Music On Monday: Monster's Holiday

Dang! It has been a rough month, coming off a super-rough summer. Glad (hope) that's all over. Here's a Halloween hit to ring out the month -- Buck Owens' "Monster's Holiday":

Happy Halloween!

Music On Monday: the Little Cowgirl's Top 5

Funny enough, the Little Cowgirl's all-time top 5 songs so far (she's 6-1/2, though, so this could change) all qualify for posting on this blog! So I decided to immortalize her (current) top 5 for posterity.

Her very first favorite song was "Fujiyama Mama" as performed by Wanda Jackson. Wanda was the first singer/band she asked about and knew by name (although she called her "Wonder Jackson" for a long time) by the age of...I'm thinking 2-1/2? I have to admit, I was a proud mama the day at her playgym when the 3-year-olds were asked to name their favorite song, and in the middle of all the "Wheels on the Bus" and "Twinkle Twinkle" answers my kid busted out with "FUJIYAMA MAMA!!!"

Wanda Jackson remained her favorite singer until shortly after her 5th birthday, when she fell hard for Rose Maddox (she prefers her with the Maddox Brothers, but it's really Rose she cares about). Rose slowly pushed Wanda aside and for a long time her #1 song was "No More Time", by the Bros. & Rose, from 1955:

Then she actually forgot about the girls a bit and went Bob Wills crazy! (Keep in mind she loves all this stuff to this day, and she adores Bob Wills "and the TEXAS PLAYBOYS!" All of these songs have remained in her top 10 at least.) When it happened I'm not exactly sure, but her #1 song became "Take Me Back To Tulsa". We have a few versions of it, mainly earlier recordings with Tommy Duncan singing, but here's a much later live clip that we like a lot too:

But then Rose got back into the fight with a decidedly rockabilly track from the mid-50s, "Stop Whistlin' Wolf". She loves this one and from week to week changes her mind which is #1, this or "Tulsa":

But wait, that's just 4 songs! There's another song that has never really been #1, but definitely has filled out her top 5 since early last year, and that's the Flatt and Scruggs hit "Pearl, Pearl, Pearl". Might not really fit the Western theme, but it was featured on Beverly Hillbillies....and that took place in California so...I call it good. Ahem. Enjoy:

And just in case you're wondering, how do I know what her #1 songs are? Well, for one thing, she tells me. For another, she plays them over and over when they come up on the stereo or ipod. And finally, because when she was younger she would run around in circles while singing the lyrics. For what seemed like hours. Thank goodness it never was "Wheels on the Bus"!

Music On Monday Song Special: The "Oakie Boogie"

"Oakie Boogie" is a classic track, maybe Western Swing, maybe Hillbilly Boogie, maybe proto-rockabilly, but definitely awesome. We generally like every version we've heard! It was first released in 1947 by both the writer, Johnny Tyler and also by Jack "Oke" Guthrie (Woody's cousin) -- Guthrie's version was a bona-fide hit and is considered a candidate for "first rock-and-roll record". And it probably is the best version to this day - just listen:

It's been recorded countless times and with all sort of interpretations. Another hit version was the Nelson Riddle arrangement of the song into a pop version for Ella Mae Morse as the "Okie Boogie":

I do like that version, but it's a bit on the smooth side! Our house favorites, Maddox Brothers and Rose also recorded their version, but to make things even better, they also recorded an answer song variation called the "Mean and Wicked Boogie"!

The list of cover version is endless, but feel free to start checking them out! Of special note, the Ted Heath big band version (almost seems like a parody); Hank Swatley's 50s rockabilly version; and this great live version from Mimi Roman.

Music On Monday: Girls of the Golden West

Dolly and Millie Good were sisters from a farm in Illinois, but they reinvented themselves as cowgirls from Muleshoe Texas and became the Girls of the Golden West in the early 1930s -- naming themselves after the Puccini opera. Very popular through the 30s and into the 40s, they cut a ton of sides for 5 different labels, yet no-one seems to have collected much of their output in modern times. Perhaps that's because their stuff is pretty mellow - it's just the two of them and a single guitar, so even for cowboy music of the time it's a bit stripped down. Plus they sing ballads. But every so often they get a bit goofy with songs like "Cross Eyed Beau":

They also sing about wanting to be real cowgirls (rather than cowboy's sweethearts):

And while you can't find them on too many compilations, you can find a small collection of tracks at the internet archive, ready to download! To read more about the Good sisters (and to see a full track listing), go here.

Music On Monday: The Gun Club

You'll find The Gun Club on the 80s cowpunk lists, but I think they shade a bit more country than a lot of the other (more western) bands they were associated with -- in fact, some people apparently consider them the first alt-country band. (Not that I think any band is the "first" of anything, really, but okay. They're also called "punk blues" and "tribal psychobilly blues" and "early roots rock" so, you know, whatever.)

