Kansas City Playlist: Maybe Banana Ball Can Save The K?!?

For the those who have been living under a rock and don't know . . . 

"Banana Ball is a fast-paced, high-energy spin-off of baseball created by the Savannah Bananas. Often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, it combines elite athletic skills with choreographed dances, improv comedy, and 11 unique rules designed to eliminate downtime and maximize entertainment." 

Our thesis and something we wanted to put down in writing after talking about it recently . . . 

Kansas City, or more accurately Jackson County, should think about recruiting a banana ball team in order to save the K. Our suggestion is: The Kansas City Jokers. 

An EPIC crowd at the K tonight proves that our scheme might work or at least it's the best chance to avoid wasting a local resource that still has life in it . . .  

Savannah Bananas take on historic Indianapolis Clowns at a sold out Kauffman Stadium

The Savannah Bananas brought two sold-out games to Kauffman Stadium this weekend, drawing fans of all ages and shining a spotlight on a piece of baseball history.

We'll never get credit for it but this is an idea that's worth considering as so many locals hope to avoid a wasteful demolition in Eastern Jack. 

And all of this inspires our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist tonight . . .

Let's start with a baseball classic, Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song) by The Treniers. The song's swinging orchestration was arranged by a young, 21-year-old Quincy Jones, who would go on to become a towering, legendary music producer.

Next up . . . The jazz icon Cab Calloway frequently performed the catchy hit "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" and we found a fun clip of an old school performance from The Ed Sullivan Show. Interestingly, he didn't write it! The song was originally written and composed by jump blues bandleader Woodrow "Buddy" Johnson in June 1949 to celebrate Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier.

Something a bit more current . . . From 2023, The idea for the song was pitched to country star Morgan Wallen by songwriter Josh Miller. Miller had been an 11-year-old baseball fanatic during that legendary season and was crushed when the team failed to win the World Series. He wrote the hook while in the shower, thinking, "If we were a team, and love was a game, we'd have been the '98 Braves".

For the bridge The song "The Greatest" by Kenny Rogers has a great twist ending and it a sentimental classic that doesn't always make baseball song lists.

Finally our tribute to the Savannah Bananas for the grand finale . . . The iconic 1923 novelty hit "Yes! We Have No Bananas" wasn't just a random silly phrase. It was actually inspired by a real-life Greek immigrant greengrocer in New York City. Because a crop disease caused a major banana shortage, the grocer would answer his customers with his signature, paradoxical reply: "Yes, we have no bananas!"The catchy, nonsensical lyrics became a massive cultural phenomenon, holding the number-one spot on the Hit Parade for five straight weeks and selling more sheet music than any other track in American history.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.