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Written by Shauna
August Releases - "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and "Everybody Dance Now" patter!
It's hard to believe that Chic Recordings is NINE years old, but it's true. August 22nd, 2015 was the date of our inaugural release and we are so happy to still be here nine years later. It's all thanks to YOU and we appreciate it!
Our brand new release is a single key only for Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Shut Up and Kiss Me." Yes, we usually do two, but this song was done very well by Shakedown in a range the works great for the male callers. I have loved the song and their music, but to use that track I had to shift +6 which makes the music sound very "not right" (understatement for how much the music suffered). I was spoiled when we had the Shakedown Band because we played it in the right key for me to sing!
I finally decided that we can do just the one key (we've done it for two other songs with narrow ranges), and I am happy to point anyone with the lower range right over to the Shakedown site. So, if you need the male range, visit Shakedown Records. That link should take you to a page with "Shut Up and Kiss Me" listed right at the top for you.
Our arrangement doesn't mirror the Shakedown version exactly. It varies in the middle break where we included the bridge of the original song, along with some killer guitar work from Jimmy. We also included a little harmony in the same spots that Mary Chapin Carpenter had harmony on her release. Patty Greene delivers a great vocal. After posting the preview on Facebook, she received a text saying "O-M-G you whispering "Shut Up & Kiss Me" is my new favorite thing in the world." That's because this is such a fun song to sing (and whisper).
And let's not forget that earlier this month we released a brand new patter based on C+C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now." The music grabs the dancers' attention from the very first beat. If you haven't added it to your catalog yet, please give it a listen.
CHIC 4094 is the driving new patter released earlier this month.
CHIC 3095 in a single vocal range (female) features Staff Caller, Patty Greene.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
March Release - "Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do"
“Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do” is a Patsy Cline song from 1959. I had been looking for another song to feature the musical talents of my talented nephew, Matt Workman, and this was a perfect choice!
This instrumental features Matt’s amazing picking on the acoustic guitar and mandolin which never cease to blow my mind. Then he picked up the lap steel and electric guitar as well.
Even more mind-blowing, he did all of this in two separate keys, BUT….each one of those has TWO key changes. That makes a total of SIX keys. True musicians like Matt transition between those keys seamlessly, but it is of fun to watch and listen as it happens.
The end result is classic country song that makes you want to dance and it fun to sing!
Staff callers Joe Saltel and Patty Greene both gave us great vocals, with Matt and Emily Workman, Jimmy Mac, and myself providing the harmony tracks.
CHIC 1093 in the male vocal range features the vocal by Staff Caller, Joe Saltel.
CHIC 2093 in the female vocal range features Staff Caller, Patty Greene.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
February Release - "I'll Never Find Another You"
“I’ll Never Find Another You” is a well-known song by Australian group, The Seekers. My favorite description of The Seekers is from Ian McFarlane (an Australian music historian) who described their style as “concentrated on a bright, up-tempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock.” Their little niche in the music world didn’t stop them from topping the charts with hits like “Georgy Girl” and “I’ll Never Find Another You,” which brings us right back to our release for February.
“I’ll Never Find Another You” was released in 1964 and flew up the charts, hitting top ten in multiple countries.
Once again, we carted Vic’s 12-string Ovation guitar up to Jimmy so we could capture the sound of the original, which featured both a 12-string and 6-string acoustic guitar. Jimmy nailed those signature licks from both guitars, in two separate keys no less.
Jimmy Mac loved the song so much, we let him take another turn on the lead vocal for the male range and he did a great job as he always does.
I have had this song on my “wants” list forever, so you get to hear me on the female range. It's fitting that we release this beautiful song on Valentine's Day. This release is dedicated to my "Silent Partner," Vic Kaaria. Without his support, Chic Recordings would still be something I dream about instead of a reality.
Jimmy and I added background vocals for each other’s tracks, doing our best to capture the folksy sound of the original.
CHIC 1092 in the male vocal range features the vocal by our music man and sound engineer, Jim MacDonald.
CHIC 2092 in the female vocal range features producer, Shauna Kaaria.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
NOVEMBER Release - "You, Wonderful You"
“You, Wonderful You” was introduced in the 1950 MGM musical “Summer Stock” starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. The first time we hear the song in the film it is a beautiful ballad sung to Judy Garland by Gene Kelly. Gene is using the song to help Judy understand the magic of musical theatre. If you choose to sing the song as a solo, this is how it can be done lyrically to work without the duet partner.
This is immediately followed by a number that highlights the genius of Gene Kelly and his dancing/choreographic brilliance. It features a great instrumental reprise of “You, Wonderful You”, a squeaky board, a newspaper, and Gene Kelly dancing soft-shoe & tap.
