Every once in a while, I stumble on a song that makes me spit out from laughing. Such is the case with Michael Debenham’s “Tiny Hands.”  It's snuggly soft indie pop, with lyrics and a vocal performance that at first I thought were written from the perspective of a serial killer. To my pleasant surprise of course, “Tiny Hands” actually references Pygmy-Possums after Michael Debenham’s partner asked him to write a song about them, and their actual little hands, their tiny little hands...
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Michael Debenham is a freelance writer and musician based in Melbourne Australia. He is extremely talented and someone I look forward to hearing more from.

https://fawm.org/songs/123921
https://michaeldebenham.net/index.html

After his father was most likely murdered in a suspicious car accident under the Idi Amin regime, Geoffrey Oryema fled Uganda in the trunk of a car to Kenya, and then France. While in Paris he became a fixture in their vibrant music scene, where he drew international attention for his song writing abilities and use of traditional West African instruments. Oryema’s universal themes often referenced his youth and politics, and were sung in Acholi, Swahili, French and English.

“Piny Runa Woko” (dawn is breaking outside) is the first track from his 1990 debut album Exile. It’s a moving song that tells the story of Mojique and his preparation to attack occupying Americans in his home country.
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Geoffrey Oryema was born this week in 1953, but sadly passed away in 2018. If you have not heard of him, you should look into his varied, thoughtful and often powerful work. ​

“Endless Sleep” was released in 1958. It reached number 5 on the Billboard Charts, selling over one million copies. Although it isn’t the first teen tragedy song (that credit goes to The Cheers and their 1955 “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots”) it is the first one to take on a much more haunting, darker tone.

Inspired by Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” Jody Reynolds wrote “Endless Sleep” before a gig in Yuma, Arizona and played it onstage that same night. None of the record companies wanted to touch it. With hints at double suicide, or even murder, they considered the lyrics too controversial and depressing, especially because his original version had the girlfriend being swept out to sea and to her death.

Eventually the song would find a home with Demon Records. They were an upstart label fronted by famed singer / songwriter Joe Greene in Hollywood, California. This of course was an interesting partnership as Rock and Roll was considered the devil’s music. To help give the track legitimacy, they forced Reynolds to change the lyrics, saving the girlfriend in the end. The label also credited Dolores Nance (a fictitious woman) as a cowriter in order to make it appear it was written by a ‘professional’ songwriting team.
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I adore the ending of this song and how his vocals wash away into the distance. I also think most fans had trouble deciphering his lyrics (playback equipment was primitive back then), and they probably just assumed the girlfriend had died in the end anyway. Wouldn’t you? There is a picture of a devil on the label…