WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Papa's Got a Brand New Patriotic Bag (MP3s)

Happy Independence Day.

James Brown & The Famous Flames  -  America Is My Home Pt. 1  (3:20)

James Brown & The Famous Flames  -  America Is My Home Pt. 2  (3:28)

Wild Oates: A Conversation With Warren Oates' Biographer

          

Writer Susan Compo recently authored an enormously entertaining Warren Oates biography and Oates fans who have not yet read the book can look forward to it with great anticipation.  For my money, Warren Oates: A Wild Life is the finest biography since 1998 when Ronnie Pugh's Ernest Tubb biography hit the shelves.  The book offers a richly-detailed and definitive portrait of Oates' intriguing life and career and upon finishing it, I decided it might be interesting to talk to the author about Warren Oates and how she came to write the story of his life.  I'd like to thank Susan for sharing several unpublished Oates photos (including above right, showing Oates in makeup for The Brink's Job) and for indulging me while I fumbled through my Brian Lamb impersonation.

Oates died of a heart attack in 1982, but if he were still with us he'd celebrate his 81st birthday on July 5.

Greg:  Let's start things off with a question about the title of your book, Warren Oates: A Wild Life.  Who chose that title?

Susan Compo:  The publisher, as happens sometimes in the book world.  I had Wild Oates, but they just didn't go for that.

(NOTE: I didn't want to see a good title go to waste, so I borrowed it for this post).

Bright Lights And Go Go Girls (MP3s)

   

I've been obsessively hoarding "country go go" records for several years now. 

Of course, given the fact that there were very few such records ever made, the hoarding opportunities are really pretty limited to begin with.  Still, there's something inherently fascinating about the absurdly improbable collision of two worlds which could scarcely be more different.

Kramer

Ever scratch your head and wonder if Kramer was a Gomer Pyle fan? 

Yes, he was.

Sharon Tate, Commie Cheesecake

This Sharon Tate pictorial, shot by photographer William Helburn, appeared in the December 1967 issue of Esquire.  Is this the birth of the appalling communist chic movement?  Probably not, but I really don't know.

Unenlightened rube that I am, I've never been able to grasp the kitschy appeal of the symbols of a brutally repressive totalitarian movement.

        

More semi-risque photos after the jump.....

The Ballad Of Patty Hearst (MP3s)

  

Here are a couple of songs that serve as sort of a thematic follow-up to my recent post on the kidnapping of Peggy Ann Bradnick in Pennsylvania in 1966.

Al Cartwright  -  Patty  (2:31)

Sue Lloyd & William O'Donnell  -  The Ballad Of Patty Hearst (Listen To Tania)  (3:32)

Today's selections, however, concern a far more notorious kidnapping, that of Patty Hearst, granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst.   On February 2, 1974 Hearst was abducted in Berkeley, California by several members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, a group of revolutionary left-wing radicals.  Members of the SLA would later be convicted of a wide variety of crimes in addition to kidnapping: first degree murder, second degree murder, possession of explosives with intent to murder and various passport crimes, among other offenses.

After Hearst participated in an SLA bank robbery on April 15, 1974 a warrant was issued for her arrest.  Along with several other SLA members, she was arrested in a San Francisco apartment in September 1975.  She was eventually tried and convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison, though she served less than 2 years of that time before President Carter commuted her sentence.

By the way, I should probably apologize for the second of the two MP3s above: not only is the record in horrifically mangled condition, the song is pretty damn irritating to boot!  You've been warned.

Songs We Taught The Blasters

Johnny Paycheck - I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised
Bill Haley & The Comets - Real Rock Drive
Tani Allen - Tennesse Jive
Little Junior Parker - Barefoot Rock
The Rockin' R's - Crazy Baby
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys - Never No More Blues
The Hollywood Flames - Buzz Buzz Buzz
Little Willie John - I'm Shakin'
Sunnyland Slim - Highway 61
Bo Diddley - I Love You So
Bob Ehret - Stop The Clock
Jerry Lee Lewis - High School Confidential
Magic Sam - 21 Days In Jail
Little Richard - Keep a Knockin'
Roy Orbison - Go! Go! Go! 
Billy Boy Arnold - I Wish You Would
Big Joe Turner - Roll 'Em Pete                             
Frankie Lee Sims - What Will Lucy Do?
Rocket Morgan - Tag Along
Lee Allen - Walkin' With Mr. Lee
Honey Bears - One Bad Stud
Staple Singers - Samson & Delilah
Elmore James - Cry For Me
Don & Dewey - Justine 
Jerry Byrne - Lights Out
Jimmy Ricks & The Raves - Daddy Rollin' Stone
Joe Jones - California Sun
Stick McGhee & His Buddies - Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee
Chuck Willis - What Am I Livin' For?
Tarheel Slim - Number Nine Train
Charlie Rich - Rebound
Bobby Lee Trammell - It's All Your Fault
George Jones - Window Up Above
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Okie Doke Stomp

Thanks To Listener Greg G for sending this one in!

