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Written by Shauna

October Release - "Monday, Monday"

 Fall is here, and we have a fun release for you! “Monday, Monday” was written by John Phillips and, according to Wikipedia, he claimed to have written it in just 20 minutes. That's what I call inspiration. Released by The Mamas & the Papas in 1966, it quickly rose to #1 on the charts and was the only #1 hit for the group. In March of 1967, the Mamas & the Papas won a Grammy for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or a Group” for this song.

As we listened to the original song (something we always do in preparation of creating our first rough tracks), Jimmy Mac said, “Man, that sounds like Hal Blaine.” The name didn’t ring a bell for me, so I quickly set about googling it. Sure enough, the drums for the original “Monday, Monday” were recorded by none other than Hal Blaine of “The Wrecking Crew,” a group of studio musicians that were widely used in the 60’s and 70’s. Jimmy has spent time in the studio with Hal (see cool Jimmy-mullet picture), but I was still amazed that his ear could identify that it was Hal’s drumming on the track. Impressive!

The overall Mamas & the Papas sound, and especially “Monday, Monday,” is rich with harmony and background vocals. We did our best to replicate that sound for this release, and it required many tracks of harmony. Of course, if you prefer your singing calls without the backgrounds and harmony, we’ve got that covered too. Just like our choice of male and female vocal ranges, “You CAN have it both ways!”

CHIC 1048 in the male vocal range features my favorite caller, Vic Kaaria.

CHIC 2048 in the female vocal range features my vocal, with backgrounds for both provided by Jimmy Mac, Vic Kaaria, and myself.

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 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 - "Le Chic!" Patter

 We've been releasing singing calls every month this year (two in some months), so a new patter from Chic was due! We went one better than a new patter FROM Chic...this new patter IS Chic! "Le Chic!" is a medley of three hits from the band, Chic (popular in the late 70's). Even if you don't recognize the name of the band, you're gonna recognize these songs.

This Chic mash-up starts with the smash hit, "Le Freak," before moving on to the cool groove of "Everybody Dance," and then finishing with "Good Times." Jimmy Mac pulled out his monster bass guitar and went to town playing the funky bass grooves of the era. We added just a hint of the background vocal "catch phrases" of each song, and created a second track with no BGV at all, for those who prefer it that way. There is no question that this music will make everybody dance!

CHIC4037(4000 series identifies patters and hoedowns) is an awesome piece of patter music that starts the feet moving from the first beat. One caller actually "complained" that it was a medley. "Each part is so good, I want three separate patters!" No apologies...we love it just as it is. "Le Chic!"

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

Introductory price is $7.50.

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

Details

Written by Shauna

Anniversary Release - "Desperado"

 August 22nd marks three years in business for Chic Recordings, so we've decided to celebrate with an Anniversary release! “Desperado” was written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and first appeared on their 1973 album, “Desperado.” For Chic Recordings, “Desperado” is the song that almost wasn’t. I get many song suggestions and have a constant ear on various music sources. I had considered “Desperado” early on, but it was a passing notion. Some months ago, I saw a post on Facebook that Tony and Kim Oxendine were at an Eagles concert, and Kim had claimed that Tony sings “Desperado” better than the Eagles. My producer mind said, “Hmmmm…I thought about that song before. How cool if we cut it and let Tony sing it…he’s better than the Eagles!”

I pulled up the original song and created a singing call arrangement in my head that I thought would work. We went into the studio and made a rough cut and sent it to Tony. He and I both played with it some, and I discovered that I just could not call to it the way it was cut. He confirmed he was having some difficulty, as well. Back into the studio I went, taking my favorite caller (major Eagles fan) with me. He, Jimmy, and I pulled out all the rhythm tricks we knew to try to make it “dance” and “callable,” without success. Heartbroken, I spoke to Tony at Nationals and told him it just wasn’t going to work.

Vic tells me I’m stubborn, and maybe that is true, because I just couldn’t let it go. As I was driving to the next studio session alone, I had an arrangement epiphany. I arrived in Ventura and told Jimmy, “pull up Desperado again.” We moved things around to the new arrangement, and made some modifications to the rhythm track. It was better. I sent it to Tony, and he agreed. Next studio session, with my favorite caller (and silent partner) in tow, we added some things to the rhythm track, and went forward with some live instrumentation. The magic began to happen, and I knew it was going to work. At the end of the session, I sent a new track to Tony and got the following response, “now this one I REALLY like!!!!!!!!!!!!!” (Exact amount of exclamation points may not be completely accurate.) While Tony played with his track, I took mine to my guinea pigs (aka weekly class) for a test drive. My singing needed some work, but the track was dancing, and the dancers were responding. We had a winner. I knew immediately that THIS was to be the release that celebrates Chic Recordings THIRD anniversary. The singing call that almost wasn’t, “Desperado.”

