Wednesday, December 30, 2020

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Sharing a Birthday

UPDATED 


On this day, December 30 in 1928, a child named Elias McDaniel was born in McComb, Mississippi. He would grow up to be a member of the Valencia County Sheriff's Reserves, an honorary citizen of Santa Fe, and, oh yeah, a true founding father of rock 'n' roll, known to the world as Bo Diddley.

Thirty three years later in New York City a boy named Sean Patrick Hannity was born. He grew up to be one of the nation's most successful right-wing blowhards and unofficial advisors of outgoing President Donald J. Trump, the loser of last month's presidential election.

Hannity and Diddley born on the same day. This proves astrology is real!

I've met both of these birthday boys. In 1985 I interviewed Deputy Diddley when he came to Santa Fe to play Club West. The day of the show Mayor Louis Montano -- at my urging -- had Diddley come to his office to be honored with a certificate naming him an honorary citizen of our city. That was a momentous day!

Then in 2004, at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, while waking around the convention center one afternoon I stumbled across "Radio Row," where radio reporters were working. There at a desk was Hannity doing a live broadcast. I was surprised to see him at a Democratic convention and stood there slack-jawed for a couple of moments. Hannity looked up at me, obviously irritated. "Can I help you with something?" he said. 

That wasn't as momentous as meeting Bo Diddley.

In honor of the senior birthday boy, here are a couple of tunes celebrating the man amongst men. 

Sorry, I couldn't find any songs honoring Sean Hannity. [OOOPS! See update below]

First, Warren Zevon covering a Diddley hit:

Here's Roky Erikson with The Nervebreakers, mutating one of Diddley's hits

The Jesus and Mary Chain proclaimed that "Bo Diddley is Jesus." I'd have loved to have seen Diddley's face if or when he ever heard this.


And here's Diddley himself, doing one of my favorite songs from his latter-day catalogue.


UPDATE: My Washington correspondent and Beltway Insider Chuck pointed this Hannity song by the Gregory Brothers (featuring Blondie. And what's Weird Al doing in this photo?)



Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Chicken Shack Playlist




Tuesday, December 29, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays Mountain Time
Substitute Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :
(Background Music: Back at the Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith)
I Like My Baby’s Pudding by Wynonie Harris
Let Me Off Uptown by Gene Krupa (vocals by Anita O'Day)
Five Guys Named Moe by Louis Jordan
Jack, You’re Dead by B.B. King
African Twist by Stacy Lane
What a Little Moonlight Can Do by Benny Goodman (vocals by Helen Ward)
(Background Music: Late at Bailey’s Pad by Warren Barker)

Low Down Dog by Big Joe Turner & Pete Johnson 
I’m a Country Boy by Clarence “Frogman” Henry
Zip Gun Bop by Royal Crown Revue
Detroit Swing City by Alien Fashion Show
You Heard What I Said by Kid Thomas & Joe Bennett
I’m Gonna Put a Watch on You by Ruby Lee
Seventh Son by Mose Allison
(Background Music: Chicken Stuff by Hop Wilson)

I’ve Known Rivers by Gary Bartz & Nu-Troop
Rock H-Bomb by H Bomb Fergusson
My Chick by Rosco Gordon
(Background Music: Back at the Chicken Shack by Reuben Wilson)

Zip a Dee Doo Dah by Sun Ra
Twee-Twee-Tweet by Cab Calloway
Atomic Cocktail by Slim Gaillard
Decent Woman Blues by Julia Lee
Mutual Admiration Society by Louis Prima & Keely Smith 
(Background Music: M Squad Theme by Stanley Wilson)

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop by Lionel Hampton
Faces in the Jazzamatazz by Ken Nordine
I’m Busted by Ray Charles with The Count Basie Orchestra
El Tirili by Don Tosti’s Pachuco Boogie Boys
Wine Wine Wine by Floyd Dixon
(Background Music: The Killer by Lalo Schifrin)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by Ma Rainey
The Other Night by Big Maybelle
Heebie Jeebies by Louis Armstrong
Heebie Jeebies by Little Richard
The Greasy Chicken by Andre Williams
Happy New Year to You by The Qualities
(Background Music: Back at The Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith)


Sunday, December 27, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

UPDATED with Mixcloud link!