Truckers Shuckers Freeks & Geeks

Since keeping track of all the millions of podcasts out there is a hopeless task, I thought I'd put together a post hyping an outstanding show that might otherwise escape your attention.

For quite some time I've been immensely enjoying Truckers Shuckers Freeks & Geeks, produced and hosted by a hardcore record maniac named Mark Lee Allen (not to be confused with Beware Of The Blog contributor Mark Allen).  Over on his myspace page, Mark Lee Allen describes himself as a "record collector, idiot, DJ, and all-around geek" and he's certainly got discs to prove it.  His massive collection of original issue rockabilly, hillbilly, rhythm and blues, and doo-wop 45s and 78s, seems pretty close to endless.

Originally from Portsmouth, England and now living in Oregon, Mark's been in the US only about 5 years.  Unfortunately for the rest of us record hunters here in America, it seems he's wasting no time in his efforts to acquire every cool disc ever waxed.  Listening to his show is always a blast.  On mic, his between song ramblings absolutely brim with enthusiasm, humor and arcane record collecting details that invariably ring true.

The shows themselves usually (but not always) have themes, frequently centering on a specific record label or topical theme. 

His "record label" shows usually involve diving incredibly deeply (really, where does he find these discs?) into the hillbilly-flavored obscurities released by a given label.  Examples include, but aren't strictly limited to, Columbia, Starday, Mercury, Coral, Goldband, and King.

His topically-themed shows are all over the place and have included subjects like truck driving, guitar blues, Johnny Cash soundalikes, and Elvis Presley tribute records.  And any show with "Trailer Park" in the title is sure to be a winner as that's where Mark spins some of his most deranged discs covering subjects like hippies, beatniks, gambling, oddball trucker songs, murder, suicide, alcoholism, all-purpose oddities,  assorted parodies and demented novelties. I'm told that tomorrow he'll be uploading a show called Garage Sale At The Trailer Park.  I'm there.

Don't know where to start?  You could always check out his January 8, 2009 show, which kicks off with Pee Wee King's soaring version of Dragnet, recorded in 1955.  That's right, Dragnet - with steel guitars,  fiddles and cowboy hats!  And for some additional fun, hang in there until at least 47 minutes in (or cheat and move the positioning bar) and listen in as Mark gleefully mangles his repeated attempts to pronounce Nuevo Laredo when back-announcing an Elton Britt recording by that name.

The Kidnapping Of Peggy Ann Bradnick (MP3)

     

Russ Edwards  -  Eight Days At Shade Gap  (3:13)

On May 11, 1966 17-year-old Peggy Ann Bradnick, a high school junior from rural Shade Gap, Pennsylvania got off the school bus and started walking home with her five brothers and sisters. 

Before they made it to the house, they were approached by a shotgun-toting man known locally as the Bicycle Man, in reference to his normal mode of transportation.  He took Peggy at gunpoint and warned her siblings that he'd kill all of them if they tried to help her.  With that, he dragged Peggy into the woods of the Tuscarora Mountains and disappeared.  The kidnapper, 44-year-old former mental patient William Hollenbaugh, had  spent 6 years of his life in prison and an additional 13 years in Pennsylvania's hospital for the criminally insane after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

More details (and a slew of photos) after the jump.

The Dunreith Accident (MP3s)

Shady Stevens  -  The Dunreith Accident  (2:15)

Porter Wagoner  -  The Carroll County Accident  (2:51)

On January 1, 1968 two trains collided in Dunreith, Indiana about 40 miles east of Indianapolis.  In the aftermath of the wreck, local singer Shady Stevens whipped up a tune called The Dunreith Accident

The result of a broken rail, the wreck derailed 26 cars and caused a hydrogen cyanide spill.  Another car, carrying anhydrous ammonia, exploded resulting in flames shooting 100 feet into the air.  The fire spread to a trackside cannery and a nearby liquid fertilizer storage tank, which exploded blowing up hundreds of cans of tomatoes which looked like blood spots on nearby patches of snow.  Along with the cannery, seven local houses were destroyed by the explosion, but amazingly there were no deaths.

