His death wasn't unexpected. He'd been in hospice care for a couple of weeks following a reported heart attack.
I first saw him in concert in early 1972 at the UNM basketball arena, a place I still call "The Pit." He headlined a bill that also featured a new band called Z.Z. Top, as well as Black Oak, Arkansas. The crowd was an odd mixture of well-dressed middle-class African-Americans and scuzzy hippies.
Before King went on on, some guy a few rows in front of me got in an argument with another guy and pulled a pistol. Nearly everyone in out whole section ducked or scattered, I was a newly initiated blues fan. I just figured it was part of the experience. But no shot was fired. No blood was shed. The show went on.
And B.B. came out and killed. He sounded as wonderful as Black Oak sounded wretched.
About 10 years later I saw B.B. at the Paolo Soleri here in Santa Fe. He was just as good if not better than he was the first time I saw him. After the show I got to interview him back stage. I was just a freelancer for the local weekly, The Santa Fe Reporter, but he treated me like i was the most important music journalist in the country. Seriously, he was one of the sweetest musicians I've ever interviewed. We talked for what seemed like an hour, him telling stories of his life, which he'd told hundreds of other reporters.
So here's to Riley "B.B." King. Bluesman, gentleman, inspiration.
UPDATE: Here is a link to my review of his last studio album, One Kind Favor:
Here are some songs to remember him by.
The first B.B. King album I ever had was Live in the Cook County Jail. Here is my favorite song from that:
Back when I was in college, the KUNM Wednesday night blues show used this as their theme song.
And here's a Blind Lemon Jefferson song from a fairly recent album, One Kind Favor.
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking up information on a song called "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" for a possible Wacky Wednesday post, a tune that I knew mostly from '60s era neo-jug bands. I found the names of the songwriters -- Jack Yellen and Milton Ager -- then quickly discovered that the pair had been responsible for some of the most memorable songs from the Roaring '20s, archetypal American touchstones of the Jazz Age.
Yellen , the one who wrote the lyrics, and Ager, who wrote the music, were responsible for so many hits, they could be considered the Leiber & Stoller of the Prohibition Era.
Yellen was born Jacek Jeleń in Poland in 1892, immigrating to the U.S. with his family when he was five years old. He grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. and for a few years worked as a reporter for The Buffalo Courier. But even then he was writing songs on the side. He died in 1991.
Ager was born in Chicago in 1893. He's got connections to journalism also. His wife Cecilia Ager was a film critic and reporter for Variety as well as The New York Post Magazine and other publications. Their daughter, Shana Alexander wrote for Life magazine and sparred with James J. Kilpatrick on the "Point/Counterpoint segment of 60 Minutes. Milton Ager died in 1979.
So what songs did these two write? Let's get to those.
One of their earliest hits was one called "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now." The earliest recordings of this were in 1924. Margaret Young and Billy Murray were among the stars who recorded it that year.
But my favorite of the early versions was from 1929 when Emmett Miller recorded it. (I'm not sure what the wedding photos in this video are, but I bet a guy named Bill got married around the time this was posted on Youtube.)
"Big Bad Bill" has several contemporary versions as well. Van Halen recorded it in the early '80s. But I prefer Merle Haggard's dandy version.
An even better-known song by this duo was "Hard-Hearted Hannah," also published in 1924. Here's a version by Lucille Hegamin.
But perhaps the greatest version ever was Ella Fitzgerald, who sang it in a 1955 movie called Pete Kelly's Blues. (And yes, you will see Jack Webb in this clip!)
Another Yellen & Ager classic is "Ain't She Sweet," written in 1927. One of the first recordings was by Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra.
A British singer named Tony Sheridan recording this one, backed by a then-unknown band called The Beatles, in 1961 when they were living in Hamburg.
But probably Yellen & Ager's most enduring tune is "Happy Days are Here Again," a basic Chins-up-America tune written in 1929 and later adopted as the 1932 campaign song for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Democrat Party adopted this as it's own theme song, often played during national conventions. But, according to The New York Times' obituary for Yellen, the lyricist considered himself a Republican.
