I've got nothing against Simon & Garfunkel. I like a lot of their tunes.
But it's inconceivable to me how they managed to take a perfectly rough and tumble folk song that ends with a line saying, "If ever I return, all your cities I will burn ..." and make it sound wimpy.
But that's what they did with "Peggy O," which appeared on Paul & Artie's first album, Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.
I'm not even going to post the video of this useless version. In fact, I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it. The only reason I do is because it just so happens that Simon & Garfunkel's was the first "Peggy O" I ever heard.
I never liked that track, but I have to admit, that line with the arson threat always did intrigue me. Basically it's the story of a soldier, "our captain," who falls for "a lady like a dove" and promises to take her "in a carriage" to " places far and strange."
But something goes wrong. Apparently Peggy rejects him and his troops are threatening to burn all the cities and destroy "all the ladies in the ar-e-o."
Breaking up is hard to do.
"Peggy O" is the American descendant of an old Scottish song, going back at least to the late 18th Century, called "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie." Fyvie is a small town with a castle in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland, Some versions of the song appear under the titles of "Bonnie Barbara-O," "Pretty Peggy of Derby," and "Peggy Sue." O.K., just kidding about that last one, The first known recording of the song was by an Aberdeenshire farmer named John Strachan. Alan Lomax got him on tape in 1951. A few years later, Tommy Makem & The Clancy Brothers recorded it and called the song "The Maid of Fife-E-O."
Other folkies on both sides of the Atlantic began playing it. I like this one recorded by The Dubiners in the early 1960s.
Bob Dylan included the song, which he called "Pretty Peggy-O," on his debut album in 1962. His version was influenced by The Clancys'. But he made it crazier.
Unlike Simon & Garfunkel's pristine version, Dylan burst out of the gate joking on this one. "I've been around this whole country, but I never yet found Fenneario," he says at the beginning of the track.
He's changed the setting from ancient Scotland to contemporary America. He sings of the love-lorn captain (who has been demoted to lieutenant here) "The lieutenant he has gone, long gone
He's a-riding down in Texas with the rodeo."
And this live version is even funnier. (I'm fallin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-O ...")
But after all these years, my favorite version is that of The Grateful Dead. Throwing in some well-placed minor chords, they create a heartbreaking and haunting melody. The local seems ambiguous, though when singing "Sweet William he is dead," he reveals, "He's buried in the Louisiana country-o."
I first heard the Dead do this song at a 1977 concert in Albuquerque. Seventeen years later I saw them play it again in Las Vegas -- which would turn out to be the last time I'd see the Grateful Dead play.
UPDATE 4--30-15: My friend Billy pointed out that the photo to the left is not the original Kingsmen. It's "Jack Ely & The Kingsmen," which Ely formed after he split from the original band. He was forced to change the name to "The Courtmen."
This Wacky Wednesday we pay tribute to Jack Ely, who, backed by his band at the time, The Kingsmen, recorded a strange little hit called "Louie Louie."
Ely died Monday at his home in Redmond, Oregon, He was 71. Here's a story in The Seattle Times.
The Kingsmen weren't the first to record "Louie Louie. That honor goes to the songwriter and L.A. R&B titan, Richard Berry. And The Kingsmen wasn't even the firt pacific Northwest Band to record it. Was it The Wailers or was it Little Bill & The Bluenotes who first put it to wax? And Paul Revere & The Raiders weren't far behind. (Here's a brief early history of the song from a website devoted to "Louie Louie." )
But The Kingsmen did the definite "Louie Louie." They had the first real hit with the song (even though Ely left the band not long after they recorded it.) They're the ones who inspired the FBI to investigate the song. (Skip to the bottom of this post for more on this shining highlight in FBI history.)
In honor of Jack Ely here's a whole stinkin' mess of "Louie," starting with Richard Berry's original.
Come on, let's give it to him RIGHT NOW!
Any excuse to post a Sonics song. They recorded it in the '60s. This is a more recent live version.
Ike & Tina Turner took a stab at it.
Iggy & The Stooges did a completely filthy version (captured on the Metallic K.O. album.) But by the early '90s, Iggy had rewritten the lyrics to make the song about the fall of the Soviet Union. Or something.
Frank Zappa teamed up with Howard Stern in the late '80s to screw around with it,
Motorhead did it:
So did The Clash.
Brave Combo turned it into a cha cha cha.
Here's an easy listening rendition by The Sandpipers IF YOU DARE!
And of course, The Kingsmen!
