Off Beat - Tell Laura I Love Her

Earlier this week, while showcasing Leader of the Pack, we talked about the musical genre of "death discs". There's no better example than Tell Laura I Love Her. Singer Ray Peterson had an American hit with the tune in 1960, while Ricky Valence took it to #1 in the UK later the same year.

Ray Peterson's claim to fame prior to 1960 was a little song called The Wonder of You, later made popular by Elvis. Following "Laura" Peterson had something of a hit with Corrina, Corrina but his popularity never really matched that associated with his death disc.

Here' Sha-Na-Na takes "Laura" for a spin...

Laura and Tommy were lovers
He wanted to give her everything
Flowers, presents, but most of all, a wedding ring

He saw a sign for a stock car race
A thousand dollar prize it read
He couldn't get Laura on the phone
So to her mother, Tommy said

Tell Laura I love her
Tell Laura I need her
Tell Laura I may be late
I've something to do, that cannot wait

He drove his car to the racing grounds
He was the youngest driver there
The crowed roared as they started the race
Around the track they drove at a deadly pace

No one knows what happened that day
Or how his car overturned in flames
But as they pulled him from the twisted wreck
With his dying breath, they heard him say

Tell Laura I love her
Tell Laura I need her
Tell Laura not to cry
My love for her will never die

Now in the chapel where Laura prays
For her poor Tommy, who passed away
It was just for Laura he lived and died
Alone in the chapel she can hear him cry

Off Beat - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Here's an amazing performance of a song with an amazing history.

You Don't Bring Me Flowers was originally intended as a theme song for a Norman Lear television show. It never came to be, but Neil Diamond came across the tune, added a couple of verses and put it out in 1977. Around the same time Barbara Streisand released a version of the same song. A radio Program Director in Louisville Kentucky combined the two versions and began airing the "virtual" duet. The song was so popular Diamond and Streisand recorded the real thing and it shot to #1.

While the Diamond/Streisand version is the definitive one - although it's a little too syrupy for my tastes - my favourite performance of the song has got to be by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. If you enjoy this bit, look up the UOGB on You Tube. You won't be disappointed. They're a hoot. Their performances of Shaft and Teen Spirit, for example, are a riot.

Off Beat - I'm Fed Up

I don't know what this is, who Alizee is, how she ever got to be as popular as she is, and why she doesn't seem to own any regular clothes. But the whole package made me laugh. The lip-syncing, the lyrics, the little nymph/Lolita act...well you get the picture. And, hey, It's a catchy tune!

Alizee is from France and apparently she's had quite the international hit with I'm Fed Up. Here she sings the French version (with subtitles), J'en ai marre. Boy, I love the French people.

Bubbles and water
Legs up for hours
My goldfish is under me
To bathe for hours
Makes my mouth water
I’m “foamely” ecstatic

It’s not a problem
I lazy ‘round
Bubbly and stubborn
I lazy ‘round
Melon and water
Is just a dream
It makes me wonder
Is it a “sin” ?

Bubbles and water
Legs up for hours
“Bombs”, you keep away from me!
Today lying low
Twisting up my toes
I swim in such harmony
So what bothers me:

Chorus :
I’m fed up with loneliness
With my uncle overstressed
Fumbling, crawling for something
That never shows, just a dream.
I’m fed up with creeps crying
Over the past, such a sin
Not to be cool, but a fool
If I could mess up their rules.
I’m fed up with your complaints
Baby, well I’m not a saint!
Fed up with the rain, the plane…
That makes me throw up again.
I’m fed up with all cynics
Bathing caps and all critics
I’m fed up with being
fed up! Poor me !

Bubbles and water
Legs up for hours
My goldfish still under me!
Delight of pleasures
Aquatic treasures
A place out of misery, my fantasy

Off Beat - You've Never Even Called Me By My Name

I've long been a fan of Steve Goodman and was saddened by the songwriter's death in 1984 at the age of 36 of leukemia. He had a way with words and a sharp wit, evidenced by his self-given nickname late in his life of "Cool Hand Leuk".

