THROWBACK THURSDAY: Go to Bed, Already, Irene!

On his new solo album, Crosseyed Heart, Keith Richards (he's a member of some band whose name I'm trying to remember ...) takes a stab at a true American classic, Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene." And it's a good stab indeed, as you'll hear below:



And below, Keith talks about why he recorded "Irene." For one thing, he says the lyrics referring to morphine (as he sings it, "Well I love Irene, god knows I do. I'll love her till the seas run dry. And if Irene ever turned me down,  I'll take morphine and die") were "right up my alley."



Indeed, "Irene," though a lot of people think of it almost like a sweet lullaby, is a pretty dark tune. Before the lyrics even get to the morphine, the singer, who has just been left by his young wife, has already declared, "Sometimes I get the great notion to jump in the river and drown."

Richards' cover actually is the second new release in which Irene raised her sleepy head,Just recently, Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, on their new album Coulda Shoulda Woulda, did a song called "Jump in the River," which has obvious roots in "Goodnight Irene." In it, Lawyer Dave sings, "Sometimes I get the big idea, I'm gonna jump in the river and drown." Notice, this wasn't a "great notion," just a "big idea."  (Sorry, I can't find this song on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud or anywhere. You can hear it on my latest Big Enchilada podcast though.)

Leadbelly recorded several versions of his song, Here is one of them:



But the song wouldn't break nationally until shortly after Leadbelly died. That was in 1950 when a folk group called The Weavers (which included Pete Seeger) did a safe, soft and sanitized version that was a major hit. You won't find any morphine here:



This big hit probably helped bring The Weavers to the attention of the Red-baiters during the McCarthy era. They were blacklisted, Seeger being found guilty of contempt of Congress when he refused to answer questions from  House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1955. (His conviction was later overturned.)

But that didn't stop Irene from sweeping the country. The Weavers' hit unleashed a wave of covers by pop, folk, country, and later rock 'n' roll acts.

Country singer Hank Thompson poked fun at the phenomenon of Irene-mania in his song "Wake Up, Irene."




And here is a Spotify list that shows Thompson was right. Here you'll find covers ranging from Sinatra to Little Richard; Ernest Tubb to Brian Wilson; Gene Autry to Little Richard. Enjoy!





For more deep dives into songs, check out The Stephen W. Terrell Web Log Songbook

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Got Plenty of Lemon, Got Plenty of Wine

Well, it's a good good wine,
 It really make you feel so fine

Today I'm going to salute, and hopefully turn a few people on to one of my favorite lesser-known, under-rated and unsung (actually, it was sung) Frank Zappa songs of all time:

"WPLJ" -- (That's White Port and Lemon Juice for all you squares) -- which was the opening track on The Mother of Invention's 1970 album Burnt Weenie Sandwich.

I was a student at Santa Fe High School when Burnt Weenie first came out and WPLJ immediately became part of the jukebox of my mind the first time I heard it.

It's one of Zappa's over-the-top doo-wop extravaganzas. I almost wonder whether this was an outtake from Cruising with Ruben & The Jets, released just a couple of years before. Burnt Weenie Sandwich ends with another Rubenesque number called "Valerie" (originally recorded by Jackie & The Starlites.)

Let's take a listen, shall we:



Like I say, I loved "WPLJ," from the start. The sheer absurdity of going on and on in praising this low-rent drink always made me laugh. But what really made the tune was the finish, that  crazy Spanish rap by Mother Roy Estrada at the end of the song:

  “The modern-day pachuco refuses to die.”
Ruben Sano:

Por qué no consigues tu . . . tu carnal que nos compre some wine ese, ándale, pinche bato, puto, hombre, no te hagas nalga, hombre . . . (chale!) no seas tan denso, hombre (chale!), ándale, dile, porque no merecer, ándale, pinche vino, más sua . . . más suave es, más . . . más lindo que la chingada, hombre, ándale, pinche bato, hombre, quiere tu carnal, hombre, tu carnal ese, tú, tú sabes, tú sabes esto de la movida, tú sabes la movida, ese, tú sabes cómo es, tú sabes, pinche vino, puta, ándale, pinche bato, cabrón, ándale ... (Transcription from  Zappa Wiki Jawaka) 

To me it sounded like Santa Fe in 1970! I had tons of friends who talked just like that.

By the way, I ran this through Google Translate and came up with the English version:

Why not get your. . . your carnal buy us some wine that, go ahead, click bato, fucking, man, do not get your butt, man. . . (chale!) Do not be so dense, man (chale!), go ahead, tell, because they deserve, go ahead, click wine, more sua. . . softer, more. . . cuter than a bitch, man, go ahead, click bato man wants your carnal man your carnal that, you, you know, you know this from the move, the move you know, that, you know how it is, you you know, fucking wine, whore, go ahead, click bato, bastard, go ahead

I'm sure that's 100 percent correct.

