Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio !


LES BROWN & HIS ORCHESTRA - Joltin' Joe DiMaggio



Une baseball song que j'ai découverte il y a un peu plus d'un an grâce à fantastique show radio de Bob Dylan consacré pour le coup au baseball. Cette chanson m'était tombée dessus (avec "Take Me Out To The Ball Game") et l'amour du jeu qui va avec.

On n'en fait plus des novelty songs comme ça... Le 45T était sorti, carrément, durant cette série de runs. Les mecs de la maison de disque avaient dégainé direct vendant des singles par wagons. Une chanson si jouissive... Ca marche toujours comme ça les novelties (notez le "good twelve more" du second couplet, un truc anodin mais qui permet à tout le monde de faire sienne de la chanson en changeant le "12" à chaque nouvelle étape franchit par Joe, c'est pratique, interactif, c'est la pop music quoi !). Les Américains doivent se souvenir de cette "streak" associée à cette chanson comme du début de l'été, du soleil qui claque sur la nuque et de la 2WW qui bat son plein. Ombre et Lumière, Adolf Hitler vs. DiMaggio. Les radios et les journaux s'en faisaient l'écho et les exploits de DiMaggio étaient aussi légers dans les esprits que la guerre pouvait être pesante.

Mais ce n'est pas seulement une chanson sur Joe DiMaggio, le "Yankee Clipper" plutôt une chanson à la gloire de sa "fifty-six game hitting streak" débutant le 15 mai 1941 face au pitcher des White Sox Eddie Smith pour en finir le 16 juillet 1941 à Cleveland devant Al Minar et Joe Krakauskas (dernier couplet "Cleveland Oh Oh Oh...").

Uné série de 56 matchs où Joltin' Joe frappera un coup sur à chaque match. Sur la série, son pourcentage à la batte est de .408 dont 15 Home Runs (+4 triples et 16 doubles, 55RBI). Durant la Streak, ni le All Star Game et la tripotée de futurs pitchers Hall Of Famers n'arrêtera Joe. Et le plus fort dans l'histoire, c'est qu'après sa série terminée, Monsieur remettra le couvercle (nouvelle série de 16 matchs) ! Une saison 1941 qui le verra remporter le titre de MVP devant Ted Williams et son % à la batte de .406! et les World Series avec les Yankees donc.

En 1973, le commisionner de la Major League Baseball ira même à établir un Top Ten des records imbattables (depuis certains ont été battus mais celui de DiMaggio court toujours !) : http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lifrick.shtml


Hello Joe, whatta you know?
We need a hit so here I go.
Ball one (Yea!)
Ball two (Yea!)
Strike one (Booo!)
Strike two (Kill that umpire!)
A case of Wheaties

He started baseball's famous streak
That's got us all aglow
He's just a man and not a freak,
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio

He tied the mark at forty-four
July the 1st you know
Since then he's hit a good twelve more
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio

From coast to coast that's all you'll hear
Of Joe the one man show
He's glorified the horsehide sphere
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio

He'll live in baseball's Hall of Fame
He got there blow by blow
Our kids will tell their kids his name
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio

We dream of Joey with the light brown plaque

And now they speak in whispers low
Of how they stopped our Joe
One night in Cleveland Oh Oh Oh
Goodbye streak DiMaggio

Joe, Joe DiMaggio
We want you on our side


Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Did You See Arthur Lee Maye Hit That Ball ?


Theme Time Radio Hour Special Baseball with our host Bob Dylan gave me a crazy passion about the ballgame... People may be find boring but they don't understand the sense of the game with a batter all alone encircled by nine guys obsessed about the ball. They don't feel the tragedy of the game when your teamates are on the bases and your knees are shakin' cause' you are the key of the inning.

Let's have a look about The Greatest Singing Athlete That Ever Lived... I'm talkin' about Arthur Lee Maye, famous baseball player and one of the best doo wop/r&b singers that I have ever heard. He was an outfielder for 13 years with good power, he could really hit that ball (94 home-runs in carrer!) and standing on the stage with his enjoyful voice at the same day during his minor league days. He gave an edge to baseball when he became a Major League player because "Baseball was my first love. I always said I could sing at 50, but I couldn't play baseball at 50".

He was one of men of the Jefferson High School Sound (South California) just sittin' behind Cleve Duncan, leader of The Penguins, Alex Hodge, a founding member of The Platters, his brother Gaynel Hodge of The Hollywood Flames and The Turks, Curtis Williams of The Hollywood Flames and The Penguins, Obie Jessie, Cornell Gunter, an original Platter and early-Coaster's lineup, and the legendary Richard Berry (Louie Louie's composer). What a crew ! They formed the Carmels during this era but there is no sound material... Is anyone has got better fish pond ? After that, there will be the Crowns, then, of course the Jayos on a Johnny Otis' album with covers exceptionnally good ("Gee") and a bunch of solo recordings.

With his pal Berry, they have written a bunch of good stuff typical of this magic period. Be recognizing to SpectroPop who re-discovered the outfielder of the Milwaukee Braves.


Career Stats : 13 years, 1288 games, 94 HR, 419 RBI for a batting average of .274. Led MLB with 44 Doubles in 1964. He put his career high in almost every categories with a AB of .304 in 1964 ... aka The Second Dead-Ball Era.

Arthur Lee Maye - Hey Pretty Girl
http://www.box.net/shared/rr211jnbe8

Arthur Lee Maye & The Crowns - Don't You Know (I Love You)
http://www.box.net/shared/6jefv2q9fb

http://spectropop.com/ArthurLeeMaye/index.htm

http://baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mayele01