The song I have sent you this week has a tale attached to it which you couldn’t write….It’s called “Small Town Cowboy” and I was commissioned to write and record this for a guy called Brian “Sundance” Brooks back in the day…he had a shop which sold cowboy gear in Birmingham called “Urban cowboy” and I was informed he was going to put on a huge western show in one of the arenas…bringing over all sorts of stuff over from the States….so I came up with this song…the original title being Urban Cowboy...
Jun 06, 2015
.The song I have sent you this week is the original demo for a song I wrote for Penny Page and Googi the Liverpool Duck….I wrote several songs for her all of which she recorded…this one was a B side. You will appreciate it’s Liverpool appeal….it’s called “I’d Like To Be a Cowboy”…the words were changed to suit Googi…ie “Cowgirl”…but this demo is what they worked from on the record…..don’t say I don’t send you unique stuff. Now then…The Eurovision….I really don’t know why we bother….it wouldn’t m...
May 30, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week is a demo from way back with an interesting tale….I originally wrote it for Cannon and Ball who I understood liked it but I didn’t like hanging about in those days waiting for people to make their minds up…so I dropped a cassette of the song off at one of our local theatres where The Krankies were performing….soon after I got a nice letter from them saying they would like to put the song in their act….so there I was watching the Royal Command on the Palladium and...
May 21, 2015
We are rehearsing for the upcoming show with James Burton….his son isn’t well by all accounts but hopefully he’ll be O.K. by July….the song this week isn’t one of mine (sadly) but it’s part of the live concert I did with James a few years back…it’s one of Ricky Nelson’s classics….listening to it brought back a lot of memories. I watched the VE Day Concert last weekend and was blown away….I thought it was sensational…the orchestra were top of the range as were most of the artists…the sound man sh...
May 16, 2015
The song I have sent you this week answers a simple question…”Who discovered America?”….you’re thinking Columbus…WRONG!!..it was Prince Madoc in 1170…300 years before Columbus….this song sung by my mate Paul Damian tells the story….after depressing you last week with Beddgelert this should give you a lift…the song is off the same album I composed and produced for Paul…I love this song…and there is no-one in the world could sing it better….the album is available from my website….www.donwoods.co.u...
May 09, 2015
The song I have sent you this week is one I wrote for the Welsh album I composed for Paul Damian and tells the legend of Beddgelert. I’m sending this one because we have just spent a few days walking in the heart of Snowdonia and it doesn’t get any better….we also visited a Slate Museum in Llanberis which was incredible…it is built on the site of a Quarry and is mind blowing…and is FREE!!...it is a credit to the Land of Song. The news has been covering the terrible tragedy in Napal….and the jour...
May 02, 2015
James Burton is due over here in July and I have been asked to do an hour spot with him…so I am doing a Ricky Nelson set as he played all those great solos on those records….it’s a real pleasure to play with a legend…(but I think he’ll get over it)….therefore the song I have sent you this week is one I wrote last year called “Tribute to Ricky Nelson”…..I’ve always been a huge fan of Ricky and of course James. The election is now reaching an even bigger boring climax….it’s a bit like watching pup...
Apr 25, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week was another I wrote for David Alexander…which he recorded and put on his wedding album….it is called “Let’s Keep It Simple”.It was also recorded by Julie Bright and Sue Young back in the vinyl days…..it did well…in fact I might resurrect it. The election is now taking over the evening TV with all the parties (with some exceptions) slugging it out on the podium….what a load of boring tripe!....I thought UKIP were doing well and thought I might even vote for them…....
Apr 18, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week is called “When You’re The Other Woman”” which was written for and is performed by Pauline Daniels….I This was on the B side of the first record I made when I formed my company (you have already played the A side “You’re No Good To Me If You Can’t Boogie”)…whereas the A side was aimed at radio play this one was specifically for her act.She started out as a singer and sang stuff like “Send In The Clowns”…and “Pearl’s a Singer”…so this one fitted into her act…it is...
Apr 11, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week was a demo I did to pitch at David Alexander….hence the big finish.It’s called “I Love You”….David not only recorded the song but made it the title track on the album he made to celebrate his wedding when he married Penny Page…. I didn’t think it would be long before the publicity obtained from the discovery of Richard the Third spread further afield…yes they have now found the BED that belonged to Henry the Seventh !! WOW!!....I wonder if they will parade it thr...
