Music Friday Flashback: A Little Gold Ring Stars in The Grass Roots’ 1968 Song of Unrequited Love, ‘Midnight Confessions’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. We’re back in our time machine this week with a rare clip of the The Grass Roots performing “Midnight Confessions.”

Released in the summer of 1968, “Midnight Confessions” is a song about unrequited love. Our protagonist — in this case Grass Roots frontman Rob Grill — loves a woman who is committed to another man. Grill sings, “But a little gold ring you wear on your hand makes me understand / There's another before me, you'll never be mine / I'm wasting my time.”

Grill’s “midnight confessions” become an outlet to express his true feelings… “When I say all the things that I want to / I love you.”

“Midnight Confessions” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and was The Grass Roots’ biggest hit with more than one million singles sold.

The Grass Roots was established in 1965 when the songwriter and producer duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri got some airplay on a demo recording they sent to a bunch of San Francisco radio stations. They credited the song to The Grass Roots, but there was no band.

Quickly, the pair assembled local musicians to become The Grass Roots. The third incarnation of the band, which included Grill on lead vocals and bass guitar, was the most successful. Overall, the band charted 21 times and sold more than 20 million records worldwide.

After leaving the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career, Grill returned in 1980 and performed with The Grass Roots until his death in 2011.

With an ever-evolving lineup, the group continues to tour today, capitalizing on the popularity of 1960s nostalgia.

See Grill and The Grass Roots performing “Midnight Confessions” in the video at the end of this post. Lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

“Midnight Confessions”
Written by Lou T. Josie. Performed by The Grass Roots.

The sound of your footsteps
Telling me that you're near
Your soft gentle motion, baby
Brings out the need in me that no one can hear, except

In my midnight confessions
When I tell all the world that I love you
In my midnight confessions
When I say all the things that I want to
I love you

But a little gold ring you wear on your hand makes me understand
There's another before me, you'll never be mine
I'm wasting my time

Staggering through the daytime
Your image on my mind
Passing so close beside you baby
Sometimes the feelings are so hard to hide, but

In my midnight confessions
When I tell all the world that I love you
In my midnight confessions
When I say all the things that I want to
I love you

Yes a little gold ring you wear on your hand makes me understand
There's another before me, you'll never be mine
I'm wasting my time

In my midnight confessions
When I tell all the world that I love you
Na na-na na na na na-na
Na na-na na na na na-na

Soon-to-Be Stepdad ‘Proposes’ to Fianceé’s Six-Year-Old Daughter With Dainty Version of Her Mom’s Ring

Less than a week after popping the question to the love of his life, Shana Warner, Michigan native Jeff Andres was back on bended knee proposing for a second time — to Shana’s six-year-old daughter, Ally.

“Will you be my stepdaughter,” Andres asked, as Ally sat on Santa’s knee at the famous Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Mich.

Ally had just told the jolly Mr. Claus what she wanted for Christmas when her future stepdad swooped in and presented her with a dainty version of her mom’s engagement ring.

"I was crying the whole time," Warner told The Daily News. "[Ally] loves Jeff. She always had."

While mom was teary, young Ally wasn’t quite sure how to react. "She was so overwhelmed with feelings — and that she was given something so precious — she tried giving Jeff a dollar," Warner related. Then, finally, the redheaded cutie said, “Yes.”

Andres and Warner were officially engaged on December 1 after dating for two years. To establish a strong foundation for their new family it was important that Ally didn’t feel left out. They wanted her to feel extra special and Andres needed to earn her blessing.

“Mommy got a ring and mommy got proposed to so we just wanted her to feel very included in our family,” Warner told MailOnline.

Warner and her daughter have always looked forward to their annual trip to Bronner’s to pick out a new ornament for their Christmas tree and to see Santa. Warner and Andres knew that would be the perfect place for the special proposal.

When Warner asked her little girl to pose for a picture wearing her new ring, the adorable girl flashed a gap-toothed smile and punched her fist in the air like a Power Ranger.

Ally already has her assignment as a junior bridesmaid when Warner and Andres wed on the slopes of Crystal Mountain in Michigan on March 7, 2015. They plan on skiing down the aisle, reports MailOnline.

32 Diamonds and 16 Rubies Bedazzle $4.6 Million Christmas Wreath

Here’s a chance to be the first on your block to own the world’s most blinged-out Christmas wreath — a $4.6 million marvel featuring Finnish flora and fine gemstones totaling 138.83 carats. The flowers may last up to 12 days, but the gems will last forever.

Set amidst the Helleborus flowerheads, deep blue Hedera berries, hand-curled eucalyptus leaves, laurus, lingonberry and blueberry stems are 32 diamonds and 16 rubies.