In the early 70s Goodman was performing at a Chicago bar, opening for Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson was so impressed he introduced him to Paul Anka who brought him to New York and produced some demos which resulted in his signing with Buddha Records.

Goodman has written many songs for other people. For example, Arlo Guthrie had a hit with City of New Orleans. And David Allan Cole had a hit with one of my favourite Goodman tunes You've Never Even Called Me By My Name, a witty poke at country music and...love.

The song was co-written by another of my favourite songwriters - John Prine, although Prine refused to be listed as the song's co-writer. As the story goes, Goodman bought Prine a jukebox with his royalties.

So here's the non co-writer, singing the song he wrote with Steve Goodman...

And if you were wondering about the Steve Goodman version, here's a bonus...

You Never Even Call Me By My Name
(AKA The Perfect Country & Western Song)
©Steve Goodman and [although he won't admit it] John Prine)

(as sung by Steve Goodman in London, Aug 8, 1976)

[spoken] This is a song I wrote with John Prine 4 years ago (1972) and we tried to put into one song, everything that had ever been in any of the country and western songs we had ever heard. Tried to put it all into one song. Serves us right. This is what came out:

Well it was all I could do to keep from cryin'
Some times it seems so useless to remain
You're the one who always tried to change me
And that is why I will always stay the same

Chorus:
But I'll hang around as long as you will let me
I never minded standing in the rain
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
But you never even call me by my name

No, you don't have to call me Freddy Fender
You don't have to call me Charlie Pride
You don't have to call me Merle Haggard anymore
Even though you know you're on my fighting side

Chorus- this verse only:
And I'm gonna hang around as long as you will let me
I never minded standing in the rain (when nights are cold and lonely)
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
But you never even call me by name.

[musical by mouth improv done in a Merle Haggard-like tone -no words]

[spoken] I've seen my name, a few times in the phone book
[spoken] And on the neon sign above the bar I used to own
[spoken] And there's only one thing I'm really sure of was that sucker
You're gonna hear it when my savior calls me home

[spoken] That's a lot to get into one song. We left out all the good stuff. Dallas, dope, divorce, dead dogs, trains prison Christmas, mothers, farms, and trucks. Mothers, prison, trucks, trains, farms, Christmas, and dead dogs are essential, you can't have a good country song without them things. And with all due respect this song needs mothers, prison, trucks, trains, farms, Christmas and dead dogs and is that it? Whatever it is - it's also 4 minutes long already (they're going 'when's he gonna end, when's he gonna end in the booth back there') So I'll just tack this verse on the end here-

Ever since the dog died and mama went to prison
Ain't nothin' round this old farm that's been the same
[Spoken] You know when mom broke out last Christmas
She drove the getaway laundry truck into a train

Chorus:
But I'll hang around as long as you will let me
I never minded standing in the rain
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
But you never even call me by my name

Off Beat - Living With A Hernia

Who can forget James Brown singing Living In America in 1985's Rocky IV? Well, I confess that when I think of Living In America, this is the song I think of: Living With A Hernia by Weird Al Yankovic. It's an hilarious parody.

Turns out Yankovic's performance was filmed on the same stage as Brown's. The parody was one of the tracks on Weird Al's 1986 album Polka Party. Yankovic didn't win any awards for his parody. But James Brown won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance in 1986.



