Track A1 Joe Loss Concertium - Music To Drive By... if only because it makes every bike ride a free floating ride down country roads. You can't be sad grinding out the miles to this song, it's nigh on impossible. But let's not stop there... it's good music to drive to yes, but it could be good music to shave to as well. There is a long list of lounge songs with the title "Music To (insert word here) By" and one of those might have sufficed as well, but this is the one I had in front of me. Let's google Joe and see what we can find out about him...
from 45-rpm.org
Real Name: Joshua Alexander Loss
Birth Date: June 22nd 1909
Birth Place: Bishopsgate, London
The long list and wide range of 45s presented on this page is testimony to the popularity and versatility of what was one of the UKs most important light orchestras. The Joe Loss Orchestra would turn anything that was a good tune into something in their own style. The music had no boundaries, it could be jazz, blues, light classic or rock and roll- if you could dance to it, then Joe's orchestra would play it.
Joe Loss was the youngest son of a Russian immigrant furniture maker. Despite the fact that his family weren't very musical, Joe learned to play the violin at the Hackney Academy of Music. Joe's skills with the instrument were good enough for him to win a scholarship and he went on to study at Trinity College of Music and the London School of Music. He developed a passion for dance music and while still in his teens he formed 'The Magnetic Dance Band'. Despite this, Joe's first professional engagements were at the local cinema where he would accompany the silent movies of the day.
Joe went on to play with various dance orchestras at that time, and by 1930 he had formed his first professional band- a seven piece that played at the Astoria Ballroom in London. This moved on after a short time to the Kit-Cat Club in Haymarket, and in 1933 its reputation had grown to the point where it was called upon to make its first radio broadcast. The band was extremely successful before the outbreak of war though its style was always 'straight' dance music and could not be classified properly as jazz. Joe managed to keep the band together despite the war and even played to the British Expeditionary Force in France during 1940.
The popularity of the Joe Loss orchestra withstood the rapid changes that took place after the war, and unashamedly pandered to the fashions of the time. As the dance halls gave way to television so did the band. By playing whatever was proving popular at the time the band never became anachronistic and outlasted all its rivals- playing up until the end of the 1980s.
Joe Loss died during 1990.
Track 3: Bambee - Do It Like You Do
A few years ago, I stumbled on a song called Amigo that was really catchy. I lost the CD I had the song on, but when Audio Galaxy was up and running, discovered a bunch of other songs by the artist I discovered was Bambee. One of those songs was this one. "Do It Like You Do" is a frequent program that bounces into my head... and it's a catchy song to boot.
here's what I discovered about Bambee...
Rumors say she was born in a cowshed on the Norwegian countryside. It is probably not true. Neither do we believe that she grew up in a handbag (though she is quite small), or spent her childhood on some tiny Pacific island. Desirée Sparre-Enger was born on planet pop. She discovered the wonderment of pop music at the age of two, and has kept the style and glamour of the pop-beat till today. All through her school years, Desirée frequently initiated pupils’ performances with herself in the leading parts. Her theatrical fantasies had no limits, but she never realized that plays like The Sound Of Music or Les Miserables perhaps demanded dramatic experience beyond the capacity of a pre-teen dreamer.
Desirée was working for the youth department in a national radio station when she first reached out for stardom. One day, a producer asked her if she wanted to sing the chorus for a song. She did, and after a lot of singing, “Candy Girl” became the result. She decided to release the song as a single and signed on to Scandinavian Records.
Now she needed a name. She got in touch with her good friend and singer, Shortcut, and they had a name brain-storming for Desirée. The first thing to strike his mind was Bambi. It made him think of Disney's famous deer animal character, because of her big, blue, innocent eyes. Des loved the idea of Bambi, but made a small change to Bambee, because of Disney's copyright laws.
It was a huge and daring step for Desirée to take the plunge as Bambee, but she hasn't regretted it since. She probably had to fight harder than anyone to enter the playlists; expecting special treatment or any other benefit from her position would overrate her power - and underestimate the integrity of the radio jockeys. Supported by public demand, she traveled to major cities, and performed in small clubs all over Norway and Scandinavia. She was a part of a cross-country festival tour, arranged by national media and broadcast live on TV. She also starred in the Radio 1 Big City event and was invited to host the prestigious Radio 1 Music Awards show.
The lack of limits has become one of Bambee's most powerful forces. She is confident in her career, proud of her appearance, and happy for the success she has achieved so far. Equally important is the touch of self-irony that allows Bambee to keep the artist in her, out of her private life. Sometimes it is necessary to separate the two, but a brief glance into her wardrobe (similar to the costume stock at any major theatre) makes you doubt her efforts to keep them apart. Either way, she is a creative and charming personality - neat, sweet and talented. She loves to play TV-games in her sparetime and she is very keen when she is playing. It happens to often that she plays till late night. Her favourite game is Resident Evil.
Bambee's music is pure and simple pop songs. Her first album release, On Ice, established her as a baby-voiced singer with the eyes of a fallow deer. The album went straight to the sales and airplay charts in Scandinavia, followed by impressive success in the Asian, Russia, the Middle East, and the South American markets. Some media representatives drew parallels to Aqua, who dominated the international charts at the time. The difference between the two singers is quite sensational; Bambee's voice is naturally baby-like - no studio tricks required!
Bambee released her second full-length album, Fairytales, in June of 2001. Included are the hit singles Seventeen, Cowgirl, and eleven more enjoyable and danceable tracks that make you feel good.
Track 4: Bikeride - Erik & Angie
At one point, Angela started to download every song she could that had her name in the title. Most of the songs she found were awful, but this one caught my eye, if only because the band was called Bikeride. This was on the original disc that I listened to on the way to Ironman Wisconsin. It ties in with Music to Drive By in a sense because it's what I imagine playing on the perfect "I don't have a care in the world" ride. The pedaling's a little easier when you've got a song that can put you into the zone... and staying in the zone is the key.
I've joked that long-distance cycling is a bit like zen meditation. To handle the long miles, you have to be able to go into a part of yourself that turns off the conscious. Let's face it, long miles are sometimes just plain boring, sometimes though, you can find a place in yourself that makes you a little less conscious of the miles. It's hard to describe, but when you get there, you stop focusing on the miles and just continue to grind. As soon as you look at the mileage again, you start to work out the miles and time in your head and you float out of it and those next few miles feel like the longest miles in the world.