Sunday, December 27, 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! terrell(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Happy New Year by Spike Jones & His City Slickers
New Year’s Eve at the Gates of Hell by Ray Wylie Hubbard
See You in the Boneyard by Divine Horsemen
Monkey David Wine by Scott H. Biram with Jesse Dayton
Shanghai by Degurutieni
New Year’s Eve by Dengue Fever
(Background Music: Harlem Nocturne by Esquivel)

SIMON STOKES TRIBUTE SET 


All Songs by Simon except where noted

Johnny Gillette
Hard Travelin’
Slice It, Dice It by Timothy Leary & Simon Stokes
Miniskirt Blues by The Cramps with Iggy Pop
Trapped in a Nightmare (Simon with Hammerlock)
Let’s Do Wrong Tonight (Simon with Annette Zilinskas)
Ride on Angel (The Incredible Simon Stokes & The Black Whip Thrill Band)
Nixon’s Dead Ass by Russell Means
Down for Death
(Background Music: Tango by The D.J. Bonebrake Trio)


Gravedigger by Billy Joe Winghead
Burnin’ Love (Blasphemy version) by Frontier Dan & The Hickoids
New Year’s Polka by Brave Combo
Attack of the Killer Cranes by Oh! Gunquit
1947 by Kazik Staszewski & Kwartet ProForma
Lonely Avenue by Tav Falco’s Panther Burns
Let’s Go Get Stoned by Ray Charles
I’ll Fly Away by Homer Henderson
(Background Music: Birmingham Breakdown by The Chocolate Dandies)

A Great New Year by Ted Hawkins
Goodbye Year, Goodbye by X
Bang Bang Bang by Eilen Jewell
Alien Eye by Eleni Mandell
One Toke Over the Line by Brewer & Shipley
You Better Pray by Hamell on Trial
Brand New Year by The Bottle Rockets
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. CLICK HERE

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Play the Simon Stokes set below:

Thursday, December 24, 2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY: A Christmas Song From My Brother

 


On this Christmas Eve, I'd like to share a beautiful, spooky song that my brother, Jack Clift, first made me aware of back in the 1980s.

 Jack recorded this old song under the title "It Being Nearly Christmas Time" for a compilation called A New Mexico Christmas, produced by the good folks at Kludgit Sound in 1986. 

But don't expect much ho-ho-ho and mistletoe from this one. It's about a mother who sends her three sons off to sea where they meet their doom. Mom is so distraught she calls on the wind and sea to return her children. And sure enough, right around Christmas they return -- as ghosts. They can't even eat the nice Christmas dinner she made them. Then they have to go back to Heaven -- or wherever their new home is.

Jack's song is a version of an old British folk song called "The Wife of Usher's Well." Like most respectable old folk songs there are countless versions that popped up in the British Isles and the US. Steeleye Span even did a version in the '70s (though, as much as I love Steeleye, I never liked their take on this song.)

But here's a fairly recent version, with a Classics Comics style video, sung by a woman named Marilyn Cowan. Note, in this, as in the case of the earliest British versions of the song, the three children don't return at Christmas. Instead, they come back at Martinmas, the feast of St. Martin, which is in November.

But my favorite version is another one that's connected to my brother. In 2009, my brother and John Carter Cash collaborated with a small army of Nashville stars and Uzbek musicians for an album called Pale Imperfect Diamond. On that record Jack revisited the song, this time under its proper title and with the Peasall Sisters providing vocals.

Merry Christmas and hoping any ghostly visitors are friendly.


For more deep dives into songs, check out The Stephen W. Terrell Web Log Songbook


Sunday, December 20, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST





Sunday, December 20, 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! terrell(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres 
Sock it To Me, Santa by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Roadrunner- Savage Mix by The Krayolas
I Gotta Fever by X
Waste of Time by Paint Fumes
It’s Gravity by T. Tex Edwards
Ping Pong at Pang’s by Oh! Gunquit
Ping’s Chinese Restaurant by Harvey McLaughlin
Your Sugar is All I Want by Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders
Saint Nick’s Farm by The Gay Sportscasters
Do They Know It’s Christmas by Richard Cheese
(Background Music: Joy to the World by The Klezmonauts)

Santa’s Doing the Horizontal Twist by Kay Martin & Her Body Guards
West Yorks Ballad by Mekons
Past All Dishonor by Divine Horsemen
Tantamount by Churchwood
Lead Me On by Paul “Wine” Jones
Strange Words by The Electric Mess
Baby It’s Cold Outside by Albert & Gage
Just a Closer Walk With Thee by Homer Henderson
(Background Music: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Beausoleil)

Blue Grey Christmas by King Coleman
Ay Pee, Ah Yee by Kazik Staszewski & Kwartet ProForma
Can’t Delete Nightmares by Degurutieni
Such a Scream by Tom Waits
Santa Stole My Whiskey by Jonny Manak
Hurray for Santa Claus by The Fleshtones
Mean and Evil by Juke Joint Pimps
Lose Your Mind by Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds
A Wizard Doesn’t Need a Computer by Dan Melchior und Das Menace
Must Be Santa by Brave Combo
(Background Music: Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Jackie & The Cedrics)

Christmas Time Blues by Billy Boy Arnold
Trying to Get To You by Roy & The Devil’s Motorcycle
Can’t Stay Long by Scott H. Biram
Horny Hound by Roy D. Mercer
Wonderful by Brian Wilson
Miles to Go by Eilen Jewell
So Much Wine by The Handsome Family
Happy Christmas (War is Over) by Lorette Velvette

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. CLICK HERE

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Thursday, December 17, 2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Have Yourself a Bluesy Little Christmas

 


Someone told me that it's almost Christmas.

