Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Eleven: It Doesn't Have To Be That Way by Jim Croce

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Eleven: 

It Doesn't Have To Be That Way by Jim Croce

Time to climb back into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day. This holiday season, the dial is set for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up. 

The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.  

So, get ready for another song of the season by one of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical. 

Next up... it's a lovely ballad by the late Jim Croce.

From Wikipedia:

It Doesn't Have to Be That Way is a song written and recorded by Jim Croce for his 1973 album Life and Times. Originally released early that year as the B-side of the One Less Set of Footsteps single, it was reissued that December as the third and final single from the album, as well as Croce's second posthumously-released single. It reached a peak of #64 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending five weeks on the chart.

In the song, the narrator reveals himself to be a man who has recently ended a relationship. As the holiday season approaches, the Christmas atmosphere in his town is evident nearly everywhere, with falling snow, Christmas lights, the corner Santa Claus,  tinsel, and caroling choirs. The narrator finds room for optimism, suggesting that "it doesn't have to be that way," and that his relationship with his former love could easily be rekindled if only given a second chance.

The song remains one of Croce's most beloved.

 

It Doesn't Have To Be That Way - Jim Croce

 

Wonderland Burlesque's The Twelve Days Before Xmas - Day Twelve: First Snow In Kokomo by Aretha Franklin

Wonderland Burlesque's

The Twelve Days Before Xmas

 Day Twelve: 

First Snow In Kokomo by Aretha Franklin 

It's time once more to climb into the Wonderland Burlesque time machine and countdown to the big day.

This holiday season I'm setting the dial for the 1970's!

Oh, you are in for a treat, so grab a seat and buckle up. The seventies was a decade of change, turbulence and sweetness. Nowhere is this more felt than in the breadth and depth of the music of the time. There were so many different genres being developed, evolving and seeking validation on the radio and the industry music charts, it was a virtual musical cornucopia.  

So, get ready for some songs of the season by some of our biggest (and not so big) stars, here, stateside, and across the pond, who made the seventies truly magical. 

First up... it's the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. 

In 1972, she included the self-composed First Snow In Kokomo on her album Young, Gifted And Black. A rambling, heartfelt affair, it captures Franklin in a moment away from the public eye. The song captures her recollections of a trip to her partner's  (Ken Cunningham) parents home in Kokomo, Indiana. Franklin had recently become a mother for the fourth time. As the narrator, she illustrates the first snow in a small town, with the various characters living in the moment around her. Franklin frequently described her offstage persona as "the lady next door". This serves as a glimpse into her life away from the spotlight. "It’s Aretha as the observer of life rather than Aretha in the center of the action," Aretha’s sister Carolyn once said, "In the end, though, it was something of a fairy tale"

First Snow In Kokomo - Aretha Franklin

1972

Friday Fun: Happy National Ding-A-Ling Day!

Friday Fun: 

Happy National Ding-A-Ling Day!

Ring 'dem bells! Hell-to-the-yeah!

I tell you...

The keep setting 'em up and I keep knocking 'em down!

Okay, first off... here's the download:

From Checkiday

The idea for National Ding-A-Ling Day came in 1971 when Franky Hyle of the Chicago area was at home with friends. "Some husbands and wives were sitting around my house, talking and drinking and thinking people ought to be friendlier to one another," he said. They looked up what "ding-a-ling" meant in a dictionary, and they found one of the definitions said it was "one who hears bells in his head." Hyle decided to create a day where celebrants would call people they haven't seen in years, in order to rekindle old friendships.

Well, you know me... I am a bit of a gay literalist. 

So, in the spirit of Chuck Berry, I give you some truly marvelous Ding-A-Lings to get you into the spirit of the occasion. 

Me? 

Oh, you know I'll be ringing this one in long after the celebration is over!

 The say Christmas comes but once a year.

Seems kind of stingy to me.

Needless to say, I'll be celebrating this Ding-A-Ling thing!

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

My Ding-A-Ling - Chuck Berry

My Ding-A-Ling - The Simpsons

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's Go To The Movies: Where That Girl From? - Part XII

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Let's Go To The Movies:

Where That Girl From?

Part XII

Everybody's from somewhere. In theory. Even in the abstract.

Today's cinema excursion dares to ask the poignant question: Where That Girl From?

And who has the answer? 

Hollywood, of course. For Tinseltown has the 411 on anything or anyone who has ever graced the silver screen.

