Weather

(The sounds of rain falling)
It's night time in the Big City
Rain is falling, fog rolls in from the waterfront
a nightshift nurse smokes the last cigarette in a pack

 

^{“ Curious about what the weather looks like, just look out your window, take a walk outside.”}

The Singers and The Songs

Muddy Waters  – Blow Wind Blow

Jimmy Davis (James Houston Davis ) -You Are My Sunshine

^{“Alright now, goin’ out west where I belong, get away from the G-Rind”}

Joe Jones  – California Sun

Dean Martin  w/ Paul Weston and His Dixieland Eight – I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine

The Prisonaires (lead singer Johnny Bragg) – Just Walking in The Rain

The Consolers  (Brother Sullivan Pugh on guitar and his Wife Lola) – After The Clouds Roll Away

Jimi Hendrix  – The Wind Cries Mary

Judy Garland  – Come Rain or Come Shine

Irma Thomas  – It’s Raining

Sister Rosetta Tharp  – Didn’t it Rain

Slim Harpo (with his harp in a rack) – Raining In My Heart

^{“Slim wrote a bunch of his songs with his wife Lavelle…boy, wish I had a wife like that t’ help me write songs.”} Lord Beginner – Jamaica Hurricane

Fats Domino  – Let the Four Winds Blow

^{“The Spaniels, were on that ill fated tour…which means probably I saw them, Winter Dance Party, 1959…the day that music supposedly died.”}

The Spaniels – Stormy Weather

Stevie Wonder  – A Place In The Sun

^{“West Coast weather is the weather of catastrophe. The Santa Ana winds are like the winds of the apocalypse. But the summer wind that Frank’s singing about may be a little lighter. Come on in, Frank.”} Frank Sinatra  – Summer Wind

The Staples Singers  – Uncloudy Day

The Carter Family  – Keep on the Sunny Side

The Poets St. Basil

The Places Chicago Dodge City , KS Amarillo , TX Rochester , MN Minnesota New Orleans Italy Denmark

The Movies Taxi Driver

Others singers and players Jimmie Rodgers Otis Spann Noah Walter Sam Phillips The Rivieras The Ramones Elvis Johnnie Ray The Sunbeams The Marigolds Curtis Mayfield Prince Harold Arlen Johnny Mercer Otis Redding Pookie Hudson Buddy Holly Ritchie Valens Link Wray The Big Bopper Hans Blotke (?) The Rolling Stones

^{“Of course they took Irma’s song ‘Time is on My Side’ and had a little hit with THAT”}

Other Songs Ya Talk too much Rollin’ Stone The World On a String That Old Black Magic One For My Baby One For The Road Accentuate the Positive Ruler of My Heart Pain in My Heart

The Record Labels Chess Sun Records Columbia Nashboro Excello Records

Guests Sara Silverman

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Mama

(Sounds of sirens in city)
It's night time in the Big City
The moon goes behind a cloud
a truck drops off tomorrows newspapers

The Singers and The Songs

Julia Lee – Momma Don’t Allow It “Full of iodine and iron…all hydrogen and sulfate.”

Tommy (Elmer) Duncan – Daddy Loves Mommyo

 “Beneath A Neon Star In A Honky Tonk”

Jan Bradley  – Mama Didn’t Lie  

“A many-fabled tune by a honey-toned crooner.”

Buck Owens  (and the Buckaroos) – I’ll Go To The Church Again With Momma Randy Newman  – Mama Told Me Not to Come J.B. Lenoir  – Mama Talk to Your Daughter 

Earl King  – A Mother’s Love  

Ruth Brown  – Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean  

Carl Smith  – Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way  

Memphis Slim – Mother Earth  

Ernie K. Doe – Mother In Law  

Little Junior Parker  – Mother In Law Blues “First thing Merle remembers is a whistle blowin,” like so many of us all.”

Merle Haggard  – Mama Tried  

Rolling Stones  – Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadows  

Dirty Red  – Mother Fuyer  

LL Cool J  – Mama Said Knock You Out

The Places

Kansas City Whitney , TX Sherman , TX Bakersfield , CA Chester , PA Chicago Memphis Paris San Quentin

The Movies/TV/Plays

Hee Haw Black and Blue

Others Singers and Players

George E. Lee Red Norvo Benny Carter Vick Dickinson Bob Wills  and the (Light Crust Doughboys) Texas Playboys Curtis Mayfield The Beatles Dandy Don Rich Three Dog Night SunnyLand Slim J.T. Brown Alfred Wallace Babe Ruth June Carter Johnny Cash Zeus Matt Guitar Murphy Don Robey The Blue Flames Ronald Reagan Hank Williams Buck Owens Lafayette Thomas Memphis Minnie Speckled Red

Other Songs

Gamblin’ Polka Dot Blues Sick, Sober, and Sorry There’s Not a Cow in Texas Act Naturally Don’t Touch My Head Mystery Train

Record Labels

V-Tone Chess JOB Parrot Checker Specialty Records Sun Records Duke Records

Guests

Charlie Sheen Penn Gilette (of Penn and Teller)

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Drinking

(restaurant noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a Styrofoam coffee cup rolls across the street
two sailors get out of a cab

“The world of liquid libation, booze, sauce, hooch, white lightning fire water hard stuff pick me up gin and juice moonshine canned heat”

 

The Singers and The Songs

George Zimmerman and the Thrills – Ain’t Got No Money to Pay for This Drink Wine, Wine, Wine – The Electric Flag Loretta Lynn – Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ Porter Wagoner – Daddy and the Wine Mary Gauthier – I Drink Charles Aznavour – I Drink “…sings in six languages – French, English, Italian. He’s written over a thousand songs…I only know about half of them”

Jimmy Rogers – Sloppy Drunk

Lonnie The Cat – I Ain’t Drunk Lonnie (real name, Lonnie Cation)

Johnny Tyler and his Riders of the Rio Grande – It Ain’t Far to the Bar “Western swing music: a mixture of country, cowboy, polka, and folk music, blended together with a jazzy swing, little bit of New Orleans jazz and blues. Got everything from a pedal steel to a bunch a saxophones.” 

Hank Williams, Jr. / (Rockin’ Randall) Bocephus – What’s on the Bar

The Clovers – One Mint Julep

The Andrews Sisters (Laverne, Maxine, and Patty) – Rum and Coca Cola

John Lee Hooker – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer “One of those guys that recorded under a thousand different names, John Booker being one, Johnnie Lee, The Boogie Boy…John Lee… one of those guys that always sounds better without a band…13 bars here, 11 bars there, 9 there… it doesn’t matter to him. Nobody can do more with less than John Lee Hooker. A band’s gotta hold on for dear life just to keep up.” 

Charlie Walker – Who Will Buy The Wine

Betty Hall Jones – Buddy Stay Off That Wine

The Places

Butcher Hollow, KY Elmo’s Bar The Grand Ole Opry Texas Las Vegas Topeka , KS Tipperary , Ireland Clarksdale , MS

The Restaurants

The Dixie Kitchen

The Movies/TV Shows

The Lost Weekend Coal Miners’ Daughter The Ed Sullivan Show

Others singers and players

Stick McGhee Brownie McGhee Sissy Spacek Crystal Gale Muddy Waters Ike Turner King’s of Rhythm The Cheatin’ Hearts Maury Amsterdam Rupert Grant (Lord Invader) The Cowboy Ramblers Rolling Stones MC Hammer (Free Masons) – Roy Akoff Eddie Arnold Grandpa Jones Pee Wee King Little Johnny Jenkins Roy Clark Joe Edwards Charlie Louvin Hattie Williams Roy Milton and his Solid Senders Tommy Makem James Bond (Sean Connery) JFK

Other Songs

Close All the Honky Tonks Honky Tonk Season Honky Tonk Women

The Record Labels

Atlantic Records The Liquid Libations Rheingold Beer Cheap Wines: Night Train Mad Dog 20/20 Ripple Thunderbird

Guests

Jimmy Kimmel Penn Gillette Liam Clancy

The Recipes

Bob’s Mint Julep Recipe: 4 mint sprigs 2 ½ ounces of bourbon (“I prefer 3”) 1 T powdered sugar 1 T water Put the mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a Collins glass. Fill with shaved or crushed ice. Top with bourbon and more ice. Garnish with a mint sprig. “Two or three of those and anything sounds good!” Bob’s Rum and Coke Recipe: 1 tall glass, filled with ice 2 fingers of Bombay rum 1 bottle of Coca Cola “Shake it up well and go drink it in the sunshine!” top

Baseball

(car noises) It’s NIGHT in the big city somewhere a car alarm goes off a woman walks barefoot, her high heels in her handbag “Tonight we’re going to head out to the field of dreams, schemes and themes.”

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME Verse 1

NELLY KELLY LOVED BASEBALL GAMES, KNEW THE PLAYERS, KNEW ALL THEIR NAMES, YOU COULD SEE HER THERE EV’RY DAY, SHOUT “HURRAY!” WHEN THEY’D PLAY. HER BOY FRIEND BY THE NAME OF JOE, SAID, “TO CONEY ISLE DEAR, LET’S GO.” THEN NELLY STARTED TO FRET AND POUT, AND TO HIM I HEARD HER SHOUT:

Chorus 1

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, TAKE ME OUT WITH THE CROWD; BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK, I DON’T CARE IF I EVER GET BACK, LET ME ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM, IF THEY DON’T WIN IT’S A SHAME; FOR IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT AT THE OLD BALL GAME

Verse 2

NELLIE KELLY WAS SURE SOME FAN, SHE WOULD ROOT JUST LIKE A NY MAN, TOLD THE UMPIRE HE WAS WRONG, ALL ALONG, GOOD AND STRONG. WHEN THE SCORE WAS JUST TWO TO TWO, NELLY KELLY KNEW WHAT TO DO. JUST TO CHEER UP THE BOYS SHE KNEW, SHE MADE THE GANG SING THIS SONG.

Chorus 2

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, TAKE ME OUT WITH THE CROWD; BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK, I DON’T CARE IF I EVER GET BACK, LET ME ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM, IF THEY DON’T WIN IT’S A SHAME; FOR IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT AT THE OLD BALL GAME

The Singers and The Songs

The Skeletons – Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Mabel Scott – Baseball Boogie

Chance Halladay – Home Run “In the 50’s, every red blooded American boy either wanted to play baseball, or be Elvis Presley. Here’s a rockabilly song by Chance Halladay that combines the best of both worlds”.  

Johnny Darling – Baseball Baby

Lawrence Ferlinghetti –  Baseball Canto 

Cowboy Copas – Three Strikes and You’re Out

Sister Wynona Carr – The Ball Game

Buddy Johnson – Did You See Jackie

Les Brown and His Orchestra (Les Brown and His Band Of Renown) – (With Betty Bonney) – Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio

Billy Bragg & Wilco –Joe DiMaggio’s Done It Again

Sonny Rollins – Newk’s Fadeaway

The Treniers – Say Hey

Ry Cooder – 3rd Base, Dodger Stadium

Damn Yankee/1955 Original Broadway Cast – Heart is from the musical/film “Damn Yankees”.

The Places

Club Al Los Angeles San Francisco City Lights Bookstore New York Broadway Washington , D.C. Chavez Ravine

Others singers and players

Jimmy Lunsford Orchestra Patsy Cline Hawkshaw Hawkins Allen Ginsberg Abbot and Costello Woody Guthrie Willie Mays Ted Williams – The Splendid Splinter Babe Ruth – The Sultan of Swat Ty Cobb — The Georgia Peach Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown Faust Gwen Verdon Ray Walston Ted Nugent Styx

The Record Labels

King Records OK Records Guests Charlie Sheen “I’m gonna head on back to the dugout, see if I can find myself a relief pitcher.”

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Coffee

(diner noises)
It's night time in the Big City
pizza parlor is locking up
a drunken security guard drops his flashlight
"Full of caffeinated dreams, schemes, and themes"

The Singers and The Songs

The Ink Spots – Java Jive

Jerry Irby – One Cup of Coffee and a Cigarette “…one of those guys who went from hillbilly to rockabilly”  

Frank Sinatra – The Coffee Song

Squeeze – Black Coffee In Bed “A lot of people compared songwriters Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook to Lennon and McCartney…but they were much younger.” 

Otis Redding – Cigarettes and Coffee

Curtis Gordon – Caffeine and Nicotine “He had a sound that was kind of like a mix of honky tonk and western swing but with a freer, looser, more vibrant singin style.” 

Lefty Frizzell – Cigarettes and Coffee

Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins – Coffee Blues

“Another name for manic depression is the blues…”

Scatman Crothers – Keep That Coffee Hot

The Larks – Coffee, Cigarettes and Tears

Bobby Darin (Robert Walden Cassotto) – Black Coffee

Sexmith and Kerr (Ron Sexmith, Don Kerr) – Raindrops In My Coffee

Blur – Coffee and TV

“You know, at one time coffee was believed to be the drink of the devil. When Pope Vincent III heard about this, he decided to taste the drink before banning it. In fact, he enjoyed coffee so much he wound up baptizing it, stating ‘Coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. I also feel that way about coffee. And about TV. And about Blur…”

Ella Mae Morse – Forty Cups of Coffee

Glen Miller Orchestra – Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee

The Places

Lake Monona Madison , WI Moultrie , GA Nashville , TN Los Angeles

The Commercials

Maxwell House Folgers

The Movies and Musicals

Coffee and Cigarettes  (Voices of Tom Waits and Iggy Pop) The Wild Bunch Face The Music

Other Singers and Players

Billy Kenny Charlie Fuqua Deke Watson Hoppy Jones The Brown Dots Juan Valdez Charles Maurice de Talleyrand – on the perfect cup of coffee: Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love. Johnny Jenkins and the Pine Toppers Steve Cropper Marty Robbins Abbot and Costello Flat and Scruggs Sonny and Cher Pope Vincent III Voltaire Irving Berlin

Other Songs

Secret Heart

The Record Labels

Campo Records Reprise Stax Records The Poets Henry Ward Beecher

The Guests

Billy Vera Waldon Robert passato

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Jail

(prison noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a truck driver runs a red light
a strange quiet man practices tae chi in a park

 

“The Big House, the brig, the clink, the coop, the gray bar hotel, the hoosegow, the joint , the jug, the pen, the pokie, the slammer, the stir”

The Singers and the Songs

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Magic Sam – 21 Days in Jail

Bessie Smith – Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair

Warren Storm – Prisoner’s Song “ A little bit of swamp pop from Louisiana…which fused R & B, Country, Cajun, and Creole, a real Brasshopper mixture. And just like Ringo, he’s a singing drummer.”

The Pretenders – Back on the Chain Gang

Andre Williams – Jail Bait “Gus Cannon, one of the best-known of all jug band musicians, made himself a special harness, so he could wear his jug around his neck and play banjo at the same time.” 

Kenny Lane and His Bulldogs – Columbus Stockade Blues Joe Simon – Nine Pound Steel 

Jimmy Patton – Okie’s in the Pokie “A thick slab of rockabilly madness…soundin’ funky drunk and full steam ahead.” 

John Prine – Christmas in Prison

Sir Douglas Quintet (Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers) – In the Jailhouse Now

The Mississippi Sheiks (Lonnie Chatmon, Walter Vinson, Bo Carter, Sam Chatmon) – Jailbird Love Song

Wanda Jackson – Riot In Cell Block #9 “An atomic fireball of a lady.”

Merle Haggard – Sing Me Back Home

Hurricane Harry – Last Meal

Other Songs and Albums

Bacon Fat The Greasy Chicken Froggie Went A- Courtin’ Sweet Revenge

The Places

Represa , CA San Quentin Mississippi Delta Louisiana Chicago Detroit Beale Street Memphis The Red Light The Blue Light The Hole in the Wall The Monarch Tennessee Columbus , OH Oklahoma Maywood , IL San Antonio , TX England Jackson , MS Maud , OK

The Record Labels

Sun Records Bluebird

Other Singers, Players, etc.

Merle Haggard Willie Dixon The Rainbow Ramblers The Wee-Wows Ringo Preston Sturgis Robert Stroud  , “We sure could use him now with the bird flu.” William Shakespeare “Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; But life, being weary of these worldly bars, Never lacks power to dismiss itself.” Jug bands Dan Penn Will Rogers Harry Truman Nelson Mandela – “In my country we go to jail first, and then become President.” Charles Bukowski  — I don’t like jail, they got the wrong kinda bars in there.” Kris Kristofferson Huey P. Meaux Hank Williams The Don Juans Caryl Chessman Ted Bundy Joan Of Arc Victor Feuger Last Meals

The Movies/Shows/Plays

The Shawshank Redemption I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Cool Hand Luke Sullivan’s Travels Julius Caesar The Don Juans Caryl Chessman Ted Bundy Joan Of Arc Victor Feuger White Heat

Guests

Pete Wolf Merle Haggard

Famous Electric Chairs

Old Sparky (FL) Gruesome Gerty (LA) “They don’t have any electric chairs anymore, they threw them out. And even if they did, I don’t think they’d name them.”

