Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 24, 2000

DEAR JERRY: I desperately need help with a problem. Not long ago, my BMW 318i was stolen. Well, the bigger loss was that all of my favorite cassettes were in the car and now they are also gone.

Most have been replaced, but there is one I can't locate, mostly because I know neither the title nor the singer. It is by a female country singer, and one of the songs on it is “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane.”

Can you help by filling in the missing details?
—Jamie Barmmer, Huntington, Conn.

DEAR JAMIE: I am so sorry to hear of your dreadful loss. And it's also a shame about the BMW.

“Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” (Liberty 56825) is one of Tanya Tucker's many hits, and a tune you should easily be able to replace. This dynamic recording flew to No. 2 on the country music charts in 1992.

“Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” is found on at least two of Tucker's albums, “Can't Run From Yourself” (Liberty 96987) and “Greatest Hits 1990-1992” (Liberty 81367). Both are available on CD as well as cassettes.


DEAR JERRY: In the 1970s, there was a song on the jukebox, where a friend and I tended bar. Well, that song has both of us mystified.

This tune is by one of the Beatles, and it has a one-word title. Even though the song just about drove us both crazy, neither of us can remember the title. We also don't know which of the Beatles sang it. Can you help with this? —Audrey Dupea, Gig Harbor, Wash.

DEAR AUDREY: Lacking any other clues, and having never visited your bar, let me just list all of the hit singles with one-word titles, by John, Paul, George, and Ringo that came out in the 1970s. Chances are your mystery tune is among this baker's dozen.

John Lennon: “Mother” (1971); “Why” (1971); Imagine” (1971); “Dream” (1974).

Paul McCartney: “Jet” (1974); “Mamunia” (1974); “Soily” (1977).

George Harrison: “You” (1975).

Ringo Starr: “Blindman” (1972); “Photograph” (1973); “Snookeroo” (1975); “Oo-Wee” (1975); “Cryin'” (1976).


What's it Worth? Get fast appraisals by e-mail!

DEAR JERRY: One of my favorite instrumentals is “Last Date,” by Floyd Cramer. I now understand there are also vocal versions of this classic tune.

Who recorded these vocals? When? Did any of them become chart hits?
—Chip Regac, Morton Grove, Ill.

DEAR CHIP: Considering that “Last Date” is such a pretty piece, and that it became a smash hit in late 1960, hearing it with words added surprised no one.

While Floyd Cramer, who also wrote the tune, rode as high on the charts as No. 2, Skeeter Davis and Joni James were both recording vocal versions.

Though some refer to these two — both titled “My Last Date (With You)” — as “answer songs,” they really are not. This is because the instrumental had no lyrics to be answered. Nor are they covers, for a cover of Cramer's “Last Date” would also have to be an instrumental. They are not parodies either. These are simply vocals, period. Both ladies landed in the Top 40 with their “My Last Date (With You)” efforts, with the Davis tune doing slightly better than Joni's.

Interestingly, Skeeter's waxing is on RCA Victor, the same label who had Floyd Cramer's hit.


IZ ZAT SO? Skeeter Davis' hit right before “My Last Date (With You)” is indeed an answer song. It is “(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too” — a harmonious confession in response to Hank Locklin's “Please Help Me, I'm Falling.”







Return to "Mr. Music" Home Page