3/12 & 3/19/2010 – Pickett Vs. Burke: Battle Of The Soul Titans!

Friday Night Cat Fight Radio Show

“If You Need Me”

The soul classic “If You Need Me” was co-written by a young Wilson Pickett who had just recently left The Falcons.  He sent a demo of the song to Atlantic in NY hoping to score a record deal.  In a devastating blow, Atlantic gave the song to the already established Solomon Burke.  Our friend, the legendary Lloyd Price stops in with some background information about this soul rumble.  Both versions battled on the charts in 1963 and now both versions battle on The Friday Night Cat Fight Radio Show.  But that’s not all.  Soul titans Wilson Pickett and Solomon Burke battle it out over 2 different Cat Fights this week.  The 2nd one is over Solomon’s song, “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.” 

This week’s show also contains the evolution of a Buddy Holly classic, the musical inspirations of Frank Guida AND some Top 40 radio chaos.  So listen, vote and dig The Friday Night Cat Fight Radio Show.

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2/26/10 – The “Lovey Dovey” Mega Cat Fight!

“Lovey Dovey”

This week, the Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast is a battle royale with SEVEN competitors.  The tune is the R&B classic, “Lovey Dovey”, who’s popularity crossed demographic lines and made it an enduring pop hit as well.  Also, having Steve Miller quote a line from the song in his 1973 #1 smash, “The Joker” didn’t hurt its legacy any.  So cats n’ kittens, please listen to all SEVEN unique versions of “Lovey Dovey” and then voice your choice and vote for the one you truly dig the most!  Let the RUMBLE begin!

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2/19/10 – “Susie-Q” Cat Fight For Dale Hawkins

Susie-Q

This week, I’m dedicating the podcast to Dale Hawkins, who we lost on February 13, 2010 at the age of 73.  Dale was one of a kind and I was very fortunate enough to have interviewed him a few years ago.  You will hear a portion of that interview in this week’s podcast.  The full, complete interview is available on my “Radio Interviews” page.

Listen to the podcast and then vote for the version of the classic “Susie-Q” that you TRULY DIG THE MOST!  This podcast also includes a little tribute to Jack Johnson, 2nd tenor for the 50s vocal group, The Cardinals, who passed away on Feb 8th at the age of 76.

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1/29/10 – “Rave On” Cat Fight In Memory Of Buddy Holly!

Rave On

This week, M. Ward, Marshall Crenshaw, The Real Kids and Sonny West all battle it out over Buddy Holly’s defining version of “Rave On.”  We remember the musical legacy of Buddy Holly as we approach the 51st anniversary of his tragic death.  “Rave On,” one of Buddy’s signature tunes was written by Bill Tighman, Norman Petty AND Sonny West.  Sonny actually recorded the tune FIRST in early 1958, but it was Holly’s version in May of ’58 that would propel the tune to #37 on the charts.  From there, many different renditions of the song have appeared.  I’ve chosen four of them for your consideration this week.  Don’t try and compare them to Buddy’s version, as they will all surely fall short.  Please try and compare them against each other and vote for the one you truly DIG THE MOST!

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1/8/10 – Elvis vs. Elvis: The Songwriter?

Elvis vs. Elvis

The Songwriter?

I thought I’d feature Elvis on this, the 75th anniversary of his birth.  Now Elvis is known for many things; icon, performer, singer, actor, etc.  But he is not known for his songwriting, which is virtually nonexistent.  However, Elvis did participate in the true writing of only two songs, “That’s Someone You Never Forget” and “You’ll Be Gone.”  His name appeared on a few other songs, which he did not help write in order to insure publishing royalties.  But these two songs appear to have been at least co-written by the King himself.  Listen to both of them back to back and judge which one you dig the most.  In a world where we hear the Elvis hits ad nauseam, this week’s Cat Fight focuses on two of his lesser known songs.  There are also a few extra goodies in here for Elvis fans of all walks of life.  Long live THE KING!

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12/4/09 – “Devil In His (Her) Heart” Cat Fight!

Devil In His (Her) Heart

Curiosity over an original version of a song is always sparked when a major group covers a relatively obscure tune.  This is what happened in the UK when the Beatles chose to include the Donays’ “Devil In His Heart” on their 2nd UK LP, “With The Beatles”.  The Donays’ original had sold moderately well in Michigan, but failed to make the US national charts.  This week, you have the opportunity to compare both versions of this classic R&B tune, side by side and vote for the one you truly DIG THE MOST!

Also, there’s a little tribute at the end of the show to legendary rock producer Bob Keane, who passed away this week at 87!

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11/27/09 – “Go Now” Cat Fight!

Go Now

This week, the Cat Fight takes on the song, “Go Now.”  It was originally recorded by female American R&B singer, Bessie Banks and it became an international hit when the British R&B group, The Moody Blues released it in early 1965.  Listen to both versions of this classic tune back to back and then vote for the one you truly dig the most on the “World Famous” Friday Night Cat Fight!

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10/2/09 – Chicken Songs (Little Red Rooster)

Chicken Baby Chicken…

Bird Songs Part 2

Chicken Songs

The “bird” theme continues on this week’s Podcast with songs about “Chickens”.  These songs are about chickens as birds, as food and also the dance.  You’ll hear groovy tunes by Cab Calloway, Amos Milburn, Lighnin’ Slim and The Rolling Stones.

This week’s Cat Fight is between Howlin’ Wolf and Sam Cooke over the classic blues tune, “The (Little) Red Rooster”.  Dig on the show and then vote for your favorite version below.

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9/25/09 – Bird Songs (Birdland)

We like Birdland…

BIRD SONGS

This week’s Friday Night Cat Fight is truly for the birds!  I’m featuring a full hour of songs about “birds”.  You’ll hear classic tunes from Les Paul & Mary Ford, The Beatles, Ersel Hickey, Leonard Cohen and many more.  However, there will be NO songs about chickens or songs that refer to airplanes as “birds”.

Vote for your favorite version of “We Like Birdland” as Huey Smith battles Chubby Checker on this week’s “world famous” Cat Fight!

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9/4/2009 – Work Songs For Labor Day (See You In September)

…see you when the summer’s through

Work Songs

Well, it’s Labor Day Weekend again and with summer at an end and work about to pick up, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of some of the jobs out there that might be harder and more uncomfortable than yours (that is if you are currently working).  The feature this week is on “Work Songs” and man we’ve got ’em.  We’ll go from working in a coal mine and working on a chain gang to just trying to find a job and just getting by.  We’ll hear from The Isley Brothers, Nina Simone, Wynonie “Mr. Blues” Harris and many more.  Lee Dorsey even gets 2 songs in this week’s show!

Since September is here, I thought we’d vote on your favorite version of “See You In September”.  Listen to the songs on the podcast and vote for the one you truly dig the most.

And…um…don’t work too hard, baby!

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