Here is Leo Reisman & His Orchestra's version in a 1930 film called Chasing Rainbows. (Vocals by Lou Levin)
And here is the song that led me on this chase, a 1927 version by Frank Crumit of "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune," in which a nutty neighbor with a ukulele inspires homicidal fanrtasies. I still might do a Wacky Wednesday on this one some day.
Back in the '80s and '90s, when Rhino Records was actually a cool label, they released a series of albums called Golden Throats. These nutball compilations featured movie and TV stars, sports heroes and every stripe of cheesy celebrity singing ham-fisted versions of songs they had no business singing. Pop tunes, rock 'n' roll hits, country song, whatever. Nothing was sacred and nothing was safe from the Golden Throats.
Because of the exposure from the Rhino series, some of these unintentionally hilarious songsters became notorious and ironically hip. Think William Shatner -- the Elvis of the Golden Throats! -- and his over-the-top renditions of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." Think Muhammad Ali, whose musical career I covered a few weeks ago on Wacky Wednesday.
But there are so many more. Let's hear some of them.
Here's a little Kojack Kountry with Telly Savalas. We love ya, baby!
Jackie Chan croons the theme to CZ 12 aka Chinese Zodiac, a 2012 movie. He does his own stunts in the recording studio too.
Walter Brennan, makes "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" a Walter Brennan song.
This Golden Throat, Everett McKinley Dirksen, came from the U.S. Senate. This actually was a hit record during the Vietnam War.
And the Golden Throats will never die. Just a few years ago Scarlett Johannsson recorded an entire album of Tom Waits songs. Here is one of those.
And for the real zealots, here's a Spotify playlist :
Sunday, May 10, 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
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Ain't it a Shame by Nirvana
Saint Dee by The Bloodhounds
Lupine Dominus by Thee Oh Sees
Little Black Submarines by The Black Keys
Pussy Riot by Acrid Fluff
Lipstick Frenzy by Lovestruck
Don't Slander Me by The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies
John Lawman by Roky Erikson
Gimme Gimme Gimme by Figures of Light
I Had a Friend by Jonny Manak & The Depressives
Bigger and Better by The Fleshtones
Spooks by Ghost Bikini
Dark as a Dungeon by The Tombstones
The Midnight Creep by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Mystic Eyes by Them
I May Be Gone by The Oblivians
Wade in Bloody Water by The Grannies
I Was a Teenage Kiddie Porn Star by Al Foul & The Shakers
I Got Your Number by The Sonics
Gimme Some by Sons of Hercules
I Got Worms by Archie & The Pukes
Snake Drive by R.L. Burnside
Not Enough Happenng by Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers
Don't Answer the Door by B.B. King & Bobby "Blue" Bland
Troubled Mind by The Buff Medways
Crane's Cafe by TAD
I Predict a Riot by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Shepherds of the Nation by The Kinks
You Are So Evil by Willie King & The Liberators
The House of Blue Lights by Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band
I Know I've Been Changed by John Hammond & Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, May 8, 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! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist below:
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Hey Mama, My Time Ain't Long by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Whole Lotta Things by Southern Culture on the Skids
Song for David J by Glenn Jones
Driftwood 40-23 by The Hickoids
19th Nervous Breakdown by Jason & The Scorchers
The Breeze by Banditos
If You Gotta Go by Flying Burrito Brothers
Brand New Cadillac by Wayne Hancock
Reap the Whirlwind by Chipper Thompson
Ain't No Top 40 Song by Terry Allen
Big Corral by DM Bob & The Deficits
Texas Whore Pleaser by Slackeye Slim
Ain't No God in Mexico by Waylon Jennings
Baby This, Baby That by Reno Jack
Old Tige by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Jack's Red Cheetah by Cathy Faber's Swingin' Country Band
East Texas Girl by The Beaumonts with Molly Hayes
Between Lust and Watching TV by Cal Smith
Dreadful Sinner by Jayke Orvis
Blood on the Fiddle, Blood on the Bow by Jim White vs. The Packway Handle Band
Two Dollar Bill by Paula Rhae McDonald
Flannery Said by The Moaners
A Fool Such as I by Marti Brom
Selling the Jelly by Noah Lewis' Jug Band
I've Been Down That Rocky Road Before by Stevie Tombstone
Town Hall Shuffle by Joe Maphis
Long Walk Back From San Antone by Junior Brown
Legend in My Time by Leon Russell
Same God by Calamity Cubes
You Coulda Walked Around the World by Butch Hancock
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican May 8, 2015
You can’t accuse Taos troubadour Chipper Thompson of flooding the market with his music. His new album, O How I Wish My Bad Heart Was True, is his first solo album in about a dozen years. And while the wait was too long, it’s a doggone fine collection of songs. In fact, it might be his best since his 1997 debut, Strange Lullabies.
