The Current Music Blog: February 11, 2007 Archive

He Rode a Blazing Saddle

Posted at 11:10 AM on February 11, 2007 by Tony Lopez (1 Comments)

I love the New York Times Obituary pages. Slightly morbid, perhaps, but true. It was here that I found out about the death of the singer, Frankie Laine. If you grew up in the late 50's and early 60's, you'll remember him as the booming voice of the "Rawhide" theme. But if, like me, you grew up in the 70's you remember him for a different reason. Frankie Laine sang the theme song to one of the funniest and most politically incorrect films of all time: Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles." It was a sprawling mess with a ton of memorable scenes and characters. You'll recall Sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little) with a gun to his own head, basically holding himself hostage; Gene Wilder as the substance-abusing gunslinger; Alex Karras as Mongo; Mel Brooks as the daffy Mayor; and who will ever forget the campfire scene? But, believe it or not, whenever I think of "Blazing Saddles" what comes to mind first is that beautiful voice of Frankie Laine beltin' out those lyrics:

"He conquered fear and he conquered hate
He turned dark night into day
He made his blazing saddle a torch to light the way."

Watch for him during the "In Memoriam" portion of tonight's Grammys.

Comment on this post

Unfortunately, Whenever I Hear or See Tony Bennett...

Posted at 7:15 PM on February 11, 2007 by Tony Lopez (26 Comments)

...I now think of Alec Baldwin.

Comment on this post

It's Hard to Soar With The Eagles When You Are Surrounded By Turkeys.

Posted at 9:00 PM on February 11, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (17 Comments)

The Grammys really stumped me this year. Some great records received some recognition, but they again, there was that little tribute to the Eagles... Oh yeah, long overdue on that. (Not) "My Humps"??!?!? Best Pop Performance?? What in the blazes? That's like the worst song ever written. (Of course, the Pussycat Dolls were in the same category, so go figure.) Interesting how much the Dixie Chicks have been re-embraced this year, though there were a few people in cowboy hats NOT clapping when they won Song of the Year. Local boy Dan Wilson sure got a lot of face time - good for him! Nice props for Wolfmother, Bob Dylan, Gnarls Barkley, and The Flaming Lips.. but did anyone need to see Lionel Richie do "Hello"?? In 2007? The answer is, of course, "no". And don't get me started on Christina Aguilera doing James Brown. Seriously, don't get me started. As for the much ballyhooed Police reunion - "eh". Sure it was good to see "Roxanne" done the way it it supposed to be played, and not just by Sting solo, but the hype had me hyped more than that one song delivered, I have to say.

(Note: I had to look up some of these winners since they weren't all a part of the live show, unfortunately; check here for the full list of nominees and winners.)

Comment on this post