Diggin' up hoydenish goodness on books, television shows and movies (and maybe a few other things). I love a good story! Don't you?
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011
What happened to Benny Mardones?
My roommates and I used to sing Into the Night together in our dorm room while listening to Delilah's radio show. Nothing like '80s music to bring folks together. My favorite version of the song is the acoustic one on Benny's A Journey Through Time album (check out the sample below).
I wondered what happened Benny. I mean, Into the Night is still played like crazy on the radio. I looked him up and he's living in California (after apparently getting on the straight and narrow in Syracuse, New York). According to his website, a documentary on his life entitled Into The Night: The Benny Mardones Story will be released on DVD sometime in 2011. Until then, here's a sneak peak:
P.S. Doesn't that sound like Delilah narrating the video?
I thought it sounded like Delilah too--turns out, we are both right! Since she was a fan of Into the Night, I guess she agreed to help on the documentary. Would like to get a copy of it, but I don't live in the USA so I don't know how easy that is. Maybe on his website or something… The original video of Into the Night has been posted on YouTube recently--apparently it is pretty rare. The back story for the song is that he actually wanted to help out a 16 yr old girl, whose father deserted the family, and he gave the kids odd jobs to do for spending money. She walked his dog. One day, she walked in to get the dog, and his co-writer was there, and thought the girl looked hot. Benny warned her off--"She just 16"--and the song was born. He said it is about wanting to show her the real love she wasn't getting from her family, almost paternal. He was 33 at the time. Well, the video just has him basically wanting to get close to his teen girlfriend and taking her away on a flying carpet, so not quite like his back story! Never mind, it is a great song, and very timeless. He has a wonderful voice. He recently remarried to a Danish lady, and seems very happy. All the best to them.
I thought it sounded like Delilah too--turns out, we are both right! Since she was a fan of Into the Night, I guess she agreed to help on the documentary. Would like to get a copy of it, but I don't live in the USA so I don't know how easy that is. Maybe on his website or something… The original video of Into the Night has been posted on YouTube recently--apparently it is pretty rare. The back story for the song is that he actually wanted to help out a 16 yr old girl, whose father deserted the family, and he gave the kids odd jobs to do for spending money. She walked his dog. One day, she walked in to get the dog, and his co-writer was there, and thought the girl looked hot. Benny warned her off--"She just 16"--and the song was born. He said it is about wanting to show her the real love she wasn't getting from her family, almost paternal. He was 33 at the time. Well, the video just has him basically wanting to get close to his teen girlfriend and taking her away on a flying carpet, so not quite like his back story! Never mind, it is a great song, and very timeless. He has a wonderful voice. He recently remarried to a Danish lady, and seems very happy. All the best to them.
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