One of the Helleborus flower heads cradles 22 loose diamonds and another flower cushions a 3.03-carat fancy yellow diamond. The largest gem in the arrangement is a 17.49-carat ruby, according to luxurytrump.com.

Offered by VeryFirstTo.com, a website dedicated to newly launched luxury products, the Christmas wreath by Finnish floral designer Pasi Jokinen-Carter is being billed as the priciest ever designed.

“I am passionate about my craft and this recent invitation to create an exclusive wreath, using natural materials and diamonds, has been an exciting and exceptional project,” Jokinen-Carter told luxurytrump.com. In fact, most of the flowers and greenery is sourced from the florist’s home in Finland.

The wreath takes about a week to create at Jokinen-Carter’s shop, Flor Unikon Flowers, in the U.K. After the holidays, the gemstones may be easily extracted from the arrangement so they can find their way into a more permanent fine jewelry design or perhaps they'll adorn next year’s wreath.

Drumroll, Please… Pantone's 2014 Color of the Year Is Radiant Orchid!

Radiant Orchid, an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink, has been crowned 2014’s Color of the Year by Pantone, the world’s global color authority. Jewelry lovers will have an easy time accessorizing their pinkish-purple fashions in the coming year. Among the gemstones available in the hues of Radiant Orchid are sapphire, amethyst, rhodolite garnet, spinel and tourmaline.

According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. “It is a captivating purple — one that draws you in with its beguiling charm,” she said.

Eiseman told the Associated Press that she expects people will take to it quickly because it’s a flattering color for many skin tones, and because it's something people haven’t seen in a while. Radiant Orchid (officially Pantone 18-3224) looks nice paired against olive and deeper hunter greens, as well as turquoise, teal and light yellows.

While 2013’s top color — Emerald — served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination, according to Eiseman. “An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society,” she said.

Pantone’s 2014 selection has already found its way onto fashion runways and into the hearts of fashion-conscious celebrities. For instance, Radiant Orchid hues are a favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Pantone’s annual color choice is the result of a year-long distillation of data culled from cultural and fashion trendsetters. The Pantone color experts survey movies in production, fashion runways, traveling exhibitions, new artists, travel hotspots and socio-economic conditions. The result is a color that’s expected to heavily infiltrate the worlds of fashion, beauty, cosmetics, home decor and consumer products in the coming year.

Past Colors of the Year have included the following:

• Pantone 17-5641 Emerald (2013)
• Pantone 17-1463 Tangerine Tango (2012)
• Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)
• Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)
• Pantone 14-0848 Mimosa (2009)
• Pantone 18-3943 Blue Iris (2008)
• Pantone 19-1557 Chili Pepper (2007)

Suitor Emerges from Mascot Costume to Deliver On-Court Marriage Proposal to ‘Luvabull’ Dancer at Bulls-Heat Game

One of the newest members of the Chicago Bulls’ Luvabulls dance team got the surprise of her life on Thursday night when, during a third-quarter timeout, her squad changed the choreography in mid-routine and set her up for a marriage proposal she will never forget.

In front of a sellout crowd that was at Chicago’s United Center to see the Bulls take on the defending champion Miami Heat, Luvabull Ariana Rosado was caught off guard when the music suddenly transitioned to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” and she was placed in a rolling chair at center court by team mascot Benny the Bull (see the 0:57 mark of the video below).

The other Luvabulls danced in a circle around Rosado, and then two Benny the Bull look-a-likes in inflatable costumes joined the dancers at center court. The taller of the two mascots was actually Rosado’s college sweetheart Shane Zackery.

Rosado was shocked when Zackery emerged from his costume, approached his girlfriend, got down on one knee and proposed with a diamond ring. There’s a good chance that Zachery was a tad nervous in front of the capacity crowd of 22,125 because he placed the ring on Rosado’s right hand (oops!).

Despite the goof, Rosado said “Yes,” the arena announcer confirmed that she accepted Zackery’s proposal, and the excited dance team joined the couple for a giant group hug at center court.

All the festivities were broadcast on the giant four-sided video board that hangs above the center of the arena. The icing on the cake was that the Bulls crushed the formidable Heat 107-87.

Rosado later posted to her Facebook page: “Thanks everyone. Believe me, this has now become the best moment of my life!!!”

Rosado and Zackery met at Chicago’s St. Xavier University and they both graduated in 2013. Rosado, who received summa cum laude honors, joined the Luvabulls this season and performs with the dance team at all the Bulls’ home games, charity fundraisers and special events. She was selected from more than 200 dancers who tried out for the Chicago Luvabulls team of 20.

See the video of the Luvabull marriage proposal below…