Thursday, December 10, 2015

THROWBACK THURSDAY: It's Almost Spike Jones' Birthday



Lindley Armstrong Jones was born Dec. 14, 1911 in Long Beach, California. The son of a railroad man, young Lindley was nicknamed "Spike" at an early age. His unusual musical talent began to emerge early on. 

According to various newspaper accounts, he got his first instrument at the age of 11 when "a negro cook" at a railroad lunch counter in Calexico, Calif. whittled two sticks from chair rungs and gave young Spike a breadboard to pound on. Reportedly he drummed along as he an the cook sang a duet of "Carolina in the Morning."

Jones started out as a jazz drummer and later got radio gigs with the likes of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. But he and the band that came to be known as The City Slicker had a knack for performing parodies of popular songs, and as Cub Koda wrote in the Allmusic Guide  "taking the air out of pompous classical selections ..." 

Koda wrote:

"Not merely content to do cornball renderings of standard material or trite novelty tunes for comedic effect, Jones' musical vision encompassed whistles, bells, gargling, broken glass, and gunshots perfectly timed and wedded to the most musical and unmusical of source points. ... A definite precursor to the video age, Jones didn't merely play the songs funny, he illustrated them as well, a total audio and visual assault for the senses."

I'm reminded of Frank Zappa in Koda's description of Jones' role as bandleader: 

"Spike was a strict bandleader and taskmaster, making sure his musicians were precision tight and adept in a variety of musical styles from Dixieland to classical, with a caliber of musicianship several notches higher than most big bands of the day that played so-called `straight' music."

Spike Jones had to be heard to be believed. So in honor of his birthday, coming up on Monday, here are some live television performances from the 1950s.









And here is one of Jones' best known songs from the 1940s.



Happy birthday, Spike!

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: This One's For the Birds!



Here's a high-flying tune by Jay Wilbur & His Metropole Players from 1932



The great Mel Blanc had a big hit with his tribute to this feathered celebrity in 1948



The Holy Modal Rounders did this bird ode in Easy Rider



The Trashmen had a big one-hit wonder with "Surfin' Bird." That that actually was a medley of sorts of two R&B songs by The Rivingtons, "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and this one, "The Bird's the Word"



Warning: DO NOT WATCH THIS WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HALLUCINOGENIC DRUGS! (You might see gooney birds! But I love this lady's voice.)



If, for some strange reason you like these tunes, you might like my Duck Songs post from earlier this year.

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

John Lennon: 35 Years Gone


Hard to believe it's been that long since John Lennon was gunned down in New York City. This grim anniversary always brings back a flood of memories. I might have shared some (all?) of these thoughts before on this blog. But please indulge an old man.

Like most of us who were alive at the time, I found out about the killing on TV. I was in bed with my then wife, who was nearly eight months pregnant with our daughter. I'm not one of those to do much hand-wringing over "how can I bring a child into a world like this?" But that night was one of the few times I ever indulged in such despair.

The next day, I had a gig to sing some songs on KUNM's Home of Happy Feet.  while driving down to Albuquerque we were listening to the radio. There was a news report talking about Lennon's autopsy. We switched the channel. On that station they were playing The Beatles' "A Day in the Life." We tuned in right as Lennon was singing, "And though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all ..."

That's a true story.

On Happy Feet, even though it wasn't part of my normal repertoire, I spat out one of the angriest versions of "Working Class Hero" imaginable. Years later my pal Erik Ness gave me a cassette tape of that radio performance. It brought back all that horror.

Thrirty five years ... My ex-wife Pam has passed. Erik has passed. Marilyn from Home of Happy Feet has passed. So these songs below are for them. Let's remember Lennon as the rocker who started his career entertaining drunken sailors in Hamburg, performing with a toilet seat around his neck. Let's remember his rage and humor. Let's remember Lennon!






Sunday, December 06, 2015

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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Sunday, December 6, 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

Down and Out by The Vagoos

Love by Country Joe & The Fish

All Action Man by The Coyote Men

Trouble Hurricane by The Grannies

Love is What We Were Made For by Alex Maryol

Possessed by Robert Johnson by Dead Cat Stimpy

Ice Queen by JJ & The Real Jerks

Hot Head by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

Speak Now Woman by Howlin' Wolf

 

Do Me a Favor by The Arctic Monkeys

Gun by The Stooges

Games by Husker Du

Covered with Flies by The Grifters

Sausage and Sauerkraut for Santa by The Polkaholics

Fruit Fly by Hickoids

Again and Again by The Black Lips

How Could I Be Such a Fool by Ruben & The Jets

 

