Kenneth Johnson Is A Fan of "Tattered Clothing"

Received this e-mail a few days ago from Kenneth Johnson, the man behind such great television shows as the original V, the Bionic Woman and most importantly, The Incredible Hulk:

Dear Rich...
Recently I had the privlegde of hearing your song, Tattered Clothing. I thought it was both fun and poignant (not unlike our old show). It's wonderful to know that you were such a fan of The Hulk. We certainly labored to make each episode as meaningful and substantive as possible. Our largest audience was actually adults. Working with Bix and Lou was always a treat. We all cared a lot. I'm glad it impacted on you so favorably. And that it inspired you to write the cool song. It reminds me that in one of the episodes I wrote this line for Bix -- after he had awakened yet again in tattered clothing: "...I have got to get some shirts that stretch."
Thanks again for taking the time to write the song. It's great to hear that my work captured your imagination.

All the best...

Kenny

Needless to say, I am very flattered and pretty excited. If you have no idea what I am talking about then here's the scoop:



In January of last year I released the single, "Tattered Clothing". I wrote the song about 6 years ago and recorded it in various cities over the last year of the Avenue Q Tour. It features some great playing by some great players. It is an ode to the 70s television classic, "The Incredible Hulk". It is available on I-Tunes & Amazon All proceeds from the sale of this single will go to The Richard S Dart Memorial Arts Scholarship.

I Have Pooh On My Blog

In the last half of the 90s I worked in a high school as a Resource Room Tutor. One day I happened to be walking down the hall wearing a shirt with Winnie The Pooh on the upper right hand corner. The teacher on hall duty saw me and said "You have Pooh on your shirt" to which I replied, "Oh jeez, I thought I had washed all of it off!" The joys of double entendre! Anyway, I told you that to tell you this; Winnie The Pooh was a favorite character of mine as a child and I couldn't go to bed without my stuffed Pooh Bear. I am happy to say that my son now shares this love of the character and it gave me a reason to digitize some of my Disney records so that I could put them on his i-pod and listen to them with him. One of those records I share with you today. It's the story of "Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, Too!" Like "The Story of Star Wars" and others, this is a story with the dialogue and music taken right from the soundtrack to the film. Before VHS, DVD and On-Demand, this was the only way to relive the films or tv shows at home over and over again. I share this with you in hopes that you not only enjoy it, but that you share it with your little ones. Here is "Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, Too". Enjoy!

Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, Too

Podcasts Boxed Set #3

By popular request, I decided to continue with the "boxed sets" of podcasts from the last few years of The World of Wonder. This time around we get a boxed set of Podcasts 11, 12, 13 & 14. This is where things got interesting for the podcast. I tried to do themes and the first all-music podcast came from this era. Also, the Soundtrack Edition of the Podcast was released which featured nothing but songs from film soundtracks.

These podcasts were much more spread out over time as I started getting busier and busier with other things so it made each one completely different from the one that came before it. Hopefully, it was all for the best. You can decide as you delve into the archives and listen again (or for some of you, the first time) to these podcasts from the past. Enjoy!

Dartman's Wacky Podcast #11-14

Battening Down The Hatches

Sorry there haven't been too many posts this month. I've been extremely busy with a lot of things and this weekend finds us in waiting for Hurricane Irene. If we get hit the way people are expecting us to, I may be out of power for a while. So what better day to post than the day before we get hit. Today I share with you an album that has been in my collection for as long as I can remember. It's sort of a concept album. It's Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA". The song was a huge hit for Riley and spawned a ton of sound a likes and copy cat records but it was this album that took the idea to a whole new level. Not all of the tracks deal with the characters from the original song but most of them do. The underlying theme being that people in glass houses should not throw stones. And as with all concept albums and soundtracks and shows, the main theme shows up a lot. And to date, this complete album has not seen the light of the digital age. A compilation of hits with the same title and cover art has been released but not this particular album. Here is that album that I have had the pleasure of listening to for the past 40 years. Here is "Harper Valley PTA". Enjoy!

Jeannie C Riley-Harper Valley P.T.A.

Classic Television Episode of The Month: Bewitched

Here's a great episode from season three of the great comedy, Bewitched. Enjoy!

More From Ella

Last month I posted a great album of radio broadcasts from Ella Fitzgerald in the 40s. Today I bring you the same singer a couple of decades later. If you are like me, then you believe that Ella got better and better as time went on. She came to prominence in the 40s, went on to solo success in the 50s and became a legend during the 60s. The 70s and 80s just add to her already amazing presence and solidify her as one of the great all time singers ever. As I just stated, the 60s was where she became part of the elite who get to be called a legend and today's sharity is proof that it was earned. It's a concert from Amsterdam in 1961 and she sounds amazing! Don't believe me, listen for yourself. Here is Ella Live In Amsterdam, 1961. Enjoy!

Ella Fitzgerald - Amsterdam, 1961

Judy Brings Out The Stars For The Men In Uniform

It's no secret that I love Judy Garland. I love her the same way that I love Elvis. I think her voice is amazing and her behavior even more so. There is no denying that classic voice and even though "Under The Rainbow" is a great song no matter who does it, Judy always did it best. During 1944 and 1945, Judy appeared on many Armed Forces Radio Services broadcasts entitled "Mail "Call" and "Command Performance". These were usually transcribed onto "V-Discs" and sent overseas to be played on the radio for servicemen everywhere. In the 90s, Laserlight put out a CD compilation of these entitled "Mail Call". The first half of the album features a show from May 17, 1944 and features Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante and Arthur Treacher. The second half of the album is from a June 3, 1944 broadcast of "Command Performance" that features Bing, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra. Together they make a great compilation that I share with you today! Here is that great album. Enjoy!

Judy Garland - Mail Call