Weird Al Yankovic - Living With A Hernia (Official Music Video) - Watch a funny movie here

Help me out! Dig!
All I do is grunt and groan
Hurts me to walk anywhere
Went to see my physician, Dr. Jones
He took my trousers off, told me to cough
Doctor says there ain't nothin' to discuss
He tells me any day I might have to wear a truss

Living with a hernia
All the time, such aggravation
Living with a hernia
Gonna be my ruination
Living with a hernia
Got to have an operation
Feel so old

Too much back pain
Good gawd, drives me insane
Can't run, barely crawl
Got a bulge in my intestinal wall
Walk real funny, bless my soul
Can't play tennis and it's hard to bowl
You can't even do the splits now... Say it!
Better call it quits now
Now I'm sick of all this dancin' anyhow

Living with a hernia
Hurts me bad in a tender location
Living with a hernia
Had enough humiliation
Living with a hernia
Got to have an operation

I live with a hernia
Can't get up, can't bend over
Now I live with a hernia
Wait a minute...
You may not be familiar with the common types
Of hernias that you could get
So just settle down, let me clue you in
There's incomplete
Epigastric
Bladder
Strangulated
Lumbar hernia
Richter's hernia
Obstructed
Inguinal and Direct

Living with a hernia...Rupture!
I said it's causin' me such irritation
Living with a hernia
Have to have my medication
Living with a hernia
I feel bad!

Off Beat - Hot Rod Lincoln

In the early 1960s, I recall the older brother of a buddy of mine asking me if I'd ever heard the song "Hot Rod Lincoln". I hadn't, so he brought an LP over to my place and we gave it a spin. What a hoot. It must have been the version by Johnny Bond released in 1960. The original was written and recorded by Charlie Ryan in 1955 in response to a 1951 hit called "Hot Rod Race".

There's a great version of the song by Asleep At The Wheel, but the 1972 version by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen would seem to be the best known. It's from their first LP - Lost In The Ozone. Cody and his Airmen formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1967 before migrating to San Francisco and later Texas, where they disbanded in 1976. Cody went on to sustain a solo career. Hot Rod Lincoln remains his biggest hit.

My pappy said "Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin',

if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln."

Have you heard the story of the hot rod race,
where the Fords 'n' Lincolns were settin' the pace?
That story is true, I'm here to say,
that I was drivin' that Model-A.

It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up,
that Model-A body makes it look like a pup.
It's got eight cylinders and uses 'em all,
got overdrive that just won't stall.

With a four-barrel carb and a dual exhaust,
with 4-11 gears you can really get lost.
Got safety tubes but I ain't scared,
the brakes are good, tires fair.

Pulled outta San Pedro late one night,
the moon 'n' the stars was shinin' bright.
We was drivin' up Grapevine hill,
passin' cars like they was standin' still.

All of a sudden in the wink of an eye,
Cadillac sedan passed us by.
I said "Boys that's the mark for me,"
by then the tailight was all you could see.

Now the fellas ribbed me for bein' behind,
so I thought I'd make the Lincoln unwind.
Took my foot off the gas'n'man alive,
I shoved it on down into overdrive.

Wound it up to a hunderd an' ten,
my speedometer said that I hit top end.
My foot was glued like lead to the floor,
that's all there is an' there ain't no more.

Now the boys all thought I'd lost my sense,
them telephone poles looked like a picket fence.
They said "slow down, I see spots,"
the lines on the road just looked like dots.

Took a corner'n'side-swiped a truck,
crossed my fingers just for luck.
My fenders was clickin' the guardrail posts,
the guy beside me was white as a ghost.

Smoke was comin' from outta the back,
when started t' gain on that Cacillac.
Knew I could catch him, I thought I could pass,
don'tcha by then we'd be low on gas.

We had flames comin' from outta the side,
you could feel the tension, man whatta ride.
I said "look out boys, I got a license to fly,"
and that Caddy pulled over and let us by.

Now all of a sudden she started knockin'
down in the dip she started to rock.
And I looked in the mirror, a red light was blinkin',
the cops was after my hot rod Lincoln.

They arrested me 'n' they put me in jail,
'n they called my pappy to throw my bail,
'n he said "son you're gonna drive me ta drinkin'
if you don't stop drivin' that hot rod Lincoln.

Off Beat - Jolly Green Giant

Good things from the garden

Garden in the valley

Valley of the jolly - ho, ho, ho - Green Giant

The Jolly Green Giant has been shilling peas, niblets corn and other assorted vegetables on TV since the early 50s. Of course, without the benefit of colour television he wasn't green when he started out. He was more a scary black-coloured, stiff-moving giant.

