For Jayme Whitlow
I'm showing videos on my blog right now because whenever I do so it's like a party like when the old Friday Night Videos show aired on NBC following the Carson show in the '80s. Late Night with David Letterman wasn't on Friday nights because of "the dance show." Well, what the hell? I dig Letterman, Colbert, old dance shows, typewriters, lovers, friends. And that's where my head is now. With friends.
Jayme is a preacher's wife. Does that put an image in your mind? Dainty, petite, sweet, quiet and always standing by her man. Probably works as a librarian. Maybe that's your image, but it's not Jayme. "I'm a terrible preacher's wife," she'll say. While her husband is conflict-avoidant and uncharacteristically (for a pastor) introverted, Jayme is feminine, but fierce. If she perceives that someone has been rude to my daughter, whom Jayme loves almost as much as one of her own, her first instinct will be to punch that person in the face. Fortunately she has never acted on this. She's all about the love of Jesus, but you can tell she's part of a progressive church rather than a cult. In a cult, everyone is ordered to think alike. Jayme can't even agree with her own pastor husband on every theological point and she'll make her differences loud and clear even in a Sunday school class. So much for Paul's admonition to women to remain silent in church. He never met Jayme. After Pres. Dump was elected, she went to Wichita and walked in the National Women's March and when narrow-minded jerks got on her Facebook page, saying she supported "baby killers," Jayme calmly cut them to the quick.
To Jayme, to rock n' roll, Jesus and good music throughout the universe, here it is.
"Baby, I'm in the Mood for You" -- Miley Cyrus
Hi. I think this performance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon was a game changer for Miley Cyrus, not on the scale of Lady Gaga singing a Julie Andrews medley at the Oscars, but something authentic and important, nevertheless, that signals This Woman has arrived. Hannah Montana and all those bubble gum days are over. And the rebellion that came in the aftermath of that incarnation? Twerking with Robin Thicke, lighting a joint at some awards show, taking a selfie of herself urinating on a tree? If it's almost passe', it is passe'. Who cares? What we see is a dynamic, commanding entertainer who's still going to be on stage, performing 40 years from now. I cringed when she sang her version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But, I don't even shrug my shoulders -- in fact I applaud her cover of an old Bob Dylan tune. So the Nirvana thing -- okay, maybe I won't get over it, but who knows? The daughter of a country music novelty singing star who rocked a mullet and granddaughter of a minister who stood for good causes, Miley inherited the charisma and social consciousness. She had a young homeless man accept an award for her. She has soul, presence and that's what we should focus on.
"Sag, Drag and Fall" -- Sid King & the Five Strings
Here they are on a local country western show broadcast circa 1955. Just a bunch of youngsters from north Texas who never thought they would play rock n' roll, a burgeoning music that didn't have a name yet. But along with the country music they dug into, they were into this black rhythm and blues stuff coming through the radio waves. It was just the times. Elvis starting in Memphis. Carl Perkins in Mississippi. Jerry Lee Lewis in Louisiana. A skinny, glasses-wearing kid from West Texas named Buddy Holly. Black and white meshed together. Civil Rights. A revolution in many ways that they could never have dreamed about. They did think stardom would be nice. They played on the same bill with Elvis Presley on the Louisiana Hayride radio show, co-headlined with Johnny Cash and helped arrange Buddy Holly's audition with Columbia Records. Sid King (born Sid Erwin) and his lead guitarist kid brother, Billy had Buddy and his band stay at their parents' house. Sid King and the Five Strings just never made it big outside Texas though.
Really?
In the 1980s, revivalists in cat clothes from England and all over started going to Sid Erwin's Richardson, Texas barbershop like it was holy Mecca. One of three stops -- the other two, Holly's hometown of Lubbock and Graceland. There's a lot of talented people out there. Only a few will get the neon lights, but maybe on down the line, a few more will get their just due. And last shall be first.
"So Long Elaine" -- Dirty River Boys
Here's a damn good band based in Austin, Texas. Part Americana, part punk. Their new album, Mesa Starlight, was released two days ago and perhaps I should be playing a cut off that album to promote these guys, but screw it. I like this ballad, recorded with the Utah mountains in the background. This travelin' band shook things up at the Burden, Kan. Burdendayz festival last month. At the end of this week, they'll be in Houston, Texas, then El Paso and in another month they'll be doing shows in Dublin, Ireland, which sounds appropriate. I could be out there, I imagine, in some pub, reading Seamus Heaney, James Joyce or one of them damn guys and drinking Guinness with these Texas guys.
