Better Late than Never - BATTLE OF THE BANDS Results

As usual, I'm a few days late and more than a few dollars short. I do apologize for not getting my BOTB results post up at the appointed time (February 7th), but I had some business over the weekend that needed tending to.

I'm here now so let's get on with the final results and my vote.

I guess I could call this the BATTLE OF THE WEIRD NAMES. I mean, Dicky Doo and Ry Cooder. I'm not sure which would be a worse moniker to grow up with. 'Course you all know from the original post that Dicky Doo and the Don'ts was a purely 'made up' name. Then of course, so is the name of every other band out there. Amiright?

Several of you mentioned that the versions done by Ry and Linda Ronstadt sounded similar. If you thought that, it's because they were the same arrangement (as arranged by Ry Cooder), and it was in fact, very different from the original.

While the original by Dicky Doo and the Don'ts kind of had that late 50's early 60's doo wop sound going on, it also sounded, at least to me, like an old recording my Daddy used to play of 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'. More in the style of a H.S. Marching Band to my ears. But then that's just me. I bet after that remark, you can all pretty much guess that my vote does not go to DD&tD.

More than one person said they liked Ry Cooder's version better for the arrangements but he kind of fell short on the vocals. I can't really disagree with you there, especially when you are comparing his vocal performance to that of the talented Miss Ronstadt. Linda definitely does have the smoother, almost like velvet, at least to my ears, voice. Kind of makes it all more the shame, as to what's happened to her.

Anyway, I cast my vote for Ry Cooder. I really like his arrangement. I think he took that H.S. Marching Band sound and turned it into the 'broken heart' song the lyrics intended. I suppose my vote in part might be swayed by his overall musical career (I know, I know, that's not how this is supposed to go, but hey; you know me.) in the end my vote really didn't make much difference.

The final tally:

          Dicky Do and the Don'ts          5 votes
          Ry Cooder                              4 votes Including mine
          Lind Ronstadt                         8 votes

Miss Linda Ronstadt is clearly the winner.  I do wonder how this might have turned out, had I not gone with the three-way, but we'll never know for sure.

I'll be back on the 15th with my next BATTLE OF THE BANDS. I do hope you'll drop by for a visit. Until then; "Happy Trails to You'.