Lately I’m thinking it’s his best, period.
Even though this is only his second solo album this century, Thompson has kept busy with his creative projects. He just published a novel, The Substance of Things Hoped For. He’s shown his visual art at Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe. And he’s played in a number of Taos bands in the past few years, including Bone Orchard, Stray Ravens, and Kim & the Caballeros. The latter two were with his wife, Kim Treiber-Thompson.
Thompson, who’s been in Taos for 20 years or so, is a native of Alabama — and his Southern roots are readily apparent in his music. Listen to the dobro/mandolin-driven stomp “I Can Talk to Crows.” The harmonies — by Chipper and Kim — sound like something recorded at some backwoods church, perhaps after an intense round of snake handling. It’s basically a mystical brag-song, kind of a hillbilly “Hoochie Coochie Man.” One verse goes, “I can climb up a mountain like a hailstorm/And my fiddle can call down the rain and snow/I can tangle in your hair just like a bee swarm/And I can talk to crows.”
Chipper & Kim at the 2006 Thirsty Ear Festival
Although “I Can Talk to Crows” is now my favorite song here, other tunes have held that honor since I first got the album. “The Union Dues Blues” is an acoustic country waltz with a catchy, singalong-ready melody dealing with economic hard times. “If he can’t afford friends, a poor man is damned,” Thompson sings — a point well illustrated by the end of the song.
“Follow Me Down” is a slow burner that starts off with a hypnotic drone, followed by a strange but alluring fiddle solo. The first verse continues at a slow pace, but starts to build up, with drums coming in nearly halfway through. It’s quite effective and beautiful. As Chipper and Kim sing, “Won’t you sail away with me,” listeners may be tempted to sign up.
Thompson shows his Irish roots on “Edge of the Earth,” a nifty little jig about sailing to a foreign land. I can imagine some Celtic-punk band like the Dropkick Murphys covering this one.
And speaking of rockers, while the basis of Thompson’s music is folk, the boy can thunder when he wants, as he proves with some of the songs here. “Falling Off the World” begins with a brief banjo solo before the drums and electric guitars kick in. It’s an angry little tune about a romantic breakup.
Later in the album, there’s “Reap the Whirlwind,” which isn’t metal, but it’s downright heavy. “The storm is coming down, we’re gonna reap the whirlwind.” It sure is good to listen to new Chipper Thompson songs. I just hope I don’t have to wait another decade to say the same. Also recommended:
* Broke Down Blues by Paula Rhae McDonald. Four or five years ago I had the pleasure of hearing Paula Rhae McDonald sing for the first time. It was at a Frogfest Festival, produced by Santa Fe’s Frogville Records, and she was sitting in with Bill Hearne’s band.
Basically she nailed it, singing good old-fashioned honky-tonk music — covers and originals — with grace and righteousness. That led me to McDonald’s first album, Little Bird, a fine country album that includes “Crazy as a June Bug,” which she wrote when she was eleven.
McDonald is back with a new record, a six-song collection recorded at Frogville Studio. But don’t expect the same kind of country-honky swing we heard on Little Bird. Like the title indicates, this is blues — hard-edged, electric blues.
