A couple of years ago on a quiet Wacky Wednesday I posted an introduction into the world of White Rap. You can find that masterpiece HERE.
There I quoted Irwin Chusid from his liner notes for the classic 1994 Spy Magazine compilation White Men Can't Wrap. White rap is a centuries-old tradition; the original white rappers were square-dance callers improvising rhymes for Saturday-night barn parties in America's rural backwaters. Like today's rappers, they were seen as debauchers, imperiling the morals of the young. The fiddle was "the instrument of the devil"; church leaders banned it. The callers' freestyle rhymes teased with erotic innuendos ("Duck for the oyster/Dig for the clam/Knock a hole in the old tin can"). ... it was all about sex and forbidden behavior! It was the roots of today's white rap culture."
Let's start off with the works of three classic rockers who, in the 1980s, proved they were down with the hippity hop.
First there's Rappin' Randy.
Lou Reed declared himself "The Original Wrapper."
And there's no denying that when Brian Wilson raps, he's still a genius. A very stable genius. Paging Dr. Landy!
Just for the heck of it, here's one of the classic old hillbilly "white rap" tunes like Chusid talked about. This song by Seven Foot Dilly & His Dill Pickles is from a cool compilation called The Roots of Rap.
But there is not, nor will there ever be a white rapper greater than the one and only Devastatin' Dave (the Turntable Slave). Here he is with a positive message for the youth.
Sunday, Jan. 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
Ain't No Pussy by Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons
Interlude: E'Lectric Spider Webz by The Black
Call the Police by The Oblivians
The Cat's Meow by The Darts
Don't Mess with Me by Rattanson
Lies by Dilly the Kid
Elevator by Boss Hog
Voodoo Got Me by The Goon Mat & Lord Bernardo
The Cuckoo by Johnny Dowd
Victoria Train Station Massare by The Fall
The Projects by Baronen & Satan
Queen of the Gorillas by Pocket FishRMen
Born to Lose by Social Distortion
We Want the Lot by The Movements
Swamp Thing by The Cavemen
Sea Serpent by Mean Motor Scooter
Ultimo Cartucho by Hollywood Sinners
Shotgun by Junior Walker & The All Stars
Comin to Take Me Away by Tiny Tim POLKA SET!
Hosa Dyna by Brave Combo
Who'd Ya Like to Love Ya by Li'l Wally
Division Street by The Polkaholics
Desert Polka by The American Indians
Minnesota Polka by Karl & The Country Dutchmen
Tra Ra Ra Boom De by Walt Spolek & The Orchestra
The Polka Polka by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
Mountaineer Polka by Norm Dombrowski's Happy Notes
Weiner Dog Polka by Polkacide
Edge of Reality by Elvis Presley
Mr. Moonlight by The Beatles
Love Letters by Dex Romweber Duo with Cat Power
Wang Dang Doodle by P.J. Harvey
One for My Baby by Iggy Pop
He Gives Us All His Love by Randy Newman
Lonely Town by Stan Ridgway CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 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
You Can Have the Crown by Sturgill Simpson
Me and Whiskey by Whitey Morgan
Jackpot by Nikki Lane
(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill by T.Tex Edwards & Out on Parole
I Get Smarter Every Drink by Lonesome Bob
Get Out of My Brain by Legendary Shack Shakers
Wild Bill Jones by J.D. Wilkes
Steamboat Whistle Blues by John Hartford
Columbus Stockade Blues by Pine Hill Haints
Nothing Feels Right But Doin' Wrong by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Train Yard by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Slowly But Surely by Rhonda Vincent & Daryle Singletery
God's Problem Child by Willie Nelson (with Tony Joe White, Leon Russell & Jamie Johnson)
Keeper of the Light by Joe West
Building our Own Prison by The Waco Brothers
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight by Whiskeytown with Alejandro Escovedo
Holy Ghost Rock 'n' Roller by Jesse Dayton
Whole Lotta Highway by Marty Stuart
Rockin' With the Rhythm of the Rain by The Judds
Fire of Love by The Blasters
Miller, Jack and Mad Dog by Wayne Hancock
It's Too Late by The Imperial Rooster
Lucille by The Beat Farmers
Nothing in Rambling by Eilen Jewell
Detour by Peter Stampfel
A Thousand Years by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Whitehouse Road by Tyler Childers
Let Me Fall by Peter Case
Cowboy Coffee by Shake Russell & Michael Hearne
Walk Right Back by Chris Hillman
Last Thing I Needed First Thing This This Morning by Chris Stapleton CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Want to keep this hoedown going after I sign off at midnight? Check out The Big Enchilada Podcast Hillbilly Episode Archive where there are hours of shows where I play music like you hear on the SF Opry.
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Jan. 12, 2018
Here’s a bunch of albums from 2017 that somehow I never got around to reviewing. These are the ones that got away — almost.
* From a Room (Volumes 1 and 2) by Chris Stapleton. Through the years, I’ve done more than my share of raging against the evil corporate overlords of country music and their evil corporate award shows that seem to honor lamer and lamer music every year. But in 2017 there was a surprise. A soulful-voiced weirded beardo from Kentucky named Chris Stapleton managed to win the Country Music Association’s awards for male vocalist of the year and album of the year. Indeed, Stapleton is a rare bird who has won praise from — and has sold records to — fans of mainstream country, traditionalist country, and alternative country alike. The first volume of From a Room, released last May, snagged him that CMA album of the year prize. Don’t be surprised if Volume 2, released in November, does the same thing this year. Both volumes are full of good, basic songs, mostly originals, seeped in ’70s outlaw country and just enough Southern rock to keep it lively. Stapleton deserves some kind of award for “Up to No Good Livin’,” in which he declares himself “the Picasso of paintin’ the town.”