"SOS" -- Reliant Tom
Claire Cuny and Monte Weber. They're an avant garde duo from Brooklyn, New York and I know from experience they are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I saw them in Wichita at Carmody's Donut Whole and they were great. They took the time to talk to my 13-year-old daughter, Gabby, and gave her a couple of CDs -- artist compilations with Reliant Tom in the mix. Gabby, who plays ukulele, told them about how she'd like to do what they do and they couldn't have been more encouraging. This band made a couple of new fans that night and I'm sure that will sit well with them. Look for their album, Bad Orange -- to be released Nov. 2. I wish them all kinds of success.
"25 or 6 to 4" -- Chicago
My son, Max, and I were dissing on stupid synthesized '80s music and he mentioned Chicago. "Would you believe they were once kick ass?" I said. "Started as a hard rock band with horns. Had some rocking great songs in the '70s -- '25 or 6 to 4.' 'Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?' Before he died, Hendrix was a fan."
"No?" he said in utter disbelief.
"Oh yes," I said. "They were around when so many exciting things were happening. Deep Purple. Grand Funk Railroad. Alice Cooper. Bowie."
My good buddy, Roger, a local letter carrier, sports nut and classic rock fan, told me way back when were in high school, "Old Chicago, I can handle, but no new Chicago."
They've had a lot of personnel changes since the early days (Guitarist Terry Kath accidentally shot himself to death, playing Russian roulette 40 years ago.) and they sold out, but in the day -- just listen to the guitar solo, man. Spellbinding.
Chicago opened for Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix at the Whiskey a Go Go in LA in the late '60s. After a show, Hendrix went up to their saxophonist Walter Parazadier and said, "Jeez, your horns are like one set of lungs and your guitar player is better than me."
"Meet Me in Church" -- Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke, known by such titles as "King Solomon" and the "Bishop of Soul" was probably the greatest male soul singer to ever live. Burke didn't have the hits on the scale of Wilson Pickett, James Brown or Otis Redding and he's not as well remembered today. People like Elvis got all the fame, but man, if the world forgets Solomon Burke, it's their problem. In the above recording, he's covering a song that had been a hit for Joe Tex. A good version. Good blues horn section, but for the soulfulness of voice I have to go with Burke's rendition.
Born in Philadelphia, PA in 1940, the oldest of six siblings, Burke was always hustling. Selling newspapers on street corners when he was 7-years-old, starting a .99 cent car wash outside a barbershop, he later cooked his own special fried chicken backstage at Harlem's Apollo and charged the other acts for it. He even went to mortician school and got his license. I'd love to write a book about him. As a teenager, he started his own gospel group, The Gospel Cavaliers. Around the same time he became a father for the first time. Not sure if he was ever ordained as a minister, but maybe he should've been. He had the voice of a black Baptist preacher. Thick, rough, full and vulnerable. Even if he was a backslider. Hey, aren't we all? Maybe he didn't have as much stardom as he craved, but the self-proclaimed "king of rock and soul" performed on stage with the Rolling Stones. And if Mick Jaggers' vocal on the Stones cover of "Cry to Me" leads you back to Burke's original, so much better for the world.
"I Wish You Liked Girls" -- Abbey Glover
LOVE this song! Love it! Love it! I freaking love it. I think it's the best song of the year. And that singer -- Abbey Glover. Man, I dig her. Born in England in 1996, her name is spelled like Abbey Road where the Beatles and George Martin laid down tracks for EMI. (Check out her channel. She does a great cover version of "I've Just Seen a Face.") This is a song about a girl who's in love with another girl. Only that other girl likes boys. The feeling, the longing, the pain and vulnerability -- I get it. She puts it out there and you might cry. "It's not a big hit," my daughter Gabby told me. "Well it should be," I told her.
"Dirty Red" -- The Morlocks
This is very much a derivative band. Formed in San Diego, Calif. in 1984, they had a sound reminiscent of the Stooges and an ass ton of teen age '60s garage bands from all over the USA. The lead singer looks like Joey Ramone and has a voice similar to Mick Jagger. What the hell? It's only rock n' roll. This ain't complex stuff. It's not Jethro Tull, here. Just a few chords. Rock 'n roll. Nasty. The kind of thing that will always fit in no matter what decade you're in. And there's a damn good line in this song. "I'm plowing through your fields like I was a country farmer."
Is this an old undiscovered AC/DC song? Nah, man. It's just hard driving rock n' roll that never goes out of style. Came out in around 2007, but it sounds so wonderfully early '70s. It's the kind of easy song a young band could cut their teeth on. I looked for another video of this song, but couldn't get it loaded. Screw it. Here it is. And I love that line, "I don't wanna hold hands and talk about our little plans."
High n' Dry -- Radiohead
From their 1995 album, Blends -- Radiohead. Always loved the shit out of this band.
Two jumps in a week
I bet you think that's pretty clever, don't you boy?
