Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by 😉
The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1st of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on or about the 8th day of the month.
Here it is, April already. If only in name. You sure can’t tell by the weather. The season tries to change every day, but winter refuses to let go. Not a week after I put away all the quilts and throw blankets, I woke up to this:
But mostly, we’ve had a ton of rain. We pay closer attention to bridge conditions these days, now that our rivers are actually running. It’s as if winter has been practicing for the biggest April prank ever.
Have you ever been pranked?
On this day in 2017, Bob Dylan finally accepted the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to him the year before. I, for one, honestly wondered if he’d walk up as if to claim his award and say “April Fool!” instead. It was April 1, 1970 when John Lennon and Yoko issued a prank press release stating the two of them were having sex change operations.
Known for collaborations on songs such as “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”, songwriter Jack Keller, passed away from leukemia on April 1, 2005.
So many themes to choose from for today’s battle…here goes!
So, there you have it, Folks. Which do you like best? After you vote, and before you go – I highly recommend visiting the rest of the BOTB participants – they’re pros! And a few of them hold two battles a month! Here’s where to find them:
STMcC – Presents Battle of the Bands
Arlee – Tossing it Out
Cathy – Curious as a Cathy
John – The Sound of One Hand Typing
Mike – Mike’s Ramblings
Mary – www.jinglejanglejungle.net
Debbie – The Doglady’s Den
Streampebbles 
It seems my whole life has been a prank lately. This weather sure is a joke. I’m voting for Gary Lewis, even though I really liked both versions.
-Mary
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Aw, turn the beat around on the pranksters, hon. You got this. And I’ve got your vote for Gary Lewis, thank you!
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I’m so surprised you have the same schizophrenic weather as we do, diedre! Mother Nature must be having a nervous breakdown.
On to the battle… Gary Lewis’ version is engrained in the old memory banks, but I truly enjoyed the languid style of Dan Fogelberg. Please give my vote to Dan.
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Haha! A nervous breakdown would certainly explain a lot of things 😉
A vote for languid Dan it is, thank you!
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It’s been raining a lot here in L.A. Gov Gavin Newsome has declared that we should beware because we are still under draught conditions. Duh. Geography buddy and the climate that goes with this area. I’ve been happy with the rain.
Tough choice here. Both artists are favorites of mine with significant memories attached. Overall Fogelberg is probably my favorite artist, but on this song I thought the delivery was kind of schlocky. I prefer Gary Lewis and the Playboys doing this song.
Lee
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Right. In the name of water preservation, we’re not supposed to grow “decorative” grass anymore. Yet, the mayor wants to plant a million trees in the desert.
Another vote for Gary Lewis and the Playboys – thank you, Lee!
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Howdy, dIEDRE ~
Yeah, this Winter (shoving Spring away from its rightful place) has gotten ridiculous. My weather folks are telling me that we’ve got a 50% chance of snow tomorrow and tomorrow night, and a 40% chance of snow on Monday. I’m calling “BOULDER DAM!” on this. I think it’s fake, fake, fake!!! [*See the YouTube documentary ‘The Dimming’.]
Wow! This Battle you put together is really tough for me. I’ve always liked this song, and the Gary Lewis & The Playboys rendition sounds so much like the original hit that I actually had to look it up to see if this WAS the original. (Nope. It was a group called The Cascades.)
And ordinarily I don’t particularly care for Dan Fogelberg’s stuffs, but I really dug the Smooth Jazz treatment he gave to this song. I also appreciated that he made the song his own, rather than doing an almost Xerox copy of the original hit, like Gary Lewis did.
Yeah, tough, tough Battle. I had to listen to BOTH SONGS TWICE, just to make sure I was going to get my “bote” right. And indeed, to my surprise, I am siding with DAN The Man!
My Brother, Judge Al Bondigas, said that he also liked BOTH recordings, but his gavel came down in a rulin’ for GARY LEWIS – thus essentially canceling out my own “two cents”. Stuffs happens!
~ D-FensDogG
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Hiya, Stephen T., and you too, Brother Judge!
You bet I’ll be checking out “The Dimming,” I’m interested in all things wonky these days.
Wow, this battle is as exciting as yesterday’s Tombstone Desert Donkey races! I figured I’d mention the Cascades at some point, but you beat me to it 😉 A vote for Dan the Man and one for Gary Lewis – thank you, guys!
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Gary Lewis for me as he sings it a bit more upbeat and I prefer that since, right now, it’s raining and, it was 14C but it is supposed to go down to -14C! Blecchhh.
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Hi Birgit!
Sending sunshine thoughts your way, my dear. Most everyone I talk to seems ready to file a formal complaint at the office of Mother Nature 😉 An appreciated vote for the upbeat Gary Lewis – thank you, M’am.
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There has been a lot unpredictable weather this year. Our is fairly typical. We had a mid March freeze which everyone swears will destroy the first set of Peaches to bloom. Actually, they have to knock the excess blooms off if it doesn’t freeze a few off.
Hands down, Fogelberg. I am a huge fan.
I see why I haven’t been seeing your blog. You are now wordpress. It is a shame how blogger and wordpress don’t play well together. I’ll need to make a point to come over to the wordpress side.
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Hi Ann! Good to see you here. The unusual amount of rainfall was, at first, a pleasant anomaly. Now I’m wondering what kind of new-fangled insects might emerge from our new-found swamplands – ha!
I still post monthly blogs at pensivepens.blogspot.com for IWSG. Here at Streampebbles, I share writing, book reviews, and music. WordPress is a bit of a struggle (?), so for the time being, I’m hanging on to both 😉
Another vote for Fogleberg from a huge fan is duly noted, my dear – thank you!
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Diedre,
Both covers are great. I think I preferred the moodier, jazzy sound of Dan Fogelberg. Have a bandtastic week, my friend!
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Hi Cathy!
A vote for jazzy Dan it is. Thank you, M’am!
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You’re welcome! 😉
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Dan Fogelberg gets my vote
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Another vote for Dan the Jazzy Man – thank you, Mike!
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