Dolly Parton, Satan, a Witch, Bloody Bones and the Boogie Man

Didn't know Dolly Parton had a song and a tale that fit the season?

Listen to the haunting tune and then the story below and believe!

You Can't Make Old Friends

You Can't Make Old Friends

Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton

Comin' Home for Christmas - Dolly Parton

Comin' Home for Christmas

by Dolly Parton

Dolly has a quite a knack for songwriting,

and she has written many great holiday songs.

This is a more recent one and it is great, as usual.

A Smoky Mountain Christmas - Dolly Parton

A Smoky Mountain Christmas

by Dolly Parton

This is taken right from the movie of the same name,

since it appears to have never been released as a single.

Love the song, love the movie.

Christmas tradition for me to watch it.

Five Star Songs #4

Today's song will definitely be the first of many in this feature from this artist.

My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton

Not only is she a great singer, but she is an amazing songwriter, as well.

Music, New to Me

I like all kinds of music, and love the second-hand iPod

I bought from my daughter when she upgraded herself to an iPod Touch. 

For most of the year, I have a blend of music I like,

consisting of 80s pop/rock, country, oldies, indies

and just whatever I stumble across that I find I enjoy.

Also have quite a few TV show themes

and a load of Halloween/horror tunes, too!

At Christmastime, however, I switch over to holiday music.

Between CDs I have bought or traded for (thanks, Swap-A-CD!)

and free and legal music online (thanks, generous musicians!),

I have a Christmastime music folder that has 1,628 holiday songs - and growing!

Yes, you read that right.

What can I say? I like Christmas music!

This Christmas, in addition to the new music I have found online

from artists who post free tunes hoping to gain more fans,

my lovely wife gifted me with some holiday CDs:

James Taylor

at Christmas

From 2006, this is a reissue of his limited edition

Hallmark CD from a couple years earlier.

He has a great voice and the arrangements are definitely James Taylor-esque,

so I like it. His duet with Natalie Cole on Baby, It's Cold Outside is great.

Wonderful CD, as expected. Mellow and relaxing.

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elf 

Music from the Major Motion Picture

This is the 2003 soundtrack for the Will Ferrell film of the same name.

The CD is pretty much a traditional Christmas album, with a few surprises.

The Zooey Deschanel/Leon Redbone version of Baby, It's Cold Outside is fun.

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New this year is A Very She & Him Christmas,

featuring the always fun Zooey Deschanel and her musical partner M. Ward.

Fun, a definite indie-sounding album, and Zooey has a fun, easy voice to listen to.

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Also new this year is Christmas, by Michael Buble.

This one hit the top of the charts, not surprisingly.

His voice is always great and from the liner notes,

he says he modeled this CD after the classics he listened to growing up,

like Bing Crosby's Christmas album.

I love it, his voice is great as always and the fresh sounding

yet respectful to their origins.

Awesome CD for Christmas music lovers!

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As for non-Christmas music, I was also gifted with Dolly Parton's latest CD, Better Day.

Was concerned this was going to be an "off" album, but I was worried for nothing.

Dolly is spot-on her game here, as usual.

Songs are great and her voice is beautiful, as always.

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Finally, my brother and his wife gave me Cyndi Lauper's At Last, from 2003.

I have had this on my Amazon with list since 2004,

it was the oldest item on the list and now I finally have it!

It is a collection of Lauper's covers of jazz standards.

She has such a great voice and it is interesting to hear her take on these songs.

Going to need a few listens to truly appreciate this one.

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So, that's what's new for me, music-wise.

I could try to cover all the new music from the online musicians,

but I really didn't keep track.

Maybe this Christmastime I will post the new music as I come across it,

so anyone who wants it can get it as well.

Give the musicians some more notice, as well,

which is always a good thing for those trying to get noticed.

Thanks for the gifts & Happy 2012!

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A Smoky Mountain Christmas

Haven't done a "Guilty No More" post in a LONG time, but here's one for ya:

A Smoky Mountain Christmas, from 1986, starring Dolly Parton, Lee Majors, Bo Hopkins and Dan Hedaya, with an appearance by John Ritter at the end.

The film is about a music star named Lorna Davis who, needing to reconnect with her roots, heads off to spend Christmas at a friend's cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. When she gets there, she finds seven orphans using the cabin as their home. After encounters with a scary mountain man, a self-centered sheriff and a jealous witch-woman, Lorna and the kids struggle to spend Christmas - and the future - together.

