Wednesday, February 26, 2020

WACKY WEDNESDAY: The Musical Legacy of Randy "Macho Man" Savage

Interesting fact: I used to have this purple T-shirt. I bought it when I saw the
Macho Man wrestle at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque circa early '90s.

When some people think of music and "Macho Man," they might be thinking of an old Village People song.

But people who think that are wrong. Instead, they should immediately think of the music of the late great Randy Mario Poffo, better known as Randy "Macho Man" Savage, whose contributions to popular music are not quite as well known as his contributions to professional wrestling.

Or Slim Jims.

But those of us who truly cherish the memory of the Macho Man also appreciate his contributions to music, specifically hip hop. He was a major force in White Rap, as evidenced in songs like this (which is aimed at longtime rival Hulk Hogan)



Here's another:


Here's a tribute, by one Mike Diva, to the wrestling, the music, the Slim Jims of Randy, who died in 2011.


But, surprisingly, Randy had his detractors. One was a radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge, who spent many years as Hulk Hogan's leading sycophant, who even let the Hulkster have sex with his wife. 



But that stupid tune does nothing to diminish the glory that was Randy Savage, who was so mighty, British composer honored him with this piece in 1901 -- More than 50 years before Savage was born. And Savage was humbled enough to use it for his entrance music.




Sunday, February 23, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST



Sunday, February 23, 2020
  KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
9 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Parchment Farm by Dead Moon
Proto Prototype by L7
I'm on the Dish But I Ain't No Rag by The Toy Trucks
The Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not by X
Slide Rule by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
The Other Side of This Life by Mal Thursday
KFC Called the Cops on Me by MFC Chicken
Do the Wurst by King Salami & The Cumberland 3


Wrong Universe by Kathy Freeman
Overload by Jon Spencer
Come Back Lord by Reverend Beat-Man & Izobel Garcia
Eyes Without a Face by The Flesh Eaters
Religious Idol by The Saucer Men
Lonely Street by Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Sittin' on It All the Time by Wynonie Harris
Big Legged Woman by Jerry Lee Lewis
Bound and Determined by Nick Shoulders

Dark Clouds by Lucy & The Rats
Monotony by Miss Ludella Black
Hystery Train by Churchwood
Jesus' Chariot by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Mystic Eyes by Them
I Want Candy by The Strangeloves
Cleo's Back by Junior Walker & The Allstars
Coming Out Swingin' by Candye Kane
Looking for a Man by Esther Phillips
Turning of the Tide by Richard Thompson

House of the Rising Sun by Nina Simone
These Boots Were Made for Walking by The Meteors
Boots by The Residents
Some Velvet Morning by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood
Gin House Blues by Nina Simone
What Love Is by The Dead Boys
Persona by Nots
Port Au Prince by Moonlight Benjamin

Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain by Bobby Marchan
For Cryin' Out Loud by Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns
Politicians in My Eyes by Death
My Way by The Darts
EarWorm by Weird Omen
Dishonest Men by Black Lips
Are You Going to Be There (At the Love-In) by Chocolate Watch Band
It's Alright With Me by The High Spirits
Springtime for Argentina by Billy Joe Winghead

Cruisin' With King Shark by King Shark
I'm So Good at Absolutely Nothing by Possessed by Paul James
Bad Girl by Pokey LaFarge
Is That You in the Blue by Dex Romweber Duo
Home to You by Jono Manson
True Love's Flame by David Lynch & Jack Cruz
Tower of Song by Tom Jones
Hard Times Come to Me No More by Kate & Anna McGarrigle
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Thursday, February 20, 2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Are You Ready, Boots? Start Walkin'!



Last week I stumbled upon a very interesting article about the song "Some Velvet Morning," a 1967 hit by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, who not only sang on the recordijng, but also wrote it and produced it.

That got me thinking about the first Nancy and Lee collaboration, Nancy's first hit and signature song, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," which Hazelwood wrote and produced.

In case you've been imprisoned on the planet Neptune for the past 53 years and never heard it before, here's Nancy Sinatra's version.



Not only did "Boots" propel Nancy's career, it became a cover fodder for a large variety of artists representing a plethora of musical styles.

Here's a jazz version by Ella Fitzgerald:



In the country world, it was a natural for Loretta Lynn



It wasn't only female singers who tackled the song, (even though Wayne Newton's voice was higher than most of the women represented here):



And from Las Vegas cheese, "Boots" went punk-rock with this Johnny Thunders / Wayne Kramer team-up



"Boots" has been done by everyone from Mrs. Miller ...