Their history and line-up is pretty convoluted; founder and singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce was about the only constant as various musicians (including Kid Congo Powers of the Cramps, Patricia Morrison of Sisters of Mercy and Debbie Harry on backup vocals) and celebrity producers (Chris Stein of Blondie, Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins) came and went. The band formed in 1980 (when Blondie fan club chapter president Pierce met Ramones fan club chapter president Powers!) and continued in one form or another until Pierce's death in 1996. (Read the whole saga here.)

While they are pretty consistently interesting all the way through their run, I have a personal fondness for the earliest recordings. Here's a track off the first album, Fire of Love -- "Ghost on the Highway":

And from Miami, "Mother of Earth":

That is just scratching the surface - you could probably cruise YouTube and listen to them for a week! And if you still have some free time left, there's a great set of interviews with Kid Congo Powers online here (especially if you're a Cramps fan). Enjoy!

Music On Monday: Dick Stratton & the Nite Owls

Here's a song I can't tell you anything about, really. But we got it on a comp and fell for it hard -- it's Dick Stratton and the Nite Owls doing "Pistol Boogie", and is my favorite version of that song. It was put out by Tennnessee Records, a country/western indie label in Nashville that existed from 1950-1952. I would say it falls into that area where western swing was sliding through bop and boogie into rockabilly. I cannot find out a thing about Dick Stratton, although he is described as a "prolific record cutter in Nashville", but The Nite Owls were apparently Tennessee Records' house band and are a cover name for whatever Nashville area musicians were in the studio that session. They recorded several tracks with Dick Stratton and others (several of which are on the comp above, but not "Pistol Boogie", unfortunately!). Enjoy:

Music On Monday: Happy 4th!

Not patriotic or really even all that upbeat, but still....Dave Alvin's take on the 4th:

X recorded this song as well while he was their guitarist, and I realize that's the much better known version. But I really like this one as well, and I love this video for capturing the 4th in such a realistic way.

Also, if you're cooking out today, it's too late to make these for this year, but next year how about trying cowboy beans! (Find an alternate, much easier recipe here) Happy 4th of July!

Music On Monday: Blood On the Saddle

Another of the 80s LA cowpunk bands, Blood on the Saddle was formed by guitar player and vocalist Greg Davis who said that because he liked punk, but he wasn't a punk, he tried to come up with a sound that combined all the things he liked. In the process, he formed what was probably one of the key cowpunk bands of the era, performing covers of songs like "Blood on the Saddle" (you're surprised, right?), "Ring of Fire" and "Wish I Was A Single Girl Again" along with the band's originals.

He added then-girlfriend Annette Zilinskas as vocalist before they recorded their first album (she is unfortunately better known for being an early bass player in the Bangles). They harmonized much in the same way that Exene and John Doe of X do (not surprising since their first date was at an X show!), but also, as Davis pointed out in an interview, the way that Johnny Cash and June Carter did. Unfortunately they only lasted a few years in this incarnation but they left behind a lot of great songs. Here's a live performance of one of my favorites, "Poison Love"

And here's an actual video for the song "Promise Your Heart to Me" -- well, it's one of those "let's lip-synch in the bed of a truck while driving around the city" videos, but still fun to see:

Someone, presumably connected with the band (or maybe just a fan) has set up a Blood On the Saddle YouTube channel -- these two videos can be found there as well as several rare live appearances and a 10-minute interview about the band with Greg David and Annette Zilinskas. If you enjoyed these two clips, definitely head on over and listen to more!

Music on Monday: Ann Jones and her Western Sweethearts

Ann Jones was a very popular (and prolific) Western vocalist (called the "Kate Smith of the West"!) who had a long career as a singer, bandleader and radio host - and apparently was a WWII-era softball star as well, returning to music in 1947. In the early 50s she formed an all-girl Western Swing band, her "Western Sweethearts" and toured with them through many lineup changes into the 1970s, releasing a few albums along the way. One reference says the band formed in 1955, but they were touring by July of 1954, as you can see by this ad which ran in Washington state on July 22nd of that year:

There is a CD available of her work, including this track which I would have been my theme song if I'd known it when I was babysitting age:

And here's something for the grownups:

To be honest, I'm not sure if any of her "Western Sweethearts" are actually on these tracks; they are recorded from 1949-1954 and she was a solo act for several of those years; additionally, she apparently used studio guys when making records. The Sweethearts may have been a touring band only at this time. But whether or not the musicians on these recordings are wearing heart-motif cowgirl outfits, they are still worth a listen!

A note: I had to take an internet break due to the loss of our eldest cat this past week; this post was the only one I'd pre-written and scheduled before everything happened. I'll be back before next Monday, I promise!