Cheesy? You bet.

It is a simple yet sweet holiday story that isn't trying to be anything more. The plot uses many elements from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a template, but the tale is just about a bunch of loners who find their way to making their own kind of family.

The actors give their best to their roles, and we get the bonus of hearing Parton sing some great Christmastime country music.

Why these tunes were never released on a soundtrack is beyond me.

I have enjoyed watching this movie for years, usually on CMT, but for some reason they aren't airing it at all this Christmas. So, thanks to YouTube and user Miss Ashleigh Wardle, the film is below. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

Day Six: Favorite Song

Day Six: Favorite Song

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Like food yesterday, there are so many choices for a favorite song. Let's see...

Dolly Parton has written and performed many I like, Coat of Many Colors one of them.



I love the message that the song imparts, in such a beautiful and simple way.

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John Mellencamp also has his fair share of great music, Cherry Bomb being my favorite of his:



Just a great song, an ode to simpler times, I suppose.

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Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time is classic, and brings me back to the 80s every time I hear it.



Great song sung by an awesome talent.

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Don't You (Forget About Me) is, to me, the quintessential 80s song.



It might have a lot to do with be so closely associated with The Breakfast Club, but with or without the film, it is an 80s classic that never gets old.

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But I will have to go with Unforgettable, the version made into a duet by Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie.



A beautiful song, without doubt. Two amazing voices spanning time to meld just perfectly on a classic.

My wife and I also chose this song to be "Our Song", and we couldn't have picked a better one. That's why Unforgettable is my Favorite Song.

Day Three: Favorite Musician

Day Three: Favorite Musician

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Dolly Parton



Out of every musician I can think of, Dolly has written and/or performed the most songs that I have enjoyed. Some for their pure musical joy, others for deeper, more heartfelt reasons.

Dolly is beautiful, no doubt about that. She also has an amazing voice, can play an array of instruments and, most importantly, she is one of the best songwriters ever. She just has a knack for making beautiful music.



Dolly also seems like a great person, a celebrity for sure, yet she seems to still have her feet firmly planted on the ground and is able to poke fun at herself. That is a good trait for anyone to have.

Enjoy some of her music below, and hear why Dolly is my favorite musician.

Movie Monday - Holiday Aftermath

Watched a few more holiday flicks.

A Christmas Story (1983)

[Melinda Dillon; Darren McGavin; Peter Billingsley; Ian Petrella; Scott Schwartz]

Plot: Humorist Jean Shepard's nostalgic view of Christmastime in Indiana during the 1940s. Nine-year-old Ralphie desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas and wages an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents that the toy is safe. Meanwhile, as Ralphie prepares for the big day, his brother has a strange relationship with food, and his dad fights the never-ending furnace battle.

Definitely a classic. We watched it off and on on Christmas Eve/Day via TBS 24-hour marathon. But we put it in again after Christmas to watch from start to finish. Great movie, nostalgic holiday fun.



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A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)

[Dolly Parton; Lee Majors; Bo Hopkins; John Ritter; Dan Hedaya; Anita Morris]

Plot: A country/western singer on a trip through the Tennessee mountains to get away from it all runs into a reclusive backwoodsman, a family of orphans -- and a witch. Will it be a Merry Christmas for any of them?

Okay, I will be the first to admit that this is one cheesy, corny, Christmas flick. I mean, look at that cast! The Six-Million Dollar Man AND Dolly Parton! 80s TV magic right there.

If you just leave your cynicism and criticism aside and watch it for the simple pleasure of the movie, then you can have a good time. Christmastime is made for flicks that are a little on the corny side, right? Pull up a comfy chair, grab a glass of (spiked) egg nog and enjoy!



The movie is available to watch in 10 parts on YouTube. Here is part 1.

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Home Alone (1990)

[Macaulay Culkin; Joe Pesci; Daniel Stern; John Heard; Roberts Blossom; Catherine O'Hara]

Plot: Families suck. That's the opinion of 8-year-old Kevin McCallister, whose family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on vacation. In no time, Kevin makes the most of the situation, watching forbidden flicks and pigging out on junk food. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory -- by planting booby traps galore!

Another Christmas classic in our house, we watch it every December. A fun movie, even if you have to suspend disbelief a little bit, it has a heart to it as well. I don't think Culkin was ever better than here.



