I had this very diverse little record collection from which I was culling material. I remember I had the Coasters' Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart, which was on the b-side of Yakety Yak. I can look back on these records and see what it was I liked. With Besame Mucho by the Coasters, it's a minor song and it changes to a major, and where it changes to a major is such a big moment musically. That major change attracted me so much.
-Paul McCartney
The Coasters recorded
Besame Mucho in 1960. But in 1958, Richard Berry–lead singer on
Riot in Cell Block #9–recorded
Besame Mucho
Were I to have taught at Jefferson High School in the middle–instead of the end–of the Twentieth Century, I could have had an impressive cast of students. At least four of whom sang on
original recordings by the Coasters: Richard Berry, Obie "Young" Jessie, Leon Hughes, and Cornel Gunter. (If you care to google those names, please add Shirley Gunter and Jessie Belvin.)
Had I taught there in the Thirties and Forties
Enough about me.
The time has come
The walrus said
To question one last thing
Did Paul McCartney ever Do
Besame Mucho with wings?
Blogger's Notes
This post has been on the back-burner of the PLAN 9 MUSIC
concept for
at least fifteen years.
Leon Hughes is the "Uncle" of
Nikki Hill
Happy hyperlinking!
And–before I can say Ralph Bunche, Alvin Ailey, and Emmett Ashford–
I hope you have a good time googling!