Flying on your motorcycle
Watching all the ground beneath you drop
I bet you think that's pretty clever, don't you boy?
Flying on your motorcycle
Watching all the ground beneath you drop
Kill yourself for recognition
Kill yourself to never ever stop
You broke another mirror
You're turning into something you are not
Kill yourself to never ever stop
You broke another mirror
You're turning into something you are not
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
Drying up in conversation
You will be the one who cannot talk
All your insides fall to pieces
You just sit there wishing you could still make love
You will be the one who cannot talk
All your insides fall to pieces
You just sit there wishing you could still make love
They're the ones who'll hate you
When you think you've got the world all sussed out
They're the once who'll spit at you
You'll be the one screaming out
When you think you've got the world all sussed out
They're the once who'll spit at you
You'll be the one screaming out
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me dry
Don't leave me high
Don't leave me dry
"I'm Easy" -- Faith No More
As much as I love the original, I think I go for this cover even more. A lot of people came to this video after hearing the Commodores' original version in the movie, Baby Driver. That reminds me of the masterful film, Firecracker directed by my friend Steve Balderson, of Manhattan, Kan. and co-starring Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton. Check out the film. Check out Faith No More. Hell, check out the Coen Brothers' first major film, Blood Simple.
"Talk Back Trembling Lips" -- Ernest Ashworth
Like so many country songs, particularly those of the old school to which I am partial, this is true to life. The man and his wife, or lover, are fighting. She says things that break his heart into pieces, but he's so sad and trying hard not to cry, he can't bring himself to say anything. I used to listen to this song after my ex-wife and I would fight. The song became a #1 country smash for young up and coming country singer Ernest Ashworth in 1963. A year later, teen idol Johnny Tilotson took it to the pop charts. I like how in this video, Ashworth smiles at the audience and sings upbeat, belying the sad lyrics. The performance was filmed at the Grand Ol' Opry. Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. I've been there. Have you? You must. It's holy ground out there, mister. A mecca for any lover of American music.
"Houston" -- Dean Martin
Oh man, how I love this song. Hands down, my favorite Dean Martin song. His rich Italian-American voice was made for western music in a way that Sinatra could've never hoped for. Written by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Lee Hazlewood, this song about a down and out drifter trying to make his way to Houston was originally recorded by Sanford Clark in 1964. Martin had a fit with it in '65 and Hazlewood recorded his own version in '66. But the other two guys could never hope to to this song the special style, swagger, pizzazz and sense of humor Dino had. He was the perfect guy to sing this song and pull it off. Instead of being a sad character when he sang about going without food and money, he had a little fun with it. (And you can listen and hear where Elvis picked up a few of his tricks.) You have a feeling this cool ol' guy is gonna win in the end. And sure enough, there's that final line: "There's a girl waitin' there for me. Well at least she said she'd be. Got a home and a big warm bed and a feather pillow for my head."
Dino had that special charisma. He could be in the Rat Pack with Sinatra and in a couple of Westerns with John Wayne, and maybe he wasn't the top guy, but you knew he had the number one guy's respect. He was his pardner' and consultant. Would he get a punch in the chin? Maybe, but it would always begin and end in fun. You just didn't kick Dean Martin's ass. Didn't think about it. The top guy? Maybe not, but Dino was without a doubt the coolest guy.
Oh yeah, and I must add "Wrecking Crew" session drummer Hal Blaine got that clinking sound you hear at the beginning of the song by tapping a metal triangle to a glass ashtray. "For some reason, I had the picture of a blacksmith with an anvil and the way they used to put shoes on horses," Blaine told an interviewer.
Hal Blaine played drums on a truck load of hit singles for the Monkees, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, Elvis and Sinatra, of course...He received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy this year and at 89-years-old, he's still kicking. It's cool, knowing a guy who worked with Dean Martin and other bigger than life people is still around to talk about it.
By the way, I have to mention my good friends and fellow bloggers at ilovedinomartin.blogspot.com. They've been going strong for more than 10 years with no signs of running out of gas and they've always been friends of this blog. Great guys.
"It Ain't Me Babe" -- Sebastian Cabot
I started this crap with a Dylan cover. I'm ending it with a Dylan cover. Here is Sebastian Cabot, the English gentleman, Mr. French, from the '60s TV sitcom, Family Affair. Here, he does a sensitive spoken word, gruff voiced reading of a Bob Dylan classic. Can you not believe this? Oh you must. It's one of the good things of life, friend. Mr. French and somebody wants to be his lover. He must be sexy. He must be what somebody wants. But he's not having it. It ain't me you're looking for, babe.
Oh yeah, and he also covered "Like a Rolling Stone."
See you in church, Jayme.