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Fathers

(subway noises) It’s night time in the Big City a nightshift nurse smokes the last cigarette in her pack a married couple has a late night snack

Singers and Songs

Horace Silver Quintet-Song for my Father

Jimmy Rodgers-Daddy at Home “The Singing Brakeman, The Yodeling Cowboy, The Father of Country Music”

Shep and the Limeliters-Daddy’s Home

Everly Bros. (Don and Phil)-That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine

Bobby Blue Bland-Dust Got into Daddy’s Eyes

Julie London  “Smokey and sultry”-Daddy 

John Hiatt-Your Dad Did

The Sons of the Pioneers-My Daddy

The Winstons-Color Him Father

Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell  -Papa’s on the Housetop

Jack Rhodes -Mama loves Papa, Papa Loves the Women “The Rabid Vampire”

The Temptations -Papa was a Rolling Stone “Lighter than air”

Lowell Folsom-Father Time

The Swan Silvertones  -Father Alone

Ross McManus-Patsy’s Girl

Hank Williams(Luke the Drifter)-My Son Calls Another Man Daddy “The Battle of the Bulge of all songs” 

Other Singers and Groups

Steely Dan-Ricky Don’t Lose That Number Shep and the Heartbeats Gene Autry Ike Everly Bobby Troop Ry Cooter Nick Lowe Jimmy Keltner Bonnie Raitt Bob Nolan The Lonestar Buddies Leon Payne Norman Whitfield Barron Strong Texas Alexander Ray Charles

Other Songs

A Thousand Miles away and a Free Ride Route 66 Thing Called Love Tumbling Tumbleweed Cool Water I Love Her Because They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me Rolling Stone Lost Highway

Other Folks

Tex Avery Martin Sheen Richard Spencer Buddha Derek Jeter Johnny Depp Carl Marx Frederick Dumas

Cartoons

Red Hot Riding Hood “A real cream-puff”

Guests

Charlie Sheen Elvis Costello Record Labels Duke Records Curtom Motown Chess

Movies and TV

Martin Sheen “Free Radical, Atomic Molecule of an actor” Movie Excerpt Christopher Walken Movie Excerpt Leave it to Beaver

Places

Washington DC Tulsa , OK California Paris The Grand Ole Opry

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Marriage

(talking at a wedding) It’s night time in the Big City a man buys a pack of gum, steals a nail clipper 2 pairs of sneakers are strung over a phone line “It’s the month of June and that means church bells are ringing all over this great land of ours….strap yourself in and get me to the church on time!”

The Songs and Singers

Fred Rich and His Orchestra-Wedding Bells Broke Up That Old Gang of Mine

Prince La La (Lawrence Nelson)-Sending Out Invitations

Darlene Love and The Blossoms-(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Going to Marry

Ry Cooter-Married Man’s a Fool

Laura Lee-Wedlock is a Padlock

Dave Edmunds-I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock n’ Roll “Funky, Fusty, Noisome, Putrid, Rank and Reeking Reeky Sound. Stenchful and Stinking. Bad and Foul. Nauseating and Decomposed. Fuggy and Rotten.” (Bob means that all in a good way.) 

Etta James-Stop the Wedding

Ann Cole-Don’t Stop the Wedding

Roy Brown- Fannie Brown Got Married “A tornado of a singer.” 

Rosemary Clooney-Get Me to the Church on Time

Jimmy Cavallo-Leave Married Women Alone  “consequential, meaningful, weighty, basic, essential and fundamental” 

Big Joe Turner – Married Woman a.k.a. Married Woman Blues

Frank Sinatra-Love and Marriage

Llyod Price- Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)

Other Singers and Songs

Dorsey Bros. Joe Venutti Bunny Barrigan Benny Goodman “Who Shot the La La?” Delores Ferguson Phil Spector and His Wall of Sound “Zippity Doo Da” “It’s Christmas Baby, Please Come Home” Minnie Perle- “Getting Married is a lot like getting into a tub of hot water; after you get in it’s not so hot.” Rodney Dangerfield-”My wife and I were happy for 20 years, then we met.” Blind Willie McTell a.k.a Georgia Bill, Red Hot Willie Glaze, Blind Sammy, Barrelhouse Sammy, Pig and Whistle Red Meditation Singers “Uptight Good Man” Holland/Dozer/Holland “Woman’s Love Rights” “Rip Off” “If You Can Beat Me Rockin‘, You Can Have My Chair” Nick Lowe Johnny Cash “Never Can Tell” Chuck Berry “Got My Mojo Working” “Good Rockin’ Tonight” Zsa Zsa Gabor “A mechanism of evolution. “She’s been married so many times she’s got rice marks on her face”

Phillipe Alba Conrad Hilton George Clooney Mae West Big Joe Turner “The Big Beat” Stan Laurel King Solomon Irving Berlin “Shake Rattle and Roll” Sammy Kahn James Van Heuston? Charlie Parker Mac Woolright? Fats Domino “Personality”

Places

Randolph Co., NC Korea

Guest

Mike Birbilia

Movies and TV

Lil’ Abner Intolerable Cruelty Raising Arizona Rock, Rock, Rock Our Town

Fun Facts

June is the most popular month to get married Average number of guests at a wedding is 178 (Bob doesn’t think he knows 178 people!) 800,000 Japanese brides spend 60 billion dollars every year

Record Labels

Vocalion O.K. Blue Bird Columbia Atlantic Regal Chess Hot Wax Roulette Baton King

Poems

Marriage-Gregory Corso “Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle’s compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” Shakespeare

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Divorce

(shouting boxing match?) It’s night time in the Big City a woman watches her neighbor through binoculars a cat knocks over a lamp

Singers and Songs

Tammy Wynette-D.I.V.O.R.C.E “This song is a rolling buzz”

George Jones-The Grand Tour “a rip-snorter of a song”

Tommy Tucker-Alimony is Killing Me

Jerry “The Guitar Man” Reed-She Got the Goldmine, I Got the Shaft

T-Bone Walker-Alimony Blues

Mattox Bros. and Sister Rose-Pay me Alimony

Doris Duke-Divorce Decree

Hank Snow “The Singing Ranger”-Married by the Bible, Divorced by the Law

Huey Smith and the Clowns-Alimony

Merle Travis-Divorce Me C.O.D “Hot Pickin”.

The Drifters-Mexican Divorce

Loretta Lynn-Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be

William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell-You Can’t Divorce My Heart

Other Singers and Songs

Elvis Sammy Davis Jr. The Grateful Dead Pharaoh Sanders Gene Vincent Will Rodgers Johnny Carson Blind Lemon Jefferson Les Hite Orchestra Chuck Berry John Coltrane Miles Davis Gene Vincent-Crazy Legs “Guitar Man” “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” “Tupelo, MS Flash” “Stormy Monday” “Tune Up” “Four” “I’m Moving On” “The Golden Rocket” “I Don’t Hurt Anymore” “Ninety-Nine Miles an Hour Down a Deadend Street” “Fool Such as I” Lil’ Richard “Rockin’ Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu” “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette” “16 Tons” Tennessee Ernie Ford Johnny Carosn Katharine Hepburn Richard Burton Marilyn Monroe Clyde McFadden Benny King Rudy Lewis Johnny Moore Bill Pinkney “Honky Tonk Angels” “Paying for that Back Street Affair” Pasty Cline Tammy Wynette Loretta Lynn Ray Benson “Our Hearts are Holding Hands” “Sweet Things” “Whose Gonna Take the Garbage Out” Merle Haggard “ I Love You 100 Ways” “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” “Always Late With Your Kisses” “Saginaw, Michigan” “Long Black Veil” Willie Nelson Jimmy Kimmell Stan Kenton Orchestra “Something Cool”

Guest

Jenny Lewis

Places

Tupelo, MS Canada New Orleans Kentucky Palm Beach Mexico Juarez Springfield, Illinois

Movies

What a Way to Go ?

Fun Facts

44% of all marriages end in Divorce Largest divorce settlement on record-874 million $30,000 average cost of divorce services “Dreams, Schemes and Themes on the American Scene”

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Summer

It's night time in the Big City
angry prostitutes fight over a street corner
a man gets drunk and shaves off his moustache
“Time to open up the fire hydrants and have a party in the streets, ‘cause it's summertime”

The Singers and the Songs

Billy Stewart – Summertime  Eddie Cochran – Summertime Blues “A song recorded many times by many people, but I don’t think that any of them did it half as good as the man who wrote it.”  Martha & The Vandellas– (Love Is Like A) Heatwave a Sol K. Bright and His Hollywaiins – Heat Wave Bobby Hebb – Sunny  Fatso Bentley – June-teenth Jamboree  Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley – So Nice “What would summertime be without a Samba?” Van Morrison – Youth of 1,000 Summers  Mr. Sad Head – Hot Weather Blues “One of my favorite names in all of music…He could have called himself Heavy-hearted Head, Melancholy Head, Mournful Head, or Sorrow Head, Unhappy Head, Blue Head, or Dejected Head, Down Head or Dispirited head, but instead, he called himself Mr. Sad Head. It fits better on the label.”  Lovin’ Spoonful – Summer in the City “Let’s get it goin!”  Prince Buster (Cecil Campbell) – Too Hot “He was a boxer when he was young, but gave it up to follow his musical dreams, he had great success and didn’t have to take a haymaker to the jaw. This song Too Hot is not referring to the weather but to the state of Kingston in 1967, as  rude boy  violence raged on and police cowered under the onslaught and the government threatened to bring in the army to restore order.”  Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime John Brim – Ice Cream Man  Dave Alvin – Fourth of July Sly & The Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime “The band really was a family affair, with his brother Fred on guitar, his sister Rosie on piano, and other assorted family members helping out. Sly disappeared for a bunch a years, but he recently showed up on the Grammies. Welcome back Sly.” 

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

The Gershwin Brothers Bo Diddley Holland-Dozier-Holland Bill Akamuhou Irving Berlin Anton Chekov JFK Harold Hebb (Bobby Hebb’s brother who died in a knife fight) Roy Akoff Aristotle Stan Getz Tennessee Williams “One of my favorite play-writes, not to be confused with…” Tennessee Ernie Ford John Sebastian Dave Van Ronk Dirty Dozen Jug Band The Mug Walks The Mamas and The Papas Gabe Caplin Ray Dorset Little Walter Phil Alvin The Blasters The Knitters Exene John Doe X

The Guests

Astrid Gilberto

The Record Labels

Motown

The Places

Honolulu Texas Bahai , Brazil Greenwich Village Kingston

Other Songs and Albums

Hawaiian Scotsman Girl From Impanima Enlightenment The Poets Emily Dickinson (Def Poetess) Robert Louis Stevenson (Slightly Def Poet) T.S. Elliot

The Movies, Shows, etc.

Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case Flirtation Walk South Sea Rose Grand Ole Opry Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Sweet Bird of Youth Welcome Back Kotter Cats — Andrew Lloyd Weber “I’d rather listen to Mungo Jerry” This show had lots of old time radio station jingles. One of them, with a little help from DJ Bob, goes: “Why is everybody listening to this DJ? Why is everybody mad about his style? For music that’s best stay tuned to – Bob interjects: Theme Time Radio Hour! – for a while!” “Just because the days are longer in the summer doesn’t mean we can stay here longer than an hour. That means we gotta go. Some I’m gonna go out, sit on the bank by a clear river, throw my draperies off, water my lawn, tack up some mosquito netting, slice myself a watermelon, and just watch the mercury rise. They say the earth’s warmin’ up; be careful of that global warming, and wear your sunscreen. I’ll see you all next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Put on your shades.” top

Flowers

It's night time in the Big City
outside the dogs are barking
a woman walks barefoot, her high heels in her handbag

The Singers and The Songs

Bob Wills-The New San Antonio Rose

Friends of Distinction-Grazin’ in the Grass

George Jones-A Good Year for the Roses

Paul Clayton-Bonny Bunch of Roses i Luscious Venible Milinder (Lucky)-The Grapevine “Startin’ to see Pink Elephants on that one…” 

Duke Ellington-Tulip or Turnip “A song about Choices”

Tiny Tim- Tiptoe Through the Tulips “No one knew more about old music than Tiny Tim. He studied it and he loved it. He knew all the old songs that only existed as sheet music.”

The Carter Family (“The most influential group in country music history.”)-Wildwood Flower

Laura Cantrell-When the Roses Bloom Again

Geraint Watkins-Only a Rose

Merle Haggard-I Threw Away the Rose

Wilson Pickett-Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool

Alan Toussaint/Elvis Costello-The Sharpest Thorn

Places

Nashville The Netherlands Austin , TX

Other Musicians

Hugh Masakela Tammy Wynette Liam Clancy Sister Rosetta Tharp Ray Nans ? Alvin P Carter, Sarah Carter and Sister Maebelle Dave Edmonds Shakin Stevens Nick Lowe Van Morrison Other Songs San Antonio Rose

Other People, Beings and Writers

Thomas Becker “Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into” Robert Frost-Frosty poet “The Rose Family” Gertrude Stein “A Rose is a Rose is a Rose” Christopher Marlowe “  The Passionate Sheperd to His Love  ” Isabella Mae Cantrell Buddha-“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, a whole life would change.” Georgia O’Keefe- “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.” Abraham Lincoln Kenny Gamble Leon Huff Ellen Louise Wilson Woodrow “Woody” Wilson Johnny Carson John Field

Poems

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue Some Poems Rhyme, This one doesn’t.

State Flowers

AL-Camellia AK-Forget Me Not AR-Apple Blossom CA-California poppy DE-Peach Blossom GA-Cherokee Rose MN-Pink and While Lady’s Slipper MS-Magnolia NB-Goldenrod NM-Yucca Flower NH-Purple Lilac TN-Iris HI- Pua Aloalo WY-Indian Paintbrush

Flowers

Roses Bougainvillea Passionflower Butterfly Clerodendrum Angel’s Trumpets Firecracker Plant Double Delight Gemini Julia Child Knockout Shrub New Dawn Mr. Lincoln Rosa Regosa Angel Face All the Jazz Cary Grant Cinderella Gen. McArthur Judy Garland Lady Diana Sir Lancelot Snow White Chevy Chase Other Flowers: Morning Glory Silver King German Status Globe Thistle Joe-Pie Weed Violet Daisy Chrysanthemum The Arrow The Tansy Bachelor’s Button Cock’s Comb Lion’s Ear Love in the Mist Victoria Sorghum (Bob made this one up) Pansies Azaleas Himalayan Poppy

Guests

Ricky Jay the magician (speaking about  Eva Vlieghan  who was purported to live entirely off the scent of flowers) Gonzalo Perez “I gotta make like a tree and leave’” “Theme Time Radio Hour your perennial favorite”

 

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Cars

(rain) It’s night time in the Big City the wind picks up from over the bay a delivery boy makes a wrong turn

The Singers and The Songs

Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats – Rocket 88

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Cadillac Ranch “I think Bruce is from New Jersey…’Tearin’ up the highway like a big old dinosaur’; first time I heard this song I thought it was ‘Tearing up the highway like Dina Shore!”

Billy “The Kid” Emmerson – Every Woman I Know

Memphis Minnie – Me and My Chauffer Blues “One of the great blues songs of all time – one of the great car songs of all time – one of the great chauffer songs of all time! Sung by one of the great old ladies of all time.” 

George Clinton and Parliament – My Automobile

Dixie Hummingbirds – Christian’s Automobile

Joni Mitchell – Car on a Hill“… She taught herself to play guitar with a Pete Seeger instruction book…I mighta seen that same book!”

Sonny Boy Williamson II – Pontiac Blues

Jimmy Caroll – Big Green Car

Richard Berry – Get Out of the Car “If Richard won’t drive you home, I will. I got a car of my own.” 

David Lindley w/ his band El Rayo-X – Mercury Blues “Dave is a great instrumentalist, known as much for his great guitar playing as he is for his loud polyester shirts and mutton chop sideburns.” 

Smiley Lewis – Too Many Drivers ‘His given name is Overton Lemons – I oughta use that name!” 

Prince – Little Red Corvette “Prince is from the same area of the country that I’m from so we have plenty in common.” 

Chuck Berry – No Money Down “Go ahead Chuck….Let’s get it goin’!” “Chuck’s music’s always got that hidden thing about it where, you know, the cause is always hidden but the effect is KNOWN.” 

Other Singer, Players, Etc.

Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm Kansas Joe McCoy The Parliaments Funkadelic The Brides of Funkenstein Fuzzy Haskins Clyde Barrow Henry Ford Pete Seeger Fats Domino Rod Stewart Linda Rondstadt Ry Cooder Warren Zevon Jackson Browne Jorge Calderon Bernie Larsen Ian Wallace Henry Kaiser Huey “Piano” Smith Elvis Presley “Cleaned up that naughty ‘One Night’ and hit big with it.” Judy Garland

The Guests

Hudson Marquez Keb Mo

The Record Labels

Vee-Jay Chess Records

The Places

Algiers , LA Fort Macleod , Alberta , Canada Glendora MS Helena AR New Orleans

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Bonnie and Clyde King Biscuit Flower Hour

Other Songs and Albums

Court And Spark “One of my favorite albums” Peter Epstein Pontiac commercial – Frank Sinatra (sung to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm) Yama Yama Pretty Mama! Louis Louis Blue Monday One Night I Hear You Knockin’ “Well, the little needle’s pointin’ on the E, which means we’re out of gas for another week. Remember, the trick is to drive so that your license expires before you do.”