Heart Attack and Vine by Lydia Lunch

Bad as Me by Tom Jones

Don't Be Taken In by Miriam

Lover's Curse by Bracey Everett

My Generation by Patti Smith

Walking Down Lonely Street by Ty Wagner

Bury Our Friends by Sleater-Kinney

Big Fanny by Big John Hamilton

Rock Me by Steppenwolf

 

Christmas Island by Leon Redbone

Katy Didn't by Barrence Whitfoield & The Savages

Web by Thee Oh Sees

Can't Seem to Make You Mine by The Seeds

The Kindness of Strangers by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Act of Faith by Stan Ridgway

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, December 04, 2015

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

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Friday, December 4, 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 :

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens

If We Make It Through December by Merle Haggard

Free Born Man by Jimmy Martin

I Play with Girls My Own Age by Cornell Hurd

My Baby is a Tramp by Brennen Leigh

All Men Are Liars by Nick Lowe

You Wanna Give Me a Lift by Eilen Jewell

Feudin' and Fightin' by Marti Brom

Jack's Red Cheetah by Cathy Faber's Swingin' Country Band

Payday Blues by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Too Drunk to Fuck by Elizabeth Cook

 

Elvis Presley Blues by Tom Jones

Lonesome Grave by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Mr. Musselwhite's Blues by Ray Wylie Hubbard

Darlin' Corey by Oh Lazarus

It Wasn't You by Slackeye Slim

Dead Bury the Dead by Legendary Shack Shakers

Wild Cat Boogie by Forest Rye

No Disappointment in Heaven by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

 

Come Back When You're Younger by Jerry Reed

Two Rons Don't Make It Right by Junior Brown

I Found Somebody to Love by The Malpass Brothers

Country Funk by Southern Culture on the Skids

Perfect Sea by Mose McCormack

If I Should Fall From the Face of God by Deertick

Whole Lotta Women by Steve James

As Long As I Can See the Light by Ted Hawkins

If I Go Crazy by Peter Case

 

Troubador Blues Stevie Tombstone

Papa by Cynthia Becker

I Don't Hurt Anymore by Hank Snow

Keep Smiling Old Pal by Norman Blake

One for the Road by Chip Taylor with Jon Langford and Carrie Rodriguez

December Day by Willie Nelson

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets


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Thursday, December 03, 2015

THROWBACK THURSDAY: It's Almost Sammy's Birthday!



Only five more shopping days until Sammy Davis, Jr.'s birthday!

Yes Sammy was born December 8, 1925 in Harlem. He would have been 90 had he lived.

You don't know who Sammy was? Sammy did it all, baby. He sang, he danced, he told jokes, he acted in movies, he marched with Martin Luther King, he embraced Richard Nixon, he dabbled in Satanism,  he was an OG in the Rat Pack with Frank and Dino.

He was Sammy!

And he started young. At the age of seven, he was cast in the title role in a short called Rufus Jones for President, in which he sang this classic tune:




But of course Sammy only got more amazing as he grew older. Here's a starry-eyed song from 1954.



Some of my favorite Sammy songs were written by Anthony Newley. Dig these





At Sammy's funeral in 1990, his longtime pal Jesse Jackson gave the eulogy and frequently told those who loved the man to "let Bojangles rest."

And while I respect that thought, a talent like Sammy's never truly rests.

Sammy, we love ya, baby. Happy birthday,



Wednesday, December 02, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Worldwide Beatles


The Beatles didn't just conquer America in 1964.

They conquered the world.

And this is how the world showed its gratitude: I give you a sampling of Beatles covers from all around the globe.

Let's start with a Chinese cover of  "And I Love Her" by Techniques Band.



Enjoy a "Yellow Submarine" by Simo Ja Spede from Finland.



Let's "Carry That Weight" with the Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia.



Cambodian superstar Sinn Sisamouth covers "Hey Jude."



Also from southeast Asia, a version of "Day Tripper" by a band called Starlight, from the glorious Thai Beat a Go-Go compilations.



Charlotte Dada of Ghana sings "Don't Let Me Down."



From Mexico comes Los Apson with their version of "Mr. Moonlight" (which they call "Triste Luna," or "Sad Moon.")



Here's some reggae Beatles by The Heptones from Jamaica.



And some Bollywood Beatles singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in Hindi.



Finally, here is described by the guy who posted it called "The worst cover of a Beatles song ever!" I'm not sure who the person who posted called him a "Fat Russian singer who looks like Newt Gingrich." I'm not sure whether this is the Russian Navy behind him, but you've been warned.








TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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