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"!

In Utah? Got a cowboy rec room? You need this!

This amazing 50s Western-themed bar is up for sale right now (listing here, $350). It's in perfect shape, and is seriously amazing. See for yourself- here it is in all its basement-installed glory:

 And check out that floor! Sadly, the fish is already gone.

Here's a better look at the front:

Amazing nailhead designs in the vinyl bar front.

And just look at this formica!

I'm just stunned by this. Never seen this pattern before in my life.

If  that formica was actually available, this could be copied pretty easily. But it's not, sadly enough. But if you are close enough to drive a truck over it can be yours!

(spotted on retrorenovation.com)

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!