Nevertheless the Green Giant had an impact to such an extent he had a rock and roll tune written for him. In 1965, the Kingsmen, famous for their 1963 hit with incomprehensible lyrics - Louie, Louie - went to #4 on the charts with Jolly Green Giant. A listen and look at the lyrics soon indicates that for teens of the day, this wasn't their mother's jolly Green Giant...

In duh valley of duh jolly... (Ho - ho - ho)

Heard about the Jolly Green Giant (potatoes)
He's so big and mean (artichoke hearts)
He stands there laughin' with his hands on his hips
And then he hits you with a can of beans

He lives down there in his valley (Brussels sprouts)
The cat stands tall and green (spinach)
Well, he ain't no prize, and there's no women his size
And that's why the cat's so mean
One day he left His valley pad
I mean to say This cat was mad
Now listen 'round He wasn't gone long
And then he ran into an Amazon
Well, this changed his whole complexion (broccoli)
He had never seen such a beautiful sight (corn)
Well, he looked at her
And she looked at him
And she almost passed out from fright
He looked at her Thought, "what a dilly"
He touched her once She slapped him silly
This was something He had never sensed
He looked at her As she commenced
Now listen, pal This ain't no fluke
I can't see goin' with a big green kook"

You've heard about the Jolly Green Giant (eggplant)
Don't let his troubles cross your mind (celery stalks)
He couldn't get Sally, so went back to his valley
The cat was color-blind

Off Beat - Troglodyte

"What we're gonna do right now is go back..." to 1972 and that crazy off beat song from The Jimmy Castor Bunch - Troglodyte.

Castor began his career as a do-wap singer in the late 50s in New York and replaced Frankie Lymon in The Teenagers before switching to the saxophone in 1960. In 1972 he formed the Jimmy Castor Bunch who reached their peak with the release of their first album and a cut from that LP called Troglodyte otherwise known as "Cave Man".

Troglodyte, which hit #6, was the groups highest charting effort. This video is a hoot...

Off Beat - Do The Freddie

In the 1960's there were some truly weird and wacky rock acts. Some achieved success due to a certain look or gimmick. One such group was Freddie and the Dreamers, a band associated with the British invasion of the early to mid 60s. The Dreamers managed to sustain their popularity for about 3 years with top 10 hits such as I'm Telling You Now and You Were Made For Me.

The group, though, was oriented more to teeny boppers, much like Herman's Hermits say, than to rock and roll fans of other British bands such as the Beatles, the Who and the Rolling Stones.

And Freddie and the Dreamers really scraped bottom when they attempted to create a dance craze in the States based on their song "Do The Freddie". Their 1965 album of the same name even included diagrams and instructions from dance instructor Arthur Murray.

1980's Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll says of the group:

"...Freddie and the Dreamers [had] no masterpiece but a plentitude of talentless idiocy and enough persistence to get four albums and one film soundtrack released ... the Dreamers looked as thuggish as Freddie looked dippy ... Freddie and the Dreamers represented a triumph of rock as cretinous swill, and as such should be not only respected but given their place in history."

Witness for yourself...

Off Beat - I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again

He's perhaps best associated with with the country music outlaw movement of the 70s, but Willie Nelson was a struggling, yet successful Nashville songwriter in the 60s and an iconic American performer for the last several decades. His run ins with the law are well documented from tax evasion to getting busted for pot possession in 2006 at the age of 73. Indeed, it was his predilection for pot that inspired Toby Keith and his songwriting partner Scotty Emerick to pen Weed With Willie. It was released on Keith's 2003 album Shock'n Y'all.

The song is based on an incident when Toby and Scotty visited Willie on his tour bus to talk about Willie and Toby doing a duet of Beer For My Horses. Willie agreed, the song went to #1 but not before the trio had a smokey night to remember and the inspiration for a song.