And to make Wacky Wednesday even wackier, here are documents from the FBI's 1964 investigation into The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie." They wanted to make certain that Ely's unique vocals weren't hiding secret obscene lyics that might harm the children. J. Edgar's boys eventually determined "Louie Louie" was "unintelligible at any speed."
Sunday, April 26, 2015 KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell Webcasting! 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist below:
Livin' in Chaos by The Sonics
In the Alleyway by J.J. & The Real Jerks
The Breeze by The Banditos
Gonna Rock Tonight by Flamin' Groovies
Hazel Holly (Please Come Back) by the Boss Mustangs
Puppet Man by Jay Reatard
Rebel Stomp by Pow Wows
Sick Boys by Social Distortion
JuJu Hand by Handsome Dick Manitoba
Cheap Thrills by Ruben & The Jets
Price Tag/ All Hands on the Bad One by Sleater-Kinney
Hard-Lovin' Man by The Fleshtones
Sing This Song of Joy by Mudhoney
Emerald City by The Tossers
Dark as a Dungeon by The Tombstones
Android Robot by Acid Baby Jesus
Give Her a Great Big Kiss by New York Dolls
Funeral by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Criminal Inside Me by R.L. Burnside with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Killing Floor by Albert King
Hide 'nor Hair by Ray Charles
Let's Get Funky by Hound Dog Taylor
Sit Down if You Can by Elwood Haywood with The Campbell Brothers
Biting Game by Sinn Sisamouth
No Sudden Moves by Dengue Fever
Broken Hearted Woman by Ros Sereysothea
Catch a Fire by Mojo JuJu & The Snake Oil Merchants
First There Was a Funeral by Johnny Dowd
The Nameless One by Jack Hardy
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Alright you circus clowns, welcome to the Big Top of Rock 'n' Roll, a carnival of crazy garage/punk primitive sounds to amuse and delight. Get on board. The slap sticks are crackin' and the bus is crawling with bozos, so go ahead, squeeze the old wheeze! It's a holiday for clowns.
(Background Music: Bozo the World's Most Famous Clown theme)
Killer Clowns from Outer Space by The Dickies
Dan Dare by The Mekons
Get Sick by Scratch Buffalo
Rebel Stop by Pow Wows
Sleeping in Blood City by The Gun Club
Death of a Clown by T. Tex Edwards
(Background Music: The Bozo Buck Stops Here by Stephen W. Terrell)
Friday, April 24, 2015 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist below:
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Hillbilly Jitters by Dallas Wayne
The Whole Thing Stinks by Rico Bell
Still Sober After All These Beers by The Banditos
Self Sabotage by Jason & The Scorchers
The Horse by DM Bob & The Deficits
Wild and Blue by Hazeldine
Rear View Mirror by Paula Rhea McDonald
Do as You Are Told by Texas Martha & The House of Twang
Lightning Fried by Reno Jack
Six Days on the Road by Taj Mahal
San Juan Song by Slackeye Slim
Loup-garou by Tetu
The Devil Gets His Due by The Dirt Daubers
Blue Collar Dollar by Kevin Gordon
All American Girl by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Worried Mind by Eilen Jewell
Movie Magg by Carl Perkins
Honey Don't by Eugene Chadborne
Butter Face by The Beaumonts
Truck Driving Man by The Bottle Rockets
Hot Rod Lincoln by Bill Kirchen
Speedway by Alan Vega
I Seen What I Saw by 16 Horsepower
Reap the Whirlwind by Chipper Thompson
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Rider on an Orphan Train by Tom Russell
Orphan Train by Julie Miller
Eddie Rode the Orphan Train by Jim Roll
Dover to Dunkirk by Jack Hardy
John Walker Blues by Steve Earle
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican April 24, 2015
It’s so easy to get cynical about rock ’n’ roll in the 21st century. Insert your biggest complaints: Nobody pays for music these days, and we get what we pay for; all our favorite bands are broke while brainless pop tarts cash in; blah-blah-blah.
But at the risk of sounding like Little Mary Sunshine, let me tell you something, pal: These are the good old days. How could anyone be down about the state of rock when, in the past few weeks, two mighty bands have released powerful albums?
I’m talking about the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s latest assault, Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015, and This Is the Sonics, a brand-new record from a band that’s a living blast from the past.
Both of these works are screaming testimonials to the rejuvenating power of the music — and should (but won’t) put to rest the old truism about rock ’n’ roll being some kind of youth-culture curio.
As Spencer shouts in the middle of “Bellevue Baby,” “Don’t it feel good to be alive!”
