BATTLE OF THE BANDS XVIII OR Show Me Your Tunes, was really fun,
at least for me. There was a whole lot of love/hate expressed for those tough
guys who really can’t sing, but give it what they got anyway, and croon from the
heart. If you come around here often, or follow my votes at the other BATTLE OF
THE BANDS participants, you would know exactly how my vote would lean.
That last sentence reminds me of something I want to ask and talk
about for a minute. Please bear, or should that be bare, with me. My questions
is; why don’t you guys click the link I give you and go on over to Mr. McCarthy's
site and vote there also? Once at his place, he provides a link to other sites
also participating in these bi-monthly BATTLES, and you can vote all through
the game. Some of you are incredibly loyal to BOTB, so I have to figure you
enjoy it, therefore why not quadruple or quintuple your enjoyment (there are
usually four or five participants) and vote all around. ANYWAY…I’M JUST
WONDERING.
Let me know in the comment box what ya think.
OK, back to PAINT YOUR WAGON, I promised some fun facts. It was
over budget, overdue, and suffered many delays. Some of the delays were
attributed to Mr. Marvin’s drinking and inability to, ah um…perform. It was
stated that quite possibly it also added to his performance. Whoever knows if
those are ‘urban myths’ used to hype the film, or real truths. Something that
has been reported in several locations is that Marvin was originally cast to
play Pike Bishop in ‘The Wild Bunch’ (a role later played by William Holden),
but had a falling out with director Sam Peckinpah and pulled out in order to
star in ‘Paint Your Wagon’. Whoa! That was quite a switch.
I’m sure a musical ‘oater’ starring two ‘tough guys’ like
Eastwood and Marvin proved to be a disappointment to a whole lot of folks.
Thanks to the ‘Beer Boys’ over at A Beer for the Shower I was treated to one real man’s extreme
disappointment:
Many of you expressed your sentiments that although Lee Marvin
really couldn’t sing he did express the feeling of the song better. I think
Susan Kane summed it up nicely when she said: ‘Lee Marvin delivers the angst,
passion, and rawness.
If you haven’t guessed by now, my vote goes to Lee Marvin. He is
definitely one of my favorite ‘tough guys’. Sure he can’t ‘really sing’, but
maybe that adds an element of reality to this silly, over the top depiction of the wild
west, gold fever, mining towns. Maybe because he doesn’t have the range of a
Robert Goulet it’s exactly like Susan says, and he delivers more feeling. I don’t
know for sure. I do know that his delivery appeals to me, and it did to most of
you.
The final tally, including my vote:
Lee Marvin 13 votes
Robert
Goulet 7 votes
I had a record 18 votes
on this BOTB (yes, I can add. One of you voted for both, so I counted it that
way). Thank you all for your loyalty and support. Now, keep coming back here
and voting, but also PLEASE visit the other participants and vote there also.
I do want to add that it is my opinion Robert Goulet has a great
voice, and has done a great job on this tune, as well as many other Broadway
hits, but I just don’t get the same feeling from his rendition here.
If you follow me regularly and listen to some of my exploits,
you’ll also realize that; I was in fact, born under a wanderin’ star.
I’ll be Back on May 1st with BATTLE OF THE BANDS XIX.
I have a special surprise for you then.