THE KICKS - "Get Off The Telephone" (1980)

 

They started off as The Incredible Kidda Band, but changed their name to The Kicks after moving to London. They only recorded a couple of singles as The Kicks before changing their name to Were Only Human, and have continued recording all the way up to 2025 back where they started as The Incredible Kidda Band.

Here's one of their singles from 1980.

THE KICKS - "Get Off The Telephone"

TRAVIS WAMMACK - "Scratchy" (1964)

 

I never planned on doing tributes to all the great artists who have passed away over the years, but this is one I just can't ignore since this is a song that has been a part of my musical life almost forever.

Travis Wammack passed away on February 27, 2026. He was 81 years old.

The 'A' side of this single was titled "Fire Fly," but it was the 'B' side of this single titled "Scratchy" that caught everybody's attention and made it to number 80 on the charts in 1964.

Travis was only 17 years of age at the time.

With all the hubbub made over The Kingsmen's indecipherable lyrics in "Louie, Louie," I never could understand why nobody questioned the garbled backwards lines in this tune, because it always sounded like he was saying something nasty to me!

Travis Wammack might not be a household name, but he's pretty damn special to the people who do know who he was. 

Just listen to this song, one of the best instrumentals of all time, and understand why! 

TRAVIS WAMMACK - "Scratchy" 

FRANK STROZIER - "Fantastic Frank Strozier" (1960)

 

About 50 years ago I bought this record titled "Fantastic Frank Strozier" at a swap meet for fifty cents, and I was like who is this guy Frank Strozier? I'd never heard of him before but recognized all the other players on the album, Booker Little, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelley, and Jimmy Cobb, as names I had seen many times before on albums by John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, and so I figured Frank must be pretty talented, and guess what?  He's more than that, and this is a record that anybody who loves Jazz should have in their collection for sure!

Frank Strozier is now 88 years old, and I hope he's still playing! 

FRANK STROZIER - "Waltz Of The Demons" 

THE SPECIALS - "Too Much Too Young" (1996)

 

I always thought of The Specials as kind of a novelty Ska band, but when they get to bouncing, they're as good as anybody as this 1996 LP titled "Too Much Too Young" will attest to.

Despite what the title suggests, this isn't another song about desiring underage girls, it's a song about settling down into a middle class life style too early in life.

THE SPECIALS - "Too Much Too Young" 

SARAH McLACHLAN - "Possession" (1993)

 

Rich here. Over the years perhaps no other subject has been more the focus of music than Sex. And despite the motto of "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll," rock 'n' roll certainly wasn't the first genre to sing about sex. Before blues, before R&B, and before the sly euphemisms of jazz lyrics, entire operas were written about sexual passion and the tragic jealousies that ensued in their wake. Heck, take a look at your hymnbook; just substitute the word "you" for the words "Jesus" or "God," and you'll see how much the lyrics of worship ring with incredible yearning and sensual longings. (Talk about sublimation!)

 

Unfortunately, the majority of blues and rock songs that deal with sex have a raw crudeness that celebrates mere fucking while obliterating the sensual longings of passion and desire that result in deep penetration. It's elevation of banging over caresses that make the senses tingle.

 

But there are a few songs -- Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin," "The Girl from Ipanema," "Wicked Games" by Chris Isaak -- in which music, lyrics, and arrangement all work together to celebrate sensuality. 

 

And in the '90s -- at the height of grunge, no less -- one of the most sensual songs of the modern era was a big hit. Sarah McLachlan's "Possession" is filled with reverb, sultry organ sounds, whispered echoing vocals, a throbbing bass, and allusions to yearning that convince her lover that she wants to possess him (her?) body and soul.

Oh you speak to me in riddles and

You speak to me in rhymes

My body aches to breathe your breath

Your words keep me alive

 

And I would be the one to hold you down

Kiss you so hard; I'll take your breath away

 

Oh, my! Being kissed so hard, it'll take your breath away.

SARAH McLACHLAN - "Possession" 

A BAND - "Lowly Worm" (1979)

 

Imagine a stripped down version of The Doors with Jim Morrison singing the silliest lyrics ever, and that's pretty much what you get from this 1979 single by A Band.

I bought this 45 for a dime back in the late 80's. That's how freakin' good it is!

Amazing! 

A BAND - "Lowly Worm" 

DISTURBED FURNITURE - (1981 - 2019)

 

I knew nothing about the band called Disturbed Furniture until a couple of weeks ago, when it was a followup song to another quirky song I found on YouTube.

I didn't even listen to it at the time, but I figured with a cool name like Disturbed Furniture, how could they possibly be anything but great?

DISTURBED FURNITURE - "Information"  

 

I was just going to leave it at that, but curiosity got the best of me, so I started looking up who the members were, and for some, this was their only noted venture, but two members went on to other things.

Guitarist Jorge Arevalo Mateus won a Grammy in 2008 for the Best Historical Recording for "The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance, 1949."

 

  

Phil Shöenfelt is now living in the Czech Republic and recording good music like this as Phil Shoenfelt and Southern Cross.

PHIL SHOENFELT & SOUTHERN CROSS - "River Of Light"

 

   Some members of the original band including Jorge Arevalo Mateus, Alexa Hunter, and Mick Oakleaf  got back together in 2019 to make this record titled "Continuous Pleasure."

DISTURBED FURNITURE -  "Angel Of Losses"