365 DAYS PROJECT

2003   JUNE 4   #155

Darrell Sisters Studio Arts Dance Center - The Sole Parade

Whoever would have thought of mixing a wacky Moog synthesizer album from the late '60s with an 1980's aerobics exercise album? What a concept! And the Darrell Sisters didn't just pick ANY Moog album, they chose Jean Jacques Perrey and Harry Breuer's classic THE HAPPY MOOG (1969) to get their customers working out to...

I was dumbfounded to find this oddball record, and when I contacted Jean Jacques Perrey to find out more about this exercise record, he had never heard that his music was used for one! The strange thing is, that in an internet search through ASCAP's archives, I found that all the songs on THE HAPPY MOOG had officially been given alternate titles (by someone), such as "It's A Kick" and "Energize!". "The Sole Parade" is actually "The March Of The Martians" on the original album. How these alternate titles were created, and how permission was given to use this music remains a mystery.

Nevertheless, "The Sole Parade" is the most bizarre track on all of this album, with Ione Darrell shouting out "Point your toes!" and "Write the letters of the alphabet with your toes!" over Perrey and Breuer's quirky Moog music.

I'm going to be visiting Jean Jacques Perrey at his home in Switzerland this month, and I can't wait to see his face when I play this for him!

- Dana Countryman, http://www.danacountryman.com

TT-2:18 / 2.6MB / 160kbps 44.1khz


(Image courtesy of Dana Countryman)