Apr 04, 2015
..I’ve just spent a few days in Wales…hence the song “The Magic Of Wales”….this was a sort of follow up to my Llanfair PG song….again sung by Paul….I put this on a single cassette…one song on one side and one on the other…same as Llanfair.. … got some good lines in it…The grey of Blaenau’s quarries with their crumbling hills of slate”…I was well pleased with this one. The news this week has been all about the terrible plane crash in The Alps….again the stupid news presenters are making wild gues...
Mar 28, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week is totally un PC but it was one I wrote for comedian Tom Pepper back in the day. He recorded it and got a lot of mileage out of it…he used to do a double act with Pauline Daniels and he’d sing this to her…she would sing the women’s reply.t….. ...The “scientists” have been at it again….on the national news…they have been in London Zoo finding out why penguins waddle….AND the scientists came over from America…how interesting….not.we have just had a partial solar ec...
Mar 21, 2015
As I am now big in Kazakhstan this weeks song has to be my minor classic…….a copy to Lady Di…and more recently to Wills and Kate got me a couple of nice replies from the Palace…it got a play on Radio 1 and the World Service……and now it has recently been featured in a concert in the new opera house in Astana in Kazakhstan … .Still on a musical note….I have been watching “The Voice” and have been somewhat disappointed..males and females sing in different keys (hence you will generally get a subtle...
Mar 12, 2015
The ditty I have sent you this week is called Mersey Man and is taken from a DVD I made a while back about the River&.I filmed the Mersey from start to finish........ Last sunday I compared a show at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton ....it featured big band music performed by The RAF Swing Wing...they had a good front man and some great female vocalists doing all the old stuff.............The news has been featuring the two men who got arrested in some foreign clime whilst plane spotting....
Mar 07, 2015
Don's song this week is another classic….”Geriatric Scout”....He told me..."I wrote this way back for the local gang show as I recall….when I listen to this stuff I honestly don’t know where the lyrics come from…….”my ging gang goolies goin’ out of tune”…they don’t write ‘em like that anymore. The obvious shortage of news means we have been told about the three teenage girls who have left the country to join ..…and while we are at it we could all pop over to New Zealand and help them save the be...
Feb 28, 2015
Got a call from a guy who works on The One Show asking if they could use a small section of my YouTube song about Una Stubbs….as she was a guest on the show…I naturally agreed and they used a small section of the chorus when she was introduced….was somewhat hidden by the applause for her but hey nice one eh? I wrote this song many years ago and actually got a record deal from a major record company….which didn’t materialise so I recently re-recorded it and put it on YouTube and on one of my quir...
Feb 19, 2015
The song I have found this week was the first record on my label back in 1980…BIG DEE RECORDS….this was BD 001….It’s called “You’re No Good To Me If You Can’t Boogie” and was sung by my good friend Pauline Daniels who went on to big things …it was on a 45 vinyl and I used a drum box alongside the actual drums….to my knowledge I was the first to do this?....happy days….watch the false break doesn’t catch you out…….it caught a few of the local DJs out at the time. 2.What have I been saying for the...
Feb 14, 2015
The song I have sent you this week is another from one of my local DVDs….Seasons…it is dubbed over film which matches the words…sunshine,snow..the lot.….it says it all…I write about the place I love which is why I live here…which brings me to my next point. .I watched Cilla Black and John Bishop on a chat programme in the week…I have to laugh at the way they both layer the accent on really thick and go on about how wonderful Liverpool is…says Cilla who lives in Surrey and J.B. who lives out in C...
Feb 07, 2015
The song this week was one that came so close...it was inspired by a TV advert where two young girls asked their uncle Stan to roll his cap across his chest then round the back of his neck...I came up with this song which Norman Thomas played every day on Radio City...I sent it to The Grumbleweeds who said they would do it if the advert went national...sadly it didn't because the despite the ad being so popular no-one knew what it was advertising...which was British Beef...close but no cigar. Ka...
Jan 31, 2015
Massive world changing news this week…..”experts” have stated that they now know that more women than men believe in God…..yep we had ten minutes on this incredible information, ALSO there has been a change in the exercise situation….we don’t have to run…we can walk…and 10 minutes a day will do…so there you are…isn’t that worth the licence fee….and…wait for it….it’s TRUE... that carrots help you see in the dark….there’s something in them that improved your eyesight….Buggs Bunny will be delighted...
