"Why Try to Change Me Now"

Sinatra with Ava Gardner in 1952

"Why Try to Change Me Now" was composed by Cy Coleman (the music) and Joseph Allan McCarthy (the words) for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra recorded it on September 17, 1952. It was arranged by Percy Faith. More from Sinatra 101: The 101 Best Recordings and the Stories Behind Them:

Sinatra's last recording for Columbia Records--and appropriate in the context of his life. Gone was the innocent, naive singer of the previous decade. Burned by love, the singer is able to convey the darkness, the sadness, and the cynicism that would characterize much of his work in the years to come. (p. 35)


Sinatra would re-record it while under contract with Capitol Records for the No One Cares album in 1959.

Cy Coleman

Here is Cy Coleman's utterly charming, 1957 performance of "Why Try to Change Me Now," from something called "Art Ford's Greenwich Village Party," which appeared to be somewhat like a precursor to the Playboy After Dark TV program of the late '60s. Coleman, by the way, also wrote "Witchcraft" for Sinatra:

"Comin Thro' the Rye"

Holden Caulfield

This is great. I'm rerererereading (that's at least four times) The Catcher in the Rye. Anyway, that's a nice interpretation of Holden, complete with red hunting cap and the copy of "Little Shirley Beans" he bought for Phoebe. It was done by artist Carmela Alvarado. Check out more like it here. And this is an older, Geocities site, but it has a pretty cool photo tour of NYC as Holden knew it.

Psychedelic Prince

Ha ha, Prince was so "elusive" Rolling Stone had to settle for a still from the "Raspberry Beret" video on this September 1985 cover.

Ahh, this is a great, live medley of two of my fave Prince tunes, "Around the World in a Day" and "Christopher Tracy's Parade." He is dressed in his Parade gear, so I'm assuming this is during his 1986 tour for that album. Of course "Around the World in a Day" is the opening track to his first, post-Purple Rain album, Around the World in a Day. That album was a clear line drawn in the sand, separating true Prince fans from those who weren't.

I have a crystal clear memory of having a friend over at my house, excitedly ripping open the just released album's cellophane wrapper, putting the needle down on the record, and hearing those first great sounds. My friend had a disapproving sneer on his face, but I loved it. The problem was he just didn't get it. I understood at that moment what it must have been like being a Beatles fan in 1966 and hearing "Strawberry Fields Forever" for the very first time. "Christopher Tracy's Parade" is a similarly psychedelic opening track to his follow up album (the soundtrack to Under the Cherry Moon), Parade. What a logical (and awesome - there's an '80s word for you) pairing!


An excuse to use this Audrina Patridge pic!

The Tee Pee Motel

The Tee Pee Motel, in Wharton, built in 1942, was abandoned in the '80s and renovated in 2005. There are obvious similarites to the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars:

Scenes from the remake of Lolita were filmed in tee pee #2. More history and information can be found here. I took these pictures in February 2007. The first picture (the neon sign pic above) was taken my first night there. The rest were taken the following morning at sunrise and then a couple of hours later as I left Wharton.

"Red House"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Red House" is a blues song, written by famed guitarist Jimi Hendrix and originally recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

There are two different takes of this song: the original album version that appeared on the European issue of the Are You Experienced? album, and the alternative take on which bass player Noel Redding plays electric guitar tuned to resemble a bass guitar. Despite Hendrix's complaints, the song was omitted from the USA compilation release of the album because the recording company reportedly argued that "America does not like blues."

That sounds sort of like when Decca told Brian Epstein "guitar groups are on the way out."


I've heard this a hundred times, and that last line still makes me chuckle. Almost as good as "Move over Rover, and let Jimi take over."

At the Woodstock Music Festival:

"You're Mine"

"You're Mine" was recorded and released in 1956 by Robert & Johnny, a rare duet blues group of the mid-50s blues explosion. It was used (at 5:00) in the 1985 Scorsese film After Hours.