DAILYSIZZLE
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Thatcher’s death recharts ‘Ding-Dong’
And this week’s big pop hits are from ... “The Wizard of Oz”?! Many Britons saw Monday’s news of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s death as a cause for celebration. After years of pop songs excoriating the conservative British leader, those cheered by Thatcher’s demise have turned to a standard as they raise their pint glasses.
By the end of Tuesday, three different versions of the song “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” had reentered the charts.
According to Britain’s song rankings at the Official Charts Co., Judy Garland’s version had reappeared as high as No. 54. Ella FitzGerald’s version hit No. 146, and the Munchkins’ original reached No. 183.
A Facebook group has popped up encouraging people to download the song in order to send it to No. 1.
“Ding Dong” also has reached No. 9 on iTunes and No. 2 on Amazon downloads.
The song, written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, is from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.” Thomas Conner
New reality series ‘The Capones’ hopes to be a hit for Reelz Channel this fall
Reality TV is getting another helping of the Chicago mob with a new docuseries centered on Al Capone’s restaurant-owning descendants.
A 10-episode series called “The Capones” will debut this fall on the cable network Reelz Channel. It stars Capone’s greatnephew, Dominic “Dom” Capone III, as he runs the family’s eponymous restaurant and pizzeria in Lombard along with his mother, Dawn.
“The spirit of the infamous gangster Al Capone still lives on in Chicago in the form of his drama-filled, lasagna-loving dysfunctional family, the Capones,” reads a Reelz Channel press release. “With a notorious bloodline and larger-than-life personalities, this workplace docuseries follows the goodfellas as they run the family Italian restaurant and try to keep peace at the Capone mansion with the extended family all living under one roof.”
The cast of characters includes Dom’s girlfriend “The Princess” and his ex-girlfriend, “Madness Cherry Lips,” as well as a couple of crazy aunts, drunken cousins, neighborhood troublemakers “Meatball” and “Bart,” an unemployed friend nicknamed Sausage and “an Irishman.” You can’t make this stuff up.
The series is the latest to tap into the city’s ties with the organized crime. “Mob Wives Chicago” aired on VH1 for one season last year before getting whacked. Some of the women who appeared on that reality show are trying to get another show called “Bo$$ Ladies” on the air this year.