Sunday, October 29, 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell
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
It's Money That Matters by Randy Newman
Money by Wolfman Jack & The Wolfpack
Cape May Diamond by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Night of the Monsters by Robbie Quine
Greenback Dollar Bill by Louis Prima & Sam Butera
Graveyard by Dead Moon
Do the Pig by Rodd Keith
Blue Moon Baby by Dave 'Diddle' Day
$ Bill the Cowboy by Waco Brothers
Brother Can You Spare a Dime by Rudy Vallee
The Vampire Dog Of Jesus Christ by Gregg Turner Group
Old Hickory leads The Wonderful 99 at the Battle of The Alamo
In the late 1950s and early '60s there was a fun little trend in country
music. With songs like Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans,""El Paso"
by Marty Robbins, and Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John" suddenly there were all these
story songs on country radio -- with many of them crossing over to Top 40
stations.
With many such hits concerning historical events and characters, this
phenomenon sometimes is referred to as "faux folk." Some say faux folk was a
response -- basically a chance to cash in -- on the rising popularity of
actual "folk" music, such as the surprising success in 1958 of The Kingston
Trio's "Tom Dooley."
Also, I suspect that at some of these were reactions to current events of the
day. More on that later.
"The Battle of New Orleans" probably is the best known of the faux folk songs.
But Johnny Horton sang others as well, including "Sink the Bismark," a
historical song about more recent history, the 1941 sinking of a German
battleship during WWII:
In addition to "El Paso," (Fun fact: El Paso is the only city in New Mexico
that is not a city in New Mexico) Marty Robbins also sang of a bigger
violent skirmish in the great state of Texas. Robbins' "The Ballad of The
Alamo" was a tie-in with the 1960 John Wayne movie The Alamo. The
melody, which can be heard in the movie, was composed by Ukrainian-born
Hollywood soundtrack genius Dimitri Tiomkin (whose other "hits" include "Do
Not Forsake Me" from the Gary Cooper classic High Noon). The lyrics
were by Paul Francis Webster, who also wrote the words for "Black
Coffee," The Twelfth of Never" and the Spiderman theme (!).
There's no known recording of Marty Robbins singing "Spiderman."
Speaking of New Mexico, here's some faux folk from Johnny Cash:
Also from that era came "The Ballad of Davy Crocket," which tied in with the
huge Disney-inspired Crocket craze of the mid '50s. (Here's a good recent
podcast about
that phenomenon.) This version below appeared on a Doug Sahm album, with some help from The
Gourds:
I wrote about Claude King's "The Burning of Atlanta" in an old Tune-up column a few years ago. So being the pompous cheeseball that I am, allow me to quote myself:
This 1962 single was the follow-up to Claude King’s biggest hit, the country classic “Wolverton Mountain.” In many ways, the song — which concerns Gen. William Sherman’s torching of the Georgia city in Nov. 1864 — fits in the “faux folk song” phenomenon of that era ... But “Atlanta” has an edge to it, especially considering what was going on with the civil rights movement in the South in 1962. King singing, “We don’t care what the Yankees say, the South’s gonna rise again,” was more than a little charged in this context.
Like all trends in popular music, the faux-folk era ended quietly and faded into the mist of our memories. Many of the songs live on, "El Paso" being the best example. (The blast couple of times I've seen Marty Stuart, he's sung the song by that other Marty.)
But a few decades later, John Prine and Peter Case (who's appearing in Santa Fe on Nov. 12) co-wrote a little tune called
"Wonderful 99," which satirized the faux-folk era. It appeared on Case's 1992
album Six-Pack of Love.
The first verse goes:
You've heard about the dirty dozen and the tales of the green beret
The men that sank the Bismarck and the fighting C.I. A.