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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

[Macaulay Culkin; Joe Pesci; Daniel Stern; Catherine O'Hara; John Heard; Brenda Fricker]

Plot: Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card -- despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, he's determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store.

While not as great as the original, and also in need of the suspension of belief, this is a pretty decent sequel. The leads all shine and make the story work. Fun way to spend some time.



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New Year's Evil (1980)

[Roz Kelly; Kip Niven; Chris Wallace; Grant Cramer]

Plot: It's New Year's Eve. You’re working alone at a punk rock station when the phone rings. A voice on the other end tells you that at the stroke of midnight in each time zone, someone will be murdered. So what do you do? Pray that you’re not next.

I have known about this movie for years, but never got around to watching it. The combination of the New Year and the flick streaming for free on FEARNet gave me enough reasons to finally watch.

Bleh. While not the worst movie I have ever seen, it is nothing great either. The acting is definitely direct-to-video fare, and the plot itself is pretty blah. Not really worthy of a second viewing, and for me, that says a lot.



Watch it for free on FEARNet!

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Catching Up

Okay, so I have been out of the "blog-loop" since Sunday, except for occasional peeks to see what was going on (and to keep my Google Reader from imploding!)

My thoughts on the recent "Celebrity Apocalypse":

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David Carradine:



Okay, so arguably, Carradine is the recent death that kicked off this boom-boom-boom month of deaths. Carradine was someone I recall from childhood, mainly due to my mother's fondness for him and his role as Kwai Chang Caine on "Kung Fu" and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues". To me, his best role was in the "Kill Bill" films.

But his weirdest role, and the one I will always think of now, was in "Sonny Boy", a small budget wack-a-doodle of a film from 1989 in which he played Pearl, who was either a man in drag living as the wife of another man, or just a strange, homely, lonely woman. So bizarre, I don't know what I could say to describe it other than "odd".

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Ed McMahon:



Didn't really watch him as Carson's sidekick much, I knew him more from "TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes" with Dick Clark, and also from "Star Search".

He seemed like a good enough emcee. And he seemed like a nice enough guy, from what I saw of his TV-persona. Glad he is done suffering now.

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Farrah Fawcett:



Out of the Angels, I was always a "Sabrina Duncan"/Kate Jackson fan. But who didn't know Farrah? She was more than just an actress, she became sort of the symbol of the 70s beauty. She was adored by millions of boys (and men) and copied by millions of girls (and women).

I was one who bought into the weird side of her, due to her appearance on Letterman a few years back. But the recent special that aired prior to her death showed a different side of Farrah. She was a woman who was battling a deadly disease with courage and a sense of humor. I am sad she is gone, but glad she is no longer suffering, as well.

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Michael Jackson:



Wow. Even though he had been out of the major spotlight for so long, he was such an icon that he would always be one of the "big ones". In the 80s, was there ANY celebrity bigger than Michael Jackson?

I feel bad his life went so, so far off-track towards the end, and then I have to wonder how much was damage he did to himself and how much was the end-effect of the strange path his life had been on? But, as I was shown with Farrah, maybe we will just never know the really true life of Michael Jackson.

I have been able to listen to a lot of his music over the past few days, due to the radio tributes. When he was good, he was very, very good. Sad that it all fell apart.

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Billy Mays:



Not much for me to say about this. Sad he died so relatively young and full of life. I feel bad for his family. He seemed like an energetic and fun guy.

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Gale Storm:



Not really too familiar with this older actress, I remember her more from a role on a episode of "Murder, She Wrote". I watch plenty of TCM, so I am sure I will come across more of her movies, and I am looking forward to it.

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Fred Travalena:



Not too familiar with Travalena, but he was a face I remember seeing here and there over the years, and usually always involving a laugh. I guess I probably heard him more in many of the voice-overs he did in TV and cartoons, including The Jetsons, The Smurfs and Scooby-Doo.

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So, my thoughts, not that they matter much. I think Dolly Parton summed it all up pretty well when she did this little piece about Jackson's death:



Don't believe in people "resting in peace", since I don't think you are "resting" (or anything else) after death. A fellow blogger came up with a different acronym: L.I.M. - which stands for "Live In Memory". I like that better!

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Happy St. Patty's Day!

The leprechauns I saw this morning:



And here's a little tune for you:


Dolly Parton - we irish

Luck & Happiness to Everyone! Have a great day!