Tag Archives: Jim Fusco Songs

“Dancing in the Moonlight” (King’s Harvest Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Well, well, he’s back, folks!

Sorry about last week, everyone- I had an incredibly painful medical experience that put me on the shelf for a couple of days.  Thankfully, it’s “passed” now (ha, ha) and I can get on with my life.

Tonight is a weird night for me.  It’s the first night of about only ten or so nights of my life that I plan on spending alone.  Obviously, there’s always the unexpected, but tonight really is a rare night in my life.  You see, I share my condo with no one right now and it’s still a couple weeks before I get married to the person I’ve wanted to marry for about a third of my young life now.  Things just kind of worked out this way, I guess (the whole living situation), as the original idea was to have my roommates move out early so Becky could move in her stuff at a slower pace.

However, turns out that we bought a new house (that’s just a piece of land at this point) and didn’t end up needing that extra time.  So, I find myself alone on this Tuesday night.  Actually, I couldn’t be happier- my brother Mike came over for a nice shrimp fra diavolo dinner and I’ve been doing odds and ends on the computer all night.  I’m going to cherish this time alone- no need to worry about how loud the TV is at night, when I go to bed, or whether or not I have to alert anyone that I won’t be home for dinner.  It’s a freedom that only comes when you don’t live with your significant other before getting married.

It also makes me realize how much I love my condo and how big it is!  I’m not moving out of the condo because anything’s wrong with it- quite the contrary.  I love this place and in two short years, I’ve really made it my own.  But, it’s that feeling I have that I want a place that’s truly mine, and a condo just doesn’t fit that bill for me right now.  It’ll be a sad day when I leave this place, but it’ll close a chapter that truly needed to be closed, as I clearly had some bad vibes with my prior arrangement and I’m glad that’s over with.  Time to be movin’ on.

Speaking of moving on, let’s get to tonight’s post!

Tonight, I bring you another one hit wonder band in King’s Harvest, the group that performed “Dancing in the Moonlight”, a song everybody knows, but no one knows who did it.  Actually, listening to the studio version, I noticed how good the vocal harmony parts were on the chorus.  It was then slightly less of a surprise to me that this group consisted of Beach Boys touring band mainstays Ron Altbach and Billy Hinsche.  Turns out that the Beach Boys actually got King’s Harvest signed to a record deal.  They made one record that didn’t go anywhere and broke up after that.  Members of this group even played with Dennis Wilson on the “Pacific Ocean Blue” album and were part of Mike Love’s short-lived band, Celebration.

This is one of those tunes I heard on the radio in the store one time and thought, “Yes, another Laptop Session awaits!”  It’s pretty easy to play- first fret capo and play Em, A, D, and Bm.  That’s it.  The whole song.  Verse.  Chorus.  Everything.

Of course, tonight, I’d be pretty stupid to dance in the moonlight, as it’s pouring outside.  We’re in the middle of yet another thunderstorm.  And after the heat I’ve suffered through at work the past couple of days, I’ll be glad for a break in the weather.

Have a great night tonight, wherever you are.  Hopefully there’s some moonlight for you!  I’ll be back tomorrow with an Original Wednesday song to make up for my lack of post last week.  See you very soon!

“Have You Here” (Jim Fusco original song)

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By Jim Fusco:

And, welcome back!  Today is Wednesday, and here on the best acoustic music blog ever conceived, that means it’s time for an original song!  Today, I bring you a cut off of my new album, “Halfway There”, available now at http://jimfusco.com.

This song is the most personal one on the album and is really the most blunt song I’ve written in a long time.  It’s not meant to be angry or anything- it’s meant to ask questions of both myself and someone else.

Basically, I’m saying: “Hey, I’ve been trustworthy for over six years and still I feel that I’m not being fully trusted.”  The song pretty much speaks for itself after that.

This was the last song I wrote for the album, save for the bonus track.  To me, I can definitely tell that this was written after the bulk of the other songs.  Songs for an album always have a “feel” to them and it took me quite a while to record this track and make it “fit”.  But, I love the tune and the chord progression.  Fans of Stone Temple Pilots will hear the similarity between the riff of this song and the one in “Plush”, which I was listening to a lot at the time.  I didn’t realize it until afterward.  But, the similarity is just like an, “Oh, yeah, I see what you mean,” more than anything.

So, I hope you enjoy this original song.  It’s really one of my favorites off of the new album and the chord progression to the chorus is one of my favorites to play, too.  I’ll be back next Tuesday with yet another acoustic cover song on my normal day for posting music videos.  Have a great day!

“Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke and/or Four Tops Cover)

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Welcome, everyone to yet another Laptop Session with me, Jim Fusco.

I”m back with a real video tonight (not a swerve like my genius move last week!) in a classic song: “Walk Away Renee”.  Plus, I bring you not one, but TWO new artists in one video, in one night!!!  Tell me, has that ever been done before?

You know this tune: “Just walk away, Renee, you won’t see me follow you back home.”

Now, think of who sings it.  I thought about it myself and remembered that the version I have is from the Four Tops.  And it sounds right- I know I’ve heard it on the radio before.

Except there’s something wrong.  Two things, in fact.

The version I remember had strings in the background (violins, etc.) and the chorus was sung differently.  In the Four Tops version, the background singers sing the “you won’t see me follow you back home” in a very “on the beat” manner.

The version I remember sang it the way I do in this video- with a little more relaxed style.  You’ll hear what I mean.

So, I began searching- what version did I know?  I found a couple of promising ones, but none that were exactly what I remembered.

Finally, a search in the iTunes store brought me to a group called The Left Banke.  They were a one (or possibly two) hit wonder back in the late 60s.  Their hit?  “Walk Away Renee”- the version I’ve always known!!

But, over the years, I seem to have merged the Left Banke version and the Four Tops version in my head.  The Left Banke version doesn’t have drums or that classic Motown backing band, but has the strings.  And I hear the Left Banke singer’s lead vocal on the verses in my head, but the Four Tops lead singer on the choruses…but he’s singing in the STYLE of the Left Banke guy!

AHH!

Anyway, tonight’s video turned out great- probably one of my most solid overall performances.  It’s a great song I’ve always known by just hearing it on the radio, but it only took me one take on video tonight.  When that happens, you know you “got it.”

It’s been some busy times lately, but Dana and I are getting more and more determined each night.  We’re trying to lose a little weight, eat better, exercise, and get a lot of work done.  It’s nice to have someone here that helps me achieve these goals, because Lord knows I couldn’t motivate myself all the time.

So, until next week, enjoy my video tonight and Jeff’s video on Thursday.  I hope Chris will take a more prominent role in the Laptop Sessions promotions work now that he’s out of school for the summer.  Also, he’s going to be away and then he’s moving out (and on) after that.  Hopefully he’ll channel some of his new found “not around Jim” time towards promoting the cover songs music video blog that we affectionately call The Laptop Sessions.  Until next Tuesday!!

“Boom Boom Pow” (Black Eyed Peas Cover)

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Ladies and gentlemen- after 25 years, I’ve finally fallen to peer pressure and decided to cover a contemporary pop song.  Tonight, I covered the Black Eyed Peas’ song, “Boom Boom Pow” right here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.

I’m going to let the music speak for me on this one, as I’m sure all of my friends and fans are going to need some time to pick their jaws up off of the floor after the reading the words “Boom Boom Pow” at the top of this post.

I hope you all enjoy my unique version, as it was challenging to get this to work as an acoustic song.  So, this goes out to you- you know who you are! 🙂