Porter Wagoner fans will recognize The Dunreith Accident, as the music was lifted directly from Porter's 1968 hit The Carroll County Accident, which has also been included here for the sake of a convenient reference. 

At least Stevens was decent enough to acknowledge Bob Ferguson's authorship of the song.  Ferguson, an RCA producer who was responsible for overseeing many of Porter Wagoner's finest records, wrote the song after noticing the sign for Carroll County, Tennessee while speeding from Nashville down to Mississippi.  After investigating, he learned that there were 13 Carroll Counties in the USA and figured that the county name would work well for the song he crafted.

Incidentally, Indiana does have a Carroll County but it's approximately 100 miles northwest of Dunreith, which is in Henry County.

Funnel Of Love (MP3s)

If you haven't already heard Funnel Of Love, Wanda Jackson's rhythmically hypnotic 1961 exercise in country / psychedelia, you can check it out below.

Strange but true:  I recently learned that this positively irresistible 45 rpm recording sounds equally enchanting when slowed down to 33 rpm!

Sounds impossible, I know, but listen in as Wanda's beguiling wildcat voice is converted into the vaguely blurred rasp of a smitten young man.  The ear (well, my ear) detects that the recording sounds artificially slowed down for only the first few seconds, after which it sounds completely normal, though it definitely retains an authentically exotic flair.  Big points go to Roy Clark whose guitar playing layers atmospheric appeal onto the proceedings on both the standard and the slowed down version.

Wanda Jackson  -  Funnel Of Love (45rpm)  (2:04)

Wanda Jackson  -  Funnel Of Love (45rpm played at 33 1/3 rpm)  (2:48)

The credit for this fascinating audio discovery goes to Todd Butler, who stumbled upon it while conducting audio experiments back in high school, a decade or two before I met him.  He shared the information with his pal Arthur Johnson, who just recently clued me in. 

Sadly, Todd passed away at age 40 in 2004. 

Billed as "Georgia Todd Butler," he made many contributions to the WFMU program The Audio Kitchen.  Hosted by The Professor, The Audio Kitchen was, according to Station Manager Ken, "the greatest found sound radio program ever."  Todd would often head into Atlanta's thrift stores armed with a Walkman and patiently plow through the cassettes on display in search of homemade audio ephemera to share with fellow enthusiasts.  Samples of Todd's discoveries that made it onto the WFMU airwaves can be heard here, here, and here.

As great as it was, Funnel Of Love wasn't a hit.  In fact, it was the b-side of Right Or Wrong, a tune which found success on both the Country and the Pop charts (#9 and #29 respectively).  Just one year later, in 1962, she recorded the topically and stylistically similar Whirlpool, though it too was inexplicably relegated to life as a b-side.

Wanda Jackson  -  Whirlpool  (2:16)

In the better late than never department, Wanda Jackson was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last week.  To be sure most music snobs, and I include myself here, feel a little bit of an obligation to sneer at the very concept of  "the rock & roll hall of fame" and its way of doing things. 

For those who get the nod, though, it's an understandably big honor so congratulations to Wanda Jackson on all her accomplishments.  In 2002, Wanda Jackson was interviewed by Rex on Fool's Paradise.  That program can be accessed here.  And in 2008, Michael Shelley interviewed her for his show.  Go here to listen to that interview.

The (Xenia, Ohio) Torndado Disasters (MP3)

Thirty five years ago today Xenia, Ohio was pummeled by a horrific tornado that swept through town, destroying hundreds of buildings and taking 33 lives.  The Xenia tornado was part of a larger series of tornadic activity known as the Super Outbreak, the largest series of tornadoes ever recorded.

If you saw Harmony Korine's disturbing 1997 film Gummo, then perhaps you'll recall that it was set in Xenia in the aftermath of the tornado.

Roy Baker & The Gospel Tones  -  The Tornado Disasters  (3:53)

Shortly after the storm ripped the town apart, singer Roy Baker went into the studio to record a topical song about the catastrophic destruction. 