Woah, if true!

So here are a few choice musical Christmas treats from the magical realm of blues and rhythm and blues.

Let's start with Reverend Edward Clayborn, aka "The Guitar Evangelist," with a 1928 release called "The Wrong Way to Celebrate Christmas," in which he declares, "While the church is praying, on Christmas day / Other people are roamin' the streets and drinkin' their soul away ..."

Leroy Carr apparently tried to celebrate Christmas in the wrong way. Here's a 1929 tune called "Christmas in Jail."

Skipping ahead a few decades, a doo-wop called The Youngsters had a hit with a song of the same title.

Back in the '30s, Bumble Bee Slim had a specific request of Santa Claus:

Here's a tune from 1954 from a singer named Jimmy Butler who only wants to trim your tree:

Finally, here's some holiday cheer from 1962 by Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns, "Doing the Santa Claus":




Sunday, December 13, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST





Sunday, December 13, 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! terrell(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Someone Like You by Divine Horsemen
Hobo Jungle by Scott H. Biram
Holy Motor by Sloks
Leonardo by Kazik Staszewski & Kwartet ProForma
Hey! Rockstar by Jon Langford & Skull Orchard
What Happened to Delila by The Mekons
Surfing on Christmas Day (Santa Won’t You Bring Me Some Waves) by Southern Culture on the Skids
(Background Music: Chinatown, My Chinatown by David Murray)

Christmas With Satan by James White
Turn It Off - Zombie Mix by Kathy Freeman
Eat Your Heart and Wear Your Face by The Cavemen
Nutbush City Limits by Frontier Dan & The Hickoids
Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise by Devo
I Refuse to Sing by Elected Officials
They Don’t Know by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Who’s Been Driving My Little Yellow Taxi Cab by Lincoln St. Exit
I Can’t Control Myself by Big Maybelle
Empty Yodel No. 0 by Nick Shoulders
Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas by Rev. Glen Armstrong
(Background Music: Lint Head Stomp by Phebel Wright)

Blue Christmas by Stan Ridgway
Dance Like Fuck by Oh! Gunquit
Won’t You by The Plasmatics
Bang On by The Breeders
Breakfast Taters by MFC Chicken
Go-Go Girls by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs
Don’t Take My Whiskey Away From Me by Wynonie Harris
Built for Comfort by Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon
Seeds & Candy by Boris McCutcheon
In the Dark of Morning by Possessed by Paul James
Christmas Boogie by Canned Heat & The Chipmunks
(Background Music: Swingin’ on Pier 13 by The Bomboras)

Can Man Christmas by Joe West
Midnight Express by Degurutieni Day-guru-tee-enny
Always Horses Coming by Giant Sand
Whiskey Willey by Michael Hurley
Coney Island Waltz by Harvey McLaughlin
The Old Rugged Cross by Homer Henderson
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. CLICK HERE

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Happy Birthday Redd Foxx

 



On Dec. 9, 1922, John Elroy Sanford was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up to be known by another name, Redd Foxx. But he didn't forget the surname of his birth. Probably more people know him from the hit sitcom Sanford & Son than his previous decades as a raunchy "party records" comic. (His character's name, Fred Sanford, also happened to be the name of his father and his older brother.)

Although he's far better known as a comedian, Foxx also was a singer. When he was just a 13-year-old kid, according to his website, Fox "supported himself by playing the washboard in a band."

Soon he began his career as a stand-up comedian on the Chitlin Circuit. To put it mildly, he wasn't afraid to "play blue." By the mid 1950s his nightclub career led to a recording career, with Foxx creating an avalanche of "party albums" that sold admirably, despite the fact that none of his records ever had any chance of actual radio play.

But even before that, Foxx recorded five R&B singles for Savoy Records. Here's one from 1946, a tune titled "Fine Jelly Blues."


He also sang with bands like the Kenny Watts Hot Five. (Pianist Watt with Kenny Watts & His Brooklyn Buddies backed Foxx on his Savoy singles.)  

This one's called "Shame on You" from 1947.


Foxx recorded some more R&B singles in the mid '50s. Here's  "It's Fun To Be Living In The Crazy House," from 1957.


