Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

...that are still great songs.

Tomorrow is graduation day for one of my best classes ever. They are a group of 28-year old guys who are just delightful to teach because they are funny, open, and up for anything. Inspired by them, I was doodling around You Tube looking for ballad-type songs to play next semester, and came across 'Sylvia's Mother' that led me to other dorky-but-great old songs that might appeal to a class of supremely sentimental Korean students. (Every Monday we had up-dates on poor, pitiful Lt. Jin's woeful experiences at failed blind date after failed blind date...One was too tall�so he was a 'loser', one too short, two were too rich, one was arrogant, several weren't pretty enough...and on and on. We all sympathized, and in the end the whole school cheered him on when he won the speech contest even though he is only in the intermediate group.) In ascending order:

1 Marianne Faithful: The Ballad of Lucy Jordan (I would play Dr. Hook's version in class, but Marianne's is the best out there. Always has been. But Boney M also has a good version.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KV-PTK0UZ4

2. Dr. Hook: Silvia's Mother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SndqwUCY2CE&feature=related

3. Dickey Lee: Patches http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpjs9nEBVOQ

4. Sue Thompson: Sad Movies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJMJmop-Gik

(Bonus Korean version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF2w2NR2a5c&feature=related

5. Claude King: Wolverton Mountain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2vT5QlRffA&feature=related

6. Jimmy Dean: Big Bad John http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3ErDN50Qk&feature=related

7. Terry Jacks: Seasons in the Sun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA6BqS9FlQ0&feature=related

8. Johnny Preston: Running Bear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3meEmDpaDU

9. Smokie: Living Next Door to Alice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpUHbHGDoRo&feature=related

10. Gene Pitney: Only Love Can Break a Heart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYya-hIus-U&feature=related

11. J. Frank Wilson: Last Kiss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh4se9YMV3A

12. Ray Peterson: Tell Laura http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B1C4nSUhw8

Have any other nominees for saccharinely sweet, pathetically pitiful love songs I didn't remember? (I know #6 doesn't fit, but it fits my group of guys.)

[DaHu]

What are you talking about?

[Ribena]

Anything by Mariah Carey before she screwed up her voice.
Anything by Whitney Houston before got into crack.

The most OTT love song for me will always be "The Power of Love" By Jennifer Rush - classic 80's OTT ballad.

BTW the re-mix of Living Next Door to Alice is so much more fun - even children know this. If 10 years or so ago you played the original you would get a chorus of kids joining in with the required "Who the F*** is Alice".