Lawson family portrait, taken about a week before Charlie killed all but
one of them.
On Christmas Day, 1929, a western North Carolina tobacco farmer named Charlie
Lawson woke up, engaged in some father-and-son bonding in the form of some
varmint hunting.
Then when son Arthur went into town to buy more ammunition, Charlie went back to
his house and shot and killed his wife and his six youngest children. Before
Arthur got back. Charlie had gone back to the woods and killed himself.
It's that most wonderful time of the year ...
The Lawson family massacre was discussed in a recent episode of the true crime /
comedy podcast My Favorite Murder-- in their typically irreverent and hilarious fashion. To the credit of
co-hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, they credit my
favorite true-crime podcast, Criminal with Phoebe Judge, which covered this bloody Xmas massacre a few years ago.
I'm not going to go into the gruesome details of the crime. Listen to Karen
& Georgia and / or Phoebe for that. (Plus it's all over Google. Try
THIS
for starters.)
The reason I'm posting about the killings -- and a big reason people are still
talking about it after nearly 90 years -- is because of a song.
Just months after the killings. singer Walter "Kid" Smith and fiddler Posey
Rorer, in a group called The Carolina Buddies, recorded a hillbilly waltz they'd
basically ripped from the headlines. And this is it:
Never mind that Karen & Georgia poked vicious fun at the recording, the song
was a big hit for Columbia Records. And through the years, all sorts of folk,
country and bluegrass artists have kept it alive. Here's a version by The
Stanley Brothers.
Fast forward to the turn of this century and Dave Alvin covered it -- using the
original lyrics but a different melody, on his Public Domain album. Alvin
talked about the song with author Paul Slade:
"Most murder ballads tend to be about one person killing another, or
maybe one person killing two other people. In this case, it's a whole family.
There's usually an innocent in a murder ballad, but this was an innocent
family. And there's little justification given for it. It's left to the
listener to decide. Was it economics? Was it insanity? Why did this guy kill
his family? So that mystery gives it some power. "It's the murder of innocent children, which is pretty intense. And then it
has that final verse, which is kind of sentimentally sweet but at the same
time gives the whole scene some kind of redemption."
Here's Dave's version.
This more one is by an Ohio band called Sport Fishing USA from their 2012 album
Live at the Pool. The words and music are different but the story
basically is the same.
Finally here's the spooked-out version Phoebe used on Criminal. It's by
Elephant Micah (aka Joseph O'Connel)l, a singer/songwriter from
Indiana.
"They all were buried in a crowded grave / while the angels watched
above / "Come home, come home, my little ones / to a land of
peace and love".
Sunday, October 21, 2018 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
Pet Semetary by The Ramones
I Was a Teenage Werewolf by The Cramps
Me and The Devil by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Haunted House by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs
Hooky Wooky by Lou Reed
The Wolf by The Bloodhounds
Father and Son by Oizone
High Tide Killer by The Morlocks
Elephant Man by Meet Your Death
Negro Gato by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Daddy's Gone by Trixie & The Trainwrecks
Big Cluckin' Mistake by MFC Chicken
Burn, Baby, Burn by Stud Cole
I Smoke Dope by The Gears
Two Girls (One Bar) by Pere Ubu
Leave the Ghost at Home by Troy Gregory
Falling Star by The Velquins
Do the Freddie by Freddie & The Dreamers
Kim Deal by Johnny Mafia
Gigantic by The Pixies
Some Conversations You Just Don't Need to Have by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
No Vacancy by The Ar-Kaics
Gangsters by The Dustaphonics
The Witch by Syndicate of Sound
So Long Johnny by Charlie Pickett
Walking Through My Hell by The Peawees
Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are by Period Pains
Baron Samedi by The Dead Brothers
Nikki Hoeky by P.J. Proby
Tease It to Jesus by Miss Celine Lee
Storied by Harlan T. Bobo
Candy by Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson
Wayfaring Stranger by Raw Death
Last Day of Our Acquaintance by Sinead O'Connor CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Dennis Hof, brothel owner / GOP legislative speaks at a campaign rally hours before he died.
That's porn star Ron Jeremy backing him on harmonica.
Dennis Hof, legal brothel owner, HBO Cathouse star and Republican legislative candidate in Nevada, was found dead at one of his establishments called the Love Ranch Tuesday.
Hof, 72, had been partying with friends like Ron Jeremy (who found Hof's lifeless corpse) and former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss after a campaign rally attended by anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and disgraced (but pardoned) Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Fox News host Tucker Carlson had called into the event to express his support for Hof's candidacy.
His supporters didn't seem concerned that Hof was accused just last month of raping a woman and previous accused of other sexual misconduct by several ex-employees at his brothels. Somewhere in the Great Beyond, former New Mexico state Sen. Eddie Barboa is shaking his head and saying, "I was born 40 years too early."
Anyway, here's a little musical tribute to Mr. Hof, a set of songs about the business he so loved.