... to Megadeth



From Boy George ...



... to Yakety Sax-man Ace Cannon



For these and several other "Boots" covers, check out my Spotify playlist.


 And more Nancy covers on this playlist

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

A New Hillbilly Big Enchilada

THE BIG ENCHILADA



Welcome to another hillbilly episode of The Big Enchilada podcast. We're going out west to enjoy a heaping platter of chicken-fried roadrunner smothered in coyote gravy at the mythical Roadrunner Roadhouse, where cowboys, cowgirls and other cow beings dance to the sweet hillbilly sounds that pour out of a jukebox that never stops. As the late, great cowboy hipster Kell Robertson used to say, "Come on in, it's cool and dark inside."

And remember, The Big Enchilada still is officially listed in the iTunes store. So go subscribe, if you haven't already (and gimme a good rating and review if you're so inclined.) Thanks. 

DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBEMIXCLOUD FACEBOOK | iTUNES! |

Mixcloud is now the official home of Radio Mutation

Here's the playlist:

(Background Music: Texas Guitar Stomp by The Maddox Brothers and Rose)
Dance With Her Henry by Tommy Scott & His Ramblers
Hey, Bus Driver by Tami Neilson
Chainsaw by Black Lips
American Childhood Trilogy 1: Civil Defense by Terry Allen
Where Have All the Lowriders Gone? by Boris McCutcheon
Down the Bar from Me by Kell Robertson

(Background Music: Jesse James Boogie by Jesse James)
Too Sweet to Die by Waco Brothers
Cowgirl Yodel #3 by Nora Jane Struthers
Actin' a Fool by Pokey LaFarge
Music-Making Mama from Memphis by R. D. Hendon & His Western Jamboree Cowboys (vocal by Eddie Noack)
When I Was a Cowboy by Odetta
Come Back in My Mind by Possessed by Paul James

(Background Music: Lint Head Stomp by Phebel Wright)
I Don't Care What It Is That You Did in Fort Worth by Cornell Hurd
Too Old to Dream by Nick Shoulders
Service Station Blues by Drifting Johnny Smith
These Blues by Eilen Jewell
Georgia Buck by Rhiannon Giddens
Got 2 Again by O'Brien Party of 7
(Background Music: Long Tom Boogie by Tommy Kizziah & His West Coast Ramblers)

Play It Here:





Sunday, February 16, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST





Sunday, February 16, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Surfin' Bird by Nobunny
All Night Right of Way by Quintron
Someone Else is In Control by The Mystery Lights
Preacher and the Bear by The Big Bopper
Big Blue Burning Bus by The Hormonauts
Fallin' in Love by The Seeds
Rally in the Valley by Rudy Ray Moore
You're My Overdrive by The Electric Mess
Goldener Reiter by The Vagoos
Some Velvet Morning by Rowland S. Howard & Lydia Lunch

Teddy Boy Rock 'n' Roll by Crazy Cavan
Talk Talk by The Music Machine
Last Man by The Ghost Wolves
Head in Sand by The Jack Cades
Don't Run, We're Your Friends by The Scaners
Love Power by T. Tex Edwards
Johnny Voodoo by Empress of Fur
Whiz #7 by The Shakles
Feel So Good by Shirley & Lee

I'm a Pig by Jono Manson
Devil Dance by A-Bones
I'll Go Crazy by Blues Magoos
Why Pick on Me by The Standells
Scatter the Rats by L7
Tiger Man by John Schooley
Ain't No Good by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes
Dishonest Men by Black Lips
Warm and Free by Bobby Bare

Enough is Enough by Tomar & The FCs
Dance With Me Tonight by Possessed by Paul James
I Can't Stop Loving You by Laura St. Jude
St. James Infirmary Blues by Oh! Lazarus
Ruby by Ray Charles
The World Spins by Julee Cruise
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

WACKY WEDNESDAY: You Is a Rat Fink



Whether he came into your life by way of custom hot-rod designer and cartoonist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, song parodist Allan Sherman, TV personality Steve Allen, or a weird mid '60s B -- no, make that Z -- movie,  Rat Fink is an essential American icon we should keep close to our hearts.