Maybe I’m prejudiced here because my ears are still ringing from seeing Spencer and his cosmic combo live in Washington, D.C., just a couple of weeks ago. Though all three band members have to be pushing fifty (Spencer first rose to glory fronting the band Pussy Galore in the ’80s), if anything, they were wilder and more energetic than they were the first time I saw JSBX live 21 years ago (at the old Sweeney Center, opening for the Breeders).
By the early part of this century, I thought the Blues Explosion was basically cooked. After its 2004 album, Damage, the group took a lengthy break. Spencer partnered up with Matt Verta-Ray and formed the rootsier Heavy Trash, which recorded three decent, if not earthshaking, albums.
Then, in late 2012, the Blues Explosion — rounded out by guitarist Judah Bauer and relentless drummer Russell Simins — reunited, as the good lord intended it to, releasing an excellent comeback album, Meat + Bone.
If anything, Freedom Tower is even stronger. “Come on, fellas, we got to pay respect!” Spencer bellows at the outset of the first song, “Funeral.” I’m not sure what corpse this funeral is for, unless it’s death itself.
Russell Simins and Spencer in DC a couple of weeks ago
The new album is a loving song cycle about the Blues Explosion’s hometown, New York City. In some tunes, such as “Betty vs. the NYPD” and “Tales of Old New York: The Rock Box” (where Spencer talks about sneaking into CBGB through the back alley), the band indulges in a little well-earned nostalgia about the sleazy, crime-ridden era of the ’70s and ’80s, those gritty days when punk rock, hip-hop, and, yes, “No Wave” were born.
Ah, good old No Wave. I heard echoes of that during JSBX’s live show, and you can hear traces of it on this album as well. For the uninitiated, No Wave is a post-punk, anti-commercial blending of loud punk, avant-garde noise, free-form jazz, performance art, and more. No Wave “stars” included bands like Suicide, James Chance & the Contortions, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. Sonic Youth rose from New York’s No Wave scene. And Spencer’s Pussy Galore was inspired by the craziness of it all, though, as I’ve said before, that band was more fartsy than artsy — and that goes triple for the Blues Explosion.
As Spencer proclaims in “Down and Out” on the new album, “This is America, baby: We ain’t got no class!”
The subtitle of Spencer’s new album is spot on. Spencer’s real genius is bringing the No Wave noise — but with the Blues Explosion’s distorted blues/soul/garage guitar riff to make it funky and even danceable, in a goony tribal-stomp kind of way.
It’s a trademark of JSBX for Spencer to shout “Blues Explosion!” for no apparent reason, and he does so intermittently on this album. It’s as if just the thought of playing again with Bauer and Simins fills him with uncontrollable joy. And, in fact, fans of the Blues Explosion will feel the same way when they listen to Freedom Tower.
Here’s yet more good news for New Mexico fans: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is scheduled to play Launchpad in Albuquerque on May 21. Tickets are a mere $15 — which is $5 less than what I paid in D.C. Sorry, kids, you have to be twenty-one.
As for the Sonics, the new album by that crazy little group from Tacoma is a true marvel. The core members — keyboardist Gerry Roslie, guitarist Larry Parypa, and sax player Rob Lind — are pushing seventy.
Their original heyday was in the mid-1960s, when they shook the Pacific Northwest with songs like “Psycho,” “The Witch,” “Strychnine,” and “He’s Waitin’ ” — a song about Satan.
During their first incarnation, they didn’t really gain fame beyond their native region. But through the years, the Sonics sound inspired new generations of punks and garage rockers.
I always liked the Sonics, but I never really drank the strychnine until I saw them live in New Orleans at a quasi-annual music gathering called the Ponderosa Stomp.
The Sonics, rompin' at the Stomp
New Orleans 2013
This Is the Sonics shows that the band’s amazing live show is no fluke. Produced by Jim Diamond, a Detroit native who used to be a member of the Dirtbombs, the album can stand proudly by the Sonics’ old material.
There are a handful of original tunes, the best being “Bad Betty” and “Livin’ in Chaos,” sung by “new” member Freddie Dennis, a Sonic since 2009 who was with the Kingsmen in the ’70s and ’80s.
And, like the Sonics albums of yore, there’s a plethora of supercharged cover songs, including “I Don’t Need No Doctor” (famously recorded by Ray Charles), Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover,” and, my favorite in the lineup, “Leaving Here,” an early Motown song with lyrics by Eddie Holland. Though all these tunes are recognizable, they nonetheless bear the stamp of the Sonics.
I just hope they keep going into their eighties.
Enjoy some videos:
Here's another cool video of a song from Freedom Tower. This one features comedian/singer Bridget Everett.