Music On Monday: Wall of Voodoo

The Stan Ridgway era Wall of Voodoo was an amazing band, which unfortunately is remembered by most people as a one-hit-wonder for the (semi) hit "Mexican Radio", which, well, okay, let's just get this over with:

You know it, everyone knows it, and truth be told it's pretty great. But MTV played it to death and it has totally overshadowed the rest of their work. Not that there's all that much of it - just two album's worth before the band broke up in 1983 (although two members immediately re-formed with a different line-up and continued to work under the name Wall of Voodoo*). A favorite track of mine was their cover of "Ring of Fire" -- I still have the 7"! You can hear the shortened single version here, but here's a great live version of the whole thing -- warning, the full version can make some people go crazy. Bail out anytime after about 3:15 if it's getting on your nerves.

Finally, what was probably my favorite song of theirs, "Call of the West". For me, this song totally sums up everything about Wall of Voodoo that I loved, the creepiness, the Morricone influence, the not-exactly-nostalgic feel for the West, and of course, Stan Ridgway's weird narration/vocal style.

Just about everyone in the band did lots more after they broke up (for the first time) in 1983, but I don't know that anything ever lived up to this handful of recordings that they made.

A funny bit of trivia: according to legend (i.e. Wikipedia), the band got their name when Stan Ridgway was playing some tracks for a friend (Joe Berardi of The Fibonaccis). Stan joked that the music had so many layers of organ and drum-machine it was like a "wall of sound", and Berardi countered that it sounded more like a "wall of voodoo". Stan, being no dummy, obviously realized that was a brilliant name and used it for the band. The funny part? The drum machine was a gift from voice actor Daws Butler. I say, "?!?"

*Personally, I was never a fan of of Wall of Voodoo 2.0 -- I know there are people who feel the exact opposite though, so feel free to check them out. Marc Moreland, the guitarist, was in both versions, and he was fantastic. So I thought maybe I should give them another chance, and I checked out their hit. Nope, still don't like them...but you may feel different!

Music On Monday: the Bluegrass Champs

Here's possibly the most hyper bunch I've ever seen on stage outside of a Minutemen show, the Bluegrass Champs with their winning performance of "Salty Dog Blues" on Arthur Godfrey's talent scouts in 1956. Donna Stoneman is bouncing all over the place while she plays! And especially check out their awesome Western outfits -- everyone's shirt bears the motif of the instrument that they are playing. Brilliant.

You can see the guy's shirts clearly in this press photo -- Donna isn't wearing hers, perhaps because sister Peggy had joined by now and she didn't have one!

The Bluegrass Champs were the group formed by the younger generation of the famous Stoneman family in 1955 - they took over the Stoneman Family name not much later and continued their energetic style for many years. Donna and Peggy, along with sister Ronnie are still performing, in fact! Here's a clip from 1965, looks like Donna is even more hyper -- seriously, how does she play while she jumps like that?

And finally, here's how we discovered the younger Stonemans -- performing in Road to Nashville (which, by the way, is worth fast forwarding through but a bit painful to watch). We were blown away when we saw them totally wigging out in the midst of a lot of soppy 60s Nashville artists. Just watch:

Now if all that doesn't perk you up on a Monday, I don't know what will! Have a great week!

Music On Monday quickie: grab yourself some Maddox Brothers & Rose!

Maddox Brothers and Rose deserve (and will get) a whole post of their own one of these days as they are tops on the playlists around here (last year Rose Maddox toppled Wanda Jackson as the Little Cowgirl's #1 singer after a reign of 3-4 years!). But right now I just wanted to let you all now that there are some great Maddox posts going up at Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archives. One is here, another is here. Go check them out, you won't be sorry you did!

Music On Monday: Rank And File

I grew up listening to my mom's folk records* (which included a lot of "cowboy" songs) -- I mean, we really sang stuff around the house like "Comin' Round the Mountain" and "Streets of Laredo", yes pretty square but I'm glad for it now. But the first Western music I bought that was my own was probably the album Sundown by Rank and File. My favorite track off it is "Coyote" but "The Conductor Wore Black", is a close second:

Being a kid, and having no real way to find out about bands then (no internet omg can you believe it) until I actually got my own copy of the LP I totally thought it was a male/female duet, like X. But it was actually harmonizing from two brothers, Tony and Chip Kinman (of Dils fame) as you can see in this live clip of them from the era:

I think I had all 3 albums on vinyl, but Sundown is the only one that has survived into my digital playlists. Maybe it really is their best (it's the only album they recorded with Alejandro Escovedo), maybe it's just because it recalls a certain time in my life. For whatever reason, I love them to this day.

*my father and uncles listened to psychedelic rock and prog rock. It was an interesting mix, to say the least. At least both of my parents listened to classical music, otherwise they'd have probably split up even sooner!