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6/6/17

the superman files - disc 2 (Leaping Fox)

Moving on from "super-history," we come to Section II, "super-vintage."  These are songs about (and sometimes not) Superman, and it was surprising to see some of the earliest ones.  Another surprise was that there were only a few songs in the entire decade of the 1950's (like, three).  I suppose it took "The Adventures of Superman" completing its TV run (ending in a disaster, with the death of George Reeves), and, further into the 1960's, some animated TV shows, to further cement the character into the public daily mindset.  

1966 was a good year for super-heroes, anyhow.  The BATMAN TV series had catapulted comic heroes into the "mainstream," and plans were made to do the same for other heroes (such as Wonder Woman, which never got off the ground, but, if you've seen the painful pilot film, you understand that that's just perfectly fine).  Superman, instead, got a Broadway musical, and the character's title song received a handful of releases from different artists (including a group containing Lucille Ball's son, Dean Martin's son, and...another guy). 
We end this volume with another song called merely "Superman," by Doc & Prohibition.  It's not only good, but generated several cover versions, and mark my words, we will be seeing it again.


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