Mr. Sandman

"Mr. Sandman" (sometimes rendered as "Mister Sandman") is a popular song written by Pat Ballard which was published in 1954 and first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra and later that same year by The Chordettes. The song's lyrics convey a request to "Mr. Sandman" to "bring me a dream" – the traditional association with the folkloric figure, the sandman. The pronoun used to refer to the desired dream is often changed depending on the sex of the singer or group performing the song, as the original sheet music publication, which includes male and female versions of the lyrics, intended. Some time later, Ballard also rewrote the lyrics for Christmas use as "Mr. Santa". The chord progression in each chorus follows the circle of fifths for six chords in a row. Singer Dorothy Collins charted with "Mr. Santa" (#51, US trade Music Vendor. 1955). The song was later recorded by Tony Sandler and Ralph Young (1968) and Suzy Bogguss.

Recorded versions

The Chordettes' recording of the song was released on the Cadence Records label, whose founder, Archie Bleyer, is credited on the disc's label as "knees played by" and orchestra conductor. Bleyer's voice is heard in the third verse, when he says the word, "Yes?" The piano is played by Moe Wechsler. Liberace's name is mentioned for his "wavy hair" and Pagliacci, for having a lonely heart (a reference to the opera Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo).

List of Punch-Out!! characters

This is a list of characters appearing in the Punch-Out!! series.

Characters

Aran Ryan

Aran Ryan (アラン・ライアン, Aran Raian) is an Irish boxer, hailing from Dublin, Ireland. His first appearance was in Super Punch-Out!! for the Super NES, and most recently in the Wii video game Punch-Out!!. He was designed by Eddie Viser, and voiced by Stephen Webster in that game. While he was more sedate in Super Punch-Out!!, he was made out to be loud and boisterous, as well as a cheater; in one version, he is seen inserting a horse shoe into his glove, and in another, he uses a boxing glove tied to a rope as a weapon. While Next Level Games, the developers of the Wii Punch-Out!!, wanted to use mostly boxers from the original Punch-Out!!, they included Aran Ryan amongst others, with developer Bryce Holliday describing him as the game's "resident hooligan". In discussing Ryan's fighting style, GamePro editor Will Herring described it as being momentum-based.

Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!! (パンチアウト!!, Panchi-Auto!!) is a series of boxing video games created by Nintendo's general manager Genyo Takeda, and his partner Makoto Wada. It started in the arcades simply as Punch-Out!!, which was followed by a sequel Super Punch-Out!!. It has since spanned home consoles, including the Famicom and NES Punch-Out!! / Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, an SNES and Super Famicom sequel Super Punch-Out!!, and a Wii sequel Punch-Out!!. In November 2009, Platinum Club Nintendo members received a code to download Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!, which features a fight between series protagonist Little Mac and his mentor Doc Louis. The series also had a spin-off called Arm Wrestling. Arm Wrestling was released only in North American arcades, and was Nintendo's last arcade game they independently developed and released.

Video games

Gameplay

Playing as a diminutive boxer called Little Mac, the player must climb the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association. Gameplay differs slightly between each game, but generally, the player can attack with his left and right fists, at the head or the body, and can also dodge and block to avoid the opponent's attacks. Many games in the series give the player a powerful uppercut ability; its use is limited, and must be earned during matches, and has a star punch that can be obtained by hitting an opponent while taunting or at just the right time. Little Mac can also block, causing him to take minimal damage.