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.