But if you're talkin' danger then one name comes to mind
Sunday, October , 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell
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
Destroy All Monsters by Jad Fair & Samuel Locke Ward
Save All Monsters by Xposed 4Heads
The Price Of Love by Buddy Miller
Kool Thing by Sonic Youth
Headless Ghost by The Nightmares
Viking by Los Lobos
Stranger by Black Lips
Framed by The Robins
Only Time Will Tell by Movie Movie
Snake Doctor Blues by Jelly Jaw Short
The Payback by James Brown
Broken Heart Man by Yol Aularong
Killing Floor by Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Experienced? by Devo
Bloodstains On The Wall by Honeyboy
Grandma by Long John Hunter
Rock 'n' Roll Murder by The Leaving Trains
Mera Naam Bano Hey by Tandoori Knights
Zombie Walk by The Magics
This Funky Music Makes You Feel Good by WAR
Ice Pick by Johnny Dowd
Hush, Hush, Hush (Here Comes The Boogie Man) by Henry Hall
La Llarona by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds
Spooksville by The Nu-Trends
Stand Beside Me by The Dreamtones
My Dawlin' New Orleans by Lil' Queenie & The Percolators
Why I Cry by Pitiful Panics
I'm in the Ground for Good by The Newports
House Carpenter by Boris McCutcheon
Winter Garden by Steve Leon & The Accusations
West Virginia Waltz by Sierra Ferrell
Yesterday Is Here by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October 15 , 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell
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
Hey Miss Glynis by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
A Lap Full Of Hate by Movie Star Junkies
Current Events by Joe "King" Carrasco & Los Corona
Screamin' Ball (At Dracula Hall) by Duponts
Zombi B. Good by Horror Deluxe
Sometimes You've Got To Stop Chasing Rainbows by Son Volt
A Real Good High by Movie Movie
2 Big Pumpkins by Elvira
Space Rock Band by City of My Death
Remember by John Lennon
I Found Out by Nathaniel Mayer
We're All Water by tUnE-yArDs
Transvestopyre by The Barbarellatones
The Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon by The Cramps
Candyman by Cornershop
That's My Little Suzie by Ritchie Valens
Let's Make It by John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat
Atomic Swing by Pierre Omer`s Swing Revue
Jack The Ripper by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
LSD by Johnny Dowd
Because Of LSD by Bud Freeman
My Friend Is A Stooge by Pere Ubu
Bang Your Thing at the Ball by Bob Log III
Cruella De Vil by Mutagénicos
Spooky Girlfriend by Elvis Costello
Demon In My Head by Joe Buck Yourself
Negatory Romance by Boris McCutcheon
Fare Thee Well by The Dead Brothers
Nightshift by The Commodores
Shenandoah by Tom Waits & Keith Richards
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October , 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell
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
The Holygram's Song (Back From The Shadows Again) by Firesign Theatre
Leave Me Alone (A Halloween Song) by The Goldstars
Trick Or Treat by Dave Del Monte & The Cross County Boys
Nshingilile by WITCH
Sarah Lee by Prince Jesse
Good Intentions by Mean Motor Scooter
Burning Bridges Willis Earl Beal
Bang Bang Bang by Eilen Jewell
Teenage Bells by The Loungers
Prix Zombie by Horror Deluxe
I'm So Glad by The Famous Ward Singers
Complications by Weird Omen
Take Me To The River by Al Green
Slippery People by Talking Heads
On My Way to Houston by Powell St. John & The Aliens
Body In Plastic by Glambilly
Loretta The Senators
Spooks by Ghost Bikini
Nutbush City Limits by Frontier Dan & the Hickoids
The Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac
7&7 Is by The Standells
Little Girl Of Mine by The Electras
Devil Dance by The A-Bones
Blackout Drunk by MFC Chicken
Burn She-Devil, Burn by The Cramps
Joey by Concrete Blonde
The Body Of An American by The Pogues
Mysterious by Teenage by Vels
Beauty In The Fire by Lady Wray
It's Gonna Be Easy by Son Volt
Diamond Mind by The Dead Brothers
Diamond In Your Mind by Solomon Burke
Feet Start Walking by Doris Duke
Kaatskill Serenade by David Bromberg
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October 8, 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 8 am to 10 am Sundays Mountain Time Substitute Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist :
Blue Endless Highway by Nick Shoulders
Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man by Carolina Chocolate Drops
Keep Your Soul by Son Volt
Silver Dollar by Sierra Ferrell
Mississippi by The Cactus Blossoms
The Way It Goes by Gillian Welch
Viva Sequin / Do Re Mi by Ry Cooder with Flaco Jimenez
Life Love Death And The Meter Man by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Crow Hollow Blues by Stan Ridgway
Too Close To Heaven by Dad Horse Experience
Longest Train I Ever Saw by John Wadley Quartet
Willow Garden by Charlie Higgins & Wade Ward
Giddyup Do-Nut by Don Bowman
Forever Has Come To An End by Buddy & Julie Miller
Ay, Ai, Ai by Clifton Chenier
Big Man by DM Bob & Speedy Jake
It Doesn't Change Anything by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Kentucky by The Everly Brothers
Billy Grimes The Rover by The Massey Family
I Want to Live and Love Always by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Graveyard Blues by Hobart Smith
Get a Load of This by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
Pie In The Sky by Utah Phillips & Ani DiFranco
Hum's Liquor by Lucinda Williams
I Don't Like the Man I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
I Guess I'm Crazy by Charlie Feathers
Playing Guitars by Jim White
Jesus Don't Love Me by Holly Goligtly & The Brokeoffs
The Sky Above, the Mud Below by Tom Russell
Right Track Now by Powell St.John with Roky Erikson
Sixty six years ago on this date, the Godless communists of the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into space, a 183-pound metal sphere called "Sputnik 1."
