Andy 60s Music: April, A Lovely Flower Maiden, Abandons Him, But There's May Waiting, And June...

As April leaves us and May approaches, we observe that June is waiting to mark the middle of twenty twenty-six. That's half-way through the year and 3 flowers are blooming...

Three Dog Night: 'Pieces Of April.'

YouTube Video by:12 mulligan.

Watch the variety of flowers on this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJ6EpYwvzA

The following comments are extracts taken from previous blog sites: 

From the late Dave Loggins, composer: Uploaded on Jan 2, 2009.

"I would like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts on "Pieces." I wrote it at a very special time of my life. Special, because I met the "love of my life" and had recently lost her. By chance, we were together for three consecutive Aprils and then she left me for good. Today, I don't know where she is or how her life turned out. 

May is symbolic of the present, April was and still remains a sweet yesterday. I have never really gotten over "April" and the "pieces" still remain. Those sweet Aprils... It's my favorite song, too." 

Tomas Rodriguez, blog reader, says:

It is a really beautiful song, but it is very sad. I also think that the memory that he has of the woman is really an illusion. What he is really attached to is the feeling of sadness and longing that is evoked by his memory of the relationship. At the end of the day she did abandon him [and ladies he did abandon you] so why honor her/him for that? Love God, love life and love yourself first...

Suituapui, blogger was in Singapore, 1973, says:

Ooooo...one of my all-time favourite songs. 3 Dog Night's ‘Pieces of April’ - 1973. I was in Singapore that year, Stamford College, Waterloo Street. Those were the days. I saw Heather and the Thunderbirds - Lost Horizon, Shangri La...and also another place, Malaysia Hotel...can't remember the name now. I saw a very young Anita Sarawak too - Top of the Hilton. Oooo...what memories. [Suituapui means 'Beautiful Fat Guy'].

Maggie May: Rod Stewart. With Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. YouTube Video by: Rod Stewart.   

Poppa Madison, blog reader, says:

Pity so many young women of today don't merit this kind of romantic approach. I feel sorry for the young guys of recent generations who want to give their hearts to a lovely fair maiden, but more often than not come face to face with a gaggle of boozed up, foul mouthed, violent, out of their mind female juvenile delinquents when they go out try and find one they can give their all to. 

50 years ago, I can vouch that we actually had real ladies and gentlemen with good manners and a sense of socially interactive behaviour that many of today's young lot could not even begin to be able to get close to understanding let alone emulate.

Wot a shame!   😱

[But don't forget guys, if April has left you, there's always May and June waiting...]

Rainy Day In June: Kinks. YouTube Video by: 1966 Stereo In.

Flowers donated by Mrs. R. Lim. 

Thank you, Mademoiselle.

April Showers: What Fools These Mortals Be!

Pieces of April: Three Dog Night 

YouTube Video by Jim C.

UP TO 1,000 VIEWS, 26 LIKES

In April: April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day

It is celebrated yearly on the first day of April when people play practical jokes on each other. The victims are "April fools" and hoax stories may be reported in the newspapers on the day itself but explained subsequently. Well known in Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil and the U.S., it has been popular since the 1800s.  The earliest recorded connection with 1 April and fooling can be found in 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer [1392]. 

In Singapore too, we used to trick each other with April Fool jokes. As a younger person in the 60s, it was worse. And there are songs about April and fools! Either Elvis Presley's A Fool Such As I or Rick Nelson's, Poor Little Fool would have been a good choice for today's posting but here's one you might not have heard of.  It is a ballad written by Marty Robbin's friend Don Winters which was on the flip of his big hit, Devil Woman from 1962.

April Fool's Day: Marty Robbins

YouTube Video from: David R. Rogers.

April Fool's Day (composed by Don Winters)

"It should be April Fool's Day cause you've been foolin' me
All the things you promised just weren't meant to be
You lied, you lied you cheated, you never could be true
It should be April Fool's Day and the joke should be on you.

It hurt me so to see you go your secret love and you
As in the past, for now, at last I found someone too
Your secret love has left you and I found someone new
It should be April Fool's Day and the joke should be on you."

