8/24/12 – “Rock Island Line” Cat Fight Podcast

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Rock Island Line”

This week’s “Friday Night Cat Fight” features the classic American folk tune, “Rock Island Line,” which was first discovered by musicologist John Lomax in 1934.  Lomax was making his way through the South recording and preserving folk music for the Library Of Congress.  It was at a penitentiary in Arkansas that he came across Kelly Pace and his group and they sang “Rock Island Line” for him.  It is documented that this tune was very popular among inmates, who sang it as they worked the prison yards.  Leadbelly also heard the tune while in prison and he first recorded it in 1937.  The version by Leadbelly up for competition this week, though was taking from a 1940 session he had with the Golden Gate Quartet. 

There are also five more versions of “Rock Island Line” vying for your vote, including the most popular one to date by British Skiffle sensation Lonnie Donegan.  His version was released in 1955 and went to #8 on the US charts in 1956.  Charting versions by Don Cornell and Johnny Cash are also featured.

Listen to the podcast in full and then decide which version of “Rock Island Line” you DIG THE MOST!  Then, voice your choice and vote below.

MERCY

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5/6/2011 – The “Good Rockin’ Tonight” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Good Rockin’ Tonight”

The Friday Night Cat Fight presents “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” one of the most important and influential songs every recorded.  Three versions are in contention with week, with the tune’s author, Roy Brown leading the pack with his original version from 1947.  Wynonie “Mr. Blues” Harris and Elvis Presley also take a shot at the song.  Wyonie’s went to #1 on the R&B lists in 1948 and Elvis’ version helped to spark the “Rock n’ Roll Revolution” of the mid-1950s. 

Listen to the podcast and vote for the one you truly DIG THE MOST!

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4/1/2011 – The “House Of The Rising Sun” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“The House Of The Rising Sun”

This week, we celebrate the 100th Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast (that’s 100 shows since Matt The Cat left XM in October, 2008) with a true American folk ballad classic: “The House Of The Rising Sun.”  We’ll put NINE versions of the tune in competition this week from Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster’s original known recorded version from 1933 to Frijid Pink’s 1970 guitar distorted masterpiece.  In-between, you’ll find Joan Baez and Bob Dylan giving it the folk treatment while The Animals take it to a new level and top the US and UK charts while doing so.  Listen to all nine versions and vote for the one you TRULY DIG THE MOST.

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3/4/11 – The “Dedicated To The One I Love” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Dedicated To The One I Love”

The Friday Night Cat Fight features a classic vocal group record this week with “Dedicated To The One I Love.”  The song was co-written by the “5” Royales insanely talented guitar player and songwriter Lowman Pauling in 1957.  His group cut the original version of the tune without much success.  The Shirelles made a slight dent in the charts in 1959 with the first release of their cover.  In 1961, everything changed.  King re-released the “5” Royales’ original and it scraped the charts, but that prompted the Shirelles’ label to re-release their version and it shot to #3 on the charts.  In 1967, Mama Michelle got her first lead vocal as Dunhill Records issued the Mamas And The Papas version which hit #2.  Many others have covered this classic tune, but these three versions stand out as the best and most popular. 

Listen to all three on this week’s Cat Fight Podcast and then vote below for the one you DIG THE MOST!

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2/4/2011 – The Day The Music Died Cat Fight-2011!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“The Day The Music Died” Cat Fight – 2011

The Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast honors the 52 anniversary of “The Day The Music Died,” that terrible plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson).

There will be 2 separate Cat Fights this week.

The first is over a tune that was written by J.P. Richardson and originally recorded by him.  His buddy George Jones covered it in 1959 and made it his first of MANY #1 Country singles.

The second Cat Fight is between Robert & Johnny and Ritchie Valens over the tune, “We Belong Together.”  Robert & Johnny co-wrote the song and took it to #12 on the R&B charts, but Ritchie puts a heartfelt touch to the tune and makes it all his own.

Plus, the podcast also contains a little tribute to Buddy Holly, whose loss is still very much felt today.

So listen, vote and dig this week’s Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast with Matt The Cat.

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1/21/11 – The “Rockin’ Pneumonia” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Rockin’ Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu”

The Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast takes on flu season with this classic rock n’ roll tune.  We return to the original two song Cat Fight format as Huey “Piano” Smith & The Clowns’ 1957 original version of “Rockin’ Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu” takes on Johnny Rivers’ top 10 version from late 1972.  Who’s got the hotter fever?  Who’s got the colder chills?  Who’s lunch is coming up first?  You decide by listening to this week’s Cat Fight and then voting for the one that gets you the most sweaty.

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1/7/2011 – The “Unchained Melody” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Unchained Melody”

The Friday Night Cat Fight takes on one of the most popular, most covered and best selling songs of all-time with “Unchained Melody.”  Originally, it was written for the 1955 motion picture, “Unchained,” but after Les Baxter released an instrumental version of the tune on Capitol and it hit #1, it became one of the biggest songs of 1955, with versions by Al Hibbler and Roy Hamilton topping the R&B charts and charting top 10 on the pop lists.  We’ll also feature some very unique and heartfelt renditions of “Unchained Melody” by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps (1957), New York’s Vito & The Salutations (1963) and the mega-selling 1965 Righteous Brothers classic.

So listen and then vote for your favorite version of “Unchained Melody.”  With over 500 covers of this tune, I couldn’t feature them all, but I think all six that are featured here are worth your time.

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12/10/10 – The “Run Rudolph Run” Christmas Cat Fight!

The

Christmas

Friday Night Cat Fight

“Run Rudolph Run”

This week, The Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast puts one of the rockin’-est, rollin’-est Christmas tunes to the test.  Listen to both versions in their entirety and decide which one you truly DIG THE MOST over “Run Rudolph Run.”

Don’t forget to nog, while you’re diggin’ this jive and voting, baby!

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11/19/2010 – The “Peter Gunn” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Peter Gunn”

This week, the Friday Night Cat Fight focuses on one of the most popular and recognizable television theme songs in history.  “Peter Gunn,” the TV show premiered on NBC in 1958 and lasted until 1961 (switching to CBS).  Henry Mancini composed the theme, but it was Ray Anthony’s 1959 version of the tune that put it on the charts (hit #8 US).  Duane Eddy and The Blues Brothers did smokin’ versions of the tune and The Art Of Noise even won a Grammy for their version in 1986.

Listen to the podcast and dig on all the different versions of “Peter Gunn” and then vote for the one you truly DIG THE MOST!

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11/5/10 – The “Seventh Son” Cat Fight!

Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast

“Seventh Son”

This week, The Friday Night Cat Fight looks at a classic blues tune that never became a hit UNTIL Johnny Rivers covered it in 1965 and gave it his “Whiskey Au Go Go” treatment.  The song was written by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Willie Mabon for Chess in 1955.

Listen to all three versions of “Seventh Song” and then decide which one you dig the most and then vote for your favorite.

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