WACKY WEDNESDAY: Happy Birthday Tim Wilson

Today, August 5, would have been 59th birthday of stand-up comedian and singer of funny country songs, Tim Wilson.

Happy birthday, Tim!

Wilson who died in 2014, was born in Columbus, Georgia. His early dreams involved a musical career. As he told Country Standard Time in 2000:

I moved to Atlanta in 1983 to be a songwriter, but there wasn't anybody knockin' my door down to put 'em on records. Probably cuz I was writing syrupy girl songs that nobody wanted to hear. And one night I was taking this girl that I worked with home, and I passed this comedy club, and I thought 'What the hell's that?' I saw they had an open mic night on Tuesday, and I started going there, performing there and never came back.

I put the guitar up till about '89, when I started writing comedy songs with Pinkard and Bowden. We did about seven or eight of 'em together. Then, I started accumulating so many of 'em, my wife told me I ought to put it in my act. I never wanted to put a guitar in my act cuz I didn't wanna be a 'guitar act.' But people liked it. Now when I do an hour gig, it's about 40 minutes of stand up and the rest music.

A weird career side note: In 2009, Wilson and Roger Keiss coauthored a true crime book about serial killer Ted Bundy, Happy New Year - ted: A Revolutionary Crime Theory Theodore Bundy and the Columbus Stocking Stranglings.

My introduction to Wilson came in the form of his 1999 major-label debut It's a Sorry World, which featured this classic "Chucky Cheese H*ll."

Here's an early Wilson tune,"Acid Country," for those who appreciate mushrooms, cornbread and Alice Cooper on a dobro

Talk about weird fantasies, here's "I Married a Woman That Talks Like Jerry Reed."

With his redneck persona, Wilson sometimes was accused of being "racist, sexist, xenophobic and reactionary." And indeed, some of his material probably wouldn't even be released today. But on his 2000 album Hillbilly Homeboy, Wilson reacted to the infamous racist, homophobic, and xenophobic rantings of Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker  in a Sports Illustrated interview the year before. "John Rocker, your proctologist called, they just found your head ..."

On Feb. 26, 2014, Tim Wilson died. I'm assuming he ascended that "Stairwell to Heaven" and didn't end up in "Chucky Cheese H*ll."

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
9 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
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

Glorious Heroin by Frontier Dan & The Hickoids

Train #1 by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over) by Elvis Costello

Slipping’ Sideways by Drywall

Rotting by The Mal Thursday Quartet

Summertime Blues by Horror Deluxe

Summer Time by Hang on the Box

Walking Away by Double Date with Death

Summer Boyfriend by The Manxx

Tripped Out by Pierced Arrows 

27 Devils by REQ’D

Cougar Town by Tex Offenders

Better Call Saul by Junior Brown

Trouble Me by Diplomats of Solid Sound

Going Back to Miami by Jack Mack & The Heart Attack

Deep Bosom Woman by Wayne

Hypno Sex Ray by The Cramps

Drug Train by The Monsters

Hellbound Train by Big Foot Chester

Wildcat Tamer by John Schooley

Tracking the Dog by Meet Your Death

Drive-In by The A-Bones

Unaccompanied by Sleeve Cannon

Creeps Me Out by The Barbarellatones 

American Trash by Betty Dylan

One Hundred Million People Dead by Butthole Surfers

Buttholeville by Drive-By Truckers

96 Tears by Aretha Franklin

Psychotic Reaction by Brenton Wood 

Something I Learned Today by Husker Du

Volare by Alex Chilton

What I Believe at Night by The Mekons

Birdman Kicked My Ass by Wesley Willis

Lift Every Voice and Sing by Kim Weston

Lonesome Cowboy Burt by Frank Zappa with Jimmy Carl Black

Black Horse Blues by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Bottle of Wine by The Fireballs

Hang on to Your Ego by Frank Black

Laughing Out Loud by The Dictators

Cheat by The Clash

Mean Little Woman by Little Freddie King

Rose of Jericho by Kipp Bentley

Get Lost, You Wolf! by Hylo Brown & The Timberliners

How Come My Dog Don’t Bark When You Come Around? by Dr. John 

Two Shores by Little Sparta with Sally Timms

Stuck in Brunswick by Nick Vulture

Sink and Burn by Brook Blanche

It’s Not My Time to Go by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks

Love and Mercy by Brian Wilson

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

CLICK HERE

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THROWBACK THURSDAY: The Mysterious Case of the Non-Barking Dog

This week on Throwback Thursday, let's look at a recurring theme in the blues and soul music: a mean dog that somehow doesn't bark when a certain guy comes around -- the implication being the dog somehow already knows this guy, with whom the lady of the house also is friendly.

Though I suspect the concept is actually older, a singer named Prince Patridge recorded this song, "How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around)?" in 1955.



In 1961, a singer named Roscoe Scully, while crediting Prince Patridge, released this version, featuring a "confrontation" between the frustrated dog owner his friend his mean hound doesn't bark at.



