#the four lads

[vintage-every-day]

The Four Lads - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 1953

[musicthisorthat]

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 4 November 1954

The end of 1954 is gradually approaching - I hadn't noticed, but some of these "weeks" have actually been two weeks, as I assume there was a week where nothing new came into the charts, just some position changes. I wonder if this is a pattern that will keep going or not into the present?

Rain, Rain, Rain - Frankie Laine and the Four Lads (peaked at No. 8)

The title and artist here rhyme in a pleasing fashion. I can only imagine the radio presenters gleefully announcing "And now, Rain, Rain, Rain by Frankie Laine." Or maybe that's just a me thing...

Then it starts, and it's clear to me that this is an immediate improvement on There Must Be a Reason. There's energy, there's attitude, there's a bit of fun. And of course, Frankie's still in religion mode, but it seems like he's finally worked out how to make a religious song fun!

The song's basically about the story of Noah, building an ark and then - you guessed - it rained, rained, rained, just as God has promised. There's also a strong emphasis on the sinful nature of the antediluvian word (now there's a word I didn't expect to have to use on this project) with talk of how God "Beheld the evil of the sinful man; / Declared that he would destroy the land". We even get a bit of metaphor telling us how "The ringing of the saw cried "Judgement" / The ringing of the hammer cried "Sinner repent". Plus, the ending is also quite fire and brimstone, with God saving Noah and giving him the rainbow sign, but then promising (expanding on what the Bible actually says) that "It won't be a rain but fire next time". It's a properly sinister moment in a song that seems geared to scare its listeners straight.

The stylings of it all seem to be drawing very heavily from traditionally black gospel music, from the explicitly gospel subject matter, to some of the vocal stylings and pronunciations of words. None of the artists involved come from this kind of background - Laine was a Catholic, and the Four Lads were a white Canadian quartet of singers, but they apparently did a whole album of vaguely gospel-tinged music.

It's also - rather unexpectedly - an unmistakably rock and roll-tinged song. Which might be a first? I didn't expect it to be Frankie Laine who got that honour, but the song is dripping in rock and roll, from the organ chords after the opening "Rain, rain, rain", to the double bass, to the 12-bar blues progression near the end (if I'm not mistaken). The gospel influences are just as strong, but then again, that was often the case in early rock and roll, so... eh, good enough.

I feel like the real story here is possibly about how it's profitable for singers like Frankie Laine to take the musical material and stylings of black artists (who are popular, but still aren't getting a regular look-in in these charts) and to repackage it for white listening audiences. Plenty of ink has been spilled on this already, and I'm not adding anything, but I figured it ought to be mentioned here - in a patter I imagine we'll only be seeing more of in the weeks to come, this song is steeped in black creativity, even if it's officially coming from the mouth of Frankie Laine and four whitebread natives of Toronto.

If I Give My Heart to You - Joan Regan (3)

Well, this is a British cover of Doris Day's American original, and it seems to have done marginally better chart-wise than Doris' version. I... don't have much to say about that, actually. They're remarkably similar, to the point where you wonder why a cover was needed.

I wonder sometimes with these covers if people maybe just wanted a copy of the song, and didn't care so much about the artist? Either that, or licencing / royalties made it more economically feasible to do lots of covers, and these were just raw cash-grabs? Or it was hard to get ahold of American songs, so a British artist would just cover them? I guess there wasn't any obvious way of checking you'd got the right version of a song, so if you'd just heard Doris' on the radio a few times and liked it, you'd probably be pretty pleased with this, too, especially since Joan doesn't change much.

Often these British covers seem to be a little lower-rent than their American counterparts, but this is an exception to that rule. It's dripping with strings - if not necessarily to the extent of Doris' version - and, in what I think might actually be an improvement on the original, we get a full brass band solo, which is gloriously rich in its harmonies for the brief little bit we hear it in. The muted trumpet vamping over the end of the track is also delightful. Really, the instrumentation here is spot-on, I enjoy it more than I expected to.

Well, there you go. Two very serviceable songs than I in no way would have listened to before starting this project. I enjoyed both, and Rain, Rain, Rain's gospel/rock and roll style in particular was like a breath of fresh air after the balladeering and novelty songs and operatically sweeping numbers we've had so far. It feels like the future, in a low-key way.

Favourite song of the bunch: Rain, Rain, Rain

[mishalogic]

The Four Lads - Moments To Remember

Song for the moment! ... Misha

[alovelywaytospendanevening]

Revisiting the Charts #1: January 18, 1956 (Billboard Top 100)

Revisiting the Charts is a new long-term series of posts I’m doing, analyzing the top 10 from random old music charts.