The final version in the movie is a very quick look at the upbeat version that we used as our inspiration (along with the next next). The call/response is just fun!
This song was also featured on the Dick Van Dyke show with a classic performance by Rob and Laura Petrie. In this episode you get to see his marriage proposal to her. This upbeat version was also used for our inspiration.
Moving on to our singing call! From the moment I decided to turn this song into a singer, I could hear Joe Saltel’s voice in my head. (If you gotta have voices in your head, there could be worse, right?) As I was noodling on who should do the female portion of the duet, I saw some posts on Facebook about Joe singing with his sister at a dance and even though I hadn’t heard her sing yet, I was all in on having her record this with Joe.
Joe and his sister, Cheryl Tiburzi, both visited SoCal for our trip to the studio for recording. It was so much fun getting to meet her, and watching/listening to them practice and lay down tracks. It is exactly how I imagined it would be and I love it!
CHIC 1091 is now in our "duets" series with this vocal by Jo Saltel (Staff Caller) and his sister, Cheryl (Saltel) Tiburzi.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
OCTOBER Release - "Let it Rock (Let it Roll)"
“Let it Rock (Let it Roll)” is a class Chuck Berry song and features his iconic guitar licks and chord progressions. It was released in July of 1959 and climbed the charts until it peaked at #64 in February of 1960.
Last March when Mike and Vic were in the studio together to record the vocals for “Good Old Country Song”, they were taking a trip down memory lane and talking about all the songs they used to sing together. “Let it Roll” (same song, different name) on Red Boot Star was a standout memory for them and we all thought it was another great candidate for a music refresh.
It took us a few months to get it going, but the timing worked out great. We knew the male range would have to feature Mike and Vic since it was another one of “their songs” and they already owned it. The voice on the female key had yet to be decided.
Enter Kris Jensen. Chic Recordings donated a recording opportunity to be auctioned off at the CALLERLAB convention and Kris was the highest bidder. When I queried her about what kind of song/genre she prefers, it turned out this song was right in her wheelhouse. We sent her the rough track, confirmed the right key for her, and she took it and ran! She recorded a GREAT vocal, and used additional lyrics to tell the story of the song. I’m so excited for her and excited for you to hear it. I had a ton of fun learning the harmony and singing along with her.
Of course, Mike and Vic knocked their vocal out of the park, too! It’s so fun for me to hear these two singing together again. They make it look so easy.
Jimmy did a great job bringing the Chuck Berry sound to life! This is a fun and driving song and I hope you enjoy it!
CHIC 1090 in the male vocal range features the vocal by Mike Seastrom (courtesy of Rhythm Records).
CHIC 2090 in the female vocal range features Kris Jensen.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
September Release "Game of Love" (Extended Patter)
“The Game of Love” is a Santana song from 2002 and has been on our possibles list for a long time. We had been trying to figure out how to make an arrangement work as a singing call and finally realized we were putting it in the wrong bucket. This song is perfect for a laid-back and smooth patter.
When the song was released in 2002, it featured a vocal by Michelle Branch (who also added some rhythm guitar to the track). That’s the version that got the radio play and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the original vocal for this song was recorded by the one and only Tina Turner! According to Wikipedia, Tina had recorded the vocal, but when she declined to participate in the music video they went looking for a replacement. Macy Gray first, and then it when to Michelle Branch (and the rest is history).
The Tina Turner version was released on a Santana retrospective album in 2007, and Carlos had this to say about the two vocal choices: “There's only one Tina Turner...No one can hit a note like Tina Turner...I love Michelle [Branch] and she did a great interpretation of it. It's just that with all honor and respect to Michelle, there's the girl and there's the woman, and Michelle is unfolding into a woman...but it takes time to go from a girl into a woman."
We love both versions. And we also love our take on it with Jimmy channeling the distinctive Carlos sound. Hope you enjoy it too.
CHIC 4089 is the extended patter of "Game of Love."
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube link (to the left) for preview!
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Written by Shauna
AUGUST Release - "Sweet Mary"
This release is a special one because it drops exactly EIGHT YEARS after our first release back on August 22, 2015. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
“Sweet Mary” was written by Steve Jablecki and recorded by his band, Wadsworth Mansion. It was released in early 1971 and quickly climbed the charts, peaking at #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Wadsworth Mansion went on to release only two more singles, neither of which charted, sealing their status as a one-hit wonder.
Nevertheless, this song has been on my list of possibles for a long time. There’s just so much that’s fun about it, and when the chorus hits we all sing along to “Sweet Mary I’m coming home now, that’s the least I can do.”