So, off we go... seeking answers, which these vintage films offer up in spades.

Yes, never fear. When it comes to the movies?

You are never truly lost.

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The Girl From Carthage

(1924)

AKA: La fille de Carthage, The Daughter Of Carthage

The daughter of a local authority is in love with a poor minaret crier and resists a rich man from Tunisia. Ain el-ghazal, the daughter of Kaid Ben Hanifa, attracts the attention of Bou Saada, a rich and brutal man. However, Ain el-ghazal is secretly in love with Taleb Muezzin, a school teacher. By offering precious gifts, Bou Saada manages to obtain the young woman's hand from her father. Wedding preparations are underway and Ain el-Ghazel takes desperate measures.

This silent Tunisian film was directed by Albert Samama Chikly and stars Hayde Chikly, Ahmed Dziri, Abdelgassen Ben Taleb and Hadj Hadi Dehali.

The exteriors in this film were natural locations. As there were not yet any film studios in Tunisia, where this feature was made, a local bey (governor) allowed shooting to take place in his gardens and inside a Koran school.

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The Girl From Gay Paree

(1927)

She was the flattest tire, until she borrowed the glamor of the city of lights! Then? She became all the rage, climbing the social latter three rungs at a time. A hilarious comedy of appearances, where only the menu is in French.

Produced and released by Tiffany Pictures, this American silent comedy was directed by Phil Goldstone and Arthur Gregor and stars Lowell Sherman and Barbara Bedford.

Lowell Sherman

Lowell Sherman was an American actor and film director. In an unusual practice for the time, he served as both actor and director on several films in the early 1930s. He later turned exclusively to directing. He had a habit of marrying actresses - three total. He was also a close friend of John Barrymore. But the two had a falling out after Sherman made negative comments about actors reciting Shakespeare. Having scored huge successes directing the films She Done Him Wrong (starring Mae West) and Morning Glory (which won Katharine Hepburn her first Academy Award), he was at the height of his career when he died at the age of 46 of double pneumonia.
 

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The Girl From San Lorenzo

(1950)

Two men dressed as Cisco and Pancho have been committing murder and robberies. With a reward now posted, the real Cisco and Pancho are captured. But the outlaws have one big final job to do and need Cisco and Pancho as alibis. So they break them out of jail and make them prisoners. This gives Cisco and Pancho a chance to escape and clear themselves by capturing the imposters.

This American Western was directed by Derwin Abrahams and stars Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo, Jane Adams, William F. Leicester, Byron Foulger and Don C. Harvey.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Girl From Corfu

(1956)

AKA: Πρωτευουσιάνικες περιπέτειες / Protevousianikes peripeteies

In high hopes of marrying his lovely and free-spirited niece, Rinoula, off to his affluent business partner, her benevolent uncle invites her, and her younger sister, Marietta, to his luxurious home in Athens, all expenses paid. However, as the charming and innocent Corfiot sisters go sightseeing and shopping in the bustling capital after giving themselves a complete makeover, a timid love affair starts to bloom between Rinoula and her uncle's handsome chauffeur, Aggelos. Has the beautiful girl from Corfu finally found the one in cosmopolitan Athens?

This Greek comedy was directed by Yannis Petropoulakis and stars Rena Vlahopoulou and Stephanos Stratigos.

This is the second Greek film that was shot in color. The first one was The Shepherdess' Lover (1956).

The film marks the cinematic debut of the famous Greek actress, Rena Vlahopoulou.

This film was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.

Rena Vlahopoulou

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The Girl From Flanders

(1956)

AKA: Ein Mädchen aus Flandern

An anti-war film that explores the importance of humanity via the telling of a love story between a German soldier and a young Flemish woman amidst World War I. A young war volunteer is given water by a young Belgian woman. Years later, while he, tired of the war, is on furlough, they meet again at a brothel on the Western Front and fall in love. After the Armistice, they meet yet again. A Belgium mob threatens to hang them, but they are saved at the last minute by Belgium soldiers who are tired of all the killing.

An adaption of the novel Engele von Löwen written by Carl Zuckmayer, this West German romantic drama was directed by Helmut Käutner and stars Nicole Berger, Maximilian Schell, and Viktor de Kowa.

It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin with location filming around the town of Damme in Flanders. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Emil Hasler and Walter Kutz.

Nicole Berger

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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And that's all for now, folks!

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

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Scenes from The Girl From Corfu 

(1956)