Chic Boutique

Desperado” was written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and first appeared on their 1973 album, “Desperado.” From Wikipedia: ”According to Henley, Desperado was based on a song he started in 1968, written in the style of old songs by Stephen Foster. The song was originally about a friend named Leo and began with ‘Leo, my God, why don’t you come to your senses...’ In 1972, after they had recorded their first album in London, (Eagles) Glenn Frey and Henley decided that they should write songs together. In their first songwriting session after returning from London, Henley played Frey the unfinished version of the song. According to Henley, Frey ‘leapt right on it – filled in the blanks and brought structure’, and the song became ‘Desperado.’ Henley added: ‘And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership ... that’s when we became a team.’” Although “Desperado” is arguably one of the best-known songs of the era, it never hit the Billboard charts until after the passing of Glenn Frey when it hit #20 on the Rock Digital Songs chart. Word is that Don Henley was intimidated by the large orchestra and later expressed regret that he did not sing his best. Rolling Stone magazine felt it was Henley’s rough voice that made the song memorable. Despite the lack of topping the charts, “Desperado” has been included in at least three all-time best song lists.

“Downtown” is an iconic pop tune, first recorded by Petula Clark in 1964. Songwriter, Tony Hatch, conceived the song during his first visit to New York in the Fall of 1964. “Downtown” was a huge hit, topping the charts at number one in the states and peaking at number two on the British charts. It has stood the test of time, and has been covered by multiple artists over the years.

“Drive My Car" is massive Beatles hit, first released on the 1965 Rubber Soul album. It was primary written by Paul McCartney with some lyrical contributions from John Lennon. "Drive My Car" was recorded on 13 October 1965 during the Beatles' first recording session to extend past midnight. McCartney worked closely with George Harrison on the basic rhythm track, the pair playing, in author Ian MacDonald's description, "similar riffing lines on bass and low guitar", respectively, as per Harrison's suggestion. Harrison had been listening to Otis Redding's "Respect" at the time and, as a result of this influence, "Drive My Car" contains more bottom end than previous Beatles recordings, mimicking the bass-heavy sound captured in Redding's Memphis studio; as Ian MacDonald points out, the bassline appears to be directly derived from the bassline of Redding's version of "Respect".

Chic's September release is "Fallen," a smooth jazz ballad that was featured in the movie, "Pretty Woman." "Fallen" has a beautiful melody and it dances like a dream. The male key was recorded by Michael Haworth of Elsinore, CA. The female key features Renee' Ruud from Oregon City, OR. Renee' appears courtesy of Fine Tune Records.