Tim: Welcome to a special Music Fridays.Way back on Music Fridays # 6, I covered the music styling of America's favorite Mouseketeer. Annette. Well, today on the 40th Music Fridays I have decided to return to her music career but with a guest. Joining me for a second time on A Look at Disney is Positive Troll. Thank you for joining me on this special Music Fridays.
PT: Thank you, Tim. It's great to be back. I'm really thrilled that you've chosen to showcase the talent of Annette Funicello. Thanks to syndication, many generations have enjoyed this remarkable entertainer whose talent was only surpassed by her kind and generous nature. So, shall we bring to light a few of the musical gems she was known for?
Tim: I think we should start with your picks. One of which I have covered before and another one that I had not heard of until you mentioned it. Why don't we start with that one?
O Dio Mio
PT: Dio Mio is a quintessential '60s love song. Penned by the Sherman Brothers, it's simple in its musical style and in its lyrics telling about a young girl's prayer to the Lord to let a boy know how much she loves him and have him love her right back. There's very little to interpret, and yet the way Annette delivers it along with the beautiful orchestration conveys a deep emotional need expressed very openly. This is a tender moment recorded for posterity.
While not very well known today, this song hit #10 in the American Pop Charts in 1960. In 22 years as a professional singer/pianist, I've never had a request to perform this gem of a song, but it's a great one, which is why I've chosen to showcase it here
Tim: As stated above, I had not heard this song until you mentioned it and I like it a lot. It's different than the Annette songs that I've covered in the past. I like you describing this as a prayer, as stated it's a simple song about a girl who has a crush on a boy and wants him to know much she loves him. Though the thing I love about this song is that it's simple and true, it doesn't oversell the message and I could actually picture a young kneeling by bedside asking for this to happen. Again, this is a song that I would classify as beautifully simple. It may be a simple song but that works to tell the tale of this song.
Tim: The next song, you've picked is one of my personal favorites from Annette...
Tall Paul
PT: OMG! I hadn't seen that clip of her with Dick Clark. D'AWWWWW....That was ADORABLE! Ya gotta admire Annette for being such a good sport to appear like that...not to mention the kicking shoes kind of remind me of that famous Charlie Chaplin bit where he does that with bread rolls on forks...but I digress....
The song, itself, was a milestone for music as it was the first rock single by a woman to hit the top 10 in music landing at #7, and Annette's biggest hit. I just love the toe-tapping fun of it. This is just so much of what made '50's rock so great with a swinging beat and a very singable melody.
Tim: I totally agree with you that this song is fun and has a great toe tapping beat to it. Again, you bring to the forefront information I didn't know about this song. It's catchy, fun and upbeat. I can see why, you chose it. Now I'm not going to spend to much time on this seeing as I've already talked about it in the past but I'll say that this stands as one of my favorites from Annette.
Tim: All right, now that we've looked at your 2 songs, now we'll dive into the two I have chosen. I've chosen, Tell Me, Who's That Girl and The Lonely Guitar. Let's start with The Lonely Guitar.
The Lonely Guitar
Tim: Just as with Tall Paul, I've looked at this song before but I couldn't pass up another chance going over it. This song is very somber and almost melancholy but not depressing. Again, I'm not a fan of breaks in songs but I understand why they did that seeing as this comes from an episode of Zorro. This song is wonderful and helps us the audience to understand Annette's character even more. This one of those songs that I can listen to and it just puts me at ease. Almost like I'm entering a lullaby trance. This is a lovely song that one can just close their eyes listening to and everything seem okay.
PT: I agree, my friend. It's a really simple song where Annette expressed her loneliness by sharing it with her guitar and it works! It's like they're two good friends commiserating together over their longing to reunite with their father(in the context of this scene, but it could just as well be about a true love not yet met). I like the way Annette sings this one(although don't look too carefully at her hands strumming the guitar, because it doesn't match what's being played-sorry, but that's a pet peeve of mine LOL! Sam isn't really playing the piano in Casablanca, either...but I digress.....) Excellent pick, Tim. What's next?
Tim: Glad, you asked. Our final song of the cross over is...
Tell Me, Who's The Girl
Tim: The way I see this song, there 2 ways you could look at the story. A. Annette is playing with her boyfriend trying to find out how he feels about her or B. Annette saw a picture of her boy with another girl and wants to know who is the girl because maybe she's a little jealous. I'm not sure what I think but all I know is that this is a pretty fun song to listen to and it's cute.
PT: It is an interesting song....kind of a rockabilly ballad....cross between a Patsy Cline song and a Leslie Gore tune. Released in 1960 as the side B of Train Of Love, I believe Annette has caught her boyfriend red-handed with a picture of him and a former love in his wallet, and it's definitely a jealousy song. She's scared that she's going to be hurt by his answer too...poor Annette.....
Tim: PT, thanks for joining me once again on A Look at Disney to take a look at some of the songs from Annette. As always, it was blast to work with you.
PT: Thanks for having me on again, my friend. It's always great collaborating with you. And thanks TGWTG fans for giving us some of your time today. Peace.
Tim: As for the rest of you, join me next Friday for a special Music Fridays where I take a look at Dumbo Covers as a part of Dumbo Week.
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