First this gem from 1990 by a group called HWA (Hoez With Attitudes)
Here's one by singer Cliff Ferre, who despite the weird accent here, was an American
Nevada's not the only place with legal brothels, as Dave Van Ronk knew.
Of course, the ultimate whorehouse song is House of the Rising Sun. I did a deep dive into that song, which you can see HERE
Welcome to the 10th anniversary of The Big Enchilada!!!!! And just like my very first podcast back in October 2008, it's another Halloween show. So brace yourself, Bridget, it's a twitchy, witchy, blood-suckin', flesh-eatin' nightmare of an episode and there's not a ghost of a chance that you won't love it.
Remind your loved ones that The Big Enchilada 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.
Sunday, October 14, 2018 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
Dancing All Around the World by The Fleshtones
Blood Vision by Jay Reatard
A Fix on You by Dead Moon
Flesh Eating Cocaine Blues by Daddy Long Legs
Hush Hush by The Plimsouls
Geraldine by The A-Bones
No Thanks by King Brothers
Distemper by The Ar-Kaics
I Never Told You by Reverend Beat-Man & Izobel Garcia
I Want it Back by Jonah Gold & His Silver Apples
The Trip of Kambo by O Lendario Chucrobillyman
Another She by Arvidson & Butterfly
The Noose That Snapped by Demented Are Go
Handshake Drugs by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Get the Family Together by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Single Again by Fiery Furnaces
Wimp by Jean Caffeine
Where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?
DAMAGED GOODS SET
Every Bit of Me by Thee Headcoats
Davy Crockett by Thee Headcoatees
Jack the Ripper by The Revillos
Are You a Wally by The Spartan Dreggs
Punk Rock Enough For Me by CTMF
All My Friends are Zombies by The Priscillas
Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie by Johnny Moped
Love Pours Out of My Heart by Miss Ludella Black
Walk a Mile by Holly Golightly
I Don't Like the Man That I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
Archive from 1959 by The Buff Medways
I Had a Dream by Charlie Pickett
Dusty Bibles and Silver Spoons by The Bloodhounds
Waltzing in the Moonlight by Country Joe & The Fish
From Her to Eternity by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Say We'll Meet Again by Lindsey Buckingham CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Oct. 12, 2018
Which way ya goin', Billy?
Steven John Hamper — or is it William Charlie Hamper? — of Chatham, England, aka Billy Childish, sometimes records under the name of “Wild Billy Chyldish” and other variations of his pseudonym.
He's a painter, a photographer, a poet, and — let’s go full Kristofferson here — a picker and a prophet and a prolific pusher of a do-it-yourself aesthetic of rock ’n’ roll that is informed by punk, garage, blues, folk, and probably other influences that lesser mortals have yet to uncover.
This infamously curmudgeonly contrarian has been responsible for a crazy number of bands since the mid-’70s, including The Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Delmonas, Thee Headcoats (which spawned the all-girl group Thee Headcoatees), The Buff Medways, The Chatham Singers, The Musicians of the British Empire, The Spartan Dreggs, and, most recently CTMF — unless he’s started a new group since I began writing this.
As could be expected, this fifty-eight-year-old artist — who says he’s made more than 150 albums, never using a producer — has recorded on a long list of independent record companies including Sub Pop, Sympathy for the Record Industry, K Records, Amphetamine Reptile, Get Hip, and his own Hangman label.
But when I think of Billy Childish, the first label I think of is Damaged Goods, the British label started 30 years ago by a guy called Ian Damaged (who’s married to a lady named Alison Wonderland). And now, that wondrous label is releasing a two-disc, 37-song 30th anniversary compilation called Damaged Goods 1988-2018, described by the DG media machine as “a selection of top tracks, deep cuts, lost gems, and personal favourites.”
No, Damaged Goods and Billy Childish are not synonymous. DG started out as a punk-rock reissue label, and Childish didn’t start recording for them until 1991 (initially with Thee Headcoats, which served as his major music vehicle through most of the ’90s).
And Childish probably isn’t as well known with the general public as the Manic Street Preachers, who went on to major labels after their 1990 debut on Damaged Goods, New Art Riot E.P. (The title track is included here, but, frankly, it’s not all that impressive.)
But Damaged Goods began managing Billy’s back catalog a few years ago, and I’d argue that even though he was a little late to the party, he quickly became the soul of the label. I’m not comparing Ian Damaged to Sam Phillips, but trying to discuss Damaged Goods without Billy Childish is like trying to talk about Sun Records without mentioning Elvis Presley.
Besides, Childish is all over this collection.
He’s responsible for a quarter of the tracks on the first disc. Following a cool blast of punk by a guy called Johnny Moped called “Ain’t No Rock ’n’ Roll Rookie,” Thee Headcoats barge in with a tune of classic Childish self-loathing called “Every Bit of Me.” Childish, who has frequently talked publicly about being molested at the age of nine by a “friend” of his family, roars in this song about that defining incident: “He was forty years old inside my jeans/I was nine years old and feeling unclean/He told it’s a secret to keep to myself/I wanted to hate him but I hated myself/with every bit of me, every bit of me ...”