But "WPLJ" was not a Zappa original. He was covering an obscure Salinas, California doo-wop group called The 4 Deuces, who recorded as a B-side in 1956. The song was used in an ad for for Italian Swiss Colony, a company that produced white port.

Here's how that sounded:



But notice, the Deuces don't include the magical Spanish spoken-word performance at the end. I always wondered what inspired Zappa to do that.

Then in 2002, Arhoolie Records released a bitchen compilation called Pachuco Boogie full of Mexican-American hipster jazz between 1948 and 1950, mainly in Los Angeles. A big chunk of the selections, including the title song were by one  Edmundo Martínez Tostado, an El Paso native better known by his stage name: Don Tosti.

Tosti and his group also recorded under the names Don Ramone Sr. y su Orquesta and Cuarteto de Ramon Martinez.

Whatever he called his band, these two songs make me thirsty for some white port and lemon juice and hungry for a burnt weenie sandwich.

I'd say mystery solved.

Evening for Vietnam with Terry and Bukka Allen

Terry Allen with my son Anton at
Santa Fe Brewing Company in 2006.
(Anton looks older these days. Terry doesn't)

Here's what looks like a fine show down in Albuquerque coming up this weekend. Santa Fe's own Terry Allen and his son Bukka Allen, also a musician, will be playing at the Kimo Theater Saturday, Oct. 10 for an even called "An Evening for Vietnam."

The Allens' part of the show will follow a screening of Deryle Perryman and Moises Gonzalez' documentary Same Same But Different, a story of war veterans returning to Vietnam.

The show is a benefit for a music school in Vietnam being built by TwoBricks, an Albuquerque non-profit that builds music schools in underdeveloped regions.

Tickets are $10-$100 (now there's a range!) You can buy them HERE.

Listen to The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR, 101.1 FM in Santa Fe this Friday (10 pm-midnight). I might just have another ticket or two to give away.

Below is one of my favorite Terry Allen songs, "There Ought to Be a Law Against Sunny California," performed at Santa Fe Bandstand in 2012. Unfortunately, Terry cleaned up the lyrics when performing at that "family friendly" event.

 

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 4, 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

We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad

Sinner Man by Esquerita

Drug Train by Social Distortion

Teeny Bopper Teeny Bopper by The Count Five

Vendidi Fumar by Churchwood

Dancing Fool by Butthole Surfers

Girl from Al-Qaeda by The Jack & Gene Show

 

Is That Religion? by Cab Calloway

Reefer Man by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Tumblin' Dice by Johnny Copeland

Ain't No Easy Way by Nancy Sinatra with Jon Spencer

Do the Get Down by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

It's The Truth, Ruth by The Big Bopper

As You Go Down by Holly Golightly

96 Tears by Aretha Franklin

 

Down on Me by Big Brother & The Holding Company

Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U (Blues for Jimi and Janis) by John Lee Hooker

Ball and Chain by Big Brother & The Holding Company

Get It While You Can by Howard Tate

 

Elephant Gun by Beirut

Wicked Waters by Benjamin Booker

High Noon Blues by The Night Beats

Crawl by The Cynics

Not of This World by The Plimsouls

Prayer for New Mexico by Ronnie Gene

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, October 2, 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

Beedle Um Bum Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions

Mud by Legendary Shack Shakers

Lower 48 by The Gourds

Mama Hated Diesels by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen

May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose by Little Jimmy Dickins

Cheatin' Again by Whitey Morgan

What's a Simple Man to Do by Steve Earle

Hell Naw by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Pretty Girl by Miss Leslie

 

The Burden by Terry Allen

You Can Be My Baby by The Backsliders

Pray I Won't Wake Up by Honky Tonk Hustlas

She's in the Graveyard Now by Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band

In the Jailhouse Now by Webb Pierce

What I Used to Do All Night by Reverend Billy C. Wirtz

Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy by Bill Hearne

 

Apartment 34 by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Building Chryslers by The Bottle Rockets

Lubbock in the Springtime by The Beaumonts

Sleep With a Stranger by Nikki Lane

I'm the Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised by Johnny Paycheck

Dark In My Heart by DM Bob & The Deficits

Wild American by Kris Kristofferson

This Train by Linda Gail Lewis

 

All Dressed for Trial by Peter Case

Now That the Buffalo's Gone by Buffy Sainte-Marie

Four Old Brokes by Joe Ely

Everybody's Talking About the Same Thing by Floyd Domino & Maryann Price

Let it Roll by Dinosaur Truckers

Worried Mind by Eilen Jewell

Same God by The Calamity Cubes

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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