Amoeblog

(In which you might enjoy a fever.)

Posted by Job O Brother, March 9, 2009 03:02pm | Post a Comment
American shad
The American shad or Atlantic shad, Alosa sapidissima, is a species of anadromous fish in family Clupeidae of order Clupeiformes.
It is the State Fish of Connecticut, enjoys foreign films and candle-lit dinners for two.


Not that long ago, a customer came into Amoeba Music Hollywood and approached me sheepishly. She uttered that accustomed customer opening line:

“I’m looking for a song… I don’t know the name of it, or who did it…”

If Amoeba Music employees had a dime for every time we heard that sentence, our bosses could dispense with payroll and we’d all live comfortably (hint, hint, Gov. Schwarzenegger).

Oftentimes, we Amoebites will know what the human’s looking for. That’s because we’re mostly socially awkward music geeks who’ve traded in awesome housing and reasonable hair-styles for choice, Italian soundtrack LP’s and an ability to name-that-tune of obscure mouth-harp blues artists.

The song the woman was looking for was “Fever,” which has been covered by many artists, though most famously by the great Peggy Lee…


“Fever” was written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell and published in 1956. At first the songwriters had little success with the song, until they decided to re-write it using words and music. These proved to be the magic ingredients, and soon people took interest. It first became a hit for the (unfortunately named) Little Willie John...

Donald LaFontaine 1940 – 2008

Posted by Whitmore, September 2, 2008 10:32am | Comments (1)

don lafontaine
On Monday, September 1, legendary voice actor Donald LaFontaine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following complications from pneumothorax. LaFontaine was 68 years old.

You may not recognize his name but you would surely recognize his iconic baritone voice used in over 5000 movie trailers, video game trailers, and something like 750,000 television spots and commercials. For the past 25 years he has been the "King of Voiceovers." Based on the number of contracts signed, LaFontaine has the distinction of being the single busiest actor in the history of the Screen Actors Guild.

He became identified with the ubiquitous trailer-opening phrase "In a world...” something he parodied recently in a commercial for GEICO insurance, using his most ominous and melodramatic voice.

Donald LaFontaine is survived by his actress-singer wife, Nita Whitaker, and three children.


 

 

Mr. Bubble

Posted by Whitmore, August 7, 2008 11:26am | Comments (2)
Sad news from the world of high finance and squeaky clean kids: Yesterday, it was announced that Mr. Bubble has passed away. The happy, pink faced bubble bath icon became yet another victim of these changing times, and perhaps a victim of modern kids who just don’t know how to roll around in the muck anymore -- except in chat rooms on the internet. Mr. Bubble, who always refused to give his actual age, was believed to be in his mid fifties.

Born in North Dakota, Mr Bubble was created by the entrepreneur Harold Schafer (1912 - 2001), who founded the Gold Seal Company during The Second World War. Schafer also invented Glass Wax and Snowy Bleach; each of these brands became the number one selling products in the world in their respective categories by 1960. In 1986, Schafer retired and sold his Gold Seal Company.

Ascendia Brands, the Hamilton, New Jersey based present day owners of Mr Bubble and makers of health and beauty products such as Baby Magic and Calgon, said they have filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and are seeking a buyer for the business. Reports say Ascendia and five affiliates listed debt of $279 million and assets of $194.8 million as of July 5 in Chapter 11 documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

So tonight, when you slip into your bath with your glass of sherry or a cup of chamomile tea, think of what Mr Bubble used to sing to filthy and grubby kids everywhere, “I’m Mr. Bubble and you can watch me pop!”