Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 3

#120 and 121 – Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

#120 & 121 – Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad by Meat Loaf

I agree with the song title when it comes to having odds in your favor. Bad odds would be “one out of fifteen million”. I’ve thought about that for more than a few decades because I was once the “one” among fifteen million and survived the odds.

Mr. Loaf

My story of moving to New York City from a small town in Ohio has been bragged about in past Classic Rocker ramblings, but today I’m focused on the numbers. When I jumped into the big ...

#122 and 123 – Drive My Car

#122 & 123 – Drive My Car by The Beatles

This song recalls two different memories separated by more than two decades. Both carry equal weight in my weighted-down memory bank, with each deserving space in this Classic Rocker rambling of words. We’ll title the first, “Sunday School Music” and the second, “Three Dave’s Die In Fiery Car Accident.” However, don’t read too much into each title. Both are misleading and have happy endings, rather than the fire and brimstone you might expect.

In bo...

#124 and 125 – Oops, I Did It Again

#124 & 125 – Oops, I Did It Again by Britney Spears

The element of surprise can always be a good storyline. And it doesn’t matter if you’re being surprised or the one doing the surprising. It adds to the plots of great plays and movies, along with real life. There can be good surprises and bad surprises, and for this edition of The Classic Rocker, we’ll go with the good vs. bad format, even though at one point it wasn’t looking good.

Think surprise parties, surprise reunions, surprise gift...

#126 and 127 – What The World Needs Now Is Love

#126 & 127 – What The World Needs Now Is Love by Jackie DeShannon

This song was a hit for both Jackie DeShannon and Dionne Warwick and I enjoy both versions. It was co-written by Burt Bacharach and has a catchy melody – usually a requirement (but not a rule) to make this Dream Song List. And that’s exactly what happened on July 27 and August 3, which also qualifies this as a double hit. But I hadn’t heard it in a while, so goes twice into the subliminal memory hit parade.

Jackie DeShannon...

#128 and 129 – What It Takes

#128 & 129 – What It Takes by Aerosmith

Aerosmith

A few months after moving to Los Angeles, I convinced one of my best friends from New York City to join me. We referred to each other as “brothers” and since I’d never had one, this served the purpose. For over thirteen years in Manhattan, we had joined forces in a couple rock bands, hung out and partied in every neighborhood, celebrated with new girlfriends, and consoled each other through every inevitable girlfriend breakup. We also laugh...

#130 and 131 – When Will I See You Again

#130 & 131 – When Will I See You Again by The Three Degrees

Philadelphia Soul

This wasn’t a record I would have added to my vinyl collection when it came out in 1974. It seemed part of the disco wave that was coming in on the coattails of Philadelphia soul (which I enjoyed), but I was a rocker to the core. If a song didn’t have an evolutionary connection close to a Chuck Berry beat, it belonged on the radio and not on my college stereo turntable.

When Will I See You Again evolved into a...

#132 and 133 – Centerfield

#132 & 133 – Centerfield by John Fogerty

Now batting!

Living in Manhattan for thirteen plus years brought many opportunities. For instance, I was a member of three different softball teams. Yeah, I know there was a lot more that came with city life, but those are the memories this song carries with it.

I’ll admit I didn’t play on all three teams at the same time. I wasn’t a Bo Jackson wannabe (younger readers might want to look him up). But each wacky collection of wacky guys had its ow...

#134 and 135 – Year of the Cat

#134 & 135 – Year of the Cat by Al Stewart

Not a snake but a cat!

I’ve never put much weight behind zodiac or astrological signs. I don’t really understand the difference, but I know they’re not the same. In my jumbled-up knowledge of these matters, zodiacs consist of years, while astrological signs divide up a single year. For instance, I’m a Gemini (astrology). In the Chinese Zodiac, I was born in the Year of the Snake.

A two-faced snake? Okay, maybe it does make sense. But not much m...

#136 and 137 – Sunny

#136 & 137 – Sunny by Bobby Hebb

 

Bobby Hebb

Here’s a cool story. It’s also one I don’t think is shared by too many people. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say no one has ever had the exact same experience, though there might be some journalists or music fans that can say something similar.

But not like this…

First of all, I can say Bobby Hebb was cool. He was also a nice guy. How do I know? Because I talked with him – not only once, but twice. And I have that bragging right only ...

#138 and 139 – Baby Blue

#138 & 139 – Baby Blue by Badfinger

Badfinger

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but The Classic Rocker is all about memories. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but The Classic… oh, wait. Sometimes I do.

So, after making that guideline clear and understandable, let me say this song brings back a big one. Except there’s a twist. Baby Blue had nothing to do with the following memory. It had already been a hit decades before and wasn’t even being played while I had an ex...