september 4

Taking A Break…

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This is my birth month and I need a break. I will check back in after Labor Day. Ta-Ta… ~Vic

Fews Ford Stairs
09-04-2021
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Song Sunday: Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers)

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Genius Image
Image Credit: Genius

Returning to my Samsung playlist, submitted for your approval…

“I’ll be coming home, wait for me…”

This song is older than I am. My dad liked the Righteous Brothers and their music was in my house, growing up. This is one of my favorites. It has an interesting background. Composed by Alex North in 1955 (a song he’d written in the 1930s), the lyrics were written by Hy Zaret. It was the theme to the movie Unchained, a film about a convict in a medium-security prison, wanting desperately to escape and go home to his wife. This was the movie’s “Melody.” Todd Duncan was the singer for the soundtrack.

There are over 1,500 recordings of this song, with the most notable being the Righteous Brothers’ version. Recorded by the duo in 1965 for Philles Records, Bobby Hatfield won a coin toss to sing it solo on their fifth album Just Once In My Life, according to Bill Medley. [Note: According to the Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Google Books), Just Once In My Life is listed as their fourth album. This reflects, otherwise.] Hatfield changed the song a bit during recordings. He decided to sing “I need your love…” in the final verse much higher than previous singers.

Ken Sharp: “Bobby’s vocals on Unchained Melody […] are stunning. Did he recognize his gift?”

Medley: “I don’t think he knew how good he was. I don’t think either one of us were thinking…are we good or not? I think we were just saying…thank God people enjoy what we’re doing. We admired so many other people and we certainly didn’t feel we were above anyone but, Bobby was sensational.

I happened to produce Unchained Melody. I know a lot of people think Phil (Spector) did it but, I produced and arranged it. I had the arrangement all done and, Bobby came in, sang it twice and that was it. I played piano and sang vocal background on it. [If] I knew that it was gonna be a hit, I certainly would have brought in a better piano player [laughing].”

Soul & Inspiration: A Conversation With Bill Medley Of The Righteous Brothers
Rockcellar Magazine [Web Archive]
Ken Sharp
May 6, 2014

Amazon & IMDb Image Two
Photo Credit: IMDb & Amazon

Recorded on the “B” side of the single Hung On You from the album Back To Back, radio DJs weren’t interested in it and flipped the record over. Per Medley, producer Phil Spector was so pissed off, he began calling the radio stations to make them stop playing the wrong song. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful and the song made it to #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the week of September 4, 1965. It re-appeared in the Billboard charts in 1990 when the movie Ghost was released July 13. Two versions of the song wound up in the charts at the same time, the original 1965 version and a new recording by Hatfield. [They] became the first act to have two versions of the same song in the Top 20 at the same time.

I had no idea that Elvis Presley did his own version. The first track from the album Moody Blue, it was recorded June 21, 1977 and released in March 1978. It peaked at #6 on the US Hot Country Songs chart.

Cover Me: The Stories Behind The Greatest Cover Songs Of All Time (WorldCat Library)
The Time Of My Life: A Righteous Brother’s Memoir (Google Books)
Bobby Hatfield Memorial (Spectropop)

Lyrics

Shutterbug Saturday: Animal Friends 7.0

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More shots of the locals. Haven’t posted these in two and a half years. ~Vic

Animal Friends 6.0

Lee Miller's Cows Image One
Local Rancher’s Cows
Beautiful Scenery
09-04-2019
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Toad Image Two
Toad At The Riverwalk
09-28-2019
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Deer At Dusk Image Three
Deer At Dusk
10-15-2019
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Bunny Image Four
Bunny In My Back Yard
03-27-2020
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Squirrel With Nut Image Five
Squirrel With A Nut
04-09-2020
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Black Snake Image Six
Black Snake
05-03-2020
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Snapshots Sunday: Animal Friends 6.0

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Shots of the locals. ~Vic

Animal Friends 5.0

Turtles Sunning Image One
Just sunning themselves.
05-12-2018
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Bunny Image Two
Little bunny.
06-23-2019
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Cows Image Three
Moo!
09-04-2019
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Toad Image Four
Croak!
09-23-2019
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Deer Group Image Five
Just hanging out.
10-15-2019
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Squirrel On A Log Image Six
Cute squirrel.
04-04-2020
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Flashback Friday: Kodak 1888

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Kodak Image One
Photo Credit: The Mirror UK

One-hundred, thirty-two years ago, today, inventor George Eastman received a patent (number 388,850) for [the shutter of a roll-film hand camera] and the trademark (number 15,825) for the Kodak name […].

Birth of a Company

In 1879, London was the center of the photographic and business world. George Eastman went there to obtain a patent on his plate-coating machine. An American patent was granted the following year. In April 1880, Eastman leased the third floor of a building on State Street in Rochester and began to manufacture dry plates for sale. Success of the dry plate venture so impressed businessman Henry A. Strong, that he invested some money in the infant concern. On January 1, 1881, Eastman and Strong formed a partnership called The Eastman Dry Plate Company. While actively managing all phases of the firm’s activities, [Eastman] continued research in an effort to simplify photography.

In 1883, Eastman startled the trade with the announcement of film in rolls, with the roll holder adaptable to nearly every plate camera on the market. [By] 1884, the Eastman-Strong partnership had given way to a new firm…the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company with 14 shareowners.

George Eastman History
Kodak

Building the Foundation
Web Archive

Kodak Instamatic Image Two
Photo Credit: Ebay

The immediate triumph of the camera prompted Eastman to change the name of his company from Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company to Eastman Kodak Company in 1892.

My very first camera was a late 70s Kodak Instamatic with 126 film. It was a gift from my paternal grandmother and it got a lot of use. ~Vic

Additional Reading & Sources:
From The Camera Obscura To The Revolutionary Kodak (Eastman Museum)
Kodak History (Kodak Company)
Kodak Wikipedia

Wayback Wednesday: The Price Is Right 1972

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The Price Is Right GIF One
GIF Credit: priceisright.wikia.com

Forty-seven years ago, today, the second version of The Price Is Right debuted (the first one ran from 1956 to 1965 and was hosted by Bill Cullen). Created by Bob Stewart, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman and, orignally produced by Goodson-Todman Productions (1972-1984), it was hosted by Bob Barker until June 6, 2007. Drew Carey took over October 15, 2007.

Bob Barker Image Two
Image Credit: hoofin.wordpress.com

From Wikipedia:

The show revolves around contestants competing by identifying accurate pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. Contestants are selected from the studio audience when the announcer states the show’s famous catchphrase, “Come on down!” (Contestants’ Row) [F]our contestants are called […] to take a spot in the front row behind bidding podiums […]. [They] compete in a bidding round to determine which contestant will play the next pricing game (known as One Bid). After winning the One Bid, the contestant joins the host onstage for the opportunity to win additional prizes or cash by playing a pricing game. [The Showcase Showdown (spinning The Big Wheel) follows with a final winner selected at the end of the episode (The Showcase)]

Barker was accompanied by a series of announcers, beginning with Johnny Olson, followed by Rod Roddy and, then, Rich Fields. In April 2011, George Gray became the announcer. The show has used several models, most notably Anitra Ford, Janice Pennington, Dian Parkinson, Holly Hallstrom and Kathleen Bradley.

Bob Barker & Models Image Three
Photo Credit: dailymail.co.uk

The Price Is Right has aired over 8,000 episodes since its debut and is one of the longest-running network series in United States television history. The show’s [48th] season [will] premiere on September [23, 2019.]

The Price Is Right Models
Awards
Controversies

Debut Episode