As Vic and I were discussing who we thought would be the right voice to record this song, Vic said “wait, I know.” We made a phone call and when that voice came on the other end, Vic asked, “what would say if I said ‘wop-a-dooba do wop-wop-wop’” as he proceeded to sing the intro of the song. The answer on the other end of the line was immediate, “Sweet Mary sent a letter today…” Tony Oxendine was absolutely the right voice for this song and he nails it!
We had also created a rough track in a secondary key, but the range of this song was narrow enough that I was actually singing better to the same track/key. So, similar to “Lion Sleeps Tonight,” we opted not to invest in a second key when the range of the song didn’t require that investment.
CHIC 3088 features Tony Oxendine (courtesy of Royal Records) with an amazing vocal.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
CALLERLAB Releases - "I Feel Like Dancing" and "I Like to Move It" (Extended Patter)
We were so excited about the CALLERLAB convention this year that we dropped TWO new releases at the convention. First up is an extended patter version of "I Like to Move It." This song was made famous by the Madagascar movie franchise. I first heard the song playing Dance Dance Revolution with our kids. (I am grateful there are no videos available of this.) This is just a fun song that makes people smile and move. We limited the vocals and had Jimmy build the track from simple electric guitar fills, transitioning to some flute and organ, and finishing the track with some pretty killer electric guitar.
Next up is an exciting new singing call, "I Feel Like Dancing." “I Feel Like Dancing” is a brand new hit, dropped by Jason Mraz on February 15th this year, making it just over two months on the market. I discovered it as I was channel surfing on SiriumXM while driving home from my Thursday class. If you haven’t seen his video, check it out. It’s just good fun!
I reserved it immediately and we fast-tracked with Jimmy so I could have it ready for release at the CALLERLAB convention this past week. We JUST made it in time. I got the final tracks with David’s vocal late Saturday night, just hours before opening the Chic booth the next day.
David Mee did a fantastic job on the male range vocal. He and I both took the rough tracks for a few test drives as we tweaked the arrangement to make sure it was working the way we hoped before we finalized everything and laid down all the live instruments and background vocals.
CHIC 4086 is the extended patter of "I Like to Move It."
CHIC 1087 in the male vocal range features the vocal by Staff Caller, David Mee.
CHIC 2087 in the female vocal range features Producer, Shauna Kaaria.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
April Release "Oh Yeah" (Extended Patter)
Straight from Wikipedia: “’Oh Yeah’ is a single released in 1985 by the band Yello and featured on their album Stella. The song features a mix of electronic music and manipulated vocals. The song gained popularity after being featured in the films “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” and “The Secret of My Success”, among other films. It is a popular staple in pop culture.”
Almost 40 years after its initial release, “Oh Yeah” is still featured in commercials and movies because it is so memorable and makes you start bopping the minute that downbeat starts.
Much of the original track was done with human vocal noises and our track is no different. It was sure fun to listen as Jimmy was recording the various sounds. So much about this song is iconic, and we wanted to capture the essence of it accurately. Of course, we still let Jimmy throw in some guitar riffs throughout this extended patter track.
CHIC 4085 is the extended patter of "Oh Yeah."
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube link (to the left) for preview!
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Written by Shauna
March Release - "Good Old Country Song"
The title of this tune is no lie. This IS a “Good Old Country Song” and although there were at least three singing calls based on it already, they were all 40 to 50 years old and out of print, so we decided it was WAY past due for a modern update.
In order to do it right, we started with Jimmy for rough tracks and then made it a true family affair as we reached out to my very talented brother-in-law and nephew. My brother-in-law (AKA Farley the Fiddler) provided the Fiddle and Jews Harp tracks.
After listening to the original song, recorded by Lynn Anderson in 1975, we knew we had to have some killer flat picking and steel guitar as well. Enter nephew, Matt Workman. Having spent a few years working and touring in Nashville, Matt and my niece have returned to Southern California and are sharing their musical talents performing/gigging at local places. Thankfully, Matt loves the studio and spent a day with us and Jimmy.
Listen up and you’ll hear Matt’s amazing flat-picking on the acoustic guitar, more amazing picking on the mandolin, and he rounds out the trifecta with his lap steel. Of course, all of this TWICE. You know, male and female ranges.
And speaking of Jimmy…he took all of those instrumental tracks, added his own electric guitar, banjo, and honky-tonk piano (again, twice). So much good stuff and we spent hours putting it all together in all the right places for a killer “Good Old Country Song.”