There's a story about the marijuana advocate saying he'd cut back on his weed intake. When asked if he'd done it for his health, Willie said "No, it's just getting harder to find the good stuff."

I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again - Click here for this week’s top video clips

I always heard that his herb was top shelf

I just could not wait to find out for myself

Don't knock it til' you tried it, Well I tried it my friend

And I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

I learned a hard lesson in a small Texas town

He fired up a fat boy and passed him around

The last words that I spoke before they tucked me in

Was I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

My party's all over before it begins

You can pour me some old whiskey river my friend

But I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

I hopped on his old bus, the Honey Suckle Rose

The party was Vegas it was after the show.

Alone in the front lounge with just me and him,

With one parting puff grim creeper set in.

I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

My party's all over before it begins

You can pour me some old whiskey river my friend

But I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

Now we're passing the guitar and telling good jokes

I know ones a-comin' cause I'm smelling smoke

No I do not partake, I just let it pass by

With a smile on my face and a great contact high

I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

My party's all over before it begins

You can pour me some old whiskey river my friend

But I'll never smoke weed with Willie again

In the fetal position with drool on my chin

I messed up and smoked weed with Willie again

Off Beat - I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow

I just loved this movie, particularly the soundtrack. For me, one of the musical highlights of the film was George Clooney performing I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow with his two cronies who as a trio called themselves the Soggy Bottom Boys...

The song is a traditional American folk song first recorded in the early 1900s. In O Brother Where Art Thou the Soggy Bottom Boys are actually Alison Krauss and Union Station, more specifically group member Dan Tyminski.

The song was a hit in the movie for the Soggy Bottom Boys and in real life receiving the CMA for single of the year and a Grammy.

The song has been covered by hundreds of artists including Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Waylon Jennings, Rod Stewart, Denny Laine, Jerry Garcia and The Dillards.

And it was covered by Bob Dylan on his self-titled first album from 1962.

Here, Dylan performs the song on his first televised appearance in 1963.

Off Beat - Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother

Ronald Clyde Crosby was born in 1942 in Oneonta, New York. However, he's better known for where he took up residence in the 70s - Austin, Texas - and by his stage name - Jerry Jeff Walker.

Walker calls his style of music "cowjazz" and is usually associated with the country-rock outlaw genre popularized by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.

His best known and most often covered song is Mr. Bojangles. But one of my Jerry Jeff Walker favourites is the Ray Wylie Hubbard-penned classic Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother.

He was born in Oklahoma,

His wife's name's Betty Lou Thelma Liz

And he's not responsible for what he's doing

Cause his mother made him what he is.

And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother,

Mother, who has raised her son so well.

He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk.

Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell.

Sure does like his Falstaff beer,

Likes to chase it down with that Wild Turkey liquor;

Drives a fifty-seven GMC pickup truck;

He's got a gun rack; "Goat ropers need love, too" sticker

And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother,

Mother, who has raised her son so well.

He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk.

Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell.

Well,

M is for the mudflaps you give me for my pickup truck

O is for the Oil I put on my hair

T is for T-bird

H is for Haggard

E is for eggs, and

R is for REDNECK.

Up against the wall Redneck Mother,

Mother, who has raised her son so well.

He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk.

Kicking hippies asses and raising hell.

He's up against the wall Redneck Mother,

Mother, who has raised her son so well.

He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk.

Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell.

Off Beat - Being Green

The song isn't off beat but the performance certainly is. In 1970, Kermit the Frog performed Being Green on Sesame Street. 1970! Geez, I was the ripe old age of 18. I hadn't realized Sesame Street had been around that long. I think Kermit might be older than I am!

Now, I was too old for Sesame Street so I first came across this song on the album Hard Nose the Highway by Van Morrison - a great album by the way - and for years I thought he wrote and was the first to perform the song.

Turns out, the song was written by Joe Raposo specifically for Kermit's character, as performed by Jim Henson, in the first season of the ground-breaking children's television show. The song was meant to teach children to be happy with themselves, starting out with Kermit lamenting his greenness but by the end of the song he's quite comfortable with it, singing "It's beautiful! And it's what I want to be..."

