Dubeck and Benji

The allergy season in Virginia has wreaked havoc on my voice, so I am posting a ditty that I wrote and recorded last August but haven't posted here. I wrote this song to be reminiscent of what you would hear on American AM radio during yesteryear. "Dubeck and Benji" has a two-fold symbolism for me. It represents the bands we used to listen to when we were teens, but the bands didn't always stay around. Secondly, Dubeck and Benji were the nicknames my musically adroit German grandfather bestowed upon my brother and me, respectively. We used to sing in a band together in the early 80s--my brother's tenor harmonizing with my baritone made for a sweet mix.

This song is a family favorite now. It is even a favorite of some of my 15-year-old students (go figure).

Tracks:(I think the first five tracks are a style, but I don't have that info anymore.)

RealBass 388 Bass, Electric, Metal Ev 120
RealDrums-RockClassicBrit
RealPiano 686 Organ, B3, Background Pop
RealGuitar 405 Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming
RealStrings 1030 Guitar, 12-String Electric, Fingerpick
RT794 Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModernCountrySync
RT1730 Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopRootsyJohn

Lyrics

Do you remember
Benji and Dubeck
They left in September
Sure would like to have them back
Sure would like to have them back

Whatever happened to Dubeck and Benji
They sent the world into a frenzy
Bring back Dubeck and Benji

They sang together
The secrets of my youth
Harmonized the tether
Of adolescent truth
Of adolescent truth

Whatever happened to Dubeck and Benji
They put my mind into a frenzy
Bring back Dubeck and Benji

Our parents didn’t approve
Of that long, black groove
Because they never heard
Our voices in their words

Opa listened to Dubeck and Benji
Played accordion with a frenzy
Bring back Dubeck and Benji

Whatever happened to Dubeck and Benji
Heard they married Val and Mackenzie
Bring back Dubeck and Benji

La la la….

Hey Ezekiel's Storm, fantastic choice of instrumentation on this. The arrangement is a pleasure to listen to and I really dug the chord progression. Fantastic work on the vocals too. Is your nickname Dubeck or Benji?

Ezekiel,
Great "happy" and uplifting tribute to youth! Listens very smoothly. It has modern catchy feel to it, that I think why kids like it. Vocals and production are very good on this tune. Loved the German punch in

Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

What a wonderful happy song...
No wonder its a favorite with your family & students...
It sounds really good!

Thanks, Joe. I'm the "Benji."

Thanks for the listen. I think that modern feel is the result of the common four chord progression (except the bridge).

Thanks for stopping by for the listen. I always enjoy listening to your songs too!

Hi Scott,

Wow! This is an incredibly uplifting sound. The minute playback started, you made be sit bolt upright! It's really great. Virginia's allergy season hasn't impacted the song at all. Your vocals are on-note, very engaging and a pleasure to listen to.

This is a REALLY enjoyable song ride.

All the best,
Noel

Up against the wall fun. Has that familiar school-yard feel to the melody that a kid will just up and sing, given a little space. I like the lyric. There is just enough song-sized "mystery" in the deceptively simple narrative.

What the heck am I babbling on about? This was just fun. Thanks. I needed that. And now I won't be able to quit "singing it".

Aww, this is so much fun!!! Cheered me right up this morning - thank you :-)

Hi Ezekiel,

I can't find any superlatives to describe how your song came to me. Only underline the words of the above messages.
As I heard it you sang both Benji and Dubeck. It brings back the setting of the '60s'.
Nice work. Brought a smile on my face...

Hans

What an awesome rollicking song! Great sound, arrangement and vocal.

Love it!

Bob

Very catchy pop song, makes me wanna sing along Has some nice 60's vibe, could fit well in a nostalgic movie sound track.

Janne

COOL song with a good narrative and a driving beat.
The melody works really well.
There's some quite loud spots in the vocal that jump out - I reckon a 2nd compressor on the vocal bus would tame that and keep the voices sweet.
Top stuff.

Thanks for coming along for the ride, Noel.

Tangmo, thanks. I am glad you enjoyed my little song.

Jolly good! Thanks for listening.

Thanks so much, Hans. Yes, it was Benji and Benji on the vocals. My brother lives 500 miles away and I don't know if he does much singing anymore.

Thanks, Bob. I glad you came by for a listen and comment.

Thanks, Janne. I was aiming for the 60s sound.

Thanks, Ray. I've run into a problem with all the songs I've recorded in Mixcraft because it keeps crashing; consequently, I have switched to Reaper with more satisfying results. Unfortunately, Mixcraft doesn't save the vocal tracks as wav files, unless I render each vocal track as a wav file, which is hard to do with the program crashing all the time. I guess I will have to wait for the MC update before I can work on some of my previous recordings.

Scott,

A HUGE sound. The drums, bass and organ really drive this. And you did capture that AM Hit radio feel. You might not have intended it to go back this far, but for me it brought to mind Freddie and the Dreamers... well done.

Good mix. Loved the Benji/Mackenzie rhyme..

Nice story and nice song!! Has a great retro feel to it. Groove is infectious. Long live Dubeck and Benji!! Take care. Greg

Scott, I almost missed this one! You've created a wonderful huge sound here! The vocals are awesome! Very creative work my friend! Thanks, Torrey

"Do the Freddie..." Cool. I've got one of their CDs. Thanks, Floyd.

Thanks, Greg. Your feedback is well appreciated.

I've been missing songs left and right the past two weeks, Work has been taking away my forum time. Thanks, Torrey.

BIG sound!

What a great way to share your memories.

No need to parse it out...suffice it to say that we enjoyed every aspect of it.

We admire you folks who produce such textured songs. As Bob said a rollicking song!

Thanks for getting this one outa the can and sharing it...

J&B

Thanks so much for your comments and the listen.

What a tune - love the melodies on this, and your vocals are a real stand out too It displays a strong understand of songwriting, and I found it to be nicely catchy as well. I wouldn't bat an eyelash if I heard this on the radio.

Great work and thanks for sharing!

Yeah, this is great!

Love the groove, and those vocals are pure perfection.

Nice work!

You captured it!

man, I thought it was gonna be about that movie dog Benji, loved him!

catchy and uplifting, great presence of organ that fills up and helps to drive the song

your voice sounds fine

good write, entertaining...AM radio was wonderful

Kenny

Thanks for your kind assessment.

Thanks, Dave. I appreciate the listen and the comments.

Thanks, Kenny. With growing up on AM radio, I didn't know what a bass guitar sounded like until much later. LOL!

Very nice song! I actually listened before reading your song notes and I thought it was about two dogs that had run away... I have a wicked mind...:)

I truly enjoyed listening and I hope to hear more songs from you soon.

Will

Hi Scott,

very nice tune - flows so well. Love the vocal (main voice and harmonies).

The arrangement fits the song like a glove. Enjoyed the listen a lot!

Take care,

Stefan

Thanks, Will. Two dogs, haha! 'Oh Mandy..."

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Stefan!

Scott,

Really uplifting!
Your vocal really fits this tune.
I agree with Janne.
Very catchy pop song, makes me wanna sing along. Has some nice 60's vibe, could fit well in a nostalgic movie sound track.
And as rayc said, COOL song with a good narrative and a driving beat.
The melody works really well.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi