Play a tango tonight in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm. There’s always Hernando’s Hideaway. Or play some German songs…how about a German tango?

Interestingly enough both tangos and Kaiser Wilhelm are mentioned in Tori Amos’ songs, and on the same album, even, although not in the same song. But I can’t think of any Tori Amos singing calls.

The tango was banned in Argentina as being politically seditious. It was also condemned by the Pope.

Relevant Records

• Hernando’s Hide-A-Way (Rockin M 303)

“Under the Sea” won an Academy Award for best song…but it hasn’t been made into a singing call record. “Kiss the Girl” was also nominated, and also not made into a singing call. But I suppose one could always stretch things and drag out Octopus’s Garden.

This may not help us think of ideas for our dances tonight, but it’s certainly relevant to us. In the early 1990’s (right around the time I started calling), ASCAP and BMI came calling on the square dance community. Seems we were using copyrighted songs without paying the requisite fees. CALLERLAB negotiated an agreement allowing the callers (rather than the officially-liable clubs) to pay an annual fee.

Here’s an interesting history of audio recording.

Remember to tell the dancers that they’re doing a great job!

Could use any protest or civil right songs. There aren’t a lot in the square dance record repertory, but there are a few that can be used. “I Shall Not Be Moved” is a gospel song, but it was adopted by the civil rights movement as “We Shall Not Be Moved.”

Relevant Records

• I Shall Not Be Moved (Quadrille 910)

Use songs that were Bette Midler hits. I have The Rose, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Wind Beneath My Wings, Do You Want To Dance.

Relevant Records

• Rose (The) (Rhythm 181)
• Wind Beneath My Wings (My Hero) (Silver Sounds 112)
• Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B (Chicago Country 47)

There are lots of heart songs out there. A couple that come to mind are Achey Breaky Heart (I knew there was a use for that fad song somehow) and Mend a Broken Heart.

Relevant Records

• Achy Breaky Heart (ESP 177)
• Mend a Broken Heart (Mountain 63)
• Hole In My Heart (Platinum 108B)

Who the heck is Flossie Beadle? A search on Google reveals more pages listing Flossie Beadle Week than pages even mentioning Flossie Beadle herself. I found two:

• SDRM La Mesa Depot, which states only that a woman by the name of Flossie Beadle purchased the La Mesa Depot building and ran an antique store and museum out of the building.
• Lindo Lake, which says, “History of the park would not be complete without the courageous fight led by Flossie Beadle and others to ‘save the boathouse.'”

From all this, we can surmise that Flossie lived in Southern California inland from San Diego, and that she was interested in preserving old buildings related to transportation (a train depot and a boathouse).

So train, boat, and old building songs would be appropriate.

Yakety Yak, by The Coasters, became the number one song in the U.S.A., according to Billboard magazine. It was the first stereo record to reach the top of the charts.

Relevant Records

• Yakety Yak (Rhythm 187)