I definitely fall into the Roth faction of the Rat Fink cult. From the moment I first purchased my Revell Rat Fink model kit -- and a tube of airplane glue -- I've been a Big Daddy devotee.

What led Ed to create the mighty rodent we know and love?

Tales of the Rat Fink, the 2006 documentary about Roth, with John Goodman providing the voice of Big Daddy,  quotes Roth:

Disneyland had just opened down the street from me and everywhere you looked, kids were running around in those stupid mouse ears. I really hated that mouse. While waiting for a cheeseburger at my local greasy spoon, I was thinking about how much I hated Mickey Mouse. Then I started sketching my version of a cartoon mouse on a napkin. Hairy, stinky, bulging bloodshot eyes, saliva oozing, covered with flies, obnoxious. He was the anti-Mickey Mouse. I named him “Rat Fink, which was a phrase you heard on the Steve Allen Show. Whenever I looked at Rat Fink, I felt like I was looking at my inner self. The world my parents, teachers and responsible-type people belonged to wasn’t my world. Why did I have to be like them? I didn’t. And somehow Rat Fink helped me realize that.


But the first known song about Rat Fink came from Allan Sherman on his album My Son, the Nut. That came out in 1963, the same year Roth's anti-Mickey and other bizarre Roth characters began appearing as Revell models.

>

After his funny hot rods, his cool cartoon monsters and that line of plastic models took off, Roth fronted a band (mainly studio pros) called Mr. Gasser & The Weirdos. And of course some of their songs were about Rat Fink. This is one of them.



In this forgotten low budget motion picture from 1966, Rat Pfink a Boo Boo, leading man Ron Haydock sang this fine fink classic. (The song is far better than the actual movie.)



Scooting ahead to 2006, The Sadies, a Canadian alt-country group did the soundtrack for that animated Big Daddy doc Tales of the Rat Fink.



I'm not exactly sure what this is, but I'm guessing Judy & The Loadies were more influenced by Ron Haydock than Ed Roth.



Finally, Allan Sherman's original song was covered in the late '80s by The Misfits





Sunday, February 09, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST




Sunday, February 9, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
All My Loving by The Beatles
All My Loving by The Almighty Defenders
Big Show by Royal Crescent Mob
Glazin' by The Jacuzzi Boys
Siltane by Moonlight Benjamin
I'm a Full Grown Man by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Man-Size by PJ Harvey
Hobo Low by Seasick Steve
Pee Pee by The Kelly Family

OSCARS set 

Celluloid Heroes by The Kinks
New Age by The Velvet Underground
Beloved Movie Star by Stan Ridgway
It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out by Concrete Blonde
Act Naturally by Buck Owens
There's No Business Like Show Business by Ethel Merman

Sugar in My Hog by Fred Schneider
Finger by Ty Segall
Komlos Teng Bey (Three Gentlemen) by Sinn Sisamouth & Meas Samon
Honey Chile by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Glow in the Dark by Lovestruck
I See the Light by The Five Americans
Burn She Devil Burn by The Cramps
The Corner of Fuck and You (Remix) by The Grannies
Smokestack Lightning by Howlin' Wolf
Hokomo Juju Man by Little Howlin' Wolf

One-Eyed Jack by Bobby Charles
Too Old to Dream by Nick Shoulders
Hooker Jon by Black Lips
Hard Times by Eilen Jewell
Fire by Black Pumas
Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto
Death of the Last Stripper by Terry Allen
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Thursday, February 06, 2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Remembering Dan Hicks


I'm honored that this shot I took of Dan Hicks at the
Santa Fe Brewing Company in 2009 graces Dan's Wikipedia page

Four years ago today, February 6, 2016, we lost a great one: Daniel Ivan Hicks, undisputed captain of the good ship Hot Licks.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Hicks was the drummer with one of the first generation San Francisco psychedelic bands, The Charlatans. During those days he formed an acoustic group featuring fiddle, standup bass and two female singers. This band was known as Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks. They released three albums, combining elements of jug band, country, hot jazz, western swing and more.

Hicks broke up the band in 1973 at the height of their popularity. And he essentially sat out the rest of the 70s and most of the 80s and 90s, releasing just a couple of albums during that time. But at the tirn of the century, he revived the Hot Licks and released several more records, including an excellent live record featuring most, if not all, of his bandmates from decades past.

Here are some of my favorite Hicks tunes:

Let's start with this early classic "The Buzzard Was Their Friend."



