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Written by Shauna

April Release - "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is my tribute to the fun times playing with the Shakedown Band. This was one of my favorite songs from our “playlist,” and I was thrilled to get most of my bandmates into the studio for the production. Our drummer, Ty Barnes, set up and recorded the drums for this song and did the same great job that he did when we played it live. Vic and I sang our respective background vocals, with Jimmy Mac filling in for Mike Haworth to round out the BGV. Mike was tied up with two separate calling gigs the day we were in the studio and couldn’t make it for recording. Missed you, Mike!

Pat Carnathan’s lead vocal and amazing falsetto used to “wow” the crowd at our gigs, and this vocal recording will do the same. We recognize that not everyone has the ability to sing all those falsetto lines, so Pat recorded a second sample vocal with a more standard rendition. Pat appears courtesy of Shakedown Records.

The vocal range on this song is fairly narrow, and keyed in a place that will make it accessible to most callers (male and female alike), so we chose to release this in a single key. This is especially true if you are not singing the falsetto lines.

CHIC3025 features Pat Carnathan's lead vocals with background vocals by Vic and Shauna Kaaria, and Jim MacDonald.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for the two vocal previews!

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Written by Shauna

March Release - "You're So Vain"

 "You're So Vain" was written and recorded by Carly Simon in 1972. The question of "who was the subject of the song" remains largely unanswered. Simon did finally reveal that each verse was written for a different man, and confirmed that the second verse was about Warren Beatty. She has also adamantly stated that the song was not written about James Taylor, which makes Chic very happy (we are JT fans). "You're So Vain" has never been cut as a singing call prior to now, and we were excited to find a way to make it work!

Hunter Keller (courtesy of Royal Records) returns for his third guest vocal for Chic Recordings. We had this song on the back burner list of "possible singers" when Hunter called suggesting we produce it (and offering to sing). We took it off the back-burner and had the rough cut down by the end of the next studio session.

The female key was recorded by Chic's producer, Shauna Kaaria.

CHIC1024 in the male vocal range features Hunter Keller's great vocal.

CHIC2024 in the female vocal range features Shauna Kaaria.

Both versions include additional background vocals by Shauna Kaaria amd Jim MacDonald.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

February Release - "Playground in My Mind"

 "Playground in My Mind" was written by Paul Vance and recorded by Clint Holmes in 1973. It is most recognized for its nursery-rhyme chorus that begins, "My name is Michael, I've got a nickel..." After recently hearing this song on a 70's station, we were inspired to make a singing call adaptation.

We knew this song wouldn't be the same without the children's voices, so we reached out to our talented extended family and had our grandniece and grandnephew, 8-year-old Sara and 7-year-old Noah Jackson, record the intro and the chorus. They did a fantastic job and nailed it in both keys.

Tony Oxendine (courtesy of Royal Records) graciously returned for a second guest vocal for Chic Recordings. His voice was a perfect fit for this song and he gave us a fantastic vocal for the male key.

Patty Greene (courtesy of Royal Records) also returns for her second guest vocal for Chic. She delivered what many are calling the "best vocal of her career to date."

CHIC1023 in the male vocal range features Tony Oxendine's vocal, along with Sara and Noah Jackson.

CHIC2023 in the female vocal range features Patty Greene, along with Sara Jackson.

Both versions include additional background vocals by Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

January Release - "That'll Be the Day"

 "That'll Be the Day" when Jimmy Mac works on his birthday! Well, he did so we could finalize the music for our January release. "That'll Be the Day" was written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. They had seen "The Searchers" starring John Wayne and he used the phrase "that'll be the day" a number of times during the movie. They were inspired by the line and wrote the song.

Our arrangement of "That'll Be the Day" was inspired by Linda Ronstadt's 1973 release. Since Scott Bennett did such a great job on our first two Ronstadt tunes, we invited him back to record the vocal for this one. He delivered yet another great vocal! Scott appears courtesy of Crest Recordings.

The female version was recorded by Shauna Kaaria, which makes the sixth Linda tune she has recorded.

CHIC1022 in the male vocal range features Scott Bennett's vocal.

CHIC2022 in the female vocal range features Shauna Kaaria.

Both versions include background vocals by Jimmy Mac and Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

Bonus Release - "Ugly Christmas Sweater"

 Surprise! Even WE didn't know we would be releasing a second holiday song this year. "Ugly Christmas Sweater" is a brand new Christmas song from Garth Brooks and it was brought to our attention by his biggest fan (Hunter Keller, you know who you are). With December already upon us, we were afraid it may be too late, but after a quick conversation with our amazing engineer, we all agreed we could fast-track it and have the release ready in just a few days (most of those spent in the studio). When you need a vocal done quickly, you reach out to the best in the business. Elmer Sheffield has recorded more singing calls than any other caller, and there was no question that this was the right song for him. Thankfully, the stars aligned and he not only accepted the invitation, but he was able to meet the demanding timeline for the vocal recording. His experience paid off, because he delivered a vocal that was spot-on for this song in what seemed to be an effortless way, with not much more than a 24-hour turnaround time.

The fastest way to get the female key recorded was to take care of it while we were already in the studio. If it sounds like Shauna is laughing, that's because she had these two guys, appropriately decked out in ugly Christmas sweaters, making faces while she tried to sing. Don't ask for the outtakes.

CHIC1021 in the male vocal range features Elmer Sheffield's great vocal. Elmer appears courtesy of ESP Recordings.

CHIC2021 in the female vocal range features a vocal by Shauna Kaaria.