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Rich Man, Poor Man

 
(coins) 
It's night time in the Big City
a guilty man goes home to his wife
it's time to make the doughnuts

“Get rich quick themes, dreams, and schemes”

The Singers and The Songs

Bob Miller – The Rich Man and The Poor Man “All kinds of life lessons in this song with no crap-ola.” 

Tony Bennett – Rags to Riches “A song right on the bleedin’ edge”

Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) – Get Rich Quick

The Farmer Boys – Charming Betsy

Bing Crosby – Brother Can You Spare A Dime

Tom Waits – On the Nickel “Waits has a raspy, gravelly singing voice, described by one fan as like how you’d sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes, and swallowed a pack of razorblades, after not sleeping for three days. Or as I like to put it, beautiful.” 

Fiddlin’ John Carson and Moonshine Kate – Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All “…a song that is as relevant as it is today as when it was written in the ‘30s.” 

Louis Armstrong – Hobo, You Can’t Ride This Train

Woody Guthrie – Do Re Mi

Freddie King – The Welfare Turns its Back on You

Louis Jordan – If You’re So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich?

Emmylou Harris – Hobo’s Lullaby

The Movies / Books

Sullivan’s Travels My Man Godfrey The Wizard of Oz Bound For Glory Trading Places Proverbs, Chapter 19, Verse 17

The Places

Memphis New York Salem Los Angeles Okemah Sweden

Other Songs

There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere If I Only Had a Brain Tutti Frutti I Won’t Cry You Can Have My Husband But Please Don’t Mess With My Man Secret Agent Man

Other Singers and Players

Tom Jones Marla Maples Aristotle Onassis Helen Keller Eva Gardner Andrew Carnegie Leonard Feather “How come music critics don’t write songs any more? “ Charles Ponzi Ron Popillo – (The Pocket Fisherman, Veg-O-Matic, Dial-O-Matic, Hair in a Can, The inside the shell egg scrambler, the smokeless ashtray) Thanks, Ron, for making my life a little easier Buck Owens Ken Nelson Jay Gorney Yip Harburh Confucius Frito Lay Willie Nelson Box Car Betty Jack Dempsey Clark Gable Eugene O’Neill Harry Partch Utah Phillips Jack Kerouak Mae West Jimmie Rodgers Jack London Dorothy La Bostrie Jonnny Adams Irma Thomas Lillian Bettencourt Betty Nesmith Graham Mike Nesmith The Monkees Thoreau Picasso Chick Webb – the famous hunchback drummer Chuck Berry William Blake Goebel Reeves

Guests

Billy F. Gibbons (of ZZ Top)

The Record Labels

Specialty Records “I’ll leave you with the words of Benjamin Franklin. He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. Thank you, Ben. Peace out. “

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Devil

(fire)
It's night time in the Big City
an ambulance races though downtown
an off duty cops parks in front of his ex-wife's house

“This is Theme Time Radio Hour, and there's Hell to pay…”

The Singers and the Songs

Robert Johnson – Me and the Devil Blues “According to legend, Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil, at the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49…” 

The Louvin Brothers  (Charlie and Ira) – Satan is Real this

Grateful Dead – Friend of the Devil “This song is a road story, a hitch-hiking journey of the early 70’s counterculture…” 

Elvis Presley – Devil In Disguise

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys – The Devil Ain’t Lazy “…they had a country string section but they played pop songs, as if they were jazz numbers.” 

The Flying Burrito Brothers– Christine’s Tune aka The Devil In Disguise

Dandy Livingston (Robert Livingston Thompson) – Suzanne Beware of the Devil

The Donays (lead vocalist, Yvonne Alan) – Devil in His Heart

“The Donays only made one record…you only have to make one, if it’s this good.”

Otis Spann – Must Have Been the Devil “This record was recorded after an all night party, and it sure sounds like it.” 

Johnny Tyler – Devil’s Hot Rod

Skip James – Devil Got My Woman “Here’s another barn burner. This is my man, Skip James…Skip had a style that was celestially divine, sounded like it was coming from beyond the veil. Magic in the grooves. He had a style that was ghostly and other worldly, rare and unusual, mysterious and vague. You won’t believe what you’ll hear. Listen for yourself and you’ll see – you be the judge.” 

Count Basie and His Orchestra, featuring  Helen Humes  – Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Shorty Long – Devil With a Blue Dress On “I wonder if he means Monica Lewinski?” 

Beck – Devil’s Haircut

Gene Vincent (and the Blue Caps) – Race With the Devil

Tom Waits – Way Down in the Hole “Low on schmaltz and a real show-stopper, not pullin’ any punches.” 

Other Singers and Players

John Milton Rev. Gary Davis Chet Atkins Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions Ken Kesey Anton LaVey Sammy Davis, Jr. Richard Nixon Chris Hillman Graham Parsons Christine Frka  / Girls Together Outrageously (GTOs) Rico Rodriguez Ernie Ranglin The Specials Leonard Cohen George Harrison The Beatles W.C. Fields Bob Shadd Oscar Wilde: “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” Muddy Waters B.B. King Dylan Thomas Skip James Charlie Patton Billie Holiday Lester Young Mitch Ryder Monica Lewinski Marvin Gaye Stevie Wonder Princess Grace of Monaco Princess Diana Isadora Duncan Albert Camus James Dean Jackson Pollock Jane Mansfield George Patton, Jr. Cliff Gallup Blind Boys of Alabama Neville Brothers Holland-Dozier-Holland The Dust Brothers

The Poems  

Paradise Lost

The Places

Clarksdale , MS Reno Cook County , IL Los Angeles Jamaica Arkansas Missouri Bentonia , MS Philadelphia Grafton , WI Motown Detroit River Norfolk , VA

Songs and Albums

The Devil’s Dream American Beauty Rudi: A Message to You Odelay Frank’s Wild Years

The Record Labels

Trojan Time Record Paramount Records

The Guests

Twyla Tharp

HBO Series

The Wire “We’ll see you next week, sure as Hell!”

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Eyes

(sirens in city) It’s night time in the Big City a trail of perfume follows a girl leaving a cheap hotel a man wakes up in an alleyway “Welcome once again to Theme Time Radio Hour. This week the eyes/I’s have it. Whether they’re blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes, ya got pink eye or red eye. If you’re an eyesore, or if you’re walleyed , we got the song for you.”

The Singers and the Songs

Chuck Berry (Charles Edward Anderson Berry )– Brown Eyed Handsome Man

Jimmy Martin – 20/20 Vision “Say what you will about him but he was no jive turkey.”  . Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

Jimmie Rodgers – My Blue Eyed Jane

Clarence ‘Gatemouth” Brown – She Winked Her Eye

Al Martino – Spanish Eyes

Ernestine Anderson – Keep an Eye on Love

Chuck Higgins– Eyeballin’

Blue Sky Boys (The Bolick Brothers) – Brown Eyes

Sonny Boy Williamson – Eyesight to the Blind “the only song from the rock opera Tommy that The Who didn’t write” 

George Jones – Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong “We don’t usually do commercials here on Theme Time Radio Hour, but we do want to tell you that George Jones has his own brand of dog food, and sausage – enjoy ‘em.” 

Nick Lowe – Raging Eyes

Wynonie ‘Mr. Blues’ Harris – Bloodshot Eyes

Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone

The Flamingos (“Or as I call ‘em, The Flaming O’s”)– I Only Have Eyes For You

The Streets (Mike Skinner) – Dry Your Eyes

Other Songs

Smoke gets in your eyes

Other Singers and Players

Jerome Kern John Lennon Osborne Brothers Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys Them George W. Bush Lula Belle (?) Cicero Johnny Fontaine Frank Sinatra Shifty Henry David Bowie The Crazy Hickory Nuts Kiefer Sutherland Christopher Walken Joe Pesci George Washington Louis Pasteur Tommy Smothers The Monroe Bros The Delmore Brothers The Dixon Brothers The Louvin Brothers The Everly Brothers Gandhi Johnny Cash Carlene Carter The Pretenders The Damned Snooks Eaglin Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie McTell Blind Joe Reynolds Rev Gary Davis Sonny Terry Blind Lemon Jefferson Blind Blake Howlin’ Wolf Mary Burnett Tommy The Who Nancy Sepulveda Landsberg Barbarians Harry Warren Da Vinci

The Places

Sneedville TN England Grand Ole Opry (2 mentions) Belfast Ireland The White House Orange , TX East Hickory , NC Philadelphia , PA Blue Ridge Mountains Twist, AK

The Record Labels/Recording Studios

Victor Records Hollywood Recording Studio Bang Sioux Records Duotone Records Columbia Records

The Movies/Radio Shows/Plays

The Godfather Black Eye King Biscuit Flower Hour 42nd Street Camille  (Quote: “Unfortunately I like him too. Why unfortunately? Because his eyes have made love to me all evening. That’s a lie, he barely glanced at you…”)

Guests

Ellen Barkin

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Dogs

(barking dogs)
It's night time in the Big City
newlyweds make love on the roof
a ringing phone goes unanswered

“Get off the couch, get yourself a bowl of water, and heel.”

The Singers and the Songs

Under his intro Bob played part of Serenade To A Poodle by Slim Gaillard (pronounced Gay-Lard).

Patty Page – (How Much is That) Doggie in the Window?  “Here’s a record that everyone always talks about when they talk about how dull radio was before rock and roll. Personally, I don’t agree with them; I think Patty Page made beautiful records.”

Ronnie Self – Ain’t I’m a Dog “It’s a shame he didn’t have more success as a singer, because the few records that he did make rocked like nobody’s business.”

Rufus Thomas – Stop Kickin’ My Dog Around

Bob Dorough (words by Lawrence Ferlinghetti) –  Dog  

Jean Shepard and Ray Pillow – I’ll Take the Dog

Red Foley ( Clyde Julian Foley) – Old Shep

Howard Tate – How Come My Bulldog Don’t Bark? “A stupendously expressive singer.” 

Everly Brothers – Bird Dog

Allen Brothers (Austin and Lee)– A New Salty Dog “Delightful kazoo leads.” 

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys – Hound Dog

Hawkshaw Hawkins – Dog House Boogie

Uncle Tupelo – I Wanna Be Your Dog

Mighty Sparrow – Russian Satellite

Webb Pierce – I’m Walking the Dog

Other Songs

Serenade to a Poodle –  Slim Galliard Don’t Let The Stars Get in Your Eyes – Perry Como I’m Walking Behind You – Eddie Fisher Theme From Moulin Rouge – Percy Faith and his Orchestra Crazy, Man Crazy – Bill Haley Crying in the Chapel – The Orioles Walking The Dog Get it While You Can Hound Dog Nestles jingle (with Farfel) T-Bone Walker – Papa Ain’t Salty No More Giddy Up A Ding Dong Rock Around the Clock Ken-L-Ration jingle (“My dog’s better than your dog…”) Theme from Lassie

Other Singers, Players, etc.

Leo Fender Sam Phillips Elvis Presley (x3) Sheryl Crow Rolling Stones Aerosmith Patsy Cline Cowboy Copas Richard Nixon “One of the most misunderstood people of the 20th century, often maligned, but obviously capable of great humanity. He loved that dog, and he loved that his daughter loved that dog, too.” Lou Carrol Louvin Brothers Janis Joplin Chet Atkins Big Mama Thornton Sara Silverman Aldous Huxley Andy Rooney Will Rogers “If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering someone else’s dog around” William Blake Iggy Pop and the Stooges The Wilburn Brothers Floyd Kramer Tillman Franks Faron Young

The Dogs

Checkers Hoover (Red Foley’s dog) Farfel Laika

The Places

Tintown , Missouri Cincinnati Macon , GA Las Vegas Moscow Louisiana Shreveport , LA

The Movies/Shows/Plays

The Awful Truth Old Yeller    “I don’t trust a man who doesn’t tear up a little watching Old Yella.”

Rock Around the Clock The Louisiana Hayride

The Record Labels

Columbia “It’s too bad that the big labels ignored rock and rockabilly and blues. It would have been great to hear more records of this caliber.” Stax Sun WDIA Memphis Verve Records Top Town Records (?)

Guests

Jimmy Kimmel

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Friends and Neighbors

It's night time in the Big City
a light drizzle starts to fall
an anxious lover waits by the phone

The Singers and The Songs

Porter Wagoner and the Wagonmasters – Howdy Neighbor

Sister Rosetta Tharpe  – Don’t Take Everybody to Be Your Friend “A powerful force of nature, a guitar playin’, singin’ evangelist…Anything but ordinary and plain. She was a big, good lookin’ woman, and divine. Not to mention sublime and splendid, always dressed like she was on her way to church, with that electric guitar strung across her shoulder. Matter of fact I saw her a few times myself, at the National Guard Armory.” 

T-Bone Burnett – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend “Long and tall and on the ball.”

Bob also played (a snatch of) Marilyn Monroe ‘s recording of ” Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend “

Doc Guidry – La Valse D’Amitie (The Friendship Waltz)

Moon Mulligan – Make Friends “Here’s another Texan…I guess Texas is a friendly place. Moon’s combination of pumpin’ piano and country vocals were a huge influence on Jerry Lee Lewis”

Jerry McCain  – My Next Door Neighbor “He once heard Little Walter play, and it changed his life forever. Music used to do that.” 

George Jones and Melba Montgomery – Let’s Invite Them Over “I played this record for some of the guys here in the Abernathy building, and they couldn’t believe their ears. This is country music at its best, friends. Give a listen! “Now I love country music, but I say ‘What happened to it?’ You hear a song like this and it’s obvious it’s about real people, and real emotions, and real problems, that’s all, that’s the country music we learned to love. Now days they want to sweep all the problems under the rug and pretend they don’t exist. Well guess what folks – they do exist! And if you try and sweep em under the rug, they’re just gonna pop up somewhere else. So we might as well all just face it and listen to the old style country music, the real country music. You know, about drinking and sleeping around. That’s my kind a country music, and I hope yours! But I digress.” 

Howlin’ Wolf – My Friends “This next song is entirely without flaw and meets all the supreme standards of excellence.”

Little Walter  – Last Night

Carole King – You’ve Got A Friend “I could be here all day just sayin’ songs Carole King wrote. I’d rather listen to her sing one.”

Ronnie and the Delinquents (Ronnie Barron) – Bad Neighborhood “Another true zombie tale from the swamps of New Orleans.”

Rolling Stones – Neighbors “Here’s my old pals the Rolling Stones. And I guess you heard about Keith and everybody’s glad he’s feeling better now. Here he is with Charlie, Mick, Woody, and a bass player.”

Hank Williams (Luke the Drifter) – Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals “One of the greatest songwriters who ever lived was Hank Williams, of course. Hank could be headstrong and willful, a backslider and a reprobate, no stranger to bad deeds. However, underneath all of that, he was compassionate and moralistic.”

War  – Why Can’t We Be Friends “We don’t need any border patrols, or people trying to pigeon hole music. We just need more records like this.”

Quotes About Friends

Frederick Nietze – Go up close to your friend, but do not go over to him. We should respect the enemy that is in our friend. Oscar Wilde – A true friend will stab you in the front (“Well said, Oscar”) Muhammad Ali – Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school, but if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship you really haven’t learned anything at all. “Moon Mulligan, Muhammad Ali – two ways of sayin’ the same thing.” It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg. – Thomas Jefferson “Reminding us about the separation of church and state.” Aristotle – In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds Ralph Waldo Emerson – He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, while he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere. Nicholas Berdyaev — Bread for myself is a material question; bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one.

Other Quotes

Horace  : I strive to be brief and I become obscure (Bob quotes this and in the Latin too, in response to an email asking why all the songs he plays are so obscure)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Muddy Waters Jule Styne Leo Robin Carol Channing Howard Hawks Lorelei Lee Happy Fats Band / Rayne Bo Ramblers Jerry Lee Lewis Tammy Wynette Trini Lopez Willie Dixon Fats Waller Neil Sedaka Gerry Goffin The Charelles Dr. John  (Mac Rebennack) The Prime Ministers Paul Harvey Pete Townsend Luke the Drifter Eric Burdon The Animals Night Shift Deacon Jones Lee Oskar

The Places

England National Guard Armory St. Louis, MO Fort Worth, TX Dallas, TX Jackson, MS New Orleans Los Angeles

Other Songs, Albums, Etc.

Clip from Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s wedding at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC “I didn’t know you could charge admission to your wedding – I wish I’d a known that.” Oh, Carol Will You Love Me Tomorrow You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman) Chains I Feel the Earth Move Locomotion One Fine Day Take a Giant Step Tapestry Pinball Wizard Tattoo You Spill the Wine Slippin’ into Darkness The World is a Ghetto The Cisco Kid  (Bob’s personal favorite song by War)

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Clip – Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.’ The Sopranos

The Record Labels

Trumpet Excello Jaycee Records

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Radio

(Mr. announcer who are you?)howdy everybody this is Bob Dylan tell me the station I’m listening to the xm network, satellite radio how about telling a time to meet it’s time for theme time radio hour and what’s the weather gonna be? it’s cold and fatty and it’s raining. It’s going down to 30 degrees tonight. I don’t know what it’s like where you are but that’s what it’s like here.

It's night time in the Big City
a woman in a red gown throws out her cell phone
a man sleeps with a gun under his pillow

 

“What would the radio be without a disc jockey?”

The Singers and the Songs

Grandpa Jones  – Turn Your Radio On

Boyd Bennett  and His Rockets – Cool Disc Jockey

The Blasters – Border Radio “Our next song is all about radio stations that cropped up just across the Mexican border. These stations did not have to obey the same laws as their American counterparts. They were able to broadcast deep into the United States. These stations were very influential, playing a lot of regional bands of all types of music. In this song the blasters pay tribute to these early hothouses of modern music.“ 

12 Year Old Richard Lanham – On Your Radio  

“With kind of a Frankie Lyman influence”

Lord Melody (Fitzroy Alexander) – Radio Commercials

The Clash – Radio Clash “Here’s a song that is anything but perfunctory….The Clash, a group that knew about the political power of the radio.”

Patrice Holloway – Those DJ Shows

Van Morrison – Caravan “Van Morrison has always had a love affair with the radio. A lot of his songs mention in, and this one is one of the best.” 

Luke Jones and His Orchestra – Disc Jockey Blues

Bonnie Owens – My Hi-Fi to Cry By

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks – Canned Music

LC Smith and His Southern Playboys – Radio Boogie

Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Radio, Radio

Other Songs

Old Rattler Mountain Dew

The Places

Cincinnati, OH

The Poets

Bertolt Brecht –  Radio Poem Charles Bukowski  – “The hard drinkin’ poet laureate of the lower class of Los Angeles” Radio With Guts TS Eliot

The Record Labels

King Records  – plays clip from owner Sid Nathan Chess

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Josie and the Pussy Cats – voice of Valerie Grand Ole Opry Saturday Night Live  (references Elvis Costello getting banned from SNL after playing Radio Radio)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Dr. John Brinkley – quack doctor Wolfman Jack The Ink Spots Bob Gideons Kelly Clarkson Brenda Holloway Pete “Mad Daddy” Meyers (DJ) – plays clip Buck Owens Merle Haggard The Charlatans Jango Reinhart Stephane Grapelli Albert Einstein The Wizards Tennessee Shorty and Little Tommy The Tyler Country Boys The Southern Playboys The Smith Brothers The Southern Mountain Boys Steve Allen

Radio Shows

The Shadow – plays a clip The Lives of Harry Lime The Chase Damon Runyon Theater Boston Blackie The Mercury Theater on the Air Rocky Fortune The Green Hornet Dangerous Assignment Escape Jack Benny Program The Fred Allen Show Amos and Andy Show Easy Aces Fibber McGee and Molly

The Guests

Peter Wolf “I always enjoy talking to Peter Wolf. He’s well-read and well-spoken; luckily the tape was running!” Elvis Costello (Bob was playing Blackjack with him)

Types of radios

Fillmore RCA Olympic Motorola Filcro Bakerlight Hallicrafter TR-88 “Some radio programs play just one type of thing. But here we’re like new England weather–if you don’t like what you’re hearing stick around, it’ll change in a minute.”

 

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The Bible

It's night time in the Big City
a girl goes through the medicine cabinet of the man who brought her home
a ringing phone goes unanswered

“For the next hour we’re gonna be playin’ music about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, The Wisdom of Solomon, First Maccabees and Second Maccabees, First Samuel and Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings. We’re gonna be playing stuff that comes out of the Psalms and the Proverbs. You know all of these. Jonah and Malachi – how come nobody’s named Malachi any more? We’re gonna be playing music that has something to do with Nehemia, Esther, Job, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And of course, The Book of Revelations. So gather the family around the radio and hear the good news. Seek and you shall find.”

The Singers and the Songs

Rev. J.M. Gates – Are You Bound for Heaven or Hell

The Yayhoos — Bottle and a Bible (Terry Anderson, Chris Baird, Eric Ambel) “If you have to choose between the bottle and a bible, you might be needing a 12 Step Program, which was started by Bill Wilson, who helped spread the idea that drinking was a disease. If you feel 12 steps aren’t enough for ya, may I recommend the Alfred Hitchcock Classic, The 39 Steps. If you have to go higher than 39 steps just remember, one might be too many, and a hundred might not be enough.”

Rev. Gary Davis – Samson and Delilah “Like a lot of other street performers, he always put gospel songs in among his blues to make it harder for the police to interrupt him.”

Kitty Wells – He Will Set Your Fields on Fire

Wynonie Harris – Adam Come And Get Your Rib

AA Gray and Seven Foot Dilly – The Old Ark’s A-Moving

Washington Phillips – Denomination Blues “He was a pioneering gospel performer of the 20’s. Recorded only 18 songs but, boy, what songs!”

The Four Interenes – I’m Using My Bible For A Road Map

Ollabelle (lead singer Amy Helm) – Elijah Rock

The Melodians – The Rivers Of Babylon

Blind Willie Johnson – The Revelator

Jess Willard – Boogie Woogie Preaching Man

The Swan Silvertones – Oh Mary Don’t You Weep “If you listened closely to that song you might have heard Claude Jeter say, ‘I’ll be your bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name’ – a phrase that inspired Paul Simon, a few years later, to write some song.”

The Robins – That’s What The Good Book Says “Biblical in scope, rhythm and blues in nature. This is the kind of bible study you don’t get in Sunday school…And what’s a rhythm and blues gospel song without a vibraphone solo, that one probably played by Johnny Otis”

Other singers, players, etc.

The Georgia Satellites Steve Earle Bill Wilson The Philistines Johnny Wright (of Johnny and Jack) Moses Sir Thomas Brown Michelangelo Rafael Lowell Stokes ? (fiddle player) Harry Geiger ? (fiddle player) Joe Brown ? (fiddle player) Sir Nathan Hank Penny Reno and Smiley – (clip from their version of “I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map”) Levon Helm T-Bone Burnett “He’s always been a man of great taste.” Roger McGuinn Jess Willard Jack Johnson Jack Guthrie Johnny Horton Jimmy Bryant Speedy West Al Green The Coasters

Other Songs and Albums

Fear Not The Obvious Bloodshot Eyes Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor

The Places

Gaza The Brook of Sorec Nashville Israel Simsboro, TX Babylon Jamaica Euphrates River Chebar River Baghdad

The Movies

The 39 Steps The Ten Commandments The Night of the Hunter Life of Brian

The Record Labels

King Records Veejay Records

Guest

Keb Mo “Well, it’s time for me to say goodbye and turn the other cheek and head out of the Abernathy Building, down the street, past the church, and down to Sampson’s Diner. And in the meantime, eat, drink, and be merry and forgive them, for they know not what they do. We’ll see you next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Amen.“Remember, blessed are the peacemakers.”

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Musical Map

It's night time in the Big City
a cab driver curses under his breath
roasted chickens hang in the window of a Chinese restaurant

The Singers and the Songs

Hank Snow – I’ve Been Everywhere “This is one o f those songs that starts off with a prelude; so don’t be concerned, the body of the song will start in just a moment.” Professor Longhair and the Shuffling Hungarians – Mardi Gras in New Orleans  “Sometimes when you’re in the basement, looking at a box of records to buy, you come across a name on a label and you just have to own it. That’s the way I felt when I first saw this one…Here’s a song that should be the state song for Louisiana”  Marty Robbins – El Paso “A vivid western saga laden with drama, violence, and romance…a song of rare beauty and elegance…Talkin’ about a woman who is as different from other women as cognac is from corn liquor. But as Marty Robbins would no you get the same kind of headache from either one.” Wilbert Harrison – Kansas City “You all know this song, and it always sounds good.” Sol K. Bright and his Hollywaiians – Hawaiian Cowboy Jack Teagarden – Stars Fell on Alabama “One of the top pre-Bop trombonists.” Tom Waits – Jersey Girl The Louvin Brothers – Knoxville Girl “Hillbilly music had no shortage of lust, murder, and mayhem…of course it didn’t have as many samples from Herbie Hancock records…but I think if you listen to this you’ll be surprised how violent it is”  (Bob’s response to email questioning a comparison between ‘Hillbilly music’ and ‘Gangsta Rap.’) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazleweed – Jackson Percy Mayfield – Louisiana “Had one of the most distinctive voices in R & B, and he was shockingly handsome…Percy’s records have never been equaled.” Tin Ear Tanner – I Used to Work in Chicago Charlie Poole – Baltimore Fire ZZ Top – My Head’s in Mississippi “I’m all outta breath just listening to that!” Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys – Take Me Back To Tulsa “Here on Theme Time Radio Hour we believe you can never play too much Bob Wills. We’re gonna prove it by playin’ another one of his records.”

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Little Jimmie Dickens Elvis Presley Colonel Tom Parker “A man who would put live chickens on a hot plate and tell people there were dancing…A man as hard as his arteries or, as Cleopatra would have said, ‘I’d like two sons by that man.” Sullivan Rock Kid Stormy Weather Toots Washington Jelly Roll Morton Mitch Miller Grady Martin Vikki Carr Sandra Day O’Conner Sam Donaldson Debbie Reynolds Irene Ryan Wilbert Harrison Bobby Robinson Wild Jimmie Sprewell Sol Hoopii Don Helms Hank Williams Hank Aaron Willie Mays Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars – “I recommend you search out those records” Kathleen Brennan Thomas Alva Edison Jack Nicholson – “He does more acting with one eyebrow than anybody else does with their entire body.” Otis Span Papa Charlie McCoy Leanne Rimes Eudora Welty Cassandra Wilson Walter Payton Fritz Moot (?) Johnny Cash June Carter Martin Luther King, Jr. Stokely Carmichael Medgar Evers Byron de la Beckwith Alec Baldwin Ray Charles Marlon Brando Carl Sandburg Tex Atchison Gene Autry Cliffy Stone Rock Wensel Merle Travis Albert G. Spaulding Hugh Hefner Mayor Robert McCain Ella Fitzgerald Thurgood Marshall Edgar Allen Poe Johhny Unitas Mayor Robert McCain Creek Indians Garth Brooks Daniel Patrick Moynihan Blake Edwards Paul Harvey Leon Russell

The Places

Reno Chicago Fargo Buffalo Winslow Wichita Bourbon Street Tulsa Ottawa Grand Ole Opry Texas Arizona Mexico Honolulu Mobile, AL Westfield, AL Huntsville, AL (The Rocket Capital of the World) New Jersey “Has the highest population density in the United States, and the most car thefts. But on the plus side, it has the most diners…I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but it has the most shopping malls in one area.” Menlo Park LaFleur’s Bluff Louisiana (and the Napoleonic Code) Chicago Baltimore – “Lotta drama happens in Baltimore, you can see it on ‘Homicide’ or ‘The Wire.’” Oklahoma Arkansas River

The Movies

Blue Hawaii As Good As It Gets Ghosts of Mississippi Streetcar Named Desire

Guests

Billy Gibbons (ran into him at a taco wagon)

Record Labels

Star Talent Records Beltone Records

Other Songs

Polynesian Love Song Please Send Me Someone to Love Two Years of Torture At The Club Hit The Road Jack Herbie Hancock sample “Well we got to go again, here on Theme Time Radio Hour. I’m gonna gas up the car, throw my bags in the trunk, get my Trip-Tic from AAA, and head out and visit a few more of these fine cities. We’ll be back again next week with more Them Time Radio Hour. I’ll see ya on the highway!”   top

School

(school room noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a writer stares at a blank sheet of paper
a pet poodle scratches at a window

“Your school for dreams, schemes and themes. Your university of perversity” “School’s now in session”

The Singers and The Songs

Graham Parker-Back to School Days (part of the Pub Rock movement from the 1976 album Howlin’ Wind) Tommy Facenda-High School USA (Minneapolis/St Paul version) “He did like 40 versions of it, recorded them all in like 2 days. Imagine what the last version must have sounded like! I get tired just doin’ this radio show!” James Brown-Don’t Be a Dropout Ricky Nelson-Lincoln and 46 Otis Rush-Homework Harry Reser and his 6 Jumping Jacks-I Love the College Girls The Marquee’s-Hey, Little School Girl Brenda Holloway with The Supremes-Play it Cool, Stay in School Babs Gonzalez-Professor Bop Sam Cooke-Wonderful World Gene Summers-School of Rock n’ Roll “Listen to the piano playing on this record, it just pushes the thing along. Without the piano the guitar player might as well drop out.” NRBQ-Still In School Lulu-To Sir with Love Jerry Lee Lewis-High School Confidential “the Killer’ Vincent Fornier (Alice Cooper)-School’s Out “Guillotine and golf officianto”

Other Singers, People and Songs

Brisbee Schwartz Martin Belmont Gene Vincent and the Bluecaps Ozzie and Harriet Nelson James Burton Elvis Gene Vincent Carl Perkins “I Can’t Quit You, Baby” “My Love Will Never Die” “3 Times a Fool” “All Your Love” Don Roby Jazz Pilots Campus Boys The Rounders The Park Lane Orchestra The Clicquot Club Bill Ridges and His Orchestra Bob Wills Horris Man Bo Diddley Marvin Gaye Chester Simmons Peece Palmer James Nolan Mark “no ding dong” Twain “I never let my schooling interfere with my education” Victor Hugo The Beatles “You Make Me So Very Happy” Blood, Sweat and Tears Sonny Rollins JJ Johnson Whitten Kelly Roy Haynes Lou Adler Herb Albert Terry Adams Everly Brothers “All Hopped Up” (album) Sidney Pottier Michael Stipe Natalie Merchant Bill Clinton “Definitely a man who could take you from crayons to perfume.” Mimi Vandorn JW Brown Myra Gayle

Guest

Carla Thomas (speaking on why you should stay in school)

Cheerleaders

Ann-Margaret Paula Abdul Halley Berry Katie Couric George W Bush Dwight D Eisenhower Ruth Bader Ginsberg Steve Martin Trent Lott Samuel L Jackson Madonna FDR (also 32nd president) “The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize.”

Commercials and Publics Service announcements

Robert Hall (back to school) Les Paul and Mary Ford The Big “O” Otis Redding

Places

Barnwell, SC Welsey, MA Dallas, TX Atwater Village Glasgow, Scotland LA Ann Arbor

TV and Movies

MTV Rock Around the Clock Ed Sullivan Show 3 Stooges Fast Times at Ridgemont High Rock n’ Roll High School High School Confidential

Record Labels

Cobra Duke Okay Motown Red Rooster

Women’s Colleges

Barnard Smith Holyoke St. Benedict Wellesley

Colleges

University of Michigan-Behavioral Neuroscience Princeton-Experimental Psychology Harvard-Historical Sociology

Poems

Gwendolyn Brooks-We Real Cool

Schools

Global School of Private Investigation ABC School of Bartending Dave’s Accordion School Cook St. School of Fine Cooking Second Nature School of Taxidermy The Superior Fashion Institute of Montreal Eastern School of Musical Instrument Repair

School Mascots

Florida Gators-Albert Dunker the Inflatable Horse Sammy the Slug- UC Santa Cruz WooShock-Wichita State Zippy the Kangaroo “He’s all he’s cracked up to be”

Kinds of Teachers

Shop Latin Profs of Law Profs of Medicine

Subjects Covered

History-The Battle of Hastings Biology-The Cerebrum Science-Potential and Kinetic Energy “Let me hip ya” Math-Slide Rule

Valedictorians

Johnny Bench Cindy Crawford WC Handy William Renquist Emmylou Harris Alicia Keyes Conan O’Brien Weird Al W.E.B DuBois “I wonder if William Renquist gave the same type of speech as Weird Al? Somehow I doubt it.” “I went to a tough high school, even the debating team was on steroids” top

Telephone

It’s night time in the Big City The air is thick with a chemical a woman takes a shower before going home to her husband

Singers and Songs

Elmore James-Talk to Me Baby (Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson) Spirit of Memphis Quartet–Atomic Telephone Glenn Miller Orchestra-Pennsylvania 6-5000 (who disappeared mysteriously during W WII) Etta James (Miss Peaches)-Call Me Eddy Gorman and His Group-Telephone Blues Lattie Moore-The Jukebox and the Phone George Jones “The Possum”-Wrong Number The Kinks-Party Line Eddie“Cleanhead” Vinson-Party Line “He was called ‘Cleanhead’ cause he burned all his hair off with hair straightened. The first time I heard this song it knocked my socks off!” Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn-As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone” (Recommended by Pete Wolf) “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat You don’t hear records like that anymore!” Muddy Waters-Long Distance Operator Pigmeat (Dewey) Markham-your Wire’s Been Tapped Blondie-Hanging on a Telephone Little Milton and Olive Sain’s Orchestra-Long Distance Operator Hank Penny-Hold the Phone Graciela With Machito Orchestra -La Bochinchera Aaron Neville-Wrong Humber Again “The distinctive voice of Aaron Neville, a lot of people think we sing the same.” Pee Wee (Connie) Crayton-Telephone is Ringing Lucky Blondo-Le Jeu Du Telephone

Other Singer, Song and People

Alexander Graham Bell– Invented the telephone in 1876 made his first telephone call to his assistant saying “Mr. Watson , come here I want you.” He thought you should say ‘Ahoy, Ahoy’ when you answered. Johnny Otis “Out of Control” “Sweet Papa Pigmeat” “Here Come the Judge” President Lincoln Sylvester Stallone Sam Phillips Albert King Fontella Bass “We’re Gonna Make It” “If Walls Could Talk” “Grits Ain’t Groceries” Don Foster Bob Wills Spade Cooley (who killed his wife) “Blues Afterhours” “Papa Stoppa” T-Bone Walker “Texas Hop”

Ads

Add-a-phone

Random Phone Stuff

Dial-a-Prayer for Atheists-Nobody Answers God-Pod-iPod with scriptures Party Lines

Bob’s helpful Hints

Hero Rymes with Zero

Hotels

Hotel Pennsylvania (Hotel Statler)

Places

France Hollywood Juke Joints (Juke Boxes) Scottsville, KY Durham, NC Semoodio Itnl. Airport E. St. Louis Birmingham, AL Texas LA Fresno

Companies

Automatic Music Instrument Company Wurlitzer Seabird Rockola VeeJay

Movies and TV

Rowan and Martin Copland

Guest

Art Linkerletter (Public Service Announcement on Not using the phone after atomic bombing) Peter Wolf Gina Gershon (talking about a mambo song by Graciella)

Record Labels

Sun Bobbin “If you’ll excuse me I’m gonna make a few phone calls”   top

Water

It's night time in the Big City
A night watchman rinses out his thermos
clouds cover the top of the Abernathy building

“A giraffe can go a very long time without water. But he wants to see a menu right away.”

The Singer and The Songs

Danny Kaye – Mommy, Give Me a Drink of Water

Ramsey Lewis – Wade in the Water

The Sons of The Pioneers – Cool Water

William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water

Charley Patton – High Water Everywhere Part 1 “It’s called Part 1 because back in the days of 78’s if you had a song longer than three minutes you had to split it up on side one and side two, because the records only were three minutes long. So you only did a long song when you had something important to say, like this song about the most destructive river flood in United States history.”

Effie Smith – Water, Water

Booker T & The MG’s – You Left the Water Running

James Carr – Pouring Water on a Drowning Man

Porter Wagoner – Cold Dark Waters “We heard about cool, clear water before, but the water Porter Wagoner sings about is colder and darker.”

The Cats and the Fiddle – I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water

Randy Newman – Louisiana 1927

Tommy Johnson – Cool Drink of Water Blues “Along with Son House and Charley Patton, no one was more important to the development of Delta Blues than Tommy Johnson. And long before the stories about Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, those same stories were being told about Tommy Johnson. His live performances where he would play guitar behind his neck, while hollerin’ the blues at full volume, were legendary…Tommy only recorded until 1930, but he was still performing as late as 1956..seems a shame we never got to hear some of them later performances.”

Howlin’ Wolf – I Asked For Water, She Brought Me Gasoline “Holy Moly that’s good!”

The Standells – Dirty Water

The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Jesus Gave Me Water

Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang – Have to Change Keys

Lonnie Johnson – Backwater Blues “Lonnie’s a real interesting character. He recorded solo blues numbers, he also recorded jazz guitar, as early as 19 and 27…but time passes on, and even as great a talent as Lonnie Johnson can be forgotten. By the late 50’s, he was toiling as a hotel janitor when he was rediscovered and had a major comeback on the folk blues festival trail.”

Myra Taylor with Jimmie King’s Orchestra – Still Blue Water “One of the last authentic swing singers in the Kansas City tradition.”

Glenn Barber – Ice Water “At the age of 6 he got in trouble for touching a neighbors guitar (Spinal Tap clip). His dad saw how much he loved it and worked day and night so that he could buy him a 3 dollar and 50 cent guitar. Turns out it was a good investment. That guitar became his best friend and he made some rockin’ music on it.”

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot – Grand Coulee Dam

Singers, players, etc.

Leonard Sly The Rocky Mountaineers Bob Nolan Gene Autry Roy Rogers (The Singin’ Cowboy) Thomas Fuller – “We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” Rufus Thomas The Del Rios Bessie Smith Kansas Joe McCoy Memphis Minnie Randy Newman Don Sugarcane Harris Dewey Terry The Harmony Echoes The Blue Ridge Boys Phil Walden Austin Powell Jimmie Henderson Ernie Price Chuck Barksdale The Mills Brothers Stick McGee Huey Long President Coolidge Dick Dodd Larry Tamblyn Russ Tamblyn Mousketeers The Cotton Blossom Singers The Jackson Harmoneers Don Robey Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five Duke Ellington Jungle Band Clarence Love Roy Eldridge Harlan Leonard Eubie Blake

People Who Had Burials At Sea

Steve McQueen Ingrid Bergman Dennis Wilson Rock Hudson Vincent Price Robert Mitchum John F. Kennedy Jerry Garcia

The Songs, Albums and Poems

Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King “Which we’ll probably hear on our Halloween show” Rime of the Ancient Mariner You Got My Mind Messed Up – James Carr I’m Daydreamin’ Tonight Blues Mixture Drinkin’ Wine Spodee Odee Good Old Boys – Randy Newman John, Chapter 4, Verses 3-15 – read by Johnny Cash He’s a Jelly Roll Baker Tomorrow Night The Spider and The Fly Take It Easy, Greasy I’m In My Sins This Morning

The Places

Cincinnati California Mississippi Memphis Arkansas Illinois Kentucky Tennessee The Piney Wood School Jackson, Mississippi another good 1927 Mississippi River Flood link Hollis, OK Louisiana Flood 1927

The Record Labels

Stax Cold Wax Bluebird Records Peacock Records

The Movies

Casablanca The Ballad of Cable Hogue Monsters, Inc. Chinatown Spinal Tap clip (Don’t touch it. It can’t be played) “I’ll see ya next week, come hell or high water!”

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Time

(As Time Goes By)
It's night time in the Big City
a student faces down a deadline
a man with gin on his breath is pulled over

Singers and Songs Irma Thomas “A snow leopard ready to pounce“ -Time is on My Side

Dr. John-Right Place, Wrong Time

Arthur “Dooley” Wilson-As Time Goes By

Derek Morgan-Time Marches On

Sleepy LaBeef-All the Time

Etta James-Only Time Will Tell

Eddy Boyd-24 hours

Tyrone “Tyrone the Wonder Boy” Davis-The Hands of Time

Bobby Milano-Life Begins at 4 O’clock

Billy Ward and The Dominos-60 Minute Man

Cab Calloway-15 Minute Intermission “That time of the evening when you just want to take a break, visit your old friends alcohol and nicotine.”

Willie Nelson-Funny How Time Slips Away

Lou Reed-September Song

Ray Charles-2 Years of Torture

Patsy Cline-Walking after Midnight

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown-The Witching Hour “the boogie rambler”

Eugene Pitt and the Jive 5-What Time Is It?

Willi Williams-Armigedion Times

The Chambers Bros.-Time

Other Singers, People and Songs

Kay Wending The Rolling Stones “I’ve always been partial to Irma’s version” Benny Goodman JJ Johnson Jerry Ragavoy Didi Warwick Sissy Houston Shakespeare “It’s better 3 hours too soon, than 1 minute too late.” Boarman Porter Hal Wilner “Mr. Dooley” Humphrey Bogart (with real Casablanca quote) Prince Buster Gordon Lightfoot (“I had a very similar thing with Gordon Lightfoot.”) Pablo Nesbitt Thomas Halsely LeBeth Poppy Daley “Whatever music you love, it didn’t come from nowhere!  It’s always good to know what went down before you, because if you know the past, you can control the future.”

Louis Gordon “Rockabilly is a poor man’s big band” Minnesota Fats Sir Sanford Fleming-Time Zones William Faulkner “The past is never dead, it’s not even past.” Macbeth “Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow…” George A. Custer “General overconfidence, not to be confused with General Custer.” Henry Ford Edsel Ford The Crooning Crybaby Vincent Domina Milano Crime Family Keely Smith Louis Prima Sting (who practices tantric sex)“You go Sting” Bill Brown Billy Walker Sammy Davis JR. Al Green Joe Hinton BB King Stevie Wonder Johnny Cash Wanda Jackson Ray Price Hal Wilner Walt Disney Tom Waits “Mac the Knife” Bobby Darin “Alabama Song” Percy Mayfield “Hit the Road Jack” Heathcliff and Catherine Pip and Stella Rick and Ilsa Tex Carbone Washington Irving Mary Shelley Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gotterer “My Boyfriend’s Back” The Strangeloves “I Want Candy” Bow Wow Wow The McCoys “Hang on Sloopy” Blondie The Gogos Joan Armatrading “How Much Time Do We Have?” The Soul Vendors Papa Michigan and Smiley “Nice Up The Dance” Percy Shelly

Places

Denmark Pecan Theatre Europe America Chicago Jamaica Aspen, CO Helsinki, Finland Little Big Horn LA Germany Gore, VA Armstrong, AU

Movies, Theatre and TV

60 Minutes Casablanca The Exotic Ones Ted Mack Amateur Hour Days of Our Lives 3 Penny Opera Mahogany Arthur Godfrey TV Show The Beat

Literature

Macbeth The Sound and The Fury Madame Butterfly Wuthering Heights Great Expectations Frankenstein

Organizations

The Mile High Club AFM

Other Topics Covered

The history of clock setting

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Guns

It's night time in the Big City
an elderly man looks at his wife's empty pillow
a nervous thief stands in a doorway

“Welcome to Theme Time Radio Hour. Leave your iron at the door, ‘cause tonight we’re gonna be playing music of the highest caliber. We’re gonna shoot from the hip and put another notch on our barrel.”

The Singers And The Songs

Junior Walker and the All Stars – Shotgun “We’re gonna start things off with a record that starts out like a gun shot…one of the funkiest records ever to come out on Motown.”

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Shotgun Boogie “..known as the “Old Pea Picker” because he always use to say ‘Bless your pea-pickin’ heart.’”

Albert King – The Hunter “The least known of the three Kings of the blues: B.B., Freddie, and Albert.”

The Valentines – Guns Fever

The Clash – Tommy Gun “A song written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Joe explained that he got the idea to write Tommy Gun when it occurred to him that terrorists, like rock stars and movie stars, probably enjoy reading in the press about their so-called triumphs.”

Wanda Jackson – This Gun Don’t Care Who it Shoots“The Atomic Fireball”

Robert Jefferson – I Got My Equalizer “Well usually I have a story about the people we play, but I know nothin’ about this fella, except that he’s a little bit dangerous.”

Johnny Cash – Don’t Take Your Guns To Town

Los Lobos – La Pistola Y El Corazon

Al Dexter And His Troopers – Piston Packin Mama

Hurricanes – Pistol Packin Mama “(Sid Nathan) was called Little Caesar because he was short, fat, and ruled his label like a dictator…but nonetheless he knew what people wanted to buy and he knew there wasn’t that much distance between the white audience and the black audience. He took Al Dexter’s song and handed it over to the hurricanes and it came out something like this. Actually, it came out exactly like this!”

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – The Big Guns

Jerry Irby And His Texas Rangers – Great Long Pistol “Here’s an old friend of Theme Time Radio Hour. It’s that practical joker, Jerry Irby…Shoot ‘em up!”

Vernon Green and the Medallions – Don’t Shoot, Baby “Be careful, you don’t want to get hit in the Pompatus.”

Richard and Linda Thompson – Shoot Out The Lights “You ever heard Rumble, Richard?”

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Jimmy Reed Steve Copper Duck Dunn Al Jackson Booker T. Jones Rude Boys Trenchtown Annie Oakley Billy The Kid Wyatt Earp Bat Masterson Johnny Ringo Sid Nathan“Listen to a little bit of Sid addressing the troops…any of you record company employees? Might wanna take some notes.” Samuel Colt Link Wray Britney Spears

The Record Labels

King Records

The Places

Kingston Ezekiel’s Gun Shop

Other Songs and Albums

Rabbit Fur Coat The Letter Rumble 1000 Years of Popular Music Oops, I Did It Again

The Movies, Etc.

Shane The Big Combo Dirty Harry The Bugs Bunny Show

Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code “And I’m not ashamed to say that I live my life according to that code. Quite a man, that Gene Autry!”

Guests

David Hidalgo“I caught up with David Hidalgo at the Amoeba Record Store Haight Ashbury…or as I call it “Hashbury.” Jenny Lewis Penn Jillette “We just want to remind you that we here at Theme Time Radio Hour do not condone violence. Nor do we encourage it.”

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Halloween

Enter death's waiting room if you dare
below the crypt lies
Bob: Theme Time Radio Hour
(Male voice speaking)
a female announcer dresses like me
a skeleton puts on a fat suit
I gotta put some gas in my car but I don't wanna put it in the tank
I don't want to conform to what everyone else is doing
I know I won't smoke that night though

“Below the crypt lies ‘theme time radio hour.’ “

The Singers and the Songs

Albert King-Born Under a Bad Sign “He was born on May 25th which makes him a Gemini. Gemini’s are curious, good multi-taskers and in Albert King’s case, they play guitar left handed.”

Tommy Collins-Black Cat

Johnny Otis, Marie Adams and the 3 Tons of Joy-Casting My Spell on You

Denzil Lang-Beware of the Vampire

Screaming Jay Hawkins-I Put a Spell on You

Nat Gonella and His Georgians-Skeletons in the Closet

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band-Look Out There’s a Monster Coming

Eugene Fox “Sly Fox“-Hoo Doo Say

Stevie Wonder-Superstition

Dr. John- Morgus the Magnificent “A fellow you want to hear every Halloween.”

Louis Prima and Keely Smith-That Old Black Magic

Zeke Manners and His Swingbillies-Mr. Ghost Goes to Town

The Charmer (Louis Eugene Walcott a.k.a Louis Farrakhan)-Zombie Jamboree

Bobby Boris Pickett-Monster Mash

The Poets-Dead

June Christy-Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

Other Singers, People and Songs

Buck Owens “I bet you heard of him”

“Willie and the Hand Jive” Lee Scratch Perry The Heptones Jimmy Cliff Toots and The Maytals Louis Armstrong Louis Prima “I’m the Urban Spaceman” Paul McCartney Neil Inis The Rutles Ike Turner Jeff Beck Stevie Ray Vaughn Maila Nurmi (Vampira) James Dean Bela Lugosi Mort Johnson Morgan Broman Sam Butera “Pennsylvania Polka” Buddy Epson Albert Brooks Mickey Rourke Boris Karloff Leonard Kapetsey Humphrey Bogart Ronnie Lewis “She Blew Good Thing” Juggy Murray Yip Harbond Harold Arlen Ozzie Smith

Literature

The Raven-Poe “Master of the macabre” Julius Caesar-Shakespeare Macbeth-Shakespeare “Poet of Deftness”

Halloween stuff

Witch Hunts Black Cats-In Brittan and Japan it is good luck to have a black cat cross your path. “They drive on the other side of the road there too!” 18th century Vampire scare “Our politicians today don’t hunt for vampires, they’re too busy sucking blood.” Mummy Tombs (with Poison Mold Spores) Werewolf Frankenstein Vampires Zombies

Record Labels

Capital Sue

TV, Theatre and Movies

Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon Dracula Curse of the Mummy Monty Python Morgus the Magnificent (and Chopsley) Plan 9 from Outer Space The Beverly Hillbillies Barfly Dawn of the Dead Exorcist

“Calypso Follies”

Magic Words

Abracadabra Hocus Pocus Presto Open Sesame Alakazam “But to me the magical words are Please and Thank You.”

Places

London New Orleans Alexandria, VA Chicago

Popular Costumes

Spiderman Princess Witch Vampire Monster Spongebob Ninja Athlete “that’s not much of a costume” Ghost “Boo!”

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Dancing

The Singers and the Songs

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – Dancing in the Street “Only one song we could start with.”

Roy Hogsed and his Rainbow Riders Trio– Let’s Go Dancing “Here’s a song make you feel like you were born in a barn…sing us a song, Roy!”

The Ramones – Do You Wanna Dance “Joey Ramone, along with Johnny, Tommy and Deedee, all brothers from different mothers, they were an influential early punk band and some people say they invented the form of pop-punk.”

“Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.”-HP Lovecraft

Bobby Fuller Four – Let Her Dance “One heavy cat.”

Anita O’Day – Ten Cents a Dance “This next song can eat your heart out.”

Junior Brown – My Baby Don’t Dance to Nothin’ But Ernest Tubb “I only wish I knew a girl like that! Junior remembers watching et on TV when he was young and always being a big fan of his later on he met Ernest Tubb and Ernest Tubb gave him some good advice: ‘keep it country, son.’ That’s what ET said to him.”

7-11 – Dance the Slurp “this next record’s called Dance The Slurp, and it was put out by 7-11 to promote their Slurpees. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist use it as the basic rhythm track for their dance mix called Brain Freeze. People talk about the obscurity of my songs…oh, yeah? Give a listen to this!”

The Lebron Brothers – Dance, Dance, Dance “Pablo, Jose, Angel, Frankie, and Carlos. Urban and funky with a little bit of R&B.”

The Turbans – When You Dance “This is Theme Time Radio Dance Program, and we have had a lot of requests to play a good kazatzka, and for those of you who don’t know, the kazatzka is a Slavic folk dance performed by a couple…This record is one of the first Doo-Wop records to play a good kazatzka.”

Delroy Wilson – Dancing Mood “I’m in a dancing mood, I’m in a dancing mood…three times he’s in a dancing mood!”

Bunker Hill – The Girl Can’t Dance “Calming music is a good thing…unless you don’t want to be calm!”

Fred Astaire – I Won’t Dance “The smoothest dancer known to man.”

Roy Newman – I Can’t Dance (I’ve Got Ants In My Pants) “Roy was a western swing band leader, he was making records even before Bob Wills. He was about the least countrified of the western swing band artists. He used a lot of clarinet, giving his band a Dixieland flavor.”

Chris Montez – Let’s Dance

Eddie Seacrest & The Rolling Rockets – Dancing To The Rhythm “Here’s a song that’s gonna drive Christopher Walken nuts!”

Bill Parsons – Dance Dance Dance “He was roommates with Willie Nelson? That must have been quite an apartment!”

Archie Bell and the Drells – I Can’t Stop Dancing “A great example of that Philly soul sound.”

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos – Save The Last Dance For Me

Types of Dances

The Pony The Watusi The Jerk Mashed Potato Electric Slide Line Dancing Break Dancing Slam Dancing Lambada Macarena Chicken Dance The Crumble Round The Rondell Bolero Cakewalk “When you’re prancing with a backward tilt” Cha Cha Conga The Faruka“Spanish gypsy dance with sudden tempo and mood changes” The Hora The Hula Jitterbug Mambo Rumba Twist Stomp

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Keith Richards

Bobby Freeman

Albert Einstein – Dancers are the athletes of God “Who am I to argue with Albert Einstein?”

Leroy Kirkland

Bob’s barber, Carl – Bob promised him he would play a Kazatzka

Alexander Pope

Audrey Hepburn

Ginger Rogers

Bob Wills

Ollie Horton (?)

Cecil Brower

Walter Kirks

Ish Irwin

Christopher Walken – I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!

Lloyd Price

Willie Nelson

The Drifters

Gamblin’ Huff

Red Skelton

Lord Buckley (Black Cross)

Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word-Mata Hari

Performers who wore turbans

Eddie Bowl

Chuck Willis

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Professor Longhair

Sam the Sham

Other Songs and Albums

Satisfaction Rocket to Russia I Fought The Law Twelve Shades of Brown Mississippi Queen – Mountain (clip) Shakin’ With The Flavor Lawdie Miss Claudie Tighten Up

Email

Tonight’s email: I find your show very entertaining. I only wish it could be more educational.

“Thank you Mary, for your enthusiastic letter. Let me enlighten you about something. Alexander Pope, the English poet, said that a little learning can be a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring. The Perian Spring, Mary is on Mt. Olympus, a sacred place to the muses, the 9 sister goddesses who inspire song and poetry, all the arts and sciences, and dances too. A little dancing is also a dangerous thing, so let’s embrace the danger here tonight, on Theme Time Radio Hour.”

Record Labels

Motown Delphi Herald

The Places

Forest Hills, Queens Baytown, TX Brooklyn, NY Philadelphia Kingston, Jamaica Mount Olympus Los Angeles, CA England Charleston, WV

Guest

Twyla Tharp

Movies, Etc.

Libby’s Sloppy Joe Commercial Flying Down To Rio Top Hat The Gay Divorcee The Barclays of Broadway Holiday Inn Funny Face Easter Parade They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? “More cowbell” clip from SNL Saturday Night Fever (clip) – John Travolta

The Poets

The Red Dance – Anne Sexton “Def Bostonian Poet” Alexander Pope “I’d be a great dancer except for two things: my feet.”

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Sleep

(Santo and Johnny-sleepwalk)
It's night time in the Big City
A man regrets using a gas station restroom
birds are still a couple hours away from getting the worm

“Your queen size home for themes, dreams and schemes. Please do not remove tag under penalty of law.”

The Singers and The Songs

Santo and Johnny – Sleep Walk (played in background during intro)  “an instrumental duo from Brooklyn” Louis Jordan And His Tympany 5 – A Man’s Best Friend Is a Bed Sammy Myers – Sleeping in the Ground “You know, every shut-eye ain’t sleep. Sometimes you’re sleeping in the ground, taking a dirt nap, saying the big good bye.” 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – Somebody’s Been Sleeping Berna-Dean – I Walk In My Sleep “Here’s a woman who sure doesn’t sound like she sleeps alone.” Hoagy Charmichael  – Two Sleepy People “This song is featured in the Bob Hope movie, Thanks For The Memories l and also this week on Theme Time Radio Hour.” George Jones – I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep “I was looking through my records the other night. Ya know, I have ever 70 George Jones Records?! If you look at them all, it gives you a great history of men’s haircuts. Here’s George in a period of time when he had just grown out his brush cut and had a bit of a mutton chop sideburn look going.” Peter Wolf — Sleepless “I ran into Pete at an all night drugstore, and he told me about this song.” Belton Richard — Another Sleepless Night “…one of the original members of the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame, which was established in 1997, not a moment too soon.” Little Miss Cornshucks (“the former Miss Mildred Cummings”) – Rock Me To Sleep The Monkees – Love Is Only Sleeping “Another finely crafted pop classic” Little Willie John  – Sleep “Hmmm, sounds like me playin’ the organ!” Jody Reynolds and the Storms – Endless Sleep “This next song is not for the faint of heart. Death rock was a phenomenon that happened in the late 50s and early 60s – maybe it was because of people’s fear of the atomic bomb during the Cold War…This record is one of the most atmospheric of the bunch.” The Band – Sleeping “Here’s a distinctive voice with an unquiet heart, Richard Manuel, singin with The Band, a voice of dreams…” Louis Armstrong – When It’s Sleepy Time Down South “This is how Louis used to close his shows; we’ll use it to close ours.”

Other Singers, Players, and Stars

Elmore James General Johnson“…is an interesting guy. First of all, his name is General Johnson, and that’s interesting right there. Second of all, he had two hit records, and you never heard his name before.” Dave Bartholomew –“…who wrote and arranged a log of Fats Domino’s big hits. He’s still down in New Orleans playin. He would show up at Preservation Hall on a regular basis to play just for the love of the music, despite his millionaire status. You gotta respect that.” J. Geils Band Neil Sedaka Otis Redding Humphrey Bogart Lauren Bacall Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil Eydie Gorme

Writers, Poets and Painters

Ben Franklin Charlotte Bronte – A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow James Joyce – from Chamber Music Sleep now, O sleep now, O you unquiet heart! A voice crying “Sleep now” Is heard in my heart. The voice of the winter Is heard at the door. O sleep, for the winter Is crying “Sleep no more.” My kiss will give peace now And quiet to your heart– Sleep on in peace now, O you unquiet heart! Shakespeare – Hamlet “We quote a lot of this guy, but who can blame us? He’s one of the best. The kid’s real good.” To die, to sleep…To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub For in that sleep what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil — “Don’t shuffle off too soon we got a lot more music to play ya!” Anthony Burgess Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone” 1st Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 30: For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep (Paul) – “And by sleep, he means dead.” Edward Hopper – Nighthawks (often mistakenly called Nighthawks at the Diner) “If you look carefully you’ll see that there is no door. There is no way in, and there is no way out. I think I know that diner. Sounds like Sampson’s.” Rainer Rilke – To Say Before Going To Sleep

Famous Nightowls

Fran Leibowitz Ludwig the 2nd of Bavaria Winston Churchill Marcel Proust Ann Coulter Bob’s rap about Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco: “The difference between Cajun, Creole and Zydeco might be hard to pin down, if you don’t listen to a lot of em. But here’s a couple of handy hints. Cajun tends to sound more like early country. It’s typically a waltz or a two step. Creole, very similar, but the rhythms tend to be more pronounced and the vocals are a bit more blues influences Zydeco on the other hand sounds more like gospel or r and b with accordion and rug board washboard. A lot of people who play one kind wont’ play with peopele who play another kind, but me personally, I never understood any kind of border patrol when it comes to music.”

The Places

New Orleans Preservation Hall Boston New York Greenwich Village Cullendale, AR Washington State Prison Walla Walla, WA Pearl Harbor

Fairy Tales, Movies, TV Shows, Etc.

Sleeping Beauty Snow White Goldilocks and the Three Bears The Honeymooners — clip played of Ed Norton sleepwalking and calling for his lost dog, Lulu Sominex commercial To Have And Have Not

Other Songs and Albums

It Will Stand (clip played) – The Showmen Give Me Just a Little More Time (clip played) – The Chairmen of the Board Rockin’ Chair Georgia On My Mind Stardust Stage Fright Try a Little Tenderness He’s Sure the Boy I Love Uptown Blame It On The Bossa Nova On Broadway We Gotta Get Out Of This Place You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling Teen Angel Running Bear Tell Laura I Love Her

Guest

Peter Wolf“You can call him at five in the morning and he’s still up playing records – I know because I’ve done it.” “Well, it’s sleepy time everywhere right now, so it’s time for me to hang up my headphones, get out of the Abernathy Building, and slip into a dry martini. See ya next week. Pleasant dreams, schemes and themes.”   top

Food

(ewww, we're gonna have fun....OOOO Yes!)
It's night time in the Big City
A woman steps carefully over a broken wine bottle
the television is still on
(it's a cozy table isn't it
I like it too, yes I do like it
mmmmmm....delicious.

“Welcome once again to Theme Time Radio Hour, and I hope you brought an appetite. Because tonight we're gonna peruse the musical menu. We got a bill of fare that is truly appetizing. So I hope you're eager to dig in.”

The Singers and The Songs

Jim Backus and Friends – Delicious (background during intro)

Cab Calloway – Everybody Eats When They Come To My House “A man who can be seen in animated form in a number of Betty Boop Cartoons ”” During a concert, a band member shot spitballs at Cab’s back when he faced the audience. Cab accused Dizzy of being the culprit and upon Dizzy’s vehement denial, the two began to fight. Dizzy grabbed a knife and actually cut Cab. Although the two made up after Jonah Jones and Milt Hinton came forward as the perpetrators, Dizzy was fired.” 

Rolling Stones – Rice Krispies (Wake Up In The Morning) 

Wendy Rene – Bar-B-Q

Lincoln Chase – Hot Biscuits and Sweet Marie “Tryin’ to decide between biscuits and lovin’ – wow, that’s a hard choice!” 

Charles Mingus – Eat That Chicken “He led groups noted for their collective improvisations, loose rhythms, and high energy. He was a serious musician with a strong sense of humor.” 

Johnny Hicks and his Troubadours – Hamburger Hop “A man who sounds like he’s got a smile in his voice”

The Melodians – Swing and Dine “Down in Jamaica they cook a dish called jerk chicken. It’s sweet, it’s peppery and it’s delicious. I wonder if that’s the meal that the Melodians were singing about in this song?” 

Thurston Harris – Purple Stew “You heard of the Purple Rain and you’ve heard of the Purple Haze. But have you heard about the purple stew? As the old saying goes, some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you. Here’s a song about a guy who finds himself about to be served up as the main course.” 

Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds – Shortnin’ Bread  “Far as I know, they only made one record – what else did they need to make? America first fell in love with the song Shortnin’ Bread when Lawrence Tibbett, who was the principal with the Metropolitan Opera, made a recording of it. Nelson Eddy sang it in the movie Maytime in 1937. But I bet neither of those versions rock as successfully as Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds.”

Slim Gaillard – Matzoh Balls “America is certainly the great melting pot. Where else could someone like Slim Gaillard sing a tribute to matzoh balls and gefilte fish? It’s the kind of thing that makes me proud to be an American. Sing it, Slim.”

Jim Jackson – I Heard The Voice of a Pork Chop “A songster from the medicine shows of Memphis…Jim Jackson’s popularity was surprisingly phenomenal. He waxed 50 titles in less than three years.” 

Dizzy Gillespie – Hey Pete, Let’s Eat More Meat “The Beat Poets were all big fans of Bebop, and here’s the king of Bebop, the spitball king, playing some of his Chinese music, Dizzy Gillespie, on the Atkins Diet…Crazy daddy-o!” Dizz doin’ his thang for the meat marketing board!”

Louis Jordan and his Tympany 5 – Hungry Man “The consummate entertainer, not just singing but also playing that wild alto saxophone, and he’s got quite an appetite.” 

The Blue Dots – Saturday Night Fish Fry “Sounds like a wild affair” 

Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces – The Hamburger Song “A song that sorta sounds like a nursery rhyme”

The Detroit Cobras – Hot Dog 

Four Clefs – I Like Pie, I Like Cake “Hmmm! Don’t we all?”

Places

Battle Creek, MI

Memphis

NYC

The Bar-B-Q Shop Restaurant “Tell ‘em Theme Time Radio Hour sent you!”

New Zealand

Australian

Polynesia

Hawaii

Sandwich islands

Jupiter Beach, FL

Memphis Auditorium

Hernando, MS

Los Angeles

Pinks

Nagano, Japan

Coney island

Chicago

Nathan’s Famous

Other People and Players

Dizzy Gillespie “…was in Cab Calloway’s Band. Cab didn’t like the early Bebop that dizzy was developing. He used to call it Chinese music. Dizzy got fired by Cab after an incident in 1941. Cab was singing on stage so of course he had his back to the rest of the band. He was hit by spitballs; he accused Dizzy of being the culprit. Dizzy denied it and the two began to fight. Dizzy grabbed a knife and actually cut Cab. Even after Jonah Jones and Milt Hinton admitted that they were the villains, Dizzy was still fired. He later went on to become one of the founders of Bebop.”

Rufus Thomas LaVerne Baker Shirley Ellis Lawrence Tibbett Nelson Eddy John Montague, the 4th Earle of Sandwich Captain James Cook Wimpy Burt Reynolds Pierre Mancini The Lamplighters King Vidor Julie London Bobby Troup Takeru Kobayashi 

Movies, Commercials, and other entertainment

Rolling Stones: Rice Krispies (Wake Up In The Morning) watch here Dinner Theater Metropolitan Opera Maytime Hallelujah Alka Seltzer commercial

Food Featured in Jingles

Hard salami Chicken parts  “every one of ‘em’s good!” Stew meat Pork chop Chuck roast Hot dogs Dill pickles

Other Songs

Jim Dandy The Nitty Gritty The Name Game Bebop Wino Little Bitty Pretty One Route 66

Books and Poems

Beneath The Underdog “Riveting reading.” Allen Ginsberg – A Supermarket in California

Popular Sandwiches 

Earl of Sandwich Grilled cheese Cubano “That’s a Cuban sandwich said with an accent” The French Dip Ham and cheese Peanut butter and jelly Muffuletta Philly Cheese Steak Grinder Hoagie Dagwood Reuben Hamburger

Record Labels

Victor Bluebird Stax Records Ace Records

Food Quotes

The bravest man in the world was the first man who swallowed an oyster. Moliere – One must eat to live, not live to eat. Orson Wells – My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people there. George Bernard Shaw – There is no sincerer love than the love of food. Cervantes – Hunger is the best sauce in the world. “I’ll see ya next week on Theme Time Radio Hour, the home of dreams, schemes and themes, and a hot steaming meal – you don’t mind picking up the check do you?”

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Leftovers

It's night time in the big city
Uncle Jim dozes in front of the television
A woman puts extra stuffing into a zip-lock bag


“I'll let you in on a little secret. We plan the shows pretty carefully, but sometimes I get to yappin' and we don't have room for all the records I pick out.”

The Singers and The Songs

Turkey_in_the_Straw

Harry “Mac” McClintock – Hallelujah I’m a Bum “He was a sheepherder, a railroader, a union organizer, a cowboy, a hobo, a muleskinner, and a musician.” 

Tampa Red & Big Maceo – Let Me Play With Your Poodle “On the Dog show I must have brought in like 50 records. We didn’t get a chance to play em all, so let me share a couple of ‘em with ya today on our Leftovers show. Tampa Red & Big Maceo wanna play with your poodle. They’re saying it’s your poodle dog, but I have my doubts. This was recorded for the Bluebird record label, and it’s a good example of what was known as the Bluebird Beat.”

Al Ferrier – Yard Dog Al 

The Robins – The Turkey Hop “Even though we’re mostly having leftovers, it seems appropriate that we should have one fresh dish.” 

