LITTLE SAINT NICK

THE BEACH BOYS
SONGWRITERS: BRIAN WILSON & MIKE LOVE
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: LITTLE SAINT NICK
LABEL: CAPITOL RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS
YEAR: 1963
 
           The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented themes, and musical ingenuity, they became one of the most influential acts of the rock era. They drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and under Brian's direction, often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
           One of the first self-contained rock groups, the Beach Boys began as a garage band, managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader. In 1963, they had their first national hit with "Surfin' U.S.A.", beginning a string of top-ten singles that reflected a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, dubbed the "California sound". They were one of the few American rock bands to sustain their commercial standing during the British Invasion. Starting with 1965's The Beach Boys Today!, they abandoned beachgoing themes for more personal lyrics and ambitious orchestrations. In 1966, the Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single raised the group's prestige as rock innovators. After scrapping the Smile album in 1967, Brian gradually ceded control of the group to his bandmates.
       In the late 1960s, the group's commercial momentum faltered in the US, and despite efforts to maintain na experimental sound, they were widely dismissed by the early rock music press. Carl took over as the band's musical leader; records from this period later enjoyed a cult following among fans. In the mid-1970s, as their concerts drew larger audiences, the band transitioned into na oldies act. Dennis drowned in 1983 and Brian soon became estranged from the group. Following Carl's death from lung cancer in 1998, the band granted Love legal rights to tour under the group's name. In the early 2010s, the original members briefly reunited for the band's 50th anniversary. As of 2021, Wilson and Jardine do not perform with Love's edition of the Beach Boys, but remain official members of the band.
              The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide. They helped legitimize popular music as a recognized art form and influenced the development of music genres and movements such as psychedelia, power pop, progressive rock, punk, alternative, and lo-fi. Between the 1960s and 2010s, the group had 36 songs reach the US Top 40(the most by an American band), with four topping the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, they were ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest artists of all time. The founding members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
           "Little Saint Nick" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys first released as a single on December 9, 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the Christmas song applies hot-rod themes to Santa Claus and his sleigh.
         The single peaked at number 3 on Billboard magazine's special seasonal weekly Christmas Singles chart. Its B-side was an a cappella version of "The Lord's Prayer". In November 1964, an alternate mix of "Little Saint Nick" appeared as the opening track on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album.
Oo oo oo
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
Christmas comes this time each year
Oo-oo
 
Well a way up north where the air gets cold
There's a tale about Christmas that you've all been told
There's a real famous cat all dressed up in red
And he spends the whole year working out on his sled
 
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
 
Just a little bob sleighed we call it old Saint Nick
But she'll walk a toboggan with a four speed stick
She's candy apple red with a ski for a wheel
And when Santa hits the gas man just watch her peel
 
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
Run run reindeer
Run run reindeer (oh-oh-oh-oh)
Run run reindeer
Run run reindeer
He don't miss no-one
 
And haulin' through the snow at a frightenin' speed
With a half a dozen deer with the a-rudy to lead
He's gotta wear his goggles 'cause the snow really flies
And he's cruisin' every pad with a little surprise
 
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
It's the little Saint Nick (little Saint Nick)
Oo oo oo
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
Christmas comes this time each year, oo
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
Christmas comes this time each year, oo.

NOTHING TO LOSE
MICHAEL LEARNS TO ROCK
SONGWRITERS: JASCHA RICHTER; KARE WANSCHER; MIKE LENTZ & SOREN MADSEN
COUNTRY: DENMARK
ALBUM: NOTHING TO LOSE
LABEL: MLTR MUSIC
GENRE: ROCK
YEAR: 1997
 
