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.