Background vocals by Jimmy Mac and Vic & Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

December Release - "Blue California"

 December adds a bit of Classic Country to the Chic catalog. "Blue California" is a great song by the Bellamy Brothers and includes everything a classic country song should have including steel guitar, a longing for love, and a chorus with a hook. When Tom Miller suggested the song to us, we nearly passed because we did not have access to a steel guitar player. As luck would have it, our path crossed with a local dancer who was a retired steel player. He graciously volunteered to come out of retirement to lay down the needed steel tracks. A great big "thank you" to Terry Reardon, of El Cajon, CA!

"Blue California" was released by the Bellamy Brothers in 2000. As mentioned above, the song was suggested by Tom Miller who then agreed to return for a second Chic appearance and record the vocal. His golden voice was perfect for this song. Tom appears courtesy of ESP Recordings.

We invited Carrie Masters of Grand Terrace, CA to return for her second guest appearance. Carrie will be moving to Olympia, WA at the first of the year, so California will be feeling a bit "blue" over the loss. But California's loss will be Washington's gain.

CHIC1020 in the male vocal range features Tom Miller's vocal.

CHIC2020 in the female vocal range features Carrie Masters.

Both versions include background vocals by Jimmy Mac and Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

November Patter Release - "Baby Elephant Walk"

 November brings another Chic patter release with the Henry Mancini hit, "Baby Elephant Walk." This well-known song was written by Mancini in 1961 for the movie "Hatari." It has the classic 12-bar blues progression with a very catchy, and instantly recognizable melody. It's such a great song, we made TWO separate patter cuts.

CHIC4018 - "Baby Elephant Walk"stays true to the original Mancini cut that was the backdrop for baby elephants walking down to the bathing pool. Jimmy Mac had some fun using his saxophone skills. Your dancers will enjoy the smooth groove.

CHIC4019 - "Baby Elephant ROCK" was born as Jimmy was practicing the melody on his guitar using a rock/grunge voice. With a little concern I asked, "Are you going to use that grungy sound?" Obviously, he wasn't, but it sounded so cool we scheduled another session to create a second cut with a rock/blues groove. We ended up adding a little flare/snippets from a couple of other rock classics, and even a well-known television song.

Both are extended patter releases, running over six minutes each, and have dancers bopping the moment the music starts.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

Holiday Release - "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

 "Baby, It's Cold Outside!" ” is a “call and response” duet where one singer attempts to convince another (their guest) that they should stay for a romantic evening, due to the cold and inclement weather.

Frank Loesser wrote the duet in 1944 and premiered the song with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their Navarro Hotel in New York housewarming party. They performed it toward the end of the evening, signifying to guests that it was nearly time to end the party. Garland wrote that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' Garland considered it their song and was furious when Loesser told her he was selling the song. Garland wrote, "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman." MGM was the buyer and used the song in their film “Neptune’s Daughter,” starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban.

The song has been recorded by many artists over the years, but this is the first adaptation as a singing call for square dancing.

While working on the rough tracks for the singing call, I mentioned to Jimmy Mac that I hadn’t decided who I was going to ask to sing the male part and he said “Pick me! Pick me!” It was all of two seconds before I replied, “Done!” We had a blast recording this song together.

This is a great song for singing with another caller, but if another caller is not available we have you covered. We have included tracks with both sides of the duet to allow one caller to share a duet even though another caller is not in the room.

CHIC3017 is the third in Chic's "Duets" series with a vocal by Jim MacDonald and Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

October Release - "Windy"

 "Everyone knows it's Windy!" I couldn't be more excited about our October release, "Windy" by The Association, because I have a personal connection to this song. I first sang "Windy" when I joined the 6th grade chorus in Elementary School. The luck of the draw sat me on the side of the room that received the harmony part for our first attempt at a non-unison song. I so clearly remember the first time we sang it correctly, and the feelings and sensations that came with it. I was hooked! Because of that moment, this song was a labor of love for me. I hope you enjoy it too, but for me...it was a trip down memory lane to the moment I first knew I loved to sing harmony.

"Windy" was written by Ruthann Friedman and released by The Association in 1967, quickly rising to #1 on the Billboard charts. The Association was six members strong and well-known for their impressive sound and harmonies, so we knew we had to either "go big, or go home" with the background vocals. Dancers know this song and won't be able to stop themselves from singing along with you.

We invited Steve Moore, of Chula Vista, CA to record the male vocal of Windy. It has been a few years since Steve has been in the studio and we were thrilled when he agreed. He did an amazing job! In honor of 6th grade chorus, the female vocal was recorded by me.

CHIC1016 in the male vocal range features Steve Moore's vocal.

CHIC2016 in the female vocal range features Shauna Kaaria (as stated above).

Both versions include background vocals by Jimmy Mac and Shauna.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!

Details

Written by Shauna

September Release - "For What It's Worth"

 "Stop! Hey, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down." It's our September release of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth." We worked hard in the studio to maintain the simplicity and purity of the original song, and not over-produce it. After 14 releases, we finally get a lead vocal from our favorite caller, Vic Kaaria, who delivers a spot-on vocal for this tune. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. makes a guest appearance, courtesy of Rhythm Records, and delivers an equally great vocal for the female key.

CHIC1015 in the male vocal range features Vic Kaaria on the lead vocal (as stated above).

CHIC2015 in the female vocal range features Sylvia's great vocal.

Both versions include background vocals by Shauna Kaaria.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody and background vocals, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!