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| Pittsburgh |
We kick off this week with Pittsburgh a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with a population of just over 300K although the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area comes in at a whopping 2.73M. It has an average annual precipitation of 39.61 inches which is why I'm going for George's suggestion of I'm in Pittsburgh and it's Raining by The Vibes rather than Ernie's suggestion on There's a Pawn Shop on the Corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Guy Mitchell.
As you would expect Rol has songs from several cities beginning with P including Pensacola the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle which has a population of around 52K. He didn't say whether the song he had in mind was the opening track from Jolene's excellent album In the Gloaming..
From Florida to Arizona and a song that was always going to feature. I briefly thought about the Isaac Hayes version - all 18 minutes thirty nine seconds of it - but when it comes to By The Time I Get to Phoenix a song written by Jimmy Webb it can only be Glen Campbell. He was heading to the capital and most populous (1.625M) city in Arizona.
We now head further up the West Coast to Portland a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the most populous one in the state of Oregon (625K). Brain from Seattle a mere 173 miles away can advise as to the best record shops. Portland, Oregon is of course a song off Loretta Lynn's album Van Lear Rose on which she duets with the producer Jack White.
Philadelphia another city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, an English Quaker (it was named after him as opposed to the cheese), and served as the nation's capital until 1800.It is the 6th most populous city in the US with a population of over 1.6M. Musically we conclude with Elton John and Philadelphia Freedom. I decided to go for this one rather that Streets of Philadelphia by The Boss.
It looks as though we are well and truly going to hit the buffers next week when it comes to Q. I have one extremely tenuous and possibly spurious one in mind and that's it. Any assistance will be welcomed.
The Vibes - I'm in Pittsburgh and it's Rainin'
Glen Campbell - By The Time I Get to Phoenix
Boo! (for your first choice, Yay for most of the rest)
ReplyDeleteI sent you a Q yesterday, let me know if it hasn't arrived
It is in my in box thanks but I haven't got round to opening it yet.
DeleteOf course I would have gone for the Isaac Hayes version, but nevertheless a splendid selection today
ReplyDeleteMy Pensacola was by Ben's favourite band, The Manchester Orchestra. Yours is better.
ReplyDeleteMarc commented last week that Cincinatti was known as Queen City. But I also found Queen Cities in Missouri, Texas and Iowa (though iffypedia describes the latter as " a formerly inhabited place", so I'm thinking of moving there).
Anyway, Heart have a song called Queen City.
Questa, New Mexico also comes up on my city search, though iffypedia insists that it is a village. The Yardbirds had a song called Questa Volta, which I suspect wasn't anything to do with the place.
The fact that I can't find any songs called Quincy is the reason I haven't yet featured Quincy ME on TV On The Radio.
You're the only person I've ever found who shares my love of Jolene's 'In the Gloaming'. I played it again in the car recently, marvellous album.
ReplyDeleteI saw them live in Helensburgh!
DeleteI saw them at The Borderline in London on the In the Gloaming tour.
DeleteGiven that the Glen Campbell is untouchable, the next best track here is The Vibes. You'll be 'interested' to know it reached #37 (far too low) in Peel's 1985 Festive Fifty
ReplyDelete