As everyone knows, I have an amazing staff on Chic Recordings and any one of them would have knocked this song out of the park. In fact, it would have been hard to choose. But since it was Kim’s post about the Eagles concert (and her claim about how great he sings it), that brought the song back to my mind…this one had to go to Tony Oxendine. Tony and Royal Records have been a huge support of Chic from the beginning, and I can’t overstate how appreciative I am for that. As we sat in the studio and added Tony’s heartfelt rendition to the music track, I got goosebumps. It is understated, and it is beautiful. Those are the exact same words I would use to describe Henley’s vocal so when we are talking about who sings it better…I say we’ll call it a draw!

Musically, our rendition of “Desperado” is all Eagles. But everyone knows that Linda Ronstadt also recorded an amazing rendition of this beautiful ballad. In fact, Henley credited Ronstadt for popularizing the song with her early cover, and described her version as "poignant, and beautiful." It is no secret that I love Linda Ronstadt and have recorded a number of Ronstadt songs on both Fine Tune and Chic Recordings. Our inaugural release was a Linda song (You’re No Good), and I had searched for another to be our anniversary release. With “Desperado,” while we don’t actually have a Ronstadt song, we do get a little nod to our beginnings. Singing this song myself was, in short, terrifying. With the support of my favorite caller, and Jimmy Mac (who is not just an amazing engineer, but also an amazing vocal coach)…I stepped into the booth and gave it my best. I recorded mine before Tony sang his (thank goodness, because total intimidation would have stepped in). I sent the female track to Tony, so he could hear what we had done with the finished music and harmonies and he sent me the following text. “Absolutely beautiful vocal. I can’t stop listening.” It made me cry.

CHIC 1046 in the male vocal range features the amazing rendition from Tony Oxendine, courtesy of Royal Records.

CHIC 2046 in the female vocal range features my vocal, with backgrounds for both provided by Jimmy Mac, Charlie Robertson, and myself.

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 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

August Release - "Smiling Faces Sometimes"

 “Smiling Faces Sometimes” was written for the Motown label by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The Temptations were the first to record it, with an interesting arrangement (12 minutes worth) intended to bring feelings of fear and timidity. A shorter version was planned for a summer of ’71 single release, but was dropped when their lead singer left the group.

Norman Whitfield then re-recorded the song with his brand-new trio, The Undisputed Truth. Whitfield was known for recording dramatically different versions of the same song, which is exactly what he did here. This new version left the “haunted house” sounds behind, in exchange for a more psychedelic/soulful arrangement. The lyrics refer to “back-stabbing” people who will smile to your face while doing you wrong behind your back. It was released in May of 1971, and quickly rose to #3 on the charts. It’s a great song with a killer hook, and let's face it...square dancing could use a little more Motown!

Staff callers Vic Kaaria and Patty Greene were the perfect choice for these vocals, and they both knocked it out of the park. As usual, background vocals supplied by Vic Kaaria, Jimmy Mac, and myself.

CHIC 1045 in the male vocal range features the great vocal from my favorite caller, Vic Kaaria.

CHIC 2045 in the female vocal range features a vocal with just the right attitude from Staff Caller Patty Greene.

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 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

July Release - "You Keep Me Hanging On"

 “You Keep My Hanging On” was originally released in 1966 by the Supremes and quickly rose to #1 on the charts in America. In 1986, it was covered by British artist Kim Wilde (a more pop/disco version) and again rose to #1 on the charts in America. In the first 32 years of Billboard’s Hot 100 rock era, only six songs achieved the feat of reaching the number one spot with two different artists. It has been covered by many artists over the years.

For this Chic release, we used the 1986 cover by Kim Wilde for our inspiration. The music is full of energy and dancers are loving it and singing along.

Staff callers Scott Smith and Patty Greene both delivered great vocals, with background vocals supplied by Vic Kaaria, Jimmy Mac, and myself.