The Devil made Flip Wilson invite Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks to appear on his NBC variety show in 1972. They played "By Hook or By Crook" and "Shorty Falls in Love." Here are both of those songs.



Also on Flip Wilson's show Hicks & Licks performed "Milk Shakin' Mama"



This version of "Pay Day" is from 1989 in what seems to be a melding of Hick's classic Hot Licks lineup and his Acoustic Warriors, which was his band in the late 80s and 90s.



This song filled my head four years ago when when Dan really took that last train to Hicksville




Dan uses his psychic powers to play guitar in Santa Fe, 2009


Sunday, February 02, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST





Sunday, February 2, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Cherry Red by The Groundhogs
Angola Rodeo by Black Lips
Nitty Gritty by Southern Culture on the Skids
Casting My Spell by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
Days and Days by Concrete Blonde
Slipping Away by Mudhoney
Murdered Out by Kim Gordon
Ground Hog Blues by John Lee Hooker

I've Known Rivers by Gary Bartz
Pretty Good for a Girl by Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons
Pink Petticoats by The Big Bopper
Roky Said by Dead Ghosts
It's a Cold Night for Alligators by Roky Erickson & The Aliens
Don't Be Afraid to Pogo by The Gears
Hang On by BBQ
Book of Love by Sha Na Na
(The Girl With the) Raven Hair by Jody Reynolds

"Unheard Heroes" of the '70s set
The Trader by The Beach Boys
The One That Got Away by Tom Waits
Ask the Angels by Patti Smith
Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy by Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart
Blackheart Man by Bunny Wailer
Unrequited to the Nth Degree by Loudon Wainwright III
Cajun Stripper by Doug Kershaw
New York Girls by Steeleye Span
Dover to Dunkirk by Jack Hardy
Hearts on Fire by Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris

American Childhood I Civil Defense by Terry Allen
Stranger in Town by Dave Alvin
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page


Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

The Fabulous Soundtrack of the First Newspaper Story I Ever Published


Forty years ago last Friday, Jan. 31, 1980,  The Santa Fe Reporter was crazy enough to publish an unsolicited story from a local barroom singer who arrogantly assumed that everyone in town would be interested in what he had to say about the music of the previous decade.

Yes, that previously unpublished writer was me. That was the start of my four-decade career in journalism, from which I retired last November.

That story the Reporter published (on page 27) was under the headline "Some Unheard Heroes" was "inspired" by Time magazine's end of the decade feature listing its favorite albums of the '70s. I've long forgotten what records made that list, but I remember being very underwhelmed. I decided to make my own list "of 10 great but unacclaimed albums" of the Me Decade.

Below are songs from all those records, starting with one from Holland, which I still believe was the last good album by The Beach Boys. Though the best song there definitely was "Sail On Sailor," here's a more obscure one, a weird ode to a New Age princess, "Funky Pretty."



Though it was panned by most "serious" critics, Radio Ethiopia still is my favorite Patty Smith abum.



This is "Crime of Passion" by Loudon Wainwright III in his prime.



In retrospect, I probably like Steeleye Span's Below the Salt better than Commoner's Crown. But I still think it's cool they did this song with Peter Sellers (!) on the uke.



Blackheart Man by Bunny Wailer still is the best reggae album I've ever heard.



Small Change was the first Tom Waits album I ever owned and still is one of my favorites



If I could go back in time just to see one concert, it probably would be Frank Zappa, the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1975, as documented in the album Bongo Fury.



Though it never got any significant airplay on country radio, Gram Parson's posthumously released Grievous Angel  was a high water mark in country music.



OK, I'm cheating here. YouTube has only one song from Doug Kershaw's 1975 live album Alive & Pickin' and that's just a fairly forgettable instrumental called "Dixie Creole." The album's also missing on Spotify. So here's another live version of one of my favorite Alive & Pickin' songs, "The Stripper."



Finally, this one, from the late New York folkie Jack Hardy's excellent 1978 album, The Nameless One definitely is the most obscure one on this list. I'd read a review of it in Rolling Stone, which included Hardy's address. I wrote him and asked how to get a copy and he just sent me one.




I'll be doing a set with songs from all these tonight on Terrell's Sound World, 10 p.m. to midnight on KSFR, 101.FM in Northern New Mexico or www.ksfr.org 


TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 17, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Te...