Stinky's New Favorite Song!

Stinky's beloved ball-and-chain, Lynne deEvans, keeps saying that Stinky is becoming too obsessed with his latest crush, Kay Starr. Willikers, only because Stinky watches Kay Starr youtube videos til 4am, and he blurts out Kay's name at a fairly inopportune time*, he will probably never hear the end of it. Leave us agree, sweetheart, that mistakes were made on both sides (Benedict Cummerbund), and allow us to amble along to greener days and brighter pastures.

Now that Stinky has humbly and eloquently apologized, and has proved that he is the better man, leave us come to the reason that we are all gathered here together: Kay Starr.

Here is Stinky's favorite new song, The Breeze, recorded in, say, 1953, because Stinky does not feel like doing any proper research, but written and published some twenty years earlier by Sacco, Smith and Lewis (whoever they are), who have just made Honorable Mention in Stinky's completely arbitrary Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Belated recognition is better than no recognition at all, Stinky always says.

I know you all lead busy lives, what with the approaching holidays, and after that, the Armageddon, but if you can set aside 2:33 for this delightful ditty, you will thank Stinky.

Kay!

*an isle in Home Depot, when Kay was heard on the overhead music. What did you think Stinky meant?

Tennessee Ernie Ford!

Once again Stinky feels he must scold his imaginary friends. Over a year ago, Bear Family Records released Portrait of an American Singer, a comprehensive 5-CD collection of Tennessee Ernie Ford's 1949-1960 studio recordings, and no one bothered to inform Stinky. Must Stinky do everything for himself? Is not it enough he has to make his own potted meat sandwiches for school? Now he has gotta keep track of what is coming out when?

At the time of this release, most reviewers, some more gleefully than others, remarked how largely forgotten Tennessee Ernie Ford is these days. True, but who is not? Walk down any street and ask any passing stranger to name his favorite Tennessee Ernie Ford song or to name his favorite Dick Powell movie, and one is likely rewarded with only a blank stare. Stinky gets depressed just thinking about it.

But Stinky is an eternal optimist; the glass of strawberry milk is always half-full. He is grateful for the attention Ernie has received on shows like Terri Gross' Fresh Air, even if it is a review by someone named Ken Tucker, "critic at large for Yahoo TV". Whatever that is. Stinky imagines Mr. Tucker surreptitiously released from his cage, with Cameron Mitchell and Lee J. Cobb in hot 3-D pursuit. Mr. Tucker says,

         As a sizable percentage of the 154 tracks on this collection reveals, his pursuit of hits,  done  primarily at Capitol Records in Hollywood not in Nashville, led him to squander his marvelously deep, resonant voice on a lot of silly, mediocre material.

Several points: are we certain that it was his pursuit  of hits, and not, say, his producer's, who probably had more influence on his recording material? Was his recording in Hollywood a factor in recording "a lot of silly, mediocre material"? Stinky would contend that there was plenty of silly, mediocre material being recorded in Nashville too, and if Stinky had a choice, Stinky would rather be produced in Hollywood by Lee Gillette and hobnob with Nat King Cole and Dean Martin than be produced in Nashville by Chet Atkins and hang out with Carl Butler and Red Sovine. But perhaps Stinky quibbles.

And one more quibble: Mr. Tucker sums up by referring to Ernie Ford as "moderately remarkable". Does this even make sense? It's like saying, "perceptive critic at large for Yahoo TV".

On the other paw, Joe Marchese, editor at the Second disc, writes an outstanding review. He even appears to have listened to the collection and to have appreciated Ernie's contribution to popular music. And he finishes with an unequivocal opinion: "The many sides of Tennessee Ernie Ford reveal an artist whose best work transcended genre and period." Took the words right out of Stinky's hoecake-hole.

There are other reviews out there, including ones that mention influences and admirers: John Lennon and Bob Dylan are two moderately remarkable ones. Peruse these reviews at your leisure. Stinky needs to rest up. Those potted meat sandwiches ain't gonna make themselves.

Sing it, Ern!

So Long, Kay Starr

So why does not anyone tell Stinky these things? Stinky's favorite female vocalist, and near-the-top-of-the-list Top Ten Crushes of All Time, Kay Starr, died November 3rd, and Stinky just recently found out. It almost makes Stinky wish he had friends so he could chide them for not letting him know.

Stinky is still too choked up to express how he really feels about Miss Kay Starr, so he'll let The Washington Post do the talkin'. Very nice overview of her career, with an emphasis on her versatility and her admirers, including Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Patsy Cline, and Elvis Somebody. And within that list of illustrious geniuses, include in another, Stinky Fitzwizzle, if you please.

Stinky is not so enthusiastic about Kay's version of  I Really Don't Want to Know, despite what the admirable Mr. Gary Giddins says, but he does love her version of Jealous Heart, if you are looking for a country standard with which to give an earful. As who is not?

As for The N Y Times obit, skip it. Anyone who calls Oh, Babe and Hoop-De-Doo "two songs tinged with country and folk", is not to be taken seriously.

So long, Kay.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Today is a day of reverence.