CHIC 1044 in the male vocal range features the great vocal from Staff Caller, Scott Smith.

CHIC 2044 in the female vocal range features an equally great vocal from Staff Caller Patty Greene.

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 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

Ghost Riders and our NSDC Release - "Precious and Few"

 Why do I have pictures of the Ghost Riders, you ask? Because the 67th National Square Dance Convention is just two weeks away, and the Ghost Riders have added even more Chic releases to their playlist! This brings the total number of Ghost Riders Playlist tunes from the Chic catalog to lucky number seven! We are celebrating by putting all seven on sale from now thru 6/30/18, the day the NSDC ends. Prices for the following releases, "Blue California-020," "Cleopatra Queen of Denial-009," "For What It's Worth-015," "Oh Happy Day-040," "Rolling Along-029," "Till There Was You-008", and "You're No Good-001" have already been reduced in the Chic Boutique.

Now for our mid-June pre-Nationals release, "Precious and Few." At the risk of dating myself, I have a keen remembrance of this song being played at school and church dances throughout my early teen years. It has remained a favorite, and I was so excited to bring it to life again for Chic Recordings. Since the song had been cut for square dancing before (quite well, I might add), I knew we had to add something to this production. With one ear on the original release, we did our best to match the sound of Climax in our music. As always, Jimmy Mac did a phenomenal job. Once the lead vocals were recorded, we went about adding the extra magic of background vocals. Early feedback on the new production has been extremely positive, including this from Wade Driver. "Here is a flash. Chic 1043, Precious and Few, is coming out soon. If you can carry a tune, male or female, and don't have this song in your repertoire, you are missing the boat. I just heard it today and it is superb. Will make any caller sound good. Just saying." Well, I'm "just saying"... it's that kind of feedback that makes me want to pinch myself every day.

This ballad was a perfect fit for the voice of Staff Caller, Steve Moore. I’m running out of nice things to say about what Steve brings to the Chic family. He has one of those voices that you could listen to all day long, and never tire of it. He knocked this beautiful song out of the park.

The female key was recorded by producer, Shauna Kaaria (me), and I also added my voice to the background tracks for both the male and female cuts.

CHIC 1043 in the male vocal range features the beautiful vocal from Steve Moore.

CHIC 2043 in the female vocal range features the vocal by Shauna Kaaria (me).

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 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

June Release - "Similau (See-Me-Low)"

 “Similau (See-Me-Lo)” was a 78 RPM single recorded by Peggy Lee and released on Capitol Records in 1949. It has recently reached a brand-new audience, being featured on the soundtrack of a television commercial for Samsung. In fact, it has been called “the TV spot that launched a million Shazam searches.” The song caught the attention of my favorite caller, and myself, while watching TV one evening, and I put it on our “possibles” list. Shortly after, I received an email from Chic Recordings Staff Caller, Deborah Carroll-Jones, also suggesting the song. That was all it took for me to pull the trigger on the producton, and into the studio we went. Jimmy and I had a blast with his box of percussive instruments, using many to make this cool rhythm track groove in all the right ways.

As I was doing some research on the song, I came across a quote from Isaiah Serer who directed the Samsung commercial, and it resonated deeply with me. He said, “Everyone’s scared to do old tracks in commercials, but our philosophy is, if we find something timeless, but also speaks to the moment, then we have a total winner.” It resonated so deeply, I believe, because it conveyed the way I feel about choosing songs to produce for Chic Recordings. We are always looking for something new, but the “timeless tracks” often find a way to “speak to the moment” (and to me) and demand to be produced. Hopefully this one will be a “total winner.”

I had been waiting for just the right song to invite Justin Russell to record a guest vocal. As I was pondering which male voice would be the best fit, I realized that this was the right song for Justin. Thankfully, he agreed, and he recorded the vocal exactly the way I imagined it to be. Justin appears courtesy of Royal Records. As always, I appreciate their support!

As previously mentioned, “Similau” was suggested by Deborah Carroll-Jones, and there was no way anyone else was going to record the vocal for the female key. I challenged her to “go all Peggy Lee” with it, and she did just that! She even got creative with some “limbo” choreography. We are so lucky to have Deborah’s talents as part of the Chic Recordings staff!

CHIC 1042 in the male vocal range features the great vocal from Justin Russell (courtesy of Royal Records).

CHIC 2042 in the female vocal range features Staff Caller Deborah Carroll-Jones singing a vocal that would make Peggy Lee proud.

