Today’s song challenge is “a song you like with a person’s name in the title.” Smokie, a British rock band, had a hit with the song “Living Next Door To Alice” in 1976. It was a cover of the song written by an Australian band named New World, who released it in 1972, but it was a flop for them. (The original songwriters said they were inspired by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show’s song “Sylvia’s Mother,” so let me give a shoutout to Alice and Sylvia for their place in rock-and-roll history.)
Smokie’s version did well, and though it charted in the U.S., I never heard it. I discovered it thanks to a reference in “The Life of Sharks,” a comic strip I follow on Instagram. The strip’s reference, however, was to the second version done by Smokie in the 1995 remake.
Explanation: Over time, when the band performed the song, it became a chance for the audience to shout back at them, “Alice? Who the fuck is Alice?”
That’s become a phrase I sometimes mutter to myself when I’m confused about something, so I share with you the second version. There are videos of the original (without the chant-back) and other chant-back videos on YouTube, but this remastered version is the one I like for its sound quality. May you come to appreciate Alice as I do.
Bennie was our third grandma, a neighbor in Arizona, and many in her church also loved her as a mom. She passed away just over a year ago, and we do miss her. She was the last of the grandparents at nearly 100.
Bennie and the Jets – Elton John
That’s very sweet.
Ha! Even I know that one (although I think it is from a cover). When I was in a production of Dick Whittington at the beginning of the year, Dick’s love interest is Alice Fitzwarren. Needless to say, many of the cast regular sang “Alice? Who the fuck is Alice?”
That’s great! I’m cackling right now.
Even her mother sang along!
Ha ha!