* Brood X by Boss Hog. There was no new record by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion last year, but this is the next best thing. Spencer plays guitar and contributes some scattered vocals with Boss Hog, but his wife (and former Pussy Galore bandmate), Cristina Martinez, is the driving force, and she’s on fire here. It’s been 17 years since Boss Hog’s previous album, due to Martinez taking a long break to raise some kids. But she and Spencer make their punk/blues/funk/no-wave noise sound more urgent than ever. Throughout most of the record Martinez sounds appalled and alarmed by the state of the world. For instance, “Elevator” (on which she repeatedly sings, “This is an emergency”) sounds like a six-alarm crisis in progress. But the funky keyboards by Mickey Finn make the emergency sound kind of fun. And on “Rodeo Chica,” Spencer and Martinez duet like a punk-rock Sonny & Cher. “What’s wrong, baby?” Spencer sings. Martinez answers bluntly: “Everything!”
* New Facts Emerge by The Fall. I was sad last year when I learned that Mark E. Smith — frontman for The Fall and the king of rant ’n’ roll — was suffering from severe health problems. He was doing some shows in a wheelchair, and by December he had to cancel a bunch of dates. But somehow in 2017, Smith and company managed to release this spirited record. He still sounds like a crazy old wino who loves to scream at you on the bus, his voice ranging from a menacing growl to a desperate rasp. That instrument is showing signs of wear and tear, but the craziness is still there. His current band is muscular enough to drive home Smith’s message. Whatever the heck that might be.
* The Greatest Story Ever Told by Pocket FishRMen. This classic punk band from Austin has flown under the radar for three decades. With singer Brant Bingamon, the FishRMen rerecorded 30 of their best-loved songs. They’re filthy, irreverent, and hilarious, with titles like “Go Go Saddam Hussein,” “Oft Times When We Pork,” “Amy Carter,” “Flesh Eating Parasite,” “Queen of the Gorillas,” and “Colonoscopy.” I realize most of these songs are pretty old, but when I heard “The Leader Is Burning,” I had to check to make sure it wasn’t a new one. Indeed, it’s from the late ’80s, but it sounds pretty relevant to current events.
* The Revealer by Jesse Dayton. Here’s another Austin act. Dayton is a fine country singer, but his head sometimes drifts into the punk-rock clouds. His latest album is a showcase of his country-rock bona fides. “Daddy Was a Badass” is a sincere tribute to his dad (who rode a Harley and financed his own college education by gambling), while the high-energy “Holy Ghost Rock ’n’ Roller” is about “the devil’s music” saving his life from fuddy-duddy fundamentalism. And there’s a new version of “I’m at Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Getting Nailed),” a song Dayton originally recorded with Banjo & Sullivan, a long out-of-print musical project that sprouted from Rob Zombie’s 2005 movie The Devil’s Rejects.
* Ain’t No Pussy by Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons and Me.Ow by The Darts. Girl punk lives, and it has a nice home on Dirty Water Records. The first of these is a worthy follow-up to Pussycat’s Dirty Rock ’n’ Roll, the 2013 album that first brought the English trio to my attention. If anything, Ain’t No Pussy is harder-edged than the previous record. In the very first verse of the very first track, the title song, singer Puss Johnson, in so many words, threatens to use her boot to turn some poor guy into a permanent soprano. Puss isn’t always so harsh, though. “Surrender My Heart,” with its jungle beat and crazy guitar solo, is probably the closest thing here to a love song. And “Suneal,” which borrows the melody of Little Richard’s “Lucille,” is downright joyful.
The Darts is an all-female quartet from Phoenix. If there was an award for best use of a Farfisa organ, Darts singer and keyboardist Nicole Laurenne would be a shoo-in. Her Farfisa provides a nice garagey, psychedelic backdrop for the songs. Highlights include the sexy mysterioso opener, “The Cat’s Meow”; the spooky, bluesy “You’ll Bring Me Flowers”; and “Get Messy,” a giddy outburst which is as bright as “Flowers” is dark.
James Isaac Moore was born Jan. 11, 1924 in Lobdell, Louisiana.
Never heard of him? Me either. But I'm well aware of Moore's secret identity, bluesman Slim Harpo.
He started performing publicly in Baton Rouge under the name of "Harmonica Slim." In 1957 he recorded his first single, "I'm a King Bee" for Excello Records.
A true working class hero, Harpo kept his day jobs while struggling with the music business. In the 1960s he started his own trucking company.
Slim would have been 94 years old today. But he only made it to the age of 46.
There is a lot more on the life of the man at The HoundBlog. And there are a lot of cool songs below.
Here is the song that introduced me to Slim Harpo back when I was in junior high, his first big crossover hit.. The song of course, stands on its own, but I also like this crazy fan--made video.
The Rolling Stones covered Slim's "Shake Your Hips" on their album Exile on Main St. But Slim did it best.
Though it wasn't the hit that "Scratch My Back" was, Harpo's first song, "I'm a King Bee" probably is his most covered. Among those buzzing around this hive were The Stones, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Pink Floyd (!), Lou Rawls, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and some guy named Muddy Waters.
Here's Slim Harpo:
This is a lesser-known Harpo tune, but it's pretty cool.
I didn't realize until last night that Slim Harpo recorded this Johnny Cash classic
Finally, here's a worthy tribute to Slim by Florida rocker Ronny Elliott
