Sunday after hours

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There is only one reason I'd ever post such a thing to this blog. See if you can guess what it is.



A Walk In The Black Forest, Horst Jankowski (1965, Mercury Records [catalog information unavailable]), via YouTube, embedded for noncommercial critical discussion and educational purposes.

Editor's note: some wags might consider this tune 1965's answer to Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 hit, "Sukiyaki," and also to the eternal question "Who won World War II, you so smart?"

Saturday Night Fish Fry

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As a birthday indulgence to one Big Hussein Otis on this, his happiest day in the whole wide year, I present an encore performance by Earl Bostic. BHO says he really enjoyed Flamingo, which I embedded as part of this post a few weeks ago. So here's another Earl Jam with the same vibes-infused combo: a swinging up-tempo arrangement of the Cole Porter standard, "Night and Day."



Not my favorite recording of Earl playing this song, but a reasonable facsimile of it probably from several years later. Like you, I have no idea what was on the mind of "Dadreno" when he attached the awful, geezerly railroad slide show to this nice Bostic dance number. Probably ultra-lameness. Don't blame me. Or Big Otis. And especially, don't blame Earl Bostic.

Night and Day, Earl Bostic (1955, King 4765, b/w Embraceable You), via YouTube, embedded for noncommercial critical discussion and educational purposes.

The origin of Big Otis (28 August 1949)

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See Part I here. Now, Part II (sez Wikipedia):

1511 --- the Portuguese conquer Malacca. That's right, you malaccas: Malacca!

1830 --- Tom Thumb, the prototype steam locomotive with the really cute name, is demonstrated to an investor group; it almost beat a horse-drawn railroad carriage in an impromptu race.

1990 --- Iraq annexes Kuwait... for a month or so.

I know, I know. Boring as hell, pretty much. But wait: I've discovered a new notable born on this very day in history. Year: 1917; world, say hello to The King --- Jack "King" Kirby, that is. Way to go --- much more impressive than Leo "Snooze" Tolstoy! (OMG --- JK!!!)

And at the very foundations of history, in 1949, a star is born:



Yogi: "Hey, Lady! Why the Beard?!?"

BO: "Ya dinna ken who I am?"

Yes, Big Hussein Otis, we do indeed ken who you am. Happy birthday, little fella.

The origin of Big Otis (28 August 1949) [updated]

Part I: postpartum nirvana. If this li'l guy looks like your uncle, send him an email and tell him you're sorry you forgot his birthday. (Me too; couldn't post before midnight.)

489 --- Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy (Odoacer... haha!).

1609 --- Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay (immediately changes his name to "Henry Delaware")

1961 --- Motown releases its first No. 1 hit, "Please Mr. Post(partum)man," by the Marvelettes.

1968 --- Agents provocateurs incite violence at the Democratic National Convention, Chicago (or at least the late Sherman Skolnick thought so).

Luminaries born on 28 August include Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario and director (1931); Sybille de Selys Longchamps (1941), Belgian aristocrat; Svetislav Pešić (1949), Serbian basketball player and coach; Myke Hawke (1965), American Survivalist. (Editor's note: Haha: I have Freud, Orson Wells, Willie Mays, George Clooney, and Bob Seger... loser!)

Update: well, I got the date wrong in the headline but Big Rock Head told me that the post showed up with a 29 August date stamp. Please make a note of it.

Local color [updated]

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RUDY SMASH!!! Now you know why the call him Rudy instead of Politey. Always be polite to Rudy.

Update: Uh oh! Looks like Big Otis will not stand idle while Rudy tries to bust up the joint. In pitched combat between the two, I'm afraid I'd have to put my money on Big Otis, but only because Rudy is 66 and doesn't have a heaping bag of Kellogg's OKs to strap on. Still, I'd bribe Rudy to take a dive, just in case Big Otis canna throw him "like a meatball."