Setting the Vibe with Ray d’Entremont's Liner Notes;

Ray d'Entremont , Bio and Archives--July 12, 2026

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Sham-A-Ling-Ding-Dong--Jesse Winchester:

Do watch the video as you listen. Jesse appeared on my radar when a friend with a monkey on his back stuck a needle on Jesse’s new LP at Digger House, near Dalhousie campus, circa 1970. Those heads presumed Jesse a druggie too, but he was just a freaky-lookin’ draft dodger from Memphis.

More interesting to me at the time was my friend’s copy of The Band’s debut album, Music From Big Pink--home-recorded in a rented pink house in Woodstock, post-festival, after Dylan fans had booed their electric taint on his acoustic folk. I did buy that Jesse Winchester album. Then, in 2009, a song on the radio floored me: a Sundance Channel singer-songwriter roundtable hosted by Elvis Costello (a fine writer himself--Diana Krall wouldn’t marry a no-talent). He and Ron Sexsmith (CBC’s pet) look transfixed as if in the presence of songwriting royalty. Neko Case bawls her eyes out; Sheryl Crow fights a tear that finally trickles down her cheek. As good as it gets!

In the Still of the Night--Five Satins:

This timeless ballad was written by Fred Parris in 1956 while on late-night Army guard duty (lamenting a lost love who’d moved to California). Recorded in the reverb-drenched basement of St. Bernadette's Church basement in New Haven, Connecticut--only 4 of the 5 singers present, plus a local parishioner on the haunting, slightly cracked sax; it’s one of the defining hits of the era.

Get a Job--The Silhouettes:

This one evokes both sweet memories and deep tragic sorrow. Growing up in southwest Nova Scotia, nearly everyone had ties to “The Boston States.” The Kirschbaums had gorgeous identical twin girls, about 15, who sang like nightingales while backed by their 12-year-old brother on guitar. Not your usual amateurs--they had already opened for chart-toppers like the Everly Brothers in the Boston area. They loved doo-wop and nailed those tight harmonies. One day in my aunt’s living room they started singing “Get a Job,” then kicked their brother in the shins under the table, chanting in unison, “Play, brother!” He did, grinning. They adored one another! Months later, word came that he had jumped over a fence, broken a leg, and contracted tetanus. Adding to my horror, someone explained, “Lockjaw is brutal--spasms so........

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