Willikers, it's a good thing Stinky's ball-and-chain does not read his blog, 'cause she can get mighty jealous, the little minx.

Here's a Happy Birthday wish to the delightful Miss Eleanor Powell, high on the list of Stinky's Top Ten Crushes of All Time. And to celebrate, Stinky is going to lock himself up in his room with a Family Size bag of dill pickle-flavored potato chips and a half-gallon of Rocky Road, fire up the ol' DVR, and watch some of those MGM Musical Extravaganzas that Turner Classical Movies broadcast today.

Miss Powell is always a joy and a pleasure, and the music is top-notch, but with leading men like Robert Taylor, Red Skelton, and George Somebody, and with Buddy Ebsen contorting his gangly frame and calling it dancing, it may be occasional tough slogging. Stinky only hopes he doesn't get a cramp with his thumb perpetually poised over the fast forward button.

And if Stinky begins to feel a little queasy, it's likely due to Robert Taylor, who's every bit as oleaginous as the potato chips. Maybe oleaginouser.

Ellie! Ellie! Over here!

Stinky Was Robbed!

Stinky normally has little call to bellyache, what with his looks, and his smarts, and his charisma that makes the ladies swoon, and his charmed life in general, but this time, Stinky is compelled to say that Stinky was robbed. For those of you preoccupied by less important things and not in the know, Stinky was running for Class President of I. P. Daley Middle School. And the results, shall we say, were not of the expected variety.

There were several candidates running against Stinky, including Jill Stye, a mashugana who wanted clean, filtered H2O in the water fountains, and the double-phallic named Rod Johnson, who insisted on the decriminalization of chewing gum in the classrooms. Crazy talk, Stinky knows, so naturally they had no chance of garnering any votes.

Then there was this other kid, Ronald Rump, who looked like, if he bathed at all, he bathed in Coppertone QT. He exhibited occasional troubling behavior, like threatening everyone with lawsuits,  giving little kids noogies, and grabbing girls any size by the pussy. "They just let you do it," was his defense. This earned him the nickname of Orange Roughy. But this did not preclude him from running for higher office, because it is a free country. For now.

Stinky does not wish to sound catty, so he will admit that some of Ronald's platform had some appeal to the student's baser instincts: free dessert bar in the cafeteria, and make the teachers pay for it; expulsion of all students from the Eastside who have a generous allowance of melanin; teachers to display their teaching certificates (long form) in the classroom; and the return of the decimated Yearbook publishing jobs back to the local economy. How he would accomplish this did not occur to anyone to ask.

The name-calling was especially discomforting, particularly when it came to involve Stinky. Ronald referred to Jill as "Pig Stye", and Rod as "Little Johnson", which, likely due to a locker room incident, made him weep a little. Hilarious, to be sure, but Stinky draws the line when Stinky is attacked. He began calling me "Crooked Stinky", Stinky assumes because of his poor posture. Over the line! says Stinky.

So Election Day rolls around, after a brief 15-month campaign, and Stinky is feelin' pretty good, what with all the projection polls in Stinky's favor. In fact, Stinky overwhelmingly wins the popular vote, by some accounts in the double digits. Then Stinky is informed of something called the Electoral Middle School, an illogical and arcane way of distributing the popular vote to determine the winner. It makes Stinky's head spin, and other parts of him don't feel too good, neither.

Is it any wonder that Stinky maintains that he was robbed? Does Stinky dare say the process is rigged?

Yes, Stinky do dare.

I wore my best clothes, and I still lost!

Stinky's Election Choice!

Amongst the tens of Stinky's readers, commonly known as Stinkers, virtually some of them are likely curious as to Stinky's choice in the upcoming, one may even say imminent, Presidential election. Their curiosity is understandably understandable,  considering the unslakable thirst Stinkers have for all things Stink-related.

Unfortunately, Stinky's participation in this election may be in question, what with his age, his various felony convictions, and whatnot. Those whatnots may prove to be especially problematic. But Stinky definitely has a preference, and Stinky would definitely never vote for Trump, because Stinky does not like people who refer to themselves in the third person. Very creepy, if you ask Stinky.

Stinky's new crush.

Glenn Ford Tribute!

Amongst the countless number of Stinky readers, likely climbing into the double digits, there is one fellow who goes by the moniker of "Unknown", a frequent commenter (twice), who seems to be fairly obsessed with Glenn Ford. Glenn Ford? you may ask incredulously. Stinky knows, hard to believe. And yet what is even more harder to believe is he is not the only one. Check out this Glenn Ford tribute, with glamor-puss pics of Ford with hairstyles ranging from long, greasy and cowlicky to short, greasy and cowlicky, accompanied by the delightful stylings of Kay Starr.  Probably better than he deserves, but for some reason, it tickled Stinky.

On the other mitt, one could do worse than having a tribute sung by the delightful Kay Starr, the most awesomest singer of all times. In fact, when Stinky goes, in about seventy years, he would like to have a   tribute just like this one afforded to Glenn. See what I did there?

Stinky's new crush.