Fats Waller – Honeysuckle Rose 

Betty Harris – Twelve Red Roses 

Skeets McDonald – Don’t Let the Starts Get in Your Eyes “His real first name was Enos, but he earned his nickname after an incident involving a swarm of mosquitoes.” 

Billie Holiday – Them There Eyes “With her soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright as sunlight on a stream.” 

Jesse Belvin – Angel Eyes 

Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) – Gunslingers “We’ve told you before how Calypso is kind of like a musical commentary on the daily goings on. This song is no exception.”

Billy Wright – Let’s Be Friends “Our next singer is a real character, and was a close friend of Little Richard. As a matter of fact, Richard credits him as being one of his biggest influences.” 

The Bailes Brothers – Whiskey Is The Devil (In Liquid Form) “Another show that had a lot of extra songs was about the Devil. So we’re gonna give the Devil his due again for a moment.” 

Dinah Washington – Teach Me Tonight “Dinah was one of the greatest of the jazz singers, and her throaty sass, soulful vocal dips, and end of the lyric growls make this version…an invitation that’s almost impossible to resist.” 

Rockpile – Teacher Teacher 

Muddy Waters – Iodine In My Coffee “Whoah. No matter how many times you hear it, it sends a chill up your spine.” 

Harold Burrage – You Eat Too Much 

Cisco Houston – Pie In The Sky  “The phrase ‘pie in the sky’ comes from the Wobblies , the labor organization formed in the United States in 1905 . They concentrated on organizing migrant and casual workers, and one of the ways they brought such fragmented groups together was by song. Every member got a little book that contained parodies of popular songs or hymns…This song, Pie In The Sky, from 1911, was aimed directly at the Salvation Army, an organization anxious to save the Wobblies’ souls, while the Wobblies were more interested in putting food on the table. The song was a parody of the Salvation Army hymn, In The Sweet Bye and Bye.”

 

Other Singers, Players, etc.

The Wobblies Carl Perkins Elvis Presley The Boppin’ Billies Brian Ferrier Alan Toussaint Perry Como John Hammond Bennie Goodman Count Basie Barry White Sammy Kahn Roy Akoff Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams The Creation Nanny Doss Willie Dixon Wayne Bennett Richard Simmons Joe Hill The Salvation Army

Other Songs and Albums

Goodnight, My Love Sparrow in Hi-Fi Dust On The Bible The Drunkard’s Grave In the Sweet Bye and Bye

The Places

Montgomery, LA Philadelphia Atlanta, GA New York

Movies and other entertainment

Louisiana Hayride A Day of Thanksgiving, 1951

Food jingles

Sweet Potatoes Avocados….mmmmmmm good Delicious zucchini Pie

Record Labels

Bluebird Capital records Cobra Records “I gotta go somewhere, loosen my belt, and sit down for a while. If you wanna to make up a tin foil swan and fill it with stuffin’, maybe I’ll take it with me.” “Thanks!”

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Tennessee

The Singers and The Songs

Shorty Long – Good Night Cincinnati, Good Morning Tennessee “whose real name was Emidio Vagnoni”

Chuck Berry – Memphis

John Hiatt – Memphis in the Meantime

David Allen Coe – Tennessee Whiskey “Here’s my man, the great David Allen Coe. A dangerous man, in and out of reform schools, correction centers and prisons since the age of 9. He supposedly spent time on death row for killing a fellow inmate who made advances to him. A Rolling Stone magazine reporter questioned Coe about this. His musical response was the song, ‘I’d Like To Kick The Shit Out Of You.’”

Memphis Slim – Memphis Slim USA

Sam Cooke – Tennessee Waltz

Lovin’ Spoonful – Nashville Cats “This is a song about the great session players in Music City, USA, one of the only places where a banjo player can make a six figure income.”

Hank Williams – Tennessee Border “Here’s one for music lovers everywhere, make ya drop your teeth.”

Arrested Development – Tennessee “They kind of updated the Sly and The Family Stone sound for the hip-hop generation”

Rufus Thomas – The Memphis Train

Jerry Lee Lewis – Night Train to Memphis “You can’t stop off in Tennessee without paying a visit to the Killer”

LaVerne Baker – Hey Memphis “One of the great singers of the rock and roll era, or any era”

Link Davis – Trucker From Tennessee “It’s probably a good time for us to give a shout out to all our truck drivin’ friends. We know you truckers were the first ones to get satellite radio. So whether you’re in the Dirty, The Rubber, The Gateway, The Cow Town, the Bikini, Moonpie City, Beantown, The Hanging Gardens, The Panama Canal, The Bermuda Triangle – remember, don’t have a lead foot, the smokies might be watchin’!”

Mott The Hoople – All The Way From Memphis

King Curtis – Memphis Soul Stew “Here’s a song that’ll beat your eggs!”

Carl Perkins – Tennessee “(A song) about some folks who like to cock-a-doodle-doo about where they come from.”

Other Singers, Players, and Peeps

Tennessee Ernie Ford Tennessee Williams Andrew Jackson Nick Lowe Ry Cooder Jim Keltner Johnny Paycheck William Strickland Santa Claus Pee Wee King Miss Patti Page Davy Crockett Sly and The Family Stone Burl Ives Sam Phillips Rabbit’s Foot Minstrels Billie Holiday Sarah Vaughn Dinah Washington Ella Fitzgerald Memphis Minnie Little Miss Sharecropper Elvis Presley Ian Hunter Cliff Bruner and the Texas Wanderers Red Foley Ernest Tubb William Porter Lawrence

Some of the great studio musicians in Nashville include:

Chet Atkins Buddy Emmonds David Byrne Charlie McCoy Pete Drake Robert Louis Stevenson Jackson Pollock Allen Arkin

Tennessee State Songs

My Homeland Tennessee When It’s Iris Time in Tennessee My Tennessee Tennessee Waltz Rocky Top

Train Lines

Dixie Flyer Super Chief Santa Fe The B & O The Chesapeake Humming Bird

Places

Kentucky Lexington Richmond Memphis Sun Studio Paris Nashville Knoxville Chattanooga Clarksville Jackson Alabama Georgia Arkansas Mississippi Missouri North Carolina Virginia Ripley, TN Ferriday, LA Tipton, TN Texas The Rendezvous Beale Street

Barbeque Recipe “There’s a lot of good barbecue in Memphis. Here’s a recipe I gave the guys over at the Rendezvous “

1 cup tomato sauce 1 cup vinegar 5 T Worcestershire Sauce 1 T butter ½ small onion a dash of black pepper some cayenne pepper 1 ½ t salt ½ cup water mix it all together in large pan bring to a quick boil reduce the heat and let simmer 10 minutes “You can also figure out your own secret ingredients and dump it into the mix. I like about 3 fingers of Tennessee sippin’ whiskey.”

Songs and Albums

I’d Like to Kick The Shit Out Of You Take This Job And Shove It Jack Daniels, If You Please Now I lay Me Down to Cheat Every Day I Have the Blues Divers Do It Deeper Davy Crockett theme song (clip played) 3 years, 5 months and 2 days In The Life Of … Mott

Record Labels

Vee-Jay Records Stax Records OK Records Atlantic Sun Records

Guest

Billy Vera

Plays, Poems and Movies

Tennessee State Poem Cat On a Hot Tin Roof Mystery Train

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Moon

(Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata )

It's night time in the big city
A pet poodle scratches at a window
The last piece of pie is gone

“This is your man in the moon welcoming you to 60 minutes of lunar melodies. In the background, Charlie Parker playing Ornithology. Based on the chord structure of How High The Moon, which tells ya that the moon is far away and love is far away too…Wow, that one sure knocked some heads together!”

The Singers and The Songs

Les Paul and Mary Ford – How High The Moon “Based on the chord structure of Ornithology.”

Chuck Berry – Havana Moon “Showing the influence of Calypso records…Chuck didn’t turn a deaf ear to anything.”

Los Lobos – Kiko and the Lavender Moon

Fats Waller – By The Light of the Silvery Moon

Bill Monroe – Blue Moon of Kentucky

Piano Red – Mister Moonlight

Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald – Moonlight in Vermont

Big Dee Irwin – It’s Only A Paper Moon “the folk rock version”

Red Le Blance and His Crescent Boys – Blue Moon on the Bayou

Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon

Cliffie Stone – When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again “He brought country music to Hollywood”

Dinah Washington – Destination Moon “It’s a ¼ of a million miles from the earth to the moon, and there’s no one I’d rather go with than Dinah Washington.”

The Capris – There’s a Moon Out Tonight

Bobby Womack – Fly Me To The Moon “Here’s a kind of an unorthodox version”

Slim Gaillard – How High The Moon? “One of my favorite crazy people…he invented his own crazy jive language called ‘Vout’”

Movies, clips and other entertainment

Radar Men From The Moon It’s a Wonderful Life The Wizard of Oz Paper Moon Hometown Jamboree The Wolf Man “Lucky Stars” radio show The Honeymooners Audio from 1969 Moon landing  “The eagle has landed.”

Songs, Albums, and Books

Maybellene Confessin’ The Blues Kiko Will The Wolf Survive? Ain’t Misbehavin’ Honeysuckle Rose Jitterbug Waltz The Loco-Motion Looking For a Love It’s All Over Now I’m A Midnight Mover Harry Hippy Flat Foot Floogie Cement Mixer (Putty Putty) Stars And Stripes Forever Rhapsody in Blue

On The Road (Bob reads this passage ): “…One night we suddenly went mad together again; we went to see Slim Gaillard in a little Frisco nightclub. Slim Gaillard is a tall, thin Negro with big sad eyes who’s always saying ‘Right-orooni’ and ‘How ’bout a little bourbon-arooni.’”

(Books by Cliffie Stone)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Songwriting But Didn’t Know Who To Ask You gotta be BAD before you can be GOOD

Record Labels

Chess Records Groove Records Goldband Records Capital

Other Players and People

Muddy Waters Leonard Chess Commando Cody The Blasters X President James Monroe Waylon Jennings Rufus Perryman The Beatles Oscar Peterson Buddy Rich Little Eva Tatum O’Neal Harold Arlen Daniel Lanois Tennessee Ernie Ford Merle Travis Speedy West Molly Bee Jimmy Bryant Herman The Hermit Merle Haggard Buck Owens Jack Kerouac Eddie Shuler Buddha  “There are three things that cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.” Jay McShann Sam Cooke George Bernard Shaw Stuart Hamblen

“A lot of the early doo-wop groups were named after birds”

The Orioles The Cardinals The Blue Jays The Robins The Sparrows The Bald Eagles (Bob mighta made this one up) The Penguins“A bird you would not want to fly you to the moon”

Places

East LA Rosine, KY Vermont New York Burbank Hollywood Queens, NY Detroit, MI

( Moon River ) “Remember to shoot for the moon because if you miss you will still be among the stars”

 

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Countdown

It's night time in the big city.
A bus driver talks to his only passenger.
A sailor on shore leave plays Egyptian Ratscrew with a fallen priest…

“It's our first annual Theme Time Radio countdown show. Where we count down the top ten songs as determined by you, the listener.”

The Singers and the Songs

Prince Buster (Cecil Campbell) – The Ten Commandments (From Man to Woman) “This song was a huge hit in Jamaica and also had some chart action in the United States. Prince Buster was the first Jamaican to have a Top 20 hit.”

Sonny Boy Williamson – Nine Below Zero

O.V. Wright – Eight Men, Four Women

The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army “A two person rhythm dynamo, Jack and Meg White”

Moon Mullican – Seven Nights to Rock

Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys – Six Pack To Go “One of the great beer drinking songs of all time”

Eddie Boyd – Five Long Years “This song is a classic, been recorded by a number of artists, but originally done by the man who wrote it.”

Maddox Brothers and Rose — I Got Four Big Brothers (To Look After Me) “They’re a country music band from California, recorded from the 40s to the 50s, here they are, Fred, Cal, Henry and Don…and sister Rose.”

Jewel King – 3 x 7 = 21

The Ink Spots – We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)

Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston – It Takes Two

Joe Mooney – Tea For Two

Van Morrison – One Irish Rover“The great Irish poet, the Bard of Belfast” (“The immortal”)Bob Marley and The Wailers – One Love

Irma Thomas – Zero Willpower “The Queen of New Orleans”

Seven other things with white stripes

Skunk Highway Memphis Slim’s hair Prison uniform Candy cane Barber pole Zebra

Seven largest armies in the world

China India North Korea South Korea Pakistan USA Vietnam

Other significant 7s

Seven Deadly Sins Seven Seas Human’s Day in China – the seventh day of the first moon of the lunar year, celebrated as a universal birthday of all human beings

Beers

Michelob Lite Rolling Rock Beck’s Dos Equis Irish Red Murphy’s Stout Newcastle Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Stella Artois Corona

Other songs

Revolution Number 9 (clip) That’s How Strong My Love Is “Otis Redding heard it and covered it, stealing any change O.V. had of having a hit with it.” Three Is The Magic Number (clip) Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Nothing Like the Real Thing You’re All I Need To Get By

Record Labels

Chess Gold Wax Records Back Beat Records Capital Deluxe Records Motown

The Places

Jamaica Detroit, MI California Stovall, MS New Orleans Helsinki, Finland“a big blues town” Florida

People and Players

The Sunset Travelers Otis Redding Don Robey Henry Fonda Lee J. Cobb Ed Begley E.G. Marshall Martin Balsam Jack Klugman Jack Warden Pythagoreans Benjamin Franklin“Beer is proof that god loves us” Jerry Lee Lewis Boyd Bennett and the Rockets Bob Wills Dave Bartholomew Nelson Cogane Sammy Mysels Dick Robertson Mary Wells Tammy Turrell Vincent Youman Irving Caesar The Riff Brothers The Percolating Puppies Leonard and Phillip Chess Dan Penn Spooner Oldham

Movies and other entertainment

Twelve Angry Men “Consistently ranked in the top 30 movies of all time”

Adventures of Superman / Mr. Zero

The Poets

Ted Hughes – The Seven Sorrows Rainer Rilke– Loneliness (Other Irish poets) Samuel Beckett James Joyce C.S. Lewis Oscar Wilde Jonathan Swift William butler Yeats — A Drinking Song

Types of tea / “T”

Green Black Oolong Loraine Brocco Tea Kim Basinger Tea Mr. T T for Texas T for Tennessee Liberty Fidelity Equality “Well the old clock on the wall has counted down another hour which means we got to hit the road. But don’t worry, we’ll be counting down the days till we see you next week, right here on the Theme Time Radio Hour Christmas show. So long! 10-4, Eleanor.”

 

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Christmas

(Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – instrumental in background)
It's nightime in the Big City

A department store Santa sneaks a sip of gin Mistletoe makes an old man sad Eight reindeer land on the roof of the Abernathy building

The Singers and the Songs

Tom Archia and Gene Ammons – Swinging for Christmas (Boppin’ for Santa)

Leadbelly – Christmas is A-Comin’ “One of the few ex-cons who recorded a popular children’s album”

Lord Nelson – A Party for Santa “The uncrowned king of Soca ”

Bob Seger & The Last Heard – Sock it to Me Santa “Some people call Bob the poor man’s Bruce Springsteen, but personally, I always thought Bruce was the rich man’s Bob Seger…love ‘em both though.”

The Staple Singers – Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas “God’s greatest hit makers…Managed to mix a serious message with a soulful dancing beat”

Charles Brown – Please Come Home For Christmas “ I think it’s actually against the law to do a Christmas program and not play one of his songs…this is one of the best.”

Johnny Paycheck – Jingle Bells “He made a few Christmas singles, and sings the heck out of them”

Gerry Mulligan & Judy Holiday – It Must Be Christmas

Titus Turner – Christmas Morning

The Bellrays – Poor Old Rudolph “You’re thinkin’ ‘How come I never heard that?’ That’s cause it’s a new record, but it sounds like an old record…this group is still recording, trying out different sounds. They kinda mix soul music with a punk rock sound…check ‘em out…Google ‘em!”

Bob Dorough & Miles Davis – Blue Xmas

Little Esther & Johnny Otis Orchestra – Far Away Christmas

Patsy Raye and the Beatniks – Beatnik’s Wish “Hey Patsy, that was great! I learned that in the coffee houses.”

The Sonics– Don’t Believe in Christmas “But they do believe in the power of the B-3 organ. A lot of people think it’s a Farfisa but you listen to that solo, and that’s a B-3.”

King Stitt – Christmas Tree  “He was a toaster, and I don’t mean you could put bread in him…That was so good we might play it twice!”

Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns – Silent Night “Featuring Jessie Thomas on vocals, kind of an unorthodox Crescent City version.”

Brave Combo also here – Must Be Santa “They say their mission is to expand the musical taste of their listeners. We have the same mission here on TTRH” 

The Enchanters – Mambo Santa Mambo

Celia Cruz & La Senora Matancera – Fiesta De Navidad

Hop Wilson & His Buddies – Merry Christmas Darling

Alton Ellis and The Lipsticks – Merry Merry Christmas “Here’s one of the prime movers and shakers in ‘ rocksteady ,’ the music that kinda came between ska and reggae.”