Songs about actual events recorded by first-hand witnesses to the carnage create a kind of localized social history that captures perspectives that often are left out of standard journalistic reports.  I find that listening to such songs can be almost as illuminating as reading or watching traditional mainstream media reports.

More topical records based on actual events can be heard here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The black and white photo on right is courtesy of the Greene County Public Library.  Many more photos of the aftermath of the Xenia tornado can be found here.

EEF BEAT MANIFESTO (MP3s)

Eefing (sometimes spelled eeefin' or eephin', among other variations) is a jarringly weird hillbilly vocal tradition that traces its birth back to at least the 19th century.  Sometimes described as sounding like a wheezily rhythmic asthma attack, eefin' afforded those without musical talent or instruments the opportunity to hop on stage and be part of the entertainment.  It's pretty hard to convey the essence of eefin' with mere words, however, so by all means go ahead and watch the short video clip up above if you haven't already done so. 

Long ago, before I even knew what eefing was, I caught the Dave & Deke Combo in action at the Star Bar here in Atlanta.  In the midst of the show, with no introduction or explanation, Deke Dickerson started eefing with what I can only describe as full-throttled and wide-eyed intensity.  I was thunderstruck by the absurdity and kookiness of the situation and Deke's total willingness to perform, with a straight face, this odd vocal stunt that made him sound.....well, deranged.  I literally could not stop laughing.  Later, I found out that I'd just seen eefin' for the first time.  Yeah, up to that point, I'd led a pretty sheltered life, I guess.

Later still, upon learning that there existed actual eefin' records, I set out to track them down.  Here are the fruits of my "labor."

Harmonica Frank  -  Swamp Root  (2:33)  This 1951 disc by Harmonica Frank Floyd is the first eefin' record that I'm aware of, though there are almost certainly earlier examples.   Recorded by Sam Phillips in Memphis the year before Sun Records was officially launched, this track was leased to Chess Records.  Floyd, a "modern day hobo" as Phillips once referred to him, was an itinerant musician with a medicine show background who made records that combined blues and country influences.

Jimmie Riddle Gives An Eefin' Lesson  (1:06)   This fantastic 1981 audio clip comes to us courtesy of Alan Ross, at the time a copywriter for the Nashville ad agency that hired Riddle to do radio voice work for a sausage commercial.  Before the end of the session Ross politely informed Riddle that there was no way he was getting out of there without giving the crowd an eefin' lesson.  Riddle obliged and here is the result, where we learn that he was taught how to eef as a young child by his Uncle Ralph, who called it hoodlin'.

Above: Hee Haw, circa 1971.  Jackie Phelphs (left) hambones while Jimmie Riddle eefs. In addition to being superb at hamboning, Phelps was an accomplished guitarist. Riddle's resume included a long stint playing harmonica (as well as the accordion and piano) in Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys.

Jimmie Riddle  -  Wildwood Eeeph  (1:33)  Jimmie Riddle probably did more to popularize eefin' than the  rest of humanity combined.  For several years he eefed with great regularity on Hee Haw along with the hamboning Jackie Phelps.  That's them in the video clips above.  Riddle was born in 1918 in Dyersburg, Tennessee though his family relocated to Memphis a month or so later, where he spent all his early years. 

The Ballad Of James Burton (MP3)

     

Buddy Cagle  -  The Guitar Player (The Ballad Of James Burton)  2:48

The Guitar Player (The Ballad of James Burton) was a 1969 tribute 45 released by country vocalist Buddy Cagle, a singer on the tail end of a handful of minor hits for the Capitol, Mercury, and Imperial labels.  Cagle had a secret weapon in his arsenal for this particular recording, though, and that was.....James Burton.  Yep, it's true.  Burton himself played the guitar licks on what is surely the world's only James Burton tribute disc!

James Burton probably needs no introduction but just in case you could use a brief refresher, he made a name for himself by blasting out brilliant country, rockabilly, and pop guitar riffs on countless records and stages all over the world.  To call the man a natural would be a bit of an understatement.  In 1955, at age 16, the self-taught youngster was hired to be the guitarist in the Louisiana Hayride's house band.   He soon hooked up with local rocker Dale Hawkins and waxed the timelessly propulsive guitar solo heard in Hawkins' signature song, Suzy Q.

