UB40 - "Red Red Wine"
Happy Song - Boney M (I'm quite a faithful audience to Boney M)
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
Considering that the pop charts in the U.S. have been split time almost evenly between black and white artists during the past fifty years (Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, James Brown, Otis Redding, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, MC Hammer, Tupac Shakur, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, etc., etc.), this is unlikely. But Boney M charted only once in the U.S., and only as high as 134 on Billboard at that. It's one of those phenomena that plays well overseas, for some reason, but doesn't go over in the States.
Sometimes, even the same artist has different hits in different countries. Paul McCartney and Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" was a huge, huge hit in Britain and parts of Europe in the mid-1970s, outselling even all of McCartney's old Beatles records...but it tanked in the U.S. Conversely, Grunge rock bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam were all the rage in the U.S. in the early 1990s, but barely registered in the British pop charts.
Johnny Nash - "I Can See Clearly Now"
Boney M were quite big back in the disco era, at least in Canada. I only have one of their albums. Brown Girl in the Ring, Night Flight to Venus, and Rasputin of course. There's a song I play every Christmas, something about Mary's boy-child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day (I'm too lazy to dig out the album).
What am I listening to now? Animals by Nickelback. It takes me back to my teenage years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BX2Q-yFnZY
john-e
Sixty years ago I knew nothing; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of your own ignorance. - Will Durant
NEWs's Summertime....
ayaka - Okaeri
I see. I think I have the answer, finally. This group was formed in Germany, and their backgrounds - two ladies from Jamaica and one (lady) from the Caribbean Island. They all had moved and made permanent stayed in London, either at a tender age or at teenage years. The guy's background is unclear. My only clue about him is, he travelled around the world after done with his studies, and finally settled in Netherlands where he worked as a DJ. With talents of a DJ and a dancer, he was invited by Frank Farian (the writer and producer) to go to Germany to join this group. It seems they're very Europe-based. Maybe the Europe side draw a line with the U.S side (like, two different clans.); either here or there, can't be hot at both sides. You know what I mean.
LOL That Animals album... errr...was it that concept ("hump"?) or was it my mistake?
That song was recorded in year 2005. So, I think John is not so old.
Yeah, Boney M can seriously bring out that kind of beat. I like most of their songs, and I have their Super Hits album, all their best. The title of the song is Mary's Boy Child/ Oh My Lord (strange title). I can't remember the title too. I have my cds below my desktop, under my desk.
Belfast - Boney M
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
Frank Farian was also behind Milli Vanilli, which unlike Boney M, *did* become huge in the U.S. during 1989-1990. The pop duo's career was derailed, however, after it was discovered that neither member had actually sung on the tracks from their hit debut album and singles, and lip-synched at their "live" concerts. They had won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990, but were forced to surrender the award just a few months later. The duo was dropped by their label and their album was deleted and removed from store inventories. From that point on, "Milli Vanilli" became music industry code for "fraudulent act." The duo was disgraced and a few years later, one of the members committed suicide in despair over his fall from grace.
Don McLean - "Maybe Baby"
Oh gosh! I know nothing about Milli Vanilli, or maybe they didn't came about to my location so I never knew them, and this event. Did Farian only discovered Boney M and Milli Vanilli?
Come Undone - Robbie William
It was said that this song was sung for his mother....made with unkind words, sadly. I didn't like Robbie as a person (I care less, it's his life anyway) but I think he is a talented singer. He expresses his emotions for the songs very well.
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
Farian has managed other acts, but Boney M and Milli Vanilli are, by far, the most famous (or infamous).
The Milli Vanilli incident was one of the biggest scandals in the history of the U.S. pop music industry. For better or worse, it greatly changed how dance/pop acts were perceived by the public. Most tellingly, dance/pop, which had ruled the U.S. charts ever since Michael Jackson's THRILLER became a monster hit in 1983, was suddenly shunned by the U.S. pop music consumer public in favor of Grunge-style hard rock (as represented by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, etc.) , and would not return for almost a decade until the arrival of the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys. Even now, dance/pop acts are heavily scrutinized for "musical authenticity" as a consequence of the Milli Vanilli scandal. Ashlee Simpson nearly fell prey to this a few years ago when she was exposed as lip-synching on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Last edited by Ken Cheng; 05-03-08 at 03:23 PM.
The Beatles - "A Hard Day's Night"
Thanks for sharing all that, Ken. Appreciated.
I googled for Frank Farian and learned about this:- Far Corporation is notable for being the first act to chart with a single release of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", barely making the charts in the U.S., while becoming a top-10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985.
Supreme - Robbie William
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
It's a Sin - Pet Shop Boys
What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!
I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?
See-Saw - Morgana
There's an Arabic feel in this instrumental.