There was zero question who would sing the male vocal. My first time hearing this song was at a dance that Mike Seastrom and Vic called together about 20 years ago. It was that performance that made me fall in love with the song in the first place. Before I could even ask Vic if he’d be willing, he had already reached out to Mike and invited him to do it together.
For the female range, I had a bit of a learning curve since my only experience with the song was singing the harmony when Vic and I sang it together. I had to learn the melody! I was thrilled that Mike and Vic agreed to add their killer harmonies.
This release feels like a bit of a throw-back to an older style of singing call, but with the added beauty of modern technology for recording, mixing, and including background vocals. The melody of the tune is embedded in the lead instrumentation, rather than just a melody track so this release does not have a no melody version included. It would have stripped the song at the core of its musicality. We do still include versions with and without the background vocals (all of which were recorded by Mike and Vic)
I am SO grateful for talented family and friends, and this was one of our most fun releases to date. It’s very different than anything we’ve done before. Hope you love it, too.
CHIC 1084 in the male vocal range features the vocal by Mike Seastrom (Courtesy of Rhythm Records) and Staff Caller, Vic Kaaria.
CHIC 2084 in the female vocal range features Producer, Shauna Kaaria.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!
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Written by Shauna
Anniversary Release - Barry Manilow's "It's a Miracle"
“It’s a Miracle! A true-blue spectacle!”
Kind of describes how I feel about Chic celebrating our 7th Anniversary. It does feel a little miraculous to still be here and going strong. And just like the song says, “the miracle is YOU!” Without YOU and your support, Chic Recordings would have come and gone like a breath in the wind. So thank you for being our miracle!
Notes straight out of Wikipedia – “’It's a Miracle’ is a 1975 single by Barry Manilow and was the second release from his album, Barry Manilow II. "It's a Miracle" went to number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was Manilow's second number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, spending one week at number one in April 1975. The single also peaked at number fifteen on the disco/dance chart, and was the first of four entries on the chart. Cash Box said that it's "an up-tempo, rocking tune with a great dance rhythm.”
"It's a Miracle" is traditionally the first song played at Barry Manilow concerts.”
We have been to two Barry concerts in the last three years, and he does indeed open the show with this song.
As I’ve told you all before, I have been a HUGE Manilow fan for years (since high school). He was the first artist I ever saw in concert. I have all his early LP’s on vinyl, and they are well-worn (some of them are pictured above). As proof of our five-year age difference, Vic has all the Beatles vinyl, and I have all the Barry vinyl. Barry was my Beatles. (No, I’m not comparing them musically. It’s just a statement of fandom.” Vic used to tease me mercilessly for my Barry love, and then he took me to a Barry concert (summer of 2019). On the drive home, he reluctantly admitted that he had been converted at the concert and had joined me as Barry’s newest “fanilow.” Yes, the concert was that good. In fact, it was the recent (2nd) concert we attended where I turned to Vic during the opening number and said “we can cut this one. It works!”
I reserved the song and immediately heard from Ted Lizotte with this reply: “I've considered his tune! Knock it out of the park!” So when it came time to select a caller for the male vocal, Ted was the only choice! It was clear he knew the song, and I could already hear his voice singing it in my head. As expected, he “knocked it out of the park.” (A good thing, since that’s what he told me to do with the song.)
The female vocal features Staff Caller, Patty Greene. More than one person has asked me, “if Barry is YOUR guy, why aren’t YOU doing this vocal?” The first answer is, Patty heard the rough track and called “dibs.” I know I’m the boss, but then she sent me some great tracks. Even so, I was second-guessing and told Patty I might decide to do the lead myself. But once we got into the studio and dropped her vocal into the music, she had “knocked it out of the park.” It would be a waste of time and money to redo it just for my personal vanity. Besides, this song is heavy with background vocals, so my stamp is on both keys anyway.
We spent a lot of time trying to make this cut right. We had “finished” the male tracks on Saturday, and while listening on the drive home it just wasn’t completely right. That led to more time spent listening to both our tracks and the original from Barry, making a list of things that needed adjusting. Sunday afternoon found us back in the studio (supposedly for the girl key), but first…back to the male tracks. I won’t bore you with the complete list, but it included a driving guitar on the intro and other key spots, brighter BGV sounds, new instrumentation, more timpani, and a complete remix. Then, on to the girl key and doing it all over again! My sincere hope is that it was all worth it and we “knocked it out of the park,” just as Ted told us to do.
CHIC 1080 in the male vocal range features the vocal by Ted Lizotte.
CHIC 2080 in the female vocal range features Staff Caller, Patty Greene.
To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.
Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!