In another Childish song in this compilation, “I Don’t Like the Man That I Am,” recorded with the folk-punk group The Singing Loins, Childish works a similar introspective theme. Backed only by banjo, acoustic guitar, and bass drum, he sings, “I don’t love you ’cause I don’t like the man I am.”
There’s another autobiographical tune, a fierce rocker called “Archive From 1959” (that’s the year he was born) by The Buff Medways, and some weird noodling from Childish and his crony, fellow artist-poet-singer Sexton Ming called “Sing Shed Sing” (a minute and 16 seconds of spoken word over what sounds like a toy organ and chimes). I also like “Are You a Wally?” by The Spartan Dreggs, though I have no idea what Childish is singing about here. (Could it be that I’m a Wally?)
But the best song on the whole collection is “Punk Rock Enough for Me,” by Childish’s CTMF — and don’t ask me what that alphabet soup of a band name stands for. The song is basically a list of musicians, writers, artists, and some inanimate objects, like a cup of tea — all of which Billy considers to be punk rock — sung over a tune that sounds like a hard-edged version of Them’s “Gloria.”
Among this esteemed company are Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix (in Beatle boots), Bo Diddley, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Billie Holiday, Nikolai Gogol, and Buddy Holly. And I almost did the Freddie when Childish included the ’60s British band Freddie and The Dreamers. This tune is a dandy put-down of punk-rock purity.
Besides Childish himself, Damaged Goods 1988-2018 includes what might be the most popular song by the lovely and talented Headcoatees, the cool, wacky “Davy Crockett,” which has a melody similar to Don and Dewey’s “Farmer John.”
Even better are some lesser-known songs by former Headcoatees who went on to solo careers. There’s the soulful “Love Pours Out of My Heart” by Miss Ludella Black (I can imagine Sally Timms of The Mekons singing this one) and a couple from the ever-delightful Holly Golightly, who sings a bluesy, sultry “Walk a Mile,” as well as a song with The Brokeoffs, “Just Around the Bend.”
Speaking of girl groups, the best non-Childish tracks on the compilation are by female bands or singers. Thee Dagger Debs sound like a tougher Bay City Rollers on the catchy “Ain’t Worth the Time.” The Period Pains do a tune called “Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are?),” while Betty and The Werewolves toast a pop star from a previous era, “David Cassidy.” And speaking of werewolves, The Priscillas have a great spook-rock tune called “All My Friends Are Zombies” just in time for Halloween.
With the music biz imploding and transforming at a near-deadly pace, it’s refreshing to see that a determined independent label like Damaged Goods can last three decades. Here’s to 30 more years for this wonderful company. Let's see some videos:
Here's some live Billy & The Buffs
Thee Headcoatees were the queens of the wild frontier
I don't think I'm a Wally, but how can I be sure?
And as a special treat, here is my Spotify playlist of various Billy Childish bands, offshoots and related artists.
It's almost
International Newspaper Carrier Day.
So in honor of that cherished holiday, which this year falls on Saturday Oct.
13, let's take a look at song about America's most beloved newsboy, a lad named
Jimmy Brown.
William Shakespeare wrote the original version of this song.
William Shakespeare Hays, that is. He was a songwriter born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1837. Hays wrote
it under the title of "Jimmie Brown (the Paper Boy). It had a different melody
than the one we later came to know (CLICK HERE to download a midi version). But the story is basically the same:
I'm very cold and hungry, sir, My clothes are worn and thin, I wander on from place to place, My daily bread to win; But never mind, sir, how I look, Don't sneer at me, or frown,-- I'm selling papers, for I am The newsboy, Jimmie Brown. CHORUS I sell the morning paper, sir, My name is Jimmie Brown,-- Most ev'ry body knows I am The "poor boy of the town." 2. My father was a drunkard, sir, So I've heard my mother say,-- Before he died, how oft for him I've heard her weep and pray! But I am helping mother now, I journey up and down, To sell my papers, for I am The newsboy, Jimmie Brown. (CHORUS) 3. My mother tells me ev'ry night To kneel with her and pray,-- She says if I've an honest heart, I'll be all right some day; And when she's gone to heaven, sir, To wear a starry crown, She'll wait up there to welcome home The newsboy of the town. (CHORUS)
A.P. Carter took the song, rewrote some of the lyrics, gave it a different
melody and, as was his practice, gave himself the songwriting credit. Here's the
Carter Family's version.
Bill Monroe, Mac Wiseman and others recorded "Jimmy Brown," but my favorite
bluegrass version is by Flatt & Scruggs. Lester sang, while banjo deity Earl
Scruggs proved that he's pretty darn good at flat-picking a guitar.
The song drifted overseas where Lonnie Donegan skiffled it all up.
It's a completely different song, but in 1989, Stan Ridgway recorded a song
about another news carrier. This one is older, more cynical and more
philosophical than little Jimmy Brown. And he also has crazy fantasies about
becoming a caped crusader.