I think The Blues Explosion had nearly as much with these videos as they did the music on Freedom Tower,
Here's The Sonics' "Bad Betty"!
Here's that Bo Diddley song I mentioned
And this footage is from that Ponderosa Stomp show feature a bunch of classic Sonics tunes
Once I rode an orphan train And my brother did the same They split us up in Missouri James was five and I was three
There is a sad and strange chapter in American history that has inspired a number of haunting songs in the past 15-20 years.
The orphan train.
It was a part of history that they didn't teach us in high school. In fact I wasn't aware of the phenomenon until I heard a song, quoted above, sung by Tom Russell on his 1999 album, The Man from God Knows Where. (My curiosity about certain songs frequently has helped me to fill little gaps in my education.)
This tune was called "Riding on the Orphan Train," and it was written by a New York folksinger named David Massengil. It's a heartbreaking story of two orphan brothers who were separated. The younger one was haunted all his life by the memory of his brother and the hope to be reunited.
A couple of years later I heard another song -- "Eddie Rode the Orphan Train" by a singer named Jim Roll. (That song would later be covered by Jason (of The Scorchers) Ringenberg on one of his solo albums.
"... an estimated 30,000 children were homeless in New York City in the 1850s. Charles Loring Brace, the founder of The Children's Aid Society, believed that there was a way to change the futures of these children. By removing youngsters from the poverty and debauchery of the city streets and placing them in morally upright farm families, he thought they would have a chance of escaping a lifetime of suffering."
This 2007 article by Dan Scheuerman in Humanities, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities, explains more:
Between 1854 and 1929, a quarter million abandoned babies and “street rats” (as the older children were referred to by police) left slums in New York, Boston, and other coastal cities aboard trains, headed for new lives in the country. ...
Children would board a westbound train in groups of up to forty, accompanied by two agents from the society, and preceded by circulars advertising, said Holt, “their ‘little laborers,’ as they were called.” When the trains stopped, the children were paraded from the depot into a local playhouse, where they were put up on stage, thus the origin of the term “up for adoption.” Here, “they took turns giving their names, singing a little ditty, or ‘saying a piece,’” according to an exhibit panel from the National Orphan Train Complex. Less cute scenarios, said Richter, resembled slave auctions. “People came along and prodded them, and looked, and felt, and saw how many teeth they had.”
The goal was to find good Christian homes for the transplanted street rats. And in many cases, that happened. But some of the "morally upright farm families" turned out to fall short of that ideal. Many of the children would be treated as indentured servants. There were cases of abuse, sexual and psychological. Many ran away. Some were kicked out of their new homes by their foster parents.
Scheuerman quotes Roberta Lowrey, a genealogist and the great-granddaughter of an orphan train rider.
“They were so much better off than if they had been left on the streets of New York. . . . They were just not going to survive, or if they had, their fate would surely have been awful.”
Below are songs of the orphan train.
David Massengil, introducing this live version of "Riders on an Orphan Train," talks of how he was inspired to write it after he received a letter from a man who thought Massengil might be his brother.
Jim Roll sings another sad one, "Eddie Rode the Orphan Train."
A bluegrass band called "Dry Branch Fire Squad" covers Utah Phillips' "Orphan Train"
This song by Julie Miller uses the orphan train as a metaphor for loneliness and redemption in this song titled "Orphan Train."
"Ali is still champ." That's what Patti Smith declared in the liner notes of her 1976 album (and my favorite Patti Smith album) Radio Ethiopia.
Indeed, the boxer, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky in 1943 is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight fighter in boxing. Not only is he known for his accomplishments in the ring, he's known for being a champion of civil rights and one of the best known opponents of the Vietnam War. That opposition cost him his title when he refused induction into the Army 48 years ago this month.
A true man of his times, Ali had an infinity for rock and soul musicians. He posed for pictures with Elvis Presley and The Beatles. He palled around with Sam Cooke.
And, yes, he tried his hand at recording.
According to an article in Songfacts.com, back in 1963, even before he beat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship, he recorded an album on Columbia Records (under his birth name) called I Am the Greatest., featuring some spoken-word as well as music. (It's still available on Amazon. with bonus tracks)
After he won the belt in 1964 Columbia released the title song as a single.
And here's the flip side.
This song was produced by Sam Cooke, who also sang on it.
Of course there were tribute songs to Ali. Here's one by a Jamaican toaster named Dennis Alcapone.
And this one by British singer Johnny Wakelin
On the other hand there was this weird satirical look at Ali's resistance to the draft by the inimitable T. Valentine.