This boosted his profile considerably and not long afterward he was shoving off for Los Angeles to play guitar for Bob Luman.  Once in Los Angeles, his instrumental prowess attracted the attention of Ricky Nelson, who recruited Burton to play guitar for him.  The studio and road gig with Nelson lasted 8 years and launched him into the stratosphere of LA pickers.  When he left Nelson's band in 1965, Burton wasted no time establishing himself as an ace session guitarist for hire.  His picking can be heard on records by Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Buffalo Springfield, 5th Dimension, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens, among others far too numerous to mention. In addition, he served time as Elvis Presley's lead guitarist, both in the studio and on the road, from 1969 until Presley's death in 1977.

Your next chance to see the legendary James Burton in action is in New Orleans on April 28 at the Ponderosa Stomp.

UPDATE:  Your next chance to see the legendary James Burton in action is at 4:30PM on April 18 at the Lone Star Rod & Kustom Round Up in Austin.  He plays again later that evening at Austin's Continental Club. 

And you can also catch him in New Orleans on April 28 at the Ponderosa Stomp.

Plantation Gold: The Mad Genius Of Shelby Singleton Jr. (MP3s)

Fans of offbeat country music will be pleased to learn that Australia's Omni Recording Corporation label has just released a wealth of super-rare Nashville recordings from the 1960s and 70s made for Shelby Singleton's Plantation label (and a number of its off-shoots, such as SSS).

The recordings have been compiled on a two disc (58 track!) collection called Plantation Gold: The Mad Genius Of Shelby Singleton Jr. And Plantation / SSS Records 1967 - 1976.  Shelby Singleton was born in 1931 in the tiny east Texas town of Waskom, about 20 miles from Shreveport, Louisiana.  His ownership of a Shreveport record store gave him the contacts needed to land a job as a promoter for the Mercury label and by the time he was 30, he was a vice-president for Mercury's subsidiary Smash label.

By 1966, he'd departed Mercury/Smash to form Plantation records, the first of the several labels he had a hand in launching and running.  Plantation's first and biggest success came in 1968, with Harper Valley PTA, Jeannie C. Riley's massively popular critique of self-righteous hypocrisy.  The song, written by Tom T. Hall, topped both the Country and Pop charts.  No doubt, Singleton used part of the proceeds in July 1969 when he purchased the Sun records catalog from Sam Phillips.

For the next 10 years or so, Singleton's various labels churned out a steady supply of singles and LPs, many of which were downright weird.  Fortunately, the folks at Omni seem to have a real penchant for compellingly odd and/or offensive songs.  This will be no surprise to anyone who's familiar with the Porter Wagoner re-issue they did a couple of years ago (Rubber Room: The Haunting, Poetic Songs Of Porter Wagoner), which compiled the best of Wagoner's many stark tales of murder, alcoholism, depression, and general lunacy.

Plantation Gold features a generous assortment of honky-tonkers, tearjerkers, quirky instrumentals, topical numbers, recitations, answer songs, yodel tunes, Japanese hillbillies, hyper-patriotic flag wavers and even some bona fide psychedelic and pop-flavored country tunes.  The deluxe liner note booklet includes tons of period photos of the performers, label shots, and best of all, an extremely illuminating essay by Jason Odd.

Below are a few samples to whet your appetite.

Little Jimmy Dempsey  -  I Walk The Line  (2:20)  I find this guitar and organ based instrumental highly addictive.  And since LIttle Jimmy is an Atlanta native (and therefore a hometown hero), I couldn't turn my back on him.

Johnny Moore and "Colonel" Tex Herring  -  Sold To The Highest Bidder  (3:00)   This weeper must be heard to be believed, as it incorporates the voice of Tex Herring, an actual auctioneer.

Marcie Dickerson  -  (I Want To Be) A Truck Driver's Sweetheart  (2:10)  This romp is an update of Patsy Montana's I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

Ray "Wong" Riley  -  Happy Valley CIA  (3:14)  The liner notes refer to this weird adaptation of Harper Valley PTA as "lysergic sitar-drenched bop" and that probably understates things a bit.  If you're easily offended, you should probably skip this highly insensitive track.

I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself (MP3s)

One of my favorite aspects of the world of country music is, or maybe I should say was, the willingness of so many of its artists to plunge headfirst into unflinching explorations of the dark side of life. 

Hearing the horrific woes of someone else always goes a long way toward helping you put your own troubles into perspective.  I have no doubt that this simple fact is one reason there are so many breathtakingly depressing country songs to begin with.