Whether it’s blues or country, this lady is a belter. She’s believable, too. When she’s directing her lyrics at some no-good man, I can’t help but think, “I’m glad I’m not the one she’s mad at.”
Paula with Bill Hearne, frogfest 2010
With the exception of “Little by Little,” written by B.B. King, all the songs are McDonald originals.
My favorite tune at the moment is “I Won’t Go and He Won’t Stay.” (She sings, “I won’t leave my happy home here in Fanta Se.”) Also notable is the title song, which musically is softer than the others. Though when McDonald sings, “He’s a low-down, broke-down fool,” it doesn’t seem soft at all.
While McDonald’s blues songs are a kick, I just hope she hasn’t completely turned her back on honky-tonk, because she’s such a fine country singer. But she’s from Texas, so I suspect that won’t happen,
There will be a CD release party for Broke Down Blues at 5 p.m. on June 12 at McDonald’s Little Bird Gallery at the Inn at Loretto. A portion of all CD sales will go to ARTsmart, which provides visual-arts education statewide.
Award nominees: Both Chipper Thompson and Paula Rhae McDonald are finalists for 2015 New Mexico Music Awards. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 30, at Sandia Casino & Resort.
Of course I’m still feeling stunned that the video for Gregg Turner’s “Satan’s Bride” was snubbed for the award last year. (I played the role of Satan’s bride’s groom.) But I’m learning to accept that loss — by blaming Turner.
Here's a couple of videos.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any with their new songs. But here's some great oldies from these New Mexico favorites.
Here's one of my favorite Chipper songs from a long time ago. Unfortunately there's no visual here, but the sound is loud and clear. (And he even gives me a shout-out!)
And here's a classic Paula honky-tonk tune. (Hey, my old crony Chris Wright did this video!)
A few weeks ago I was catching up on last year's season of the HBO comedy Veep. (I'm still a little behind, but at least I'm in the current season now.) There was a scene that not only was hilarious, it reminded me of a great American song.
In that scene, Mike, the vice president's communications director, is trying to convince Jonah, a former White House staffer turned vindictive gossip blogger, not to publish an unflattering story. In an act of voluntary humiliation, Mike agrees to get down on his knees and sing Jonah a song.
That song, of course, is "Goober Peas,' which goes back to the American Civil War.
The fact that Jonah doesn't recognize the name of the song "Goober Peas" only makes you hate him more.
The writers of this song are not known. When it first appeared on sheet music -- in New Orleans after the Civil War -- publisher A.E. Blackmar, who must have been a real nutty guy, credited the words to A. Pinder, Esq. and the music to P. Nutt, Esq. (I didn't know this until right now, but some people call peanuts "pindar nuts.")
But this little joke on the publisher's part makes you wonder whether the song actually was written by a poor Confederate soldier, or a group of poor Confederate soldiers, trying to make light of their miserable conditions.
No, peanuts were not always considered a decent American snack, something you eat with Crackerjacks at the old ball game.
Before the Civil War, peanuts were not a widely cultivated crop in the United States—Virginia and North Carolina were the principal producers—and were generally viewed as a foodstuff fit for the lowest social classes and for livestock.
But that would change thanks to food shortages during the Civil War. 'An excellent source of protein, peanuts were seen as a means of fighting malnutrition," Rhodes wrote. However, apparently they didn't help with the "rags and fleas" that plagued the soldiers, according to the song.
Here's former Galisteo resident Burl Ives and Johnny Cash singing the song. (I think whatever key this is, it's a bad one for both singers.)
I never had heard of this guy, Kenneth Kramm, but I think I like this version better.
But despite my long affection for "Goober Peas," I think this Dizzy Gillespie classic is my favorite song about the pindar nut.
Back in the late 1960s in England there was a TV comedy show called Do Not Adjust Your Set, whose cast included Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin -- all three becoming members of a little comedy team called Monty Python shortly after the show was cancelled in 1969.