           Michael Learns to Rock(also known as MLTR) is a Danish soft rock and pop rock band formed in 1988. The band currently consists of Jascha Richter, Mikkel Lentz and Kåre Wanscher. Søren Madsen was an original member of the group since its formation but left in 2000. The band has sold over 11 million records over the course of their career, with the majority sold in Scandinavia and Asia. Despite being Danish, the band performs songs in English. The band has attributed its success in Asia to their drug-free, clean-living image and to singing in English as a second language.
            MLTR has earned gold and platinum status for records in many countries and won many awards, including the Gold Preis Award from RSH, Germany and "The Best Performing Act of the Year" at the SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore. In addition, their song "Take Me to Your Heart" was awarded "most downloaded single of the year 2006" with 6 million or more paid downloads. The band has recorded nine studio albums as well as a number of live and greatest hits albums. Their latest studio album, Still, was released on 21 March 2018.
           During the peak of their popularity in the mid and late 1990s, MLTR was described by critics as being "as good (if not better) a band as any current big name group out of America or the UK or the Australia." According to the band's record label releases, their sound is "the perfect balance of a Scandinavian glow and the international pop song that has been instrumental in forming the compelling sound of the band", although the lead singer and songwriter, Jascha Richter, disagrees with this, maintaining that the music defies geographical categorization.
            Nothing to Lose is the fourth studio album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on September 12, 1997 by Medley Records in Denmark. Like the previous album, Played on Pepper(1995), it was mainly produced by the band itself. Guitar player Mikkel Lentz said the band programmed new beats during the mixing process as they wanted to experiment a bit more with this album. While the band's previous albums relied heavily on soft rock ballads, Nothing to Lose also contains a rockier sound intended to suit the European market. Bass guitar player Søren Madsen debuts as songwriter on the track "Magic".
           In Denmark, Nothing to Lose sold 25.000 copies on the day of release. In May 1998, the album had sold 500.000 copies worldwide, with 70.000 copies being sold in Denmark.
          The fourth single, "I'm Gonna Be Around" was re-produced by Per Magnusson and David Kreuger for its single release. The song was "written especially for the United States" according to lead singer Jascha Richter. It was later included on the compilation álbum MLTR(1999).
There are times
When you make me laugh
There are moments when you drive me mad
There are seconds when
I see the light
Though many times you made me cry
 
There's something
You don't understand
I want to be your man
 
Nothing to lose
Your love to win
Hoping so bad
That you'll love me in
I'm at your feet
Waiting for you
I've got time
And nothing to lose
 
There are times
When I believe in you
These moments when I feel close to you
There are times I think
That I am yours
Though many times I feel unsure
 
There's something
You don't understand
I want to be your man
 
Nothing to lose
Your love to win
Hoping so bad
That you'll let me in
I'm on your feet
Waiting for you
I've got time
And nothing to lose
 
I'll always be around you
Keep an eye on you
And I won't let you run
'Cause you are the only one
 
Nothing to lose
Your love to win
Hoping so bad
That you'll let me in
I'm at your feet
Waiting for you
I've got time
And nothing to lose.



THE GIRL I KNEW SOMEWHERE

THE MONKEES
SONGWRITER: MICHAEL NESMITH
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: HEADQUARTERS
LABEL: RCA VICTOR
GENRE: POP ROCK
YEAR: 1967
 
          The Monkees were a rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose line-up consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the situation comedy series of the same name(described by Dolenz as "a TV show about an imaginary band ... that wanted to be the Beatles... was never successful".). Music credited to the band was released on LP, as well as being included in the show, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The group's popularity would ultimately endure well beyond the television series.
         While the sitcom was a mostly straightforward affair, the music production quickly generated tension and controversy. Music supervisor Don Kirshner was dissatisfied with the actor/musicians' musical abilities, and he limited their involvement during the recording process, instead using a stable of professional songwriters and studio musicians to craft multiple hit albums and singles. Upset with the arrangement and facing public backlash for not playing on the recordings, the band members soon gained full control over the recording process. For two albums, the Monkees mostly performed as a group, but within a year, each member was pursuing his own interests under the Monkees name. By the end of 1968, they were once again a group in name only, the show had been canceled, and their motion picture, Head, had flopped. Tork left the band soon after, followed by Nesmith a year later, and the Monkees officially broke up in 1970.
         A revival of interest in the television show came in 1986, leading to a series of official reunion tours, a television special, and four new full-length records, spanning the next 35 years (though these rarely comprised all four members performing together). With Jones' death in 2012 and Tork's in 2019, Dolenz and Nesmith were left to embark on a farewell tour in 2021, finishing shortly before Nesmith's death at the end of the year.
         Spurred by the success of the show, the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the 1960s. The band sold more than 75 million records worldwide making them one of the biggest-selling groups of all time with international hits, including "Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", and "Daydream Believer", and four chart-topping albums. Newspapers and magazines falsely reported that the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in 1967, a claim that originated from Nesmith in a 1977 interview.
       "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" is a song by the American pop rock band the Monkees, written by Michael Nesmith and first released as the B-side to the "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" single on Colgems Records on March 8, 1967. It was distributed in support of the group's third álbum Headquarters, and later appeared on the reissued version of the LP. The song was recorded as the Monkees finally achieved the independence that enabled them to freely produce their own material, with the actual band members featured on both vocals and instrumental arrangements.
          "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its A-side "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" reached #2.
You tell me that you've never been this way before
You tell me things I know that I've heard somewhere
You're standing in the places and you're staring down through faces
That bring to mind traces of a girl, a girl that I knew somewhere
 