And Van Morrison wasn't the first artist to cover the song. That distinction goes to Frank "It's Not Easy Being Chairman of the Board" Sinatra on the 1970 LP Sinatra & Company.

Off Beat - Cocktails For Two

Spike Jones was a wacky musician who led a band called the City Slickers in the 40s and 50s. His satirical covers of popular songs garnered him a huge following. He was kind of like the Al Yankovic of his day. In fact, Weird Al has cited him as a significant influence. He's also said to have influenced such artists as Frank Zappa, the Beatles and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

He was a master of many mediums: records, radio and television. He wrote and recorded a tune in 1942 for a Disney award-winning movie that was originally banned - Der Fuehrer's Face.

For me, one of his most memorable songs was perhaps Cocktails For Two. Wikipedia explains:

The romantic ballad "Cocktails for Two", originally written to evoke an intimate romantic rendezvous, was re-recorded by Spike Jones in 1944 as a raucous, horn-honking, voice-gurgling, hiccuping hymn to the cocktail hour. The Jones version was a huge hit, much to the resentment of composer Sam Coslow.

As with all Spike Jones tunes, the performance was as key as the arrangement...

Off Beat - Leningrad Cowboys

This week's "off beat" feature takes a bit of a different twist focusing on a group, not so much a song. A buddy of mine got me interested in The Leningrad Cowboys several years ago and I've been a big fan ever since.

The group was born as a fictional band in the 1989 film Leningrad Cowboys Go America. Who knew they would catch on? But they did and they've been going strong for 20 years.

Funnily enough, the Leningrad Cowboys aren't from Russia. They're from Helsinki Finland. But their Russian stage shtick, their unicorn pompadours and their half-metre sharp, pointy shoes have helped make them the cult favourites that they are.

In 1993, the Cowboys performed a concert with the full 160-member Russian Alexandrov ensemble in Helsinki, Finland. A film of the concert, Total Balalaika Show, was released the following year. One of the songs from the film was Knockin On Heaven's Door...

Off Beat - Ol' Ben Lucas

He's a true renaissance man. If indeed, someone so politically incorrect could be one. Kinky Friedman started out in a band called King Arthur and The Carrots while a student at the University of Texas. In 1971, he formed his second band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys and gained a following on the coat tails of Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers and other country rock groups.

The difference with Kinky's music was how politically incorrect his lyrics were. Songs like Asshole From El Paso and Get Your Biscuits In the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed had audiences rolling in the aisles. His songs were so out there that in 1975 he and his group taped a show for Austin City Limits that never aired.

In 1976 Kinky toured with Bob Dylan and his Rolling Thunder Review but by the 80s his music career was going nowhere and he turned to writing. He started cranking out detective novels and they're some of the funniest books you'll ever read.

He wrote an ongoing column for Texas Monthly magazine until he ran as an independent candidate for governor in 2006. Rumour has it he'll run as a Democrat in 2010. Asked about his stand on abortion Kinky is reported to have said, "I'm not pro-life and I'm not pro-choice, I'm pro-football".

These days Kinky sells his own brand of cigars and salsa and runs the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. For those who want to visit or drop him a note he can be found at his website. Here's the Kinkster performing Ol' Ben Lucas...

Ol' Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus

Comin' right out of his nose.

He picked and picked till it made you sick

But back again it grows.

Well, ol' Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus

Comin' right out of his nose.

He picked and picked till it made you sick,

But back again it grows.

When it's cotton picking time in Texas,

Boys, it's booger picking time for Ben.

He'd raise that finger mean and hostile

Stick it in that waitin' nostril,

Here he comes with a green one once again.

All right, pick it, Eric!

Ol' Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus

Comin' right out of his nose.

He picked and picked till it made you sick,

But back again it grows.

Everybody!

Ol' Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus

Comin' right out of his nose,

He picked and picked till it made you sick

But back again it grows.

