally.


Next Week a not so hidden Bonus Track as I grow further concerned about developing good taste.
Yikes!


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