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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Jenny

  • Trios…

    Trios…

    What do you get when you have singing groups of three? Trios, of course!

    I am currently involved with a project on SingSnap.com that requires me to sing a song with two other women. We’re trying to decide what song we want to sing together. It’s not so easy, though, because I don’t really know these women too well. We all kind of have different tastes and styles. Because we need to pick a song soon and I want to be helpful, I figured today would be a good day to write a post about trios– specifically female trios.

    When I think of this topic, the first thing that comes to mind is the legendary trio consisting of Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris. Back in 1987, they came together on a project they called Trio and made gems like this…


    Oh, heavenly harmonies! “To Know Him Is To Love Him” is a great trio song.

    Then I started to think about newer trios… like Destiny’s Child.


    I must admit, I am more familiar with the version of “Emotion” Samantha Sang did in the 70s. But the tight harmonies on “Emotion” are very appealing, aren’t they?

    Unfortunately, the Bee Gees aren’t down with allowing their music on SingSnap.com, so that song is out. Back to the drawing board.

    What about the Dixie Chicks? They’re a trio and they are all over SingSnap.com! So let’s see…


    How about “Wide Open Spaces”? That song is a classic.

    Of course, if we wanted to do an 80s style trio, we could channel a little Bananarama.


    I always liked this song… It may be a little too pop, though it is a bonafide trio effort!

    Or we could go really old school and try an Andrews Sisters hit. Remember “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree”?


    This might be pretty hard to pull off… Gotta love those harmonies, though.

    The Maguire Sisters were a little more soulful…


    The 50s and 60s may be the best source for finding good trios!

    This could be a real project for me this weekend. Anyone have other suggestions for good songs for female trios? Feel free to leave me a comment!

  • Writer’s block

    Writer’s block

    I’ve been wanting to post all week, but I have a touch of writer’s block…

    I haven’t been writing on Pop Rock Nation as much as I have in the past because lately I haven’t felt as inspired. I often look to the media or my daily life for ideas on things to write about. That is especially true when it comes to writing about music. I hear something on a TV show or the Internet and it makes me want to find out more and perhaps share with others. Unfortunately, nothing has come up in the past few days that has seemed worth blogging about. It seems like all my ideas for music posts are about things I’ve written about before. I was thinking about posting another “horrible covers” post, but that seemed a little too played out.

    So here I sit on Thursday morning trying to get over my writer’s block. I am immediately reminded of an old Elton John song called “Writing”. It’s from his Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album, which I first discovered in the mid 90s when I bought a bootleg copy of it from a guy in Armenia. I went looking for it on YouTube and found this cover version by a user named zerobio. No, it’s not Elton’s version, but I really like what zerobio has done with it. So I’m sharing it here.


    He does a fabulous job with this deep cut classic, doesn’t he?

    So now that I’ve heard zerobio sing an old Elton John song, I’m curious about what else he’s done. Turns out he performs his own music and covers. Here’s one of his originals…


    “It Wouldn’t Be Right” is an original… and it’s pretty good. Listening to this, I realize that this YouTuber has got some mad skills.

    Wow. Just one visit to YouTube has melted my musical blogger’s writer’s block! I check out zerobio’s page and see that his name is really Elliott Kimmel and he’s from Ontario, Canada. I don’t know Elliott, but I can tell he loves music very much. I can tell that he wants to share with others, too. Here’s a guitar tutorial he’s put up for other musicians hoping to learn how to play certain songs. Mr. Kimmel is also a science teacher, which may also explain why he’s so generous with instruction.


    Wanna learn how to play “Blinded By The Light”?

    So now I’m sitting here listening to Elliott Kimmel and realizing that though I have only just discovered him, he and I have pretty similar tastes in music. Here’s a cover of “Ordinary Fool”, a song from the musical Bugsy Malone. I also covered it on my own YouTube channel. I like his version better because he accompanies himself and gives the song a different spin.


    Elliott Kimmel makes “Ordinary Fool” his own.

    My writer’s block is gone now… and now I’m also inspired to make some music. It beats vacuuming the house, right? Thanks to YouTuber Elliott Kimmel, aka zerobio, for chipping away my writer’s block. I highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel and showing him some love.

    If you like his music, you can purchase it…

  • Virginia has two new state songs!

    Virginia has two new state songs!

    My Virginia connection sent me an email today to tell me that Virginia has two new state songs!

    A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link on Pop Rock Nation’s Facebook page about Virginia’s quest to find a new state song. The article I posted was about Susan Greenbaum’s original song, “Virginia, The Home of My Heart”. I was interested in hearing the song because I am a native of Virginia and because Virginia seriously needed a new state song. The old state song was called “Carry Me Back To Old Virginny” and it has some rather racist lyrics.


    Ray Charles interprets Virginia’s former state song.


    Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers sing “Carry Me Back To Old Virginny.”

    I really like Susan Greenbaum’s song…


    Susan Greenbaum sings her original song “Virginia, The Home of My Heart”. I think she sounds a little like Judy Collins. She has a lovely, pure, soprano voice.

    Unfortunately, Susan Greenbaum’s gorgeous original song was not chosen to be Virginia’s new state song. According to an article that appeared on news radio channel WTOP’s Web site, Virginia’s two new state songs are “Sweet Virginia Breeze” by the Robbin Thompson Band and “Our Great Virginia”, which is the old folk song “Shenandoah” with new lyrics by Mike Greenly.


    “Sweet Virginia Breeze” by The Robbin Thompson Band. This song is so 80s. I used to hear a stripped down version used on TV ads for a local supermarket chain back in the 80s.


    1989 Farm Fresh ad using “Sweet Virginia Breeze”.

    Actually, I like The Robbin Thompson Band because they had a hit song called “Brite Eyes” back in the 80s. That song was stuck in my head for years and I couldn’t find it until I finally misspelled “bright”. The mystery was finally solved and I could focus on a new obsession. Robbin Thompson is not a native of Virginia, but he has lived there since 1969 and has worked with some really big talent, including Williamsburg’s own Bruce Hornsby! “Sweet Virginia Breeze” has been considered an unofficial Virginia state song for years now, so it makes sense that the legislature decided to make it official. “Sweet Virginia Breeze” was co-written by Steve Bassett.


    The other state song, “Our Great Virginia”.

    I love the old song “Shenandoah”, especially when Van Morrison sings it with The Chieftains. I like this retooled version with new lyrics well enough, but frankly I think Susan Greenbaum’s original song would have been a better choice. That’s just my opinion, though. At the very least, Virginia’s search for a new state song has introduced me to a very talented singer-songwriter in Susan Greenbaum… and listening to all of these songs have made me miss home a little. I’m all verklempt now.