Off Beat - Ballad of Thunder Road

Robert Mitchum a singer? Well, yeah, apparently. And not only did he sing The Ballad of Thunder Road he co-wrote the song and based the music on an old folk-dance tune his mom used to sing to him. The song was the theme to the movie Thunder Road, a 1958 film about a moonshine runner. Mitchum starred in the movie, produced the film, co-wrote the screenplay and reputedly directed much of the film. 1958 was evidently a busy year for Robert Mitchum.


A little rock and roll trivia: The movie inspired Bruce Springsteen's 1975 song Thunder Road and is referenced in 1988's Copperhead Road by Steve Earl.



Mitchum's character - Lucas Doolin - dies in the song, not to mention the movie - a familiar tune storyline of such 50s and 60s hits as Leader of the Pack, Tell Laura I Love Her and Deadman's Curve.






BALLAD OF THUNDER ROAD

Let me tell the story, I can tell it all
About the mountain boy who ran illegal alcohol
His daddy made the whiskey, son, he drove the load
When his engine roared, they called the highway Thunder Road.

Sometimes into Ashville, sometimes Memphis town
The revenoors chased him but they couldn’t run him down
Each time they thought they had him, his engine would explode
He'd go by like they were standin’ still on Thunder Road.


(CHORUS)
And there was thunder, thunder over Thunder Road
Thunder was his engine, and white lightning was his load
There was moonshine, moonshine to quench the Devil’s thirst
The law they swore they'd get him, but the Devil got him first.

On the first of April, nineteen fifty-four
A Federal man sent word he’d better make his run no more
He said two hundred agents were coverin’ the state
Whichever road he tried to take, they’d get him sure as fate.


Son, his Daddy told him, make this run your last
The tank is filled with hundred-proof, you’re all tuned up and gassed
Now, don’t take any chances, if you can’t get through
I’d rather have you back again than all that mountain dew.


(CHORUS)


Roarin’ out of Harlan, revvin’ up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland, and screamed by Maynordsville
With T-men on his taillights, roadblocks up ahead
The mountain boy took roads that even Angels feared to tred.


Blazing right through Knoxville, out on Kingston Pike,
Then right outside of Bearden, they made the fatal strike.
He left the road at 90; that’s all there is to say.
The devil got the moonshine and the mountain boy that day.

Off Beat: Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour On The Bedpost Overnight

Released in the late 50s by skiffle artist Lonnie Donegan, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight) became a huge hit both at home in the UK and in the States in the early 60s. I remember hearing the song and loving it on the radio in Toronto as a little kid.

I didn't know who Lonnie Donegan was back then. I just thought the song was hilarious. But Donegan racked up 24 Top 30 hits in Britain and was the most popular British recording artist until the Beatles came along. Speaking of which, Donegan influenced many British musical acts of the 60s, including a little skiffle group called The Quarrymen - the precursor to the Beatles. Donegan died at the age of 71 in 2002, while on tour in Britain. Here's a 70s performance of Does Your Chewing Gum...

Off Beat: Witch Doctor

In 1958, the novelty song Witch Doctor hit #1 in America. The song was written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. - better known as David Seville.

Witch Doctor was the first occasion that Seville experimented with tape speeds in the recording studio. His most successful use of varied tape speeds was with Alvin and the Chipmunks. They released Christmas Don't Be Late in 1959 and never looked back, launching a career of records, cartoons and television shows. Here's Seville on the Ed Sullivan show in the 50s "performing" Witch Doctor...

Off Beat: Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

In 1962 the novelty song Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow by the Rivingtons was a huge hit. The song capitalized on the doo-wop phenomena of the time but the lyrics, if lyrics you could call them, made absolutely no sense. The song was The Rivington's first and biggest hit. Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow was the basis for last week's off beat song Surfin' Bird. The song's been covered by several groups. Here's a performance from the Beach Boys in 1964, who having performed it in concert decided to include it on their Beach Boys Party album. The clip includes a bonus performance of Hawaii...