Puck is an illustration of a character from 

W. Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

In another context

Puck:
"Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand,
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

William Shakespeare:
A Midsummer Night's Dream: (3.2: 110-115)

Familiar Songs With April In Title

Pieces of April - Three Dog Night 
April Love - Pat Boone 
April - Deep Purple
April Come She Will - Simon/Garfunkel 
April Fools Dionne Warwick 

April In Paris - Frank Sinatra / Billie Holiday / Count Basie 
April In  Portugal - Frank Sinatra / Les Butler 
April Played A Fiddle - Frank Sinatra 
April Showers - Eddie Fisher 
I'll Remember April - Charlie Parker 

April Love: Pat Boone 

YouTube Video:

Barbara83Couto

Google Images 
YouTube Videos.

This post has been rejuvenated from 1/4/2013.

A Fool Such As I: Elvis Presley. 

YouTube Video by: musicislifee01.

April 1st - April Fool's Day Song List?

April Love by Pat Boone

Not all April songs have a fool's theme. Here's a short list with songs that are beautiful to listen to. It's a pity that some of these recordings are unavailable but check the music shops and you may be lucky enough to find them.

1.    April Showers (B.G.D. Sylva) Al Jolson: 1921

2.    April (Blackmore/Lord) Deep Purple: 1968 

3.    April Come She Will (Simon) Simon n Garfunkel: 1965 

4.    April Fools Dionne Warwick: 1969 

5.    April In Paris (Duke/Harburg) Frank Sinatra: 1954 

6.    April In Portugal (Ferräo/Kennedy) Vic Damone : 1953 

      Pieces of April Three Dog Night: Video by Ruth Gutierrez. Thank you.

7. April Love (Fain/Webster): Pat Boone: 1957 

8.    I'll Remember April* (Gene de Paul) Frank Sinatra: 1945 

9.    In April (Baker) Michael Cox: 1962

10.  Pieces of April (Dave Loggins) Three Dog Night: 1973

11.  April In Singapore (Bobby Sing) Michael Sing: 1965

About 50 singers have recorded this number.*

Have fun and have a great April folks! 

You Tube Video: Pieces of April.

One of the above titles is an April Fool's joke. Do you know which one?

For April Fool's Day Or Just Fools In Love?

"Everybody plays the fool, sometime There's no exception to the rule Listen, baby, it may be factual, may be cruel I want to tell ya Everybody plays the fool..." (by J.R. Bailey, Rudy Clark, Ken Williams.

The internet is full of articles on April Fool's Day and its origin. It would be interesting to find out more. Yes, it's the big day to-day and below is a list of 60s and 70s songs with the word fool:

Fools Rush In ~ Elvis Presley, A Fool Such As I - Elvis Presley, or The Clovers Fool, Fool, Fool - Elvis Presley Fool - Elvis Presley, Chain Of Fools ~ Aretha Franklin, What A Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers Why Do Fools Fall In Love? ~ Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers

What Kind Of Fool Am I? Sammy Davis Jr/Anthony Newley The Fool On The Hill - The Beatles Won't Get Fooled Again ~ The Who Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson April Fool's Day - Marty Robbins April Fools - Nina N Fredrick.

Everybody Plays The Fool - The Manhattans Fool For You - The Impressions A Fool In Love - Ike, Tina Turner Fool #1 - Brenda Lee Foolish Little Girl - Shirelles It Takes A Fool To Learn - The Spinners Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Connie Francis She's A Fool - Lesley Gore I'm A Fool - Dino, Desi, Billy Love's Made A Fool Of You - Bobby Fuller Four

And then there are songs without the 4 letter word but with similar themes: Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson Send In The Clowns - Judy Collins or Barbra Striesand Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone - The Monkees Cool Jerk - The Capitols

In certain songs the themes of sadness, anger, depression, defiance, distraction and hopelessness reveal themselves in the lyrics. But then could these feelings be more an indication of realisation before wisdom strikes a chord?

Elvis Presley: Fool. 

YouTube Video: maria mountain824

The Everly Brothers: 'Cathy's Clown'.

YouTube Video by: Ko ati.

"I've gotta stand tall,/You know a man can't crawl,/But when he knows you tell lies,/And he hears 'em passin' by,/He's not a man at all. (by: Don & Phil Everly)"

Not much of an April Fool's song posting? Make it funny then. If you remember other songs with a similar theme, please contribute.

1 "Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed." - Mark Twain.

2 "Looking foolish does the spirit good." - John Updike.

Images: Google.

Original article: Andy Lim

Information: Many websites abound.