This edition's chosen chart is from Billboard's Top 100, a short-lived predecessor of the current Hot 100. One of the main peculiarities of this early model is the possibility of a tie in positions, and that's why this top 10 has eleven songs.

1. Memories Are Made of This — Dean Martin Current Spotify stats: 35.621.197 plays

You can tell Dean tried his best with it, but I don't think this a strong song. I’m surprised its streaming numbers are actually quite decent.

2. Sixteen Tons — Tennesse Ernie Ford Current Spotify stats: 63.291.047 plays

A catchy folk song with some interesting lyrics. Lots of singers recorded it, and while Tennesse Ernie Ford's version remains the most popular, I’m more fond of the B.B. King and Johnny Cash ones.

3. The Great Pretender — The Platters Current Spotify stats: 182.481.930 plays (this one seems bugged)

Some skilled songwriting here, far above the work we found in an average 1950s pop hit. A great song, and yes, better than "Only You".

4. Rock and Roll Waltz — Kay Starr Current Spotify stats: 1.895.825 plays

A novelty song that nowadays works better as a historical curiosity.

5. Band of Gold — Don Cherry Current Spotify stats: 2.654.982 plays

Generic enough to avoid being bad, but not really memorable.

6. I Hear You Knockin’ — Gale Storm Current Spotify stats: 199.334 plays

A weak version of a decent-if-not-outstanding song. Give Wynonna Judd’s version a try.

7. Moments to Remember — The Four Lads Current Spotify stats: 916.611 plays

It tries a little, but ultimately settles as another average 1950s ballad.

8. Dungaree Doll — Eddie Fisher Current Spotify stats: 122.969 plays

A very silly teen song. It’s catchy enough, I guess.

9. It’s Almost Tomorrow — The Dream Weavers Current Spotify stats: 174.694 plays

Lovely ballad. Stylistically speaking, it's quite typical of the period, but in a charming and sweet way. My favorite from this bunch! (Jo Stafford and Snooky Lanson’s versions also charted in 1955, and both are worth a listen too.)

10. (tie) Lisbon Antigua — Nelson Riddle Current Spotify stats: 1.363.535 plays

A (mostly) instrumental number. Sounds like generic lounge music to me.

10. (tie) Teen-Age Prayer — Gale Storm Current Spotify stats: 225.128 plays

For just a couple of years, Mrs. Storm managed to be an actual hitmaker, as evidenced by her double presence in this top 10. This one is yet more typical fluff, and I have to say her vocals leave a lot to be desired.

[raycatzdraws]

Wolfie and Four friendship appreciation doodles! They're shared secrets besties! I hope Four's distrust of the shadow crystal doesn't drive anything between them. Wild found his way into this compilation with a force. It seems I can't draw Wolfie and not include him too!

[sefynarose]

okay but something i keep thinking about is the fact that mc, Rafayel, Zayne, Xavier and Sylus are currently all in the same timeline/lifetime. in the main story we’ve interacted with all four so far, and we’ve learned through their cards/myth/scenes about their past with mc and what has brought them here now. so is it not a fact that they are all SIMULTANEOUSLY pining and craving for her?! a man who betrayed a god, a man who betrayed his kingdom & people x 2, a man who?? well we aren’t sure for sylus just yet but LISTEN!! If the ending of this game is that she only chooses ONE the rest of them are fucked. they’re screwed in this lifetime and have to watch their soulmate, the love of their life go with ANOTHER. that’s absolutely insane

[cozylittleartblog]

hey. hey anon? youa re. so right,

[whereistim]

So uhhh, who’s birthday is next? So I can mark it in my calendar

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

first-person perspective tour of love&deepspace exhibition at shanghai bw2024 comic-con part 1

player interacts with zayne/li shen

(all the four cosers are invited and paid by paper itself so they are known as "official cos" but the cosers themselves are not actually cosers instead they're professional actors (the no-fame kind) invited by paper for the best experience of players)

[soups-archive]

more signs were discovered around the spawn area!

[tommys-wings]

When they’re having pizza nights at Eddie’s, Buck and Tommy usually order the two with the most protein and then share them half and half, fist bumping once they’ve done the exchange, like this is the height of teamwork.

Eddie just calls them dorks and, one time, Tommy goes ‘you’re just jealous of our swag’ to which Christopher just pretends to leave like ‘I can’t believe I ever thought you were cool’ and Tommy lets out his offended ‘eeeh!’ (The same one he had when Buck teased him about the mouth static).

This prompts a contest between Buck, Tommy, and Eddie, to see who can misuse gen z/alpha slang the most egregiously, ending up in what can only be described as a Chris torture chamber.

Anyway, they’re never starved for banter.

[burningfudge]

Tony & Reed looking at what they were supposed to become.

Ultimates (2024) #1