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 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

May Release - "Till the Rivers All Run Dry"

 “Till the Rivers All Run Dry” is a classic Don Williams ballad, written by Don (along with Wayland Holyfield). The song was released in December of 1975 and quickly climbed the charts to the Number One position. Don’s smooth and soft-toned voice, along with his height of 6’1”, earned him the nickname “Gentle Giant.” Throughout his career, Don Williams was best-known for his beautiful ballads, always sung from the heart. Don Williams stopped touring in March of 2016, and he passed at home in Mobile, Alabama on September 8, 2017. This release is our tribute to the “Gentle Giant” and his musical legacy.

With Steve Moore on staff, Chic Recordings is blessed to have our own “Gentle Giant.” Steve’s voice has a similar smooth, soft-toned sound, and he really shines in this Country ballad lane. As the producer, I had goosebumps listening to him record in the studio, and when he finished and added the “I love you baby” to his wife (who was sitting nearby as he was recording), my little heart just melted. It was my extreme pleasure to add a few harmony tracks to this beautiful song that was originally released on an album titled “Harmony.”

The real magic and beauty of music lies in the fact that it can be so personal and speak different things to each person who listens. It may be due to Mother's Day, or her approaching birthday, but for me, this beautiful “I’ll be needing you” message brings tender feelings of my mother who left this world not that long ago. A few years after her own mother passed, my mother shared with me how frequently she still felt the need to call and talk to her. I get it, Mom. I totally get it. I’ll never stop needing you. Happy Mother's Day!

CHIC 1041 in the male vocal range features the beautiful vocal from Chic Staff Caller, Steve Moore.

CHIC 2041 in the female vocal range features my tribute to my mother.

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 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

April Release - "Oh Happy Day"

 “Oh Happy Day” was recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1967. This was a new gospel music arrangement of an 18th-century hymn, and quickly became an international hit, landing in the top 5 of musical charts all over the world. Hawkins’ new arrangement has since been covered by many recording artists and was also featured in the film, Sister Act 2. Somehow, this song had never been translated to a square dance singing call (that we could find), and we decided it was about time it joined the square dance gospel music catalog. It’s the icing on the cake that we were able to release this song on Easter Sunday. “Oh Happy Day,” indeed!

Once we decided to adapt “Oh Happy Day” for a singing call, I knew this was the perfect song to feature the talents of the entire Chic Recordings Staff. It took some doing to get all the vocals gathered, and wasn’t without some hiccups along the way, but you’ll hear why I feel so blessed to have such talented callers in the Chic Recordings family. The Chic family wouldn’t be complete without the talents of Jimmy Mac. It’s his unique skill set that pulled all the tracks together, played the amazing music to go with it, built the background vocal “wall of sound” (which included singing some of the BGV himself), and once again made what I believe is some Chic magic.

CHIC1040 in the male vocal range features the vocal talents of the Chic Recordings men.

CHIC2040 in the female vocal range features the vocal talents of the Chic Recordings women.

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 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

March Release - "Love is Strange"

 This month we add another song to our "Duets" catalog. “Love is Strange” was originally released in November 1956 by rhythm and blues duet artists, Mickey and Sylvia. Written by Mickey and Sylvia, along with Bo Diddley, the opening hook of the song was based on a Jody Williams guitar riff. The same guitar riff was also used in the ‘62 song “Rinky Dink.”

Although previously recorded (quite well, I might add) by Chaparral Records, we felt that Chic’s “Duets” series was the perfect place for a remake that would capture the authenticity of the original Mickey & Sylvia hit. As always, Jimmy Mac managed to recreate the sounds of the original, this time using his Gretsch guitar for those iconic blues riffs. We made an effort not to overproduce this cut and capture the simplicity of the original hit.

Chic Recordings Staff Caller, Scott Smith, was the perfect choice to record the male portion of the new duet, as it was his voice that brought the original Chaparral recording to life. The female portion of the duet was recorded by producer, Shauna Kaaria, who also had some fun attempting to capture the feel of the answer-back “Yeah-ays” and “no-o-nos” of the original. Bonus, now she can knock “record a duet with Scott Smith” off her bucket list.

CHIC 3039 a duet suitable for both male and female vocal ranges, features Shauna and Scott's vocal.

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, tracks for either vocal range to sing along with the second voice, and the vocal cut.

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