I just can't put my finger on what it is
That says to me, watch out, don't believe her
I can't give any reasons girl, my thoughts are bound down in a whirl
I just can't think who in the world was that girl, I know I met her somewhere
 
Someway, somehow this same thing was done
Someone, somewhere did me this same wrong
Well goodbye dear, I just can't take this chance again
My fingers are still burning from the last time
And if your love was not a game, I only have myself to blame
That's as maybe, I can't explain, just ask the girl that I knew somewhere
 
And if your love was not a game, I only have myself to blame
That's as maybe, I can't explain, just ask the girl that I knew somewhere.

 THE PRICE OF LOVE

THE EVERLY BROTHERS
SONGWRITERS: DONALD EVERLY & PHIL EVERLY
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: IN OUR IMAGE
LABEL: WARNER RECORDS
GENRE: COUNTRY ROCK
YEAR: 1966
 
           The Everly Brothers were an American country rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly(February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly(January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014), the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country and pop, becoming pioneers of country rock.
       The duo was raised in a musical family, first appearing on radio singing along with their father Ike Everly and mother Margaret Everly as "The Everly Family" in the 1940s. When the brothers were still in high school, they gained the attention of prominent Nashville musicians like Chet Atkins, who began to promote them for national attention.
        They began writing and recording their own music in 1956, and their first hit song came in 1957, with "Bye Bye Love", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The song hit Nº 1 in the spring of 1957, and additional hits would follow through 1958, many of them written by the Bryants, including "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", and "Problems". In 1960, they signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records and recorded "Cathy's Clown", written by the brothers themselves, which was their biggest selling single. The brothers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1961, and their output dropped off, though additional hit singles continued through 1962, with "That's Old Fashioned (That's the Way Love Should Be)" being their last top-10 hit.
          In Our Image is an album by The Everly Brothers, originally released in 1966.
          Several of the songs had appeared on singles in 1965, where their biggest success came in the United Kingdom off the back of "The Price Of Love" (present on this album) and "Love Is Strange" (from Beat & Soul), the former of which ascended to Nº 2 on the UK Charts, but only Nº 104 in America.
          Included on the album also was the flipside for "The Price Of Love", "It Only Costs A Dime", a self-written piece.
          In December of that year, the final single "It's All Over" appeared, in an arrangement containing harpsichord and vocals. In a break from the usual routine, however, this song would feature Phil singing the principle vocal line and Don singing the harmony line a third lower. The song would later be covered by Cliff Richard.
        Revisiting their classic style of singing, they recorded the Sonny Curtis-written "I Used To Love You". Curtis, former member of The Crickets, had previously written another Everly Brothers hit single, "Walk Right Back".
          For the first 45 release of 1966, they visited the songwriting partnership of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, with a rendition of "Glitter And Gold". This arrangement, featuring fuzz guitar and harpsichord, was backed with another Brill Building number, the Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller-written "Lovey Kravezit".
          With hardly enough time to gauge the success of this single "(You Got) The Power of Love" (written by Delaney Bramlett and Joey Cooper), containing Motown influences aplenty and backed with "Leave My Girl Alone", was to hit the stores.
           Filling out the album, "The Doll House Is Empty" (later to become Warner Brothers single 5689 in February 1966), the mainstream-orientated "(Why Am I) Chained To A Memory" (Edward A. Snyder/Richard Ahlert) and "June Is As Cold As December" from Marge Barton.
Wine is sweet and gin is bitter
You drink all you can but you won´t forget her
You talk too much, you laugh too loud
You see her face in every crowd
 
That´s the price of love, the price of love
The debt you pay with tears and pain
The price of love, the price of love
Costs you more when you´re to blame
 
Kiss one girl, you kiss another
You kiss themall but you won´t recover
You´re dancing slow, you´re dancing fast
You´re happy now but that won´t last
 
That´s the price of love, the price of love
The debt you pay with tears and pain
The price of love, the price of love
Costs you more when you´re to blame
 
That´s the price of love, the price of love
The debt you pay with tears and pain
The price of love, the price of love
Costs you more when you´re to blame
 
That´s the price of love, the price of love
The debt you pay with tears and pain
The price of love, the price of love
Costs you more when you´re to blame
 
Wine is sweet and gin is bitter
You drink all you can but you won´t forget her.