So with that in mind, here are 9 suicide-themed songs selected to help make my  point.  Unlike the recent Beware Of The Blog post that examined an LSD-related suicide recording, all the suicidal feelings here are the result of romantic woes.  This may or may not be worth keeping in mind as Valentine's Day rolls around this weekend.

Buddy Knox  -  I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself  (2:03)

Louis Innis  -  Suicide  (2:22)

Bobby Leeds  -  Suicide  (1:57)

Ron McCleod  -  Suicide  (2:20)

Don Bailey  -  Fourteen Stories Down  (2:53)

Hugh Porter  -  Twenty Stories Down  (2:06)

Don Owens  -  Cold Dark Waters Below  (2:30) 

Jim Cooper  -  Note Of Suicide  (2:25)

Leon Hobson  -  She Thinks I'm Gonna Jump  (2:26)

Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict (MP3s)

Here are both sides of a grimly disturbing 45 made by Dexter Gardner, a deeply troubled teenaged (and self-identified) LSD addict from Kearns, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

As the record label indicates, the audio was "reproduced from (a) tape recorded message just before death by suicide."  The original recording concludes with the sound of the gunshot that ended Gardner's life, but the version that appears on this record is a bit more genteel; the sound of the gunshot was removed.

The 45, released on Atlanta's Broadcasting For Jesus record label, is entirely spoken word.  Side One features the first part of Gardner's rambling farewell.  Over on Side Two, we hear the conclusion of his message, followed by a short piece by NBC news reporter Bill Ryan.  Ryan's report includes the information that Gardner's parents chose to have the recording played at their son's funeral in the hopes that some of his friends would be persuaded not to board the drug train.

Sorry about the extreme scratchiness of this record.  No doubt the recording had lousy fidelity to begin with and this particular copy sounds as thought it must have been passed around and mishandled with  great frequency before it wound up in my hands.  In a fascinating side note, I learned that this very recording is available as a cassette tape from the National Child Safety Council, as part of their drug abuse prevention program.  The colorful artwork nearby comes from the cassette's j-card.

Dexter Gardner  -  Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict - Part One  (6:33)

Dexter Gardner  -  Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict - Part Two  (6:41)

Though he was not connected with this project in any way, I have a feeling Jack Webb would approve.

Skid Row Joe . . . ¡en Español! (MP3s)

Porter Wagoner  -  Skid Row Joe  (3:03)

Joe Bravo Y Su Orquesta  -  Skidrow Joe  (2:58)

Featured here are two versions of songwriter Freddie Hart's ultra-depressing Skid Row Joe.  The late great Porter Wagoner recorded the original version in November 1965, using his trademark tear-jerking mournful recitation style.  Amazingly, this tune about a tormented alcoholic whose life has become one defined by misery, depression and woe reached #3 on the Billboard country charts.

Most Skid Row Joe aficionados, however, are probably unaware of the song's cross-cultural appeal, demonstrated when a little-remembered Tex-Mex singer named Joe Bravo recorded a Spanish language version of the song for San Antonio's El Zarape record label.  The song served as the centerpiece of his SKIDROW JOE LP.  I must admit that I'm extremely fond of the way the Joe Bravo version was produced; the only English words we hear are the opening and closing choral group voices solemnly singing out the song's title.

Both Porter Wagoner and Joe Bravo happily embraced their inner derelicts for promotional photography purposes.  For the sake of easing the "compare and contrast" studies that are sure to be undertaken by scholars of the future, I've created a collage of photos of both singers in their respective wino gear.

The Drunken Driver (MP3)

Harley Ford  -  Drunken Driver  (2:54)

Just in time to serve as a cautionary tale for New Year's Eve, here is an MP3 that is specially tailored to scare the shit out of you and persuade you not to reach for the car keys after hitting the bottle.  Unless, of course, you're not particularly disturbed by the possibility that, while driving around drunk, you'll run over and kill two of your own children, which is exactly what happens to the narrator of this gruesome tune.

The best known version of this song is probably the one cut by Ferlin Husky for Capitol Records in 1954.  I'm not really sure if the Harley Ford version featured here came before or after Ferlin's recording.   A third version also exists.  Ricky Skaggs recorded the song and released it on an album that came out in 1997.

A Sgt. Carter Christmas

When Sgt. Carter says "Have A Merry Christmas," you better get with the program and have one.  And it might be in your best interests to go ahead and have a Happy New Year as well.

This photo of Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle, USMC) and family appeared in the January 1970 issue of Photoplay magazine.