By the mid '70s, Ali wanted to turn his musical talents to serious social issues. Like dental health.
If you can make it much past the opening theme, you're a better man than me. Apparently this Youtube includes the entire first side of this LP. Apparently ALi's "gang" included Frank Sinatra, Ossie Davis and Richie Havens!
OK, I normally don't blog about the commercial endeavors by music stars, not even the ones I like.
But I had to laugh when I got the following press release this morning (April 20, 4-20, get it? Get it?):
Music legend Willie Nelson is pleased to announce a unique American enterprise: Willie's Reserve, a cannabis brand reflecting Nelson's own longstanding experience and his commitment to regulated, natural, and high quality strains of marijuana in U.S. legal markets. As one journalist has already noted, "The marijuana world is about to get its first connoisseur brand, edging it farther from an illegal substance and closer to the realm of fine wines."
Willie's Reserve is an extension of Willie's passion and appreciation for the many varieties and range of the plant's qualities. Some of the best master growers in America will collaborate, along with Willie, to define quality standards so that fans can expect clean and consistent products.
Willie's Reserve will be grown, distributed and sold by local businesses in Colorado and Washington, and will become available in other markets when state regulations allow.
Somewhat controversially, Willie has spent a lifetime as an outspoken supporter of cannabis for personal use and for industrial hemp production. Building on Willie's community of friends and experts who share his values, Willie's Reserve will seek ways to further support and celebrate aspects of the singer-songwriter's journey with cannabis. Willie and his family, and a few close friends developed the brand with emphasis on environmental and social issues, to lend support to the gradual end to marijuana prohibition across America.
"I am looking forward to working with the best growers in Colorado and Washington to make sure our product is the best on the market," stated Willie Nelson.
Collaboration is at the center of plans for Willie's Reserve. Willie has been an outspoken supporter of the front line efforts of store owners, growers, and citizens who have been pioneers and advocates of cannabis policy improvements. The company will work with businesses that are making smart and sustainable choices for the environment, have demonstrated leadership in their markets, and are committed to encouraging safe, legal use.
Seeing the power of legalization, regulation and taxation to impact how Americans view cannabis is a life's work realized for Willie. As many have noted, his involvement is no surprise, and in the end, it's no surprise that Willie's Reserve will reflect his life.
From what he shared, it looks like Willie’s Reserve is going to be much more than just marijuana. The brand is looking to open brick and mortar locations, though obviously only in states where the substance has been legalized—Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Washington DC, and Oregon later in 2015. Those working at the fledgling company want their firm to be the “anti-Walmart”, as they want to treat all those that they work with fairly, from employees to partners. No word just yet on when the stores will open, but the plans are in motion.
A warning to my readers here in New Mexico and other states in which the sale of recreational marijuana isn't legal: Don't expect to see Willie's Reserve sold here anytime soon.
But it is legal here to listen to some of the "4-20" songs I blogged about last week. CLICK HERE
UPDATE4:21 pm: Here's a new song by Willie and Merle Haggard, "It's All Going to Pot."
As my friend Rob just said, Merle's a long way from Muskogee!
Sunday, April 19, 2015 KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell Webcasting! 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist:
Opening Theme: Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Ballad of Joe Buck by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Motorcycle Madness by Daddy Long Legs
As Long As I Have You by The Detroit Cobras
Leaving Here by The Sonics
Hush Hush by The Plimsouls
Boy on Fire by Harmonica Lewinski
Bury Our Friends by Sleater-Kinney
Cave Girl by The Texreys
It's So Easy by Jay Reatard
Leader Of The Sect by Downliners Sect
Goofy's Concern by by Butthole Surfers
Dan Dare by The Mekons
Ancient & Modern by The Mekons
The Devil's Music by The Three Johns
When I Was a Little Spy by Gogol Bordello vs. Tamir Muskat
She Got Fangs by The Electric Mess
Justine by Adrian Lloyd & The Sunsets
When the Morning Hits by Jody Porter
Janey by Ed Pettersen
Steppin' Out by Paul Revere & The Raiders
Mustang Ranch by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Gone Daddy Gone by Violent Femmes
Blow Up Your Mind by The Cramps
Contort Yourself by James White & The Blacks
Junco Partner by Professor Longhair
Fat Angel by Jefferson Airplane
Cry Me a River Blues by Little Esther Phillips
Fallin' from the Sky by Markus James (feat. Calvin Jackson)
People Get Ready by Jimmy Scott
In Germany Before the War by Randy Newman
Closing Theme Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