Jan 24, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week was the first one I presented wrestler Adrian Street with (in 1980) ……this was to result in me writing and recording 22 songs for him on two L.P. s and going over to the States and doing TV etc….the songs have recently come back to haunt me- as an independent record company want to re-release the stuff on coloured vinyl… Not that I watch big Brother…it’s about as bad as television gets…but the news has featured one of the celebs being removed because he made raci...
Jan 21, 2015
The song I’ve sent you this week was the extended version of a jingle I did for Norman Thomas on Radio City. It was for a daily competition he used to have on his programme called “What have I got in my hand” whereby he would give out clues as to what he was holding and the public phoned in with their guesses….the winner getting 20 quid. It was really funny stuff and Norman did a great job…he sadly died a few years ago….I did quite a bit of stuff for him…he was a great bloke I watched the Michae...
Dec 27, 2014
The song I’ve sent you this week ....... I wrote and recorded as the B side to Beatle City which you played a while back….it was a vinyl single which the then Merseyside County Council Tourism Dept commissioned from me. It sold well and I think you’ll enjoy the sentiment. There has been a bit of an outcry regarding Cheryl Cole’s “live” performance on the X Factor…..fortunately I didn’t see it….it was alleged she was miming…but they deny it…COURSE SHE WAS MIMING…SHE CAN’T SING!!!....it’s as if it...
Nov 12, 2014
The song I’ve sent you is from an interesting period of my songselling activities. It was originally written for the Blackpool tourism dept and it was called “It’s Blackpool Magic”…they didn’t want it so I changed the lyrics to “Long Live The Isle of Man”…sent it to Norman Wisdom who lived over there ............ I was quite moved when I watched “Rock Around The Clock” on the TV recently….this was the film which changed the direction of my life in 1956 when I saw it on the pictures…it still has ...
Nov 08, 2014
The track I’ve sent you this week is frmo the album “Portrait of Wales” which I produced for my mate Paul Damian….. Went to The Floral Pavilion Thursday night to see “The Magic of Motown”…absolutely brilliant….packed house all on their feet…worth every penny. There was a Portuguese lady on one of the news programmes stating that the Brits are always complaining about foreigners coming into the country yet they are virtually taking over Portugal… On the same topic the police burst into Cliff Rich...
Nov 01, 2014
The track I’ve sent you this week is called “The 4122” which was the last train down the Wirral way before they closed the line and converted it into the present footpath and cycle track. There can’t be enough to fill the news so the BBC have resorted to reporting “killer” mussels which are arriving in the Thames from foreign climes ..this together with “killer” shrimps which are already here it’s time to worry about this and not the threat from terrorists. I pay £285 road tax and there is a mov...
Oct 17, 2014
The song I have sent you this week is about everyone’s favourite lady Una Stubbs…...she said she was delighted with the song and THANKED me for the compliment…. After the recent Liverpool Everton Derby game a pal of mine told me that as the fans walked past his house there was an Everton supporter ..it’s a FOOTBALL MATCH…that’s all…but to some morons it’s warfare…........ There has been a lot of publicity surrounding “Trolling”… I recently watched John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) on morning TV... ...
Oct 13, 2014
The song I’ve sent you this week is one I composed and produced in the 80s for the Scout Movement….”Scouts of The World”....As you know the scouts began in Birkenhead in 1908 by Baden Powell… I was again a bit taken aback by our wonderful legal system….Dave Lee Travis…who was cleared of 11 out of 12 sexual assault cases was found guilty of one INDECENT assault … On a similar note Stella McCartney has upset the feminist brigade by saying girls should be gentle and show their frailty instead of tr...
Oct 03, 2014
.The song I've sent is one I wrote for wrestler Adrian Street and was one of the first records I made on my independent label...."I'm In Love With Me" We got so much mileage out of this minor "classic".. Despite the stick we took on this song Adrian went to live and work in the States and had a video made of the song which was played a lot on MTV. There has been a big issue here about people being scammed through the post... After the Scottish fiasco they are now talking about home rule for coun...
Sep 27, 2014
Thank goodness the Scottish referendum is over… This week I have found one of my ancient classic novelty songs which I composed for The Liverpool Health Authority. “The Exercise Song” went down really well….….it aint rock and roll but it’s close…. ....speaking of Liverpool did you see the drama about Cilla?...Rory Storm with black hair?...and The Beatles looked nothing like…a little bit more effort to detail would have been better. The BBC coverage of the Oscar Pistorious trial was ridiculous….....
Sep 19, 2014