Another thing about DNAYS: Its house band was none other than The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a group that had one foot in the Roaring '20s and the other in surreal rock 'n' roll. They performed a song (and sometimes helped out in the comedy skits) every week.
Originally called The Bonzo Dog Dada Band (and later just The Bonzo Dog Band), the group drew from traditional jazz, English Music Hall, novelty songs doo-wop, psychedelia and more. Among the members were Vivian Stanshall, Neil Innes, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin Spear and "Legs" Larry Smith.
The bond between the Bonzos and Monty Python would remain strong. Innes would perform with and write songs for Python. he and Idle would become members of The Rutles, a Beatles send-up that resulted in a TV movie, All You Need is Cash, and a soundtrack album.
I just stumbled across a stash of Bonzo Dog songs on YouTube from Do Not Adjust Your Set, which featured members of Monty Python. Here are a few of them that make for a perfect Wacky Wednesday.
I first heard this on the Urban Spaceman album when I was in high school.
The Bonzos performed this song in the strip-joint scene in The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. (And a certain alt-rock band from the '90s took its name from this song.)
And speaking of The Beatles, I always wondered whether John Lennon got his idea for "Bungalow Bill" from this next one.
And here's one I wasn't familiar with:
Big hat tip to John Smallwood, who is an even bigger Bonzo Dog fan than me.
UPDATED Nov. 15, 2015. Mostof the original videos I posted were yanked by the YouTube police. I've replaced them with versions that hopefully will be around for awhile.
Sunday, May 2, 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
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Volare by The Drifting Mines
Buzz the Jerk by The Pretty Things
Shortnin' Bread by The Cramps
Daddy You Lied to Me by The Del Moroccos
I'm Cryin' by The Animals
A New Wave by Sleater-Kinney
Look at Little Sister by The Sonics
Berlin by Dickie B. Hardy
Out of This World by The Rezillos
Reconsider Baby by Elvis Presley
Hot Corner by B-52s
Spittin' Fire by The Sons of Hercules
Midnight Hour by Question Mark & The Mysterians
White Jesus by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Six Rat Rovers by Paddy & The Rats
Til the End of the Day by The Kinks
Shotgun John by Hundered Year Flood
Greasy Meal by Lawn Chair Kings
Hawkeye the Gnu by Bonzo Dog Doo-Da Band
Ruby Lee / See That My Grave is Kept Clean by B.B. King
Little by Little by Paula Rhae McDonald
She Caught the Katie by Taj Mahal
I'm the Wolf by Howlin' Wolf
Goin' Down South by Markus James
Don't Pretend You Don't Know by Dinosaur Jr.
Moonlight Motel by The Gun Club
Throw it Back by Jody Porter
Telepathic by The Gories
Bastards of Young by The Replacements
Harry Hippie by Bobby Womack
That's Life by Van Morrison
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, May 1, 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! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist below:
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
May Day by Jack Hardy
Red Red Robin by Rosie Flores
Cry Baby Cry by The Banditos
Long Way From Home by Texas Martha & The House of Twang
Tennessee Stomp by Hillbilly Casino
Cracklings by The Gourds
The Ride by David Allen Coe
Cousin Cupcake's Got the Blues by Rev. Billy C. Wirtz
It Wasn't You by Slackeye Slim
Gee, Oogle It Baby by Reno Jack
Down Among the Dead Men by Steve Train & His Bad Habits
Money For Drugs by The Beaumonts
Killed a Chicken Last Night by Scott H. Biram
Hallelujah Band by Eilen Jewell
Two Dollar Bill by Paula Rhae McDonald
Pass the Booze by Ernest Tubb
Beans and Make Believe by Mose McCormack
The Crawdad Song by The Meat Purveyors
Bright Lights and Country a Music by Rhonda Vincent
Breathing Room by Jim White vs. The Packway Handle Band
Let's Invite Them Over by Southern Culture on the Skids
Bluesman B.B. King, one of the most influential blues guitarists in the past century, died Thursday at his home in La Vegas, Nevada. He was 89.