As Fred Sanford, Foxx often sang on his TV show. This one, "All of Me"  is a duet with Scatman Crothers.


And in honor of the season ... 


Happy birthday, Red!



Sunday, December 06, 2020

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST




Sunday, December 6, 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! terrell(at)ksfr.org

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Behind the Barn by Demon’s Claws
Can’t Be Brought Down by Roky Erikson
You Got That Thing by Holly Golightly
Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf
Speed Limit by Dot Wiggin Band
Language is a Virus by Laurie Anderson
(Background Music: Riff Blues by Skip Martin)

Ill Wind by Dinola
Johnny Voodoo by Empress of Fur
In the Rex by Churchwood
Eat Your Heart and Wear Your Face by The Cavemen
Roam by The B-52s
When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again by Big Al Downing
(Background Music: Spooky Bongos by Beach Girls & The Monster)

Florentine Pogen by Frank Zappa 
Platypus by Mr. Bungle
Horrorshow by The Blacks
Cry Cry, Laugh Laugh by The Krayolas
Shake Shake by The Bluetones
Go! Go! Go! by Roy Orbison
Bamalamalicious  by Rattanson
There Oughta Be a Law Against Sunny Southern California by Terry Allen
(Background Music: Lonely Guitar by Bert Weedon)

The Old Main Drag by The Pogues
Rose Tattoo by Dropkick Murphys
Polka Christmas by The Polkaholics
Since I Met You Baby by Asylum Street Spankers
What Is Love by Cheetah Chrome
Moonglow, Lamp Low by Eleni Mandell
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. CLICK HERE

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE

Thursday, December 03, 2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Happy Birthday Gussie Davis!

 

Goodness Gussie, it's the birthday of one of the most successful African-American songwriters of the 19th Century, the first Black Tin Pan Alley composers, Mr. Gussie Davis. 

Though he died when he was just 35, many of his tunes lived on into the 20th Century and eventually were recorded by early country music stars. He also wrote a song that's become an American classic -- though Davis hasn't received proper credit for it. (Keep reading to the bottom.)

An article about the songwriter by Wayne Erbsen in Native Ground  quotes Tin-Pan Alley historian Maxwell Marcuse:

“Gussie Davis reached for the tender spots that lurk deep within all of us, no matter how thick or tough our outer crusts may be. In an era of ‘sing-em-and-weep’ melodies, Davis did more than his share to open up the tear ducts of America.”

Born in Dayton on Dec. 3, 1863, Davis wanted to attend the Nelson Musical College in Cincinnati. But his application to the school was rejected because of his race. 

But, according to Eileen Southern in her 1997 book, The Music of Black Americans: A History, Davis found a workaround. He got a job as a janitor at the school and was paid in part with private music lessons from the instructors there. 

He self-published his first song in 1880, when he was only 18, a sentimental ditty called "We Sat Beneath The Maple On The Hill." 

In Ernsen's piece Davis was quoted saying:

I was just eighteen years old, and not caring to enter in the rear, I set to work to study music, and before long I managed to get together a pretty air and had it arranged. It was the ‘Maple on the Hill,’ and became quite popular throughout the West. Music publishers are not over generous in taking to publishing or even handling music from an unknown person, and I found a great deal of trouble, but I gave one publisher money to get it out, and he took pity on me. The song proved a great go.”

Let's hear a 1926 recording of that song by Vernon Dalhart, a pioneering country singer (He's the first to record "The Wreck of the Old 97" back in the 1920s.) But hey Vern, you don't sound that country here!

Davis kept writing and publishing songs. Before long, he hooked up with Cincinnati publisher George Propheter, who in 1886 moved to New York. Davis followed him. Davis kept writing as well as performing. In 1895 he was invited by the New York World to enter the paper's contest to determine the 10 best songwriters in the U.S. Davis came in second with his song, "Send Back the Picture and the Ring", and won a prize of $500 in gold.

I couldn't find a recording of this online, but here's a melodramatic1893 song -- composed by Davis and lyricist William H. Windom -- called "The Fatal Wedding." This was Davis' first national hit The performer here is another white country singer, Bradley Kincaid.

Vernon Dalhart also recorded another Davis tune, "The Baggage Coach Ahead." This is a more recent live version by the late Mac Wiseman.

This is "My Creole Sue," which Davis published in 1898, a year before his death. This recording is from 1923 by a group called The Shannon Quartet.

None of the above songs are very familiar to modern audiences, but chances are you've heard this one. A 2000 report by NPR says Leadbelly always attributed "Goodnight Irene" to his uncle. However, Davis composed the song he titled "Irene, Good Night" in 1886. It became a favorite of traveling minstrel shows.

So goodnight, Irene and happy birthday Gussie!


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...