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While dusting off the Back of the Rack, I came upon the 1980s recording by the band ROCKPILE (Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe (Johnny Cash's son-in-law)) and their song TEACHER, TEACHER. It includes the refrain "Teacher, Teacher teach me love". Who knew there was a theme song for the current epidemic of teachers giving after school lessons not in the curriculum.
The folk song-"Pick A Bale of Cotton" was once recorded for some reason by Swedish superpop group- ABBA. No one knows who wrote it. It was sung by cotton pickers to entertain themselves while they toiled in the fields. It was the song Steve Martin couldn't keep rhythm to on the family Mississippi porch in the movie "The Jerk" sung by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. It has a very catchy tune-"Gonna jump down spin around pick a bale of cotton"- one that can give you an earworm. "Oh lordy, pick a bale of cotton. Oh lordy pick a bale a day". An earworm is a song that gets stuck in your head, won't leave and from time to time you find yourself humming without realizing it. Maybe every office should have peppy songs they sing to get through their daily drudgery instead of listening to the sunny light rock hits.
Del Shannon is best known for his oldies radio staple- RUNAWAY. He had lesser hits with HATS OFF TO LARRY, LITTLE TOWN FLIRT, SEARCHIN and wrote I GO TO PIECES which was big for Peter and Gordon. To Mr Bad Musicologist his greatest achievement is the song SISTER ISABELLE. It is the tearful story of a lovelorn young man whose girlfriend has runoff to join a convent and become a nun- "Far off in the distance, I can hear the bells, she changed her name from Laura to Sister Isabelle." The song ends with his urgent pleas- "Isabelle, can you hear the words I'm saying? Isabelle can you hear me while your praying? Isabelle ......" Unfortunately it is not to be found at Napster, Rhapsody, I-TUNES, etc. It has been reissued on at least one Del Shannon's Greatest Hits album if you can find it. Bring a hanky
How about this for a song title: GONNA HITCHHIKE DOWN TO CINCINNATTI AND KICK THE @#%!$* OUTTA YOUR DRUNK DADDY by Nashville P**** The genre is Like Something from the Jerry Springer Show Rock. Catchy tune.
That is all. My incompetent assistant Claypool has been too lazy to input my articles. That little mole has probably been playing pranks with the tape machines again. When I get back to the music library HEADS SHALL ROLL. |
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copyright 2006 Michael Dunn