A few years later, soulman Howard Tate specified the breed of dog, as well as the suspected cuckholder, "Big Jim." Tate credited this version of the song to Sam Bell and Lorraine Ellison.



Bluesman Mickey Baker in the early '70s with a similar tune called "My Dog."



Venice Beach street singer Ted Hawkins did one of my favorite takes with "Bad Dog" in his 1985 album Happy Hour.



Here's a country version by Buck Owens:



In the '90s, Dr. John took this dog to New Orleans



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

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, July 26, 2020
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
9 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
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
Be in the Now by Alien Space Kitchen
Down to the Dogs by Dead Moon
Lap Dancer by Big Ugly Guys
Blue Ain’t My Color by Chubby & The Gang
Baby Please Don’t Go by The Fuzztones
Catfight by The Barbarellatones

Mr. Tuna’s Big Old Place by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Sam the Homosapien by Mean Motor Scooter
Lust by The Tryfles
Geraldine by The A-Bones
West York Ballad by The Mekons
Man With Soul by Alex Maiorano & The Black Tales
La Mula Bronca by Al Hurricane
Deteriorata by Norman Rose

Wrecked by Sleeve Cannon
Angel on the Road by X
I’m a Pig by Jono Manson
Speedway by Alan Vega
What Jail is Like by Afghan Whigs
I See the Light by The Five Americans
Hi Ho Baby by Lightning Beatman
Budujemy Nowy Dom (We Are Building a New Home) by Kazik

Revolution Kids by REQ’D
Walker on the Wild Side by The Grannies
Your Love by Marshmallow Overcoat
Purple Merkin Power by Purple Merkins
Can’t Stop Buying Records by Dave Del Monte & The Cross Country Boys
Don’t Wanna Wash Off Last Night by Gaunga Dyns
Somebody Told the Truth by Peter Case
I Was a Teenage Kiddie Porn Star by Al Foul & The Shakes

R.I.P. Rep. James Lewis
Eyes on the Prize by Mavis Staples
We Shall Not Be Moved by Sharon Jones
People Get Ready by The Chambers Brothers
Why (The King of Love is Dead) by Nina Simone
The Alabama Bus (Parts 1 & 2) by Brother Will Hairston
Say It Loud, I’m Black and Proud Part 1 by James Brown

Good Ship Venus by Loudon Wainwright III
Plastic Jesus by Gal Holiday & The Honky Tonk Revue
Down Off the Farm by Kipp Bentley
I Had an Od Cow by Baby Gramps
Hard Travelin’ by Tim Timebomb
In the Heat of the Night by Ray Charles
You Gotta Move by Sam Cooke
Where Did the Night Go by Gil Scott-Heron
Gun by Little Sparta with Sally Timms
Mysteries of Love by Julie Cruise
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page


Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.

CLICK HERE

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THROWBACK THURSDAY: George Clinton is 79

George Clinton plays The Downs at Santa Fe in 2007

Yesterday was the 79th birthday of founding funk forefather George Clinton.

Happy birthday, Atomic Dog!

There might be a handful of people -- perhaps those raised in a bomb shelter or cult survivors who just escaped -- who aren't familiar with Clinton or his wonderful bands Parliament, Funkadelic, The P-Funk Allstars, etc.

Well bless your hearts. You've got some catching up to do. Hey, start HERE with a blog post I did a couple of years ago, which contains videos of some his greatest tunes.

But on this Throwback Thursday, let's throw back even further and look at an earlier music group Clinton was part of starting in the 1950s -- a New Jersey doo-wop combo called The Parliaments.

Inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Clinton formed The Parliaments while running a barbershop in Plainfield, N.J.

Yes, a real-life barbershop quartet -- but one that didn't suck.

In the group's earliest form, they would entertain customers who came in to get a hair cut. There were some personnel switcheroos in the early days, but eventually the lineup solidified into Clinton along with fellow barbers Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas. These guys would be the core of Clinton's groups in the Cosmic Slop heyday of funk.

According to Allmusic

In 1967, the Parliaments scored a number three R&B/number 20 pop ranking on the Billboard charts with "I Wanna Testify" for Revilot, and signaled the coming changes in R&B. In 1968, the Parliaments had a dispute with Revilot and refused to continue working for the label. To avoid waiting for some kind of settlement, Clinton hastily renamed the group Funkadelic, with the only musicians listed being the original backing band for the Parliaments. Revilot soon folded and the Parliaments' contract was sold to Atlantic. 

Here are a few of The Parliaments' song, in those years before they boarded the Mothership.

The first couple, "Poor Willie" (1959) and "Lonely Island," (1960), capture Clinton and group's doo-wop roots






By the mid 60s, the influence of Motown Records -- where Clinton got a gig as a songwriter and producer -- became obvious in The Parliaments. "Heart Trouble" is from 1966.



This is The Parliaments' biggest hit "I Want to Testify, from 1967."



And by 1968, the group started incorporated more funk-ready, psychedelic adjacent sounds, as heard on "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg."



In a couple of years Funkadelic and Parliament would emerge. The world would never be the same!

Happy birthday, funky George.

George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars in Santa Fe