Viva Le Battle ~ it's July 1st!!

WELCOME TO BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! aka, BOTB.
Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th. The results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

The music blogging event first introduced by our friends!

Fae @ Far Away Eyes

Stephen T. McCarthy presents...


I'm dc~relief, and I'm featuring two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best.  Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote.

If you would like to listen and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right margin. If you would like to join this blog-hop, click the badge in the right margin ~ it takes you directly to Stephen T. McCarthy's blog. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

Today's song feature: Viva Las Vegas! It was written in 1963, by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, for a film of the same name, and sung by Elvis Presley. Ironically, although Presley never sang the song live, it has since become widely known, and often performed by others. Should you want to hear Elvis' version, go here > Elvis sings Viva Las Vegas This version is NOT included in today's battle.

Today's challengers:

1 - Catharina "Nina" Hagen (born 11 March 1955) is a German singer and actress. Born in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic, she's had quite the career in music and movies. Rock, punk, and some disco. Considered by some as the "godmother of punk," she turned 60 in March of this year. She also did the Bob Dylan song,  "One More Cup of Coffee," translating it into the German language.

2 - Shawn Colvin (born January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician widely known for her Grammy-winning 1997 single "Sunny Came Home"  . Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota and spent her youth in London, Ontario and Carbondale, Illinois. She's country, folk, and early rock and roll.

No more walls ~ let's take a ride!

The June battles are history... I'm posting a personal favorite today. Having been talking to those walls for several days, I feel the need to hit the road... if only to go to the grocery store. Yeah, I know, such an exciting life here!

All this excitement reminds me of an old car I used to travel in, up and down the highway. It was sitting under some pine trees when I spotted it. Lady at the house said she'd take $15 dollars for it,  but there was a catch. I had to keep the car's nickname. You ready for this? "ThunderLizard." Made no sense to me until I cranked it up. Oh, and it cranked up on the first try! --> 457 Rochester Quadrajet. That baby would fly! No one could catch me. No one could catch the old midnight rider that I became.

See you all in July for the next summer wave of sound! Meanwhile, here's...

"Midnight Rider" featuring Vince Gill, Gregg Allman, and Zac Brown, from the forthcoming "All My Friends - Celebrating The Songs And Voice of Gregg Allman" Blu-Ray/DVD/CD available 5/6/14 from Rounder Records.

Battle 12 Results ~ another brick in the wall?

Welcome to RESULTS DAY for Battle of the Bands!!

I am dc ~ relief, and my battle featured the song: "Hello Walls." The challengers were Esther Phillips versus Dwight Yokum! Thank you to everyone who visited, voted, left a comment, or just listened and jumped off!

Wow - this was so close I thought it would tie, but no... let's see what happened.

Esther took off with a strong string of votes. That soulful version hit home with quite a few... but Dwight would not be left standing in the dust, oh no! He took the next round of votes like a champ. A couple of days went past and Esther, once again gained ground. They were neck and neck into the stretch home. Whoa! Esther took the lead by two votes... then I cast mine for Dwight ('cause there ain't nothing like a tight pair of leathers... I mean... I like his version more! (smile). Drum roll...

Esther Phillips - 10 votes

Dwight Yokum - 9 votes (including mine)

Thank you for your participation! Let's not forget...

A very special thank you to our event hosts:

"Fae" @ Far Away Eyes

Stephen T. McCarthy presents...

Your interest in joining this blogging event would be most welcomed. Please go to Stephen T. McCarthy's blog, leave your name and blog link in the comment box!

Congratulations, Esther!

Battle 12: Hello Walls

WELCOME TO BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! aka, BOTB

Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th.  

Our results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

The blogging event first introduced by our friends: 

Far Away Eyes - "Fae"

Stephen T. McCarthy presents battle of the bands

I'm dcrelief, and I'm featuring two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best.  Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote. 

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right margin. If you would like to join this blog-hop, click the badge in the right margin ~ it takes you directly to Stephen T. McCarthy's blog. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

Today's song choice: Hello Walls - written by Willie Nelson. 

The first person to record the song was Faron Young in 1961. He's not included in the battle today, but if you want to hear him, click HERE . Willie actually recorded it later in 1962. He's not in the battle either, but you can hear him HERE .

Thank you in advance for your vote, and any comment you'd like to add.

Today's challengers:

1- Esther Phillips 1964  - a very soulful version.

2- Dwight Yokum, tribute video to Willie - honky-tonk/country

Battle 11 Results:Who's riding highest?

Welcome to Results Day!

I am dc ~ relief, and my battle featured:

"Ghost Riders in the Sky" with Judy Collins going head to head with The Sawtooth Mountain Boys.









Thank you to our Music Hosts:

Fae @ Far Away Eyes

Stephen T. McCarthy @ stmcc presents...


Your interest in joining this blogging event would be most welcomed. Please use the badge in the right margin - click that, and off you go to Stephen's! Leave your name and blog link in the comment box! 


Now the good stuff... My vote? Who won? Who lost? 

This was all tied up for a few days... it looked like I might have the tie breaker vote. Ha! Not so fast. ABFTS, Bryan and Brandon, came looking for Moonshine - lo and behold - forget the tie! They voted for the same artist. Thanks you, gentlemen!

I voted for The Sawtooth Mountain Boys. They were my shot of moonshine, (nope, I meant to say) my cup of tea!

Here are the final vote results:

The Sawtooth Mountain Boys @ 13 votes

Judy Collins @ 10 votes 

I enjoyed both songs, and could have voted either way. Still, I truly saw the ghost riders taking off with the Mountain Boys - might have been the flashing banjo!

Thank you very much for your participation and votes! Lets' end this by playing the song with the most votes. I hope to be back on June 15th - an old health issue prevents much participation in the blog world right now. (More later.)

Next Battle Date: June 15th!

Battle 11 - We're Talking Epic Cowboy Tale

WELCOME TO BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! 

 **BOTB ~ where you listen to two different recordings of the same song, and vote for the song version you like.  Feel free to leave us a comment, along with your vote.** There are two "Battles" per month, on the 1st and 15th.  

The results come six days later, (on the 7th and 21st). That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

The blogging event first introduced by our friends: 

Fae @ Farwayeyes

Stephen T. McCarthy presents

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right margin. If you would like to join this blog-hop contact Stephen T. McCarthy; leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

Today's featured song: Ghost Riders in the Sky

The song was written and originally recorded by Stan Jones in 1948. Jones was a forest ranger who wrote songs on the side. After recording his version of the song, artists like Burl Ives, in 1949, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry and Johnny Cash all recorded it, and the song became a cowboy standard.

Today's Battle: Judy Collins vs The Sawtooth Mountain Boys

1 - Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records (which has included folk, show tunes, pop, rock and roll and standards). Her version of Ghost Riders in the Sky was recorded in 2010.

2 - The Sawtooth Mountain Boys hail from Monmouth/Portland, OR. with a genre in Bluegrass music. Band members: Steve Waller - mandolin, Rollie Champe - guitar, Chuck Davidshofer - bass fiddle, John Van Brocklin - 5 string banjo. They often warmed up for Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - a very popular Bluegrass duo. Their version was recorded in 1976.

Thank you in advance for your visit and your vote. Feel free to add any comments. I'll be back on June 7th to announce the results of this battle! Feel free to return at that time, and comment on the result.

The last train - see you on June 1st!!!

The battles are over. Time to binge on some videos I love. I'm leaving you Rod Stewart fans a treat. Can you guess what it is? No?