June Christy – The Merriest “Here’s a song by one of the dreamiest about the merriest”

Red Simpson – Truckin’ Trees For Christmas “One of the architects of the Bakersfield sound.”

The Youngsters – Christmas in Jail “To all of our friends listening in behind bars, we know you made mistakes, we’re sorry you have to be there, but Merry Christmas to all of you, from all of us here, at Theme Time Radio Hour.”

Kay Martin & Her Body Guards – I Want A Casting Couch For Christmas “One of the most popular features on Theme Time Radio Hour is the double entendre – the song that says one thing and maybe means another. This one skates dangerously close to being a single entendre…Kay Martin played in a lot of hotel lounges; our paths crossed more than once when I was on the road. She’s a fine performer, always put on a good show.”

Sonny Boy Williamson – Santa Claus “I don’t need to tell you anything more about Sonny Boy Williamson, we’ve played him a lot on TTRH. Here’s Sonny Boy with his hands in his baby’s dresser drawer, and you wouldn’t believe what he’s trying to find!”

The Cool Breezers – Hello Mr. New Year

Mabel Mafuya – Happy Christmas, Happy New Year “She sings a style known as jive. Not the kind of jive like Slim Galliard, but more of a Morabi style, sort of like South African ragtime. It’s heavily influenced by American jazz, but originally Morabi was played on pianos with accompaniment from pebble filled cans. By the 30’s, it incorporated new instruments, like guitars, concertinas, and banjos. New kinds of Morabi sprang up, including a Morabi / swing fusion, called African Jazz and Jive. Here’s a great example of it.”

The Larks – Christmas to New Years “Allen Bunn, Tarheel Slim”

Nancy Wilson – What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve “By the mid-60’s Nancy Wilson was the second biggest seller on Capital Records. You know who number one was? That’s right, Glen Campbell. Nah, I’m just kidding. It was the Beatles.”

The Places

Chicago Louisiana Tobago Detroit Ann Arbor, MI Hillsboro, OH Russia New York Riverside, CA Tacoma, WA Jamaica New Jersey Grapeland, TX Trenchtown Kingston, Jamaica “If you’re spending Christmas in Jamaica, you might see Santa riding a cart and a donkey” Bakersfield, CA Manual Arts High School Soweto, South Africa

People and Players

Bruce Springsteen Charles Dickens Oliver Cromwell – abolished Christmas in 1649 George Jones James Pierpont – wrote Jingle Bells in 1857 “…originally wrote it to be a Thanksgiving song, but it was so popular at his church during Thanksgiving season that it was repeated at Christmas time and caught on, and forever more was known as a Christmas song. It was also the first song broadcast from space.” Tom Stafford Wally Schirra “Who do you think gave them the harmonica?” Orson Wells Mel Torme – The Velvet Fog Irving Berlin Tony Fate Robert May Gill Evans De La Soul Mel Walker Frank Zappa “Once told me that Johnny Otis was the inspiration for his distinctive facial hair. He thought it looked good on Johnny so he decided to grow one just like it.” Clement Clarke Moore Dexter Quinn “He’s an atheist…You know what his favorite movie is? Coincidence on 34th St.”

The Three Wise Men – Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior “Three names you don’t hear much any more…well, except for Balthazar.” Count Machuki Carol Poles Jack the Ripper Machito Tito Rodriguez Tito Puente Erroll Garner Charlie Parker Sonny Rollins Sonny Stitt Pope John Paul II Fidel Castro “Right now we’d like to say Feliz Navidad to all of our Cuban Friends” Ken Nelson Merle Haggard Ross Bagdasarian / David Seville Rosemary Clooney William Saroyan The Chipmunk s Alvin Bennett Simon Waronker Theodore Keep Alfred Hitchcock Jimmy Stewart Slim Galliard Dr. Phil Tony Robbins The Babylonians“According to research, the most popular resolution in early Babylonia was to return borrowed farm equipment…I wish Harold would bring back my lawn mower.” Glen Campbell The Beatles Robert Burns Allen Bunn (Tarheel Slim)

Other Songs, Poems and Albums

Leadbelly Sings For Children Respect Yourself I’ll Take You There Take this Job and Shove it Sticks and Stones All Around the World Leave My Kitten Alone The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) – played in background White Christmas  “Irving Berlin struggled with writing a Christmas song. He stayed up all night writing it. The next day he told his secretary, ‘Grab your pen, and take down this song, I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written. Hell, I just wrote the best song anybody’s ever written.’ That’s pretty confident.”

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in background) So What 3 is the Magic Number Too Much Monkey Business Silent Night Roll Truck Roll Joy To The World Christmas Bells Longfellow Come On-A My House The Witch Doctor Auld Lang Syne – Bob recites

Record Labels

Chess Records Cameo Parkway Label Stax Etiquette Records Okay Records Coral Records Capital Liberty Records Troubadour Label

Books, Movies, and Other Entertainment

A Christmas Carol The Pickwick Papers The Mercury Theater School House Rock A Visit From St. Nicholas (‘Twas The Night Before Christmas) – Bob recites The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly People Magazine The Simpsons The Honeymooners (clip) Rear Window

Christmas toasts

A Merry Christmas this December to a lot of folks I don’t remember.

May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.

Be merry all, be merry all. With holly dress the festive hall, Prepare the song, the feast, the ball Welcome, Merry Christmas!

Guests

Matt Groening Steven Wright Barry White Ellen Barkin David Hidalgo

Bob’s Figgy Pudding recipe

4 oz of plain flour a pinch of salt – just a pinch! 4 oz bread crumbs 4 oz shredded suet 1 t mixed spice 1 t baking powder 3 oz dark soft brown sugar 8 oz chopped dried figs finely grated rind & the juice of 1 lemon 2 T milk 2 beaten eggs

Sift salt and flour together, then mix with the remaining dry ingredients. Add the figs, lemon rind and juice, milk, and beaten eggs. Beat well. Mixture should have a soft dropping consistency. Put into a greased 2 pint pudding basin, cover securely and steam for 3 hours. “I like it served with heated golden syrup topping, and a generous pour of custard – makes me hungry just talking about it. My engineer Tex Carbone likes vanilla ice cream on it; I don’t understand that at all.” “We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, a pocket full of money and a cellar full of beer.”

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Women’s Names

It's nightime in the Big City
Foghorns bellow in the gloom along the wharf
A crying woman in a nightgown can't flag down a cab.

"Tonight we're gonna talk about a subject close to my heart, women's names. That which we call are nearest and dearest, those who we love and want to love. Let me quote William Shakespeare to ya: 'What's in a name that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet' .”

The Singers and The Songs

Arthur Alexander -Anna Buddy Holly and the Crickets -Peggy Sue “Originally called Cindy-Lou”

The Kinks-Lola

Calvin Boze and His All-stars-Safronia B “If you’re gonna crank something up, crank this up.”

Howlin’ Wolf and Hubert Sumlin- Louise

The Jaynetts -Sally Go Round the Roses

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys-Corrina, Corrina

Billie Holiday-Mandy is Two

Ralph and Carter Stanley -Little Maggie

Alexandra Elene MacClean“Sandy” Denny -Pretty Polly (Broadside Ballads)

The Chimes-Zindy Lou

Roy Orbison-Claudette

Frank Sinatra-Nancy

Bo Diddley-Mona

Gene Allens-Sweet Jennie Lou

Other People, Singers and Songs

Dan Penn Spooner Oldham Billy Shile Rick Hall The Beatles The Rolling Stones “You Better Move On” Edgar Allan Poe“Fender-Bender Poet” Jerry Allison Dave Berry Louis Jordan James Cotton Zell Sanders Leslie Valentine Abraham Isaac Bo Chapman and the Mississippi Sheiks Ashley and Abernathy Big Joe Turner Johnny Mercer Georgia Amanda Mercer Collie Kipper “Darling Corey” Tony Allen “Night Owl” The Everly Bros. Phil Silvers (Sgt. Bilko) Jimmy Van Heusen Nancy Sinatra “Sugar Town” “Summer Wine” “Lightning’s Girl” “Some Velvet Morning” “These Boots are Made for Walking” “Something Stupid” Carl Sandberg

Literature

AnnabellLee -Edgar Allen Poe

Places

Muscle Shoals Texas Chile Japan Spain Denmark Scotland Norway Sweden West Memphis Chicago Davenport, Iowa

Women’s Names

Peg Meg Margaret Pearl Maria Masake Luchia Emma Eloise Lois Louisa Louella Louisiana Lulu Lola Lolita Annetta Oprah“Her name backwards is Harpo” Sarah Amanda

Spelling Songs

BABY-Carla Thomas CHICKEN-The McGee Brothers Rock in the USA -John Mellencamp DIVORCE-Tammy Wynette Gloria “Dave Berry once said that if you drop a guitar down the stairs it’ll play Gloria on it‘s way to the bottom. Let’s see if that’s true.”

Guest

Billy Vera Jenny Lewis

Record Labels

Aladdin Chess Jay and S Atlantic

Movie

John Garfield Movie? Taxi Driver Lolita

Jump Rope Songs “Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”

Women’s Name Alphabet

Abigail Beth Carly Diane Eve Francine Gloria Hillary Isabelle Julie Katherine Laura Melissa Natalie Olivia Penelope Quincy Rachel Stacy Tracy Ursula Viviane Wendy Xenia Yvonne Zelda “And with that we take our leave. We’ll see ya next week on theme time radio hour, themes, dreams and schemes and things of that nature.”

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Hair

It's Nightime in the Big City
A fat man spits cherry pits into a cuspidor
Freshly fallen snow turns gray in the gutter

“We got quite a show for you tonight. it's about a subject that everyone's familiar with, and I can talk about it off the top of my head…Gonna be playin songs about hairdos and hair don'ts.”

The Singers and The Songs

Bill Carlisle – Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down “The Voltaire of Hillbilly music”

They Might Be Giants – Bangs

Eddie Noack – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Piano Red – Baldheaded Lena

Sonny Burgess – Red Headed Woman “You hear a record like that and you wish more rockabilly bands had trumpets”

J.B. Leniour – Don’t Touch My Head

Ray Price – Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women

Roy Bird and His Blues Jumpers – Bald Head (Professor Longhair)

Hank Ballard – How You Gonna Get Respect “A political statement that you can dance to”

Joe Clay – Don’t Mess With My Ducktail “He may not have made it big, but that doesn’t mean his records weren’t any good.”

Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five – Chartreuse

Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Baby’s Got a Brand New Hairdo

Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson – Cleanhead Blues

Johnny Cash – You’re My Baby (demo)

Other People and Players

Cliff Carlisle George C. Scott Dolly Parton  “I’m not offended by all those dumb blonde jokes, because I know I’m not dumb. I also know I’m not blonde. A wise woman that Dolly Parton.” Paul Gaughin Kurt Schwitters Beck Dr. Feelgood and the Interns Basil Wolverton – cartoonist who drew Lena the Hyena Al Capp – Lil’ Abner Salvador Dali Frank Sinatra Boris Karloff Matt Groening Lucille Ball Muddy Waters Jack Benny Carl Reiner Alan Brady Nikolai Lenin Vladimir Lenin James Brown Joe Cirello – barber from Philly who claimed to have invented the duck’s ass in 1940 Egyptians Coco Chanel Clara Bow – grew a bob “Maybe someone should write a song for these women called ‘Almost Grew My Hair’” Billy Boy Arnold Bo Diddley Larry Chess The Brothers Grimm Rapunzel P.G. Wodehouse

Famous Bald People

Yule Brenner Sean Connery Larry David Mister Clean Ron Howard Samuel L Jackson Howard Mandel Charlie Brown Charles Barkley Andre Aggassi Lex Luther “I gave a bald-headed friend a comb. You know what he said? I’ll never part with it.”

Kings Who Wore Wigs

Louis the eighth Edward the first Louis the twelfth King Phillip King George The Second

Places

Massachusetts Tahiti Lower Slobovia Prairieville, TX Louisiana Bourbon Street Jersey City, NJ Chicago England

Famous People Who Wore Bangs

The Beatles Marlo Thomas Prince Valiant Moe  “Arguably the smartest of the Three Stooges, but I’m more of a Shep man myself”

Andy Warhol

Famous Redheads

Red Buttons Malcolm X Alexander The Great Billy the Kid Wilma Flintstone Galileo Sinclair Lewis Yosemite Sam Bette Midler Molly Ringwald Little Orphan Annie

Famous Blondes

Grace Kelly Marilyn Monroe Britney Spears Lisa Kudrow Goldie Hawn Paris Hilton Gorgeous George (The Human Orchid)

Other Songs and Albums

Devil’s Haircut Electric Mud Pomp and Circumstance Almost Cut My Hair – Bob quotes a few lines in an email from D. Crosby I’m a Man I Wish You Would

Record Labels

Sun Cool Records Chess Vee-Jay

Movies, Magazines, Books, TV Shows and other Entertainment

Life Magazine Mad Magazine Matt Groening Lucille Ball Children’s and Household Tales The Dick Van Dyke Show (clip)

Hairstyles

Afro Bangs Beehives Big Hair The Bun The Horseshoe Flat top The Duck’s Ass (a.k.a The Ducktail) Layered Hair Low and tight The Beatle Haircut The Mop-Top The Permanent Wave The High Top Fade“I’ve had a number of these haircuts. Some are more flattering than others.” Conch (The Process) The Elephant Trunk

Famous Hairstylists

Jose Hibert Christoff Allen Edwards JC Berton Vidal Sassoon

Hair Product Jingles

Dippity-Do Royal Crown Brill Cream (a little dab’ll do ya) Hair Club For Men

Blonde jokes“I don’t condone these jokes, I just repeat them in the public interest”

Hair Quotes

Shakespeare “There’s many a man who has more hair than wit.” Samuel Goodman Hoffenstein“Babies haven’t any hair old men’s head are just as bare from the cradle to the grave lies a haircut and a shave.” Albert Einstein “Long hair minimizes the need for barbers, socks can be done without, one leather jacket solves the coat problem for many years, suspenders are superfluous.”“I always knew I liked that guy”-Bob

Guest

Billy Vera Ricky Gervais (talking about his hairstyles)

Hair Care Tips

Brush your hair before going to bed each night Avoid brushing wet hair (it stretches and eventually breaks) Trim you hair once every 7 weeks to avoid spilt ends Never wash you hair with very hot or very cold water Learn to relax, hair loss can be caused by stress If you hair is oily cut down on fried food and fat Drink plenty of Water

“There’s only one cure for gray hair; It was invented by a Frenchman. It’s called the Guillotine. You may not like getting gray hair, but consider the alternative” -PG Wodehouse

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Musical Instruments

It's night time in the big city
A writer stares at a blank sheet of paper
A writer stares at a blank sheet paper

The Singers and Songs

Bonzo Dog Band-The Intro and The Outro Roy Montrell-Everytime I Hear That Mellow Saxophone Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys-Uncle Pen Bill Watkins-Big Guitar Nehemiah-Reid-The Fiddler Henry Allen-Someone Stole Gabriel’s Horn Johnnhy Mercer-When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba Down in Cuba The Fresh Young Fellows-Hillbilly Drummer Girl The Davis Sisters-Fiddle Dinah Washington-Big Long Slidin’ Thing “You know what she’s talkin’ about with “That Big Long Slidin’ Thing” Stevie Wonder-Hey Mr. Harmonica Man The Stones PoneysDiffernet Drum Don Rich and the Buckaroos-Round Hole Guitar Bessie Smith and Her Blue Boys-Trombone Cholly Tom Waits-The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra-Crazy Bout A Saxophone

Other Singer, Songs and People

Fats Domino Lee Allen Nero Angel Gabriel Herman Hatfield “As Time Goes By” R.E.M Victor Borge “The End of the World” Mike Nesbit The Monkees Buck Owens Andre Segobia ”A guitar is a small orchestra. It’s polyphonic, every string is a different color, a different voice.” Wayne Newton Charlie Greene Fletcher Henderson Benny Carter Chick Web Don Redmond Kaiser Marshall Madison’s Lively Stones George Holland and The Happyland Band Norvis Miller and The Kings of Harmony John Carlond Holmes Jack Kerouac Eddie “lockjaw” Davis Sam Taylor

Female Drummers

Meg White Tennessee Thomas Gina Shock Miriam Linna Karen Carpenter

Drummer Jokes

Anyone know the difference between a drummer and a savings bond? Eventually, a savings bond will mature.

Places

The Netherland New Orleans Cincinnati Tennessee Korea Germany Rome Troy Cuba Seattle Kentucky Syosset, NY Belgium

Record Labels

Lee

Instruments

Kettle Drumn Rattle Jew’s Harp Talking Drum Tambourine Turango Guitar Harp Hooked Harp Lute The Musical Bowl Dulcimer Ukulele Violin Buzoki The Moscophone

French Horn Harmonica Duck Flute Traverse Flue Organ Recorder Reed Pipe Mandolin Banjo Bagpipe