I was barely four years old at the time, so if I do any memories of it, they're buried under tons of rock 'n' roll, television commercial jingles and odd recollections of Andy's Gang episodes.
But all my life I've had it drilled into my head that Sputnik caused a wave of paranoia in the U.S.A.
"... Sputnik struck fear into the hearts of Cold War Americans, who realized that the Soviets could just as well have lofted a nuclear-tipped missile to North America," declared a 2003 reminiscence on NBC.
A 2005 dissertation by Ian Kennedy called The Sputnik Crisis And America's Response looks at how the satellite affected America's psyche:
But how did the American reaction unfold? Did hysteria follow immediately after the launch of Sputnik I, as so many sources on the event would lead us to believe? An examination of the public reaction, combined with analysis of it in the proper contextual framework, suggest that the public reaction may not have been immediately fearful. There is evidence to suggest that many Americans were concerned after their communist foes launched the first Sputnik, but not really afraid. Other than the shame of being beaten to the achievement, a large portion of the public felt that they would soon be back on top and that Russian satellite did not pose an immediate threat.
This “not too much to worry about” mentality did not last long into the following month. When the Soviets repeated their achievement with the launch of Sputnik II in early November 1957, a much larger and heavier satellite that included a canine passenger, Americans had more cause for concern. As that month drew to a close, further events would breed a more worried reaction. …
On 25 November, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a bulwark of leadership that had almost always inspired public confidence, suffered a stroke, causing many to speculate whether the aging leader could still fulfill the weighty obligations of the presidency. Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the first attempt by the United States to match the Soviets in the new space race resulted in spectacular failure. On 15 December 1957, American rocket technicians attempted to launch their nation’s first satellite. This small sphere, called Vanguard I, barely made it off of the launch pad before the rocket carrying crashed back to Earth in a massive ball of flame. Once Americans saw this highly publicized disaster, most of the “not too much to worry about” feelings that may have existed after the first Sputnik were replaced by genuine concern.
So how did this genuine concern affect American music?
In my quick and not-very-scholarly look at this issue, I found many songs obviously inspired by Sputnik. But what I didn't find was much real paranoia.
In the world of country music, Ray Anderson, with his band The Homefolks, declared that "Sputniks and Mutniks" (almost certainly a reference to Laika the space dog, who the Soviets sent to into orbit just a few weeks after Sputnik) "have got me scared."
But still, considering the title and the upbeat tempo of the song might lead a listener to believe his fear was tongue and cheek. Hear for yourself:
Rockabilly Jerry Engler in his song "Sputnik (Satellite Girl)" didn't seem scared at all:"
Likewise, bluesman Roosevelt Sykes was inspired by Sputnik to celebrate his sexy girlfriend, a "hot rocket baby [who] will leave you flyin' blind":
Another rockabilly, Carl Mann, sang of "Satellite No. 2," I guess a successor to Sputnik 1. Mann's reaction was not to run in fear, but to "dance, dance, dance / Let's dance, to that satellite no. 2":
Even pop star Teresa Brewer saw satellites as something new and cool. "I'm spinning around like a satellite/ And I can see the sun for the stars / Everyday is as gay as a Saturday night / Or a ride on a rocket to Mars":
So if Sputnik caused panic and paranoia, it was my kind of panic and paranoia!
