The Night is Almost Over, and The Year is Almost Over, Too

Happy New Year's Eve! 2026 can't get here quickly enough. Let's hope it's a damn sight better than 2025. As John Lennon once sang, "Can't Get No Worse". 

And speaking of things that are almost over: 

I don't know what was going on at the Tin Pan Alley label around 1969 and 1970, but for a short time, they chose to employ a couple of truly awful sopranos on a handful of releases. Just over a month ago, I wrote my latest post to feature Eleanor Shaw, who made at least a dozen records for the label in quick succession, and whose performances often have to be heard to be believed, and now, for the second time, I am featuring Madelyn Buzzard, who may have made only three or four records for the label. 

I featured her in a Christmas post at the now offline WFMU blog in 2012, and in a follow up post on this blog exactly 13 years ago today (and that one - Chicken House Blues - should be heard immediately by anyone who hasn't already heard it)

(Incidentally, someone with the very unusual name of "Madelyn Buzzard" had a small role in a tiny-budgeted horror film in 1973, titled "Three on a Meathook". I'm guessing that was the same person. Maybe she sang this way because she was dangling from a meathook.)

So anyway, today we have Madelyn warbling - and that is the right word - about how "The Night is Almost Over". The band is providing a pretty credible supper-club samba arrangement - the solo is sort of rote, but effective enough - but Madelyn fails to hold up her end of the bargain. 

And is that actually an encouraging "Yeah!" from a band member at the 2:20 point. Could it be? Someone in this combo actually thought this performance was good? 

Download: Madelyn Buzzard - The Night is Almost Over

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On the flip side, we have "Because of You". Somewhere between the recording of these sides, the bass went out of tune and this was not corrected. It's not as bad as the bass as heard on those ridiculous Bob Gerard records, but it's bad enough to be extremely distracting. And the oompah beat of this one doesn't do Madelyn any favors (as was the case with the nice groove on the flip) by distracting from her vocals, or the places where she lands on the wrong note. 

Download: Madelyn Buzzard - Because of You

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Well, They Can't All Be Winners - Not Even When They're By Rodd Keith

 

Today, I thought I'd get another pair of previously unavailable Rodd Keith songs out there into the ether. In this case, he's heard in his guise as Rod Rogers with the Film City Orchestra. However, these tracks offer up the proof that even Rodd Keith had his fairly awful days. If you previously thought (assuming that you thought about it) that it wasn't possible to be lugubrious and unctuous at the same time, these two tracks should disabuse you of that notion. 

I'd offer up thought that "well, what could he have done with these lyrics", except that he did so much better, so many times, with equally unpromising lyrics. 

First up is "Never". The most interesting thing here, to me, is this: although the track is dominated, as Film City releases always were, by the Chamberlin, this particular track appears to also have a real live piano part on it, and not the "piano" as heard on the Chamberlin (which was, in today's parlance, a extremely canned "sample" of a piano). I don't remember hearing so much real piano on many Film City releases. 

Download: Rod Rogers with the Film City Orchestra - Never

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The flip side is "Francesca", the less said about which, the better. 

Download: Rod Rogers with the Film City Orchestra - Francesca

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You Gotta Have Faith

 Quick, shout out the first few adjectives that come to mind when you think of Santa!

"Jolly?" Sure. "Fat?" Of Course. "Pretend?" Shh. Don't Tell. "Giving?" Probably less common, but not inaccurate. 

How many of you said "Faithful"? How many other words did you get to before you got to "Faithful"? 

Well, Sammy Marshall, in his guise (for Ronnie Records) as Ben Tate, is going to tell you all about "Jolly, Faithful Santa". This being Ronnie Records, the band is, of course, almost frighteningly sterile in performance style, and the most interesting thing here may be that Sammy hits a few bum notes while (probably) site-reading the song - indeed, this is one of most low energy and generally poorly sung songs I can think of from Sammy. Anyway, can you imagine a child being captivated by any of this?

Download: Ben Tate - Jolly, Faithful Santa

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On to the next song, and I have this to say: Ronnie was the wrong label, and Sammy Marshall the wrong singer, to have sent a song called "The Blues and Me". This musicians are competent, and no doubt had an intellectual understand of what The Blues is - and perhaps even an appreciation of the genre. But they were in no way capable of producing a Blues number. See if that isn't clear within the first four bars of this track. 

And I have NO idea what the Blues "Usually Make a Home Run" means. 

Download: Ben Tate - The Blues and Me

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~~

I mostly posted this EP for the first song - I wanted to offer something Christmassy. And then there is the ridiculousness of that Blues song. But I have VERY little to say about the remaining songs. 

The two songs on the other side sound awfully to each other, at least to my ears. Neither has anything to recommend it. The first is "I'm Sitting Here Alone". 

Download: Ben Tate - I'm Sitting Here Alone

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"My Heart and I" is, as I said, similar to the above song, but it does have a nice, loping beat and as a result, it swings a little bit, making it, I suppose, my choice as the least-bad among four poorly written and performed songs. Even the guitar solo called for here seems to be more or less in this guitarist's wheelhouse. Or at least in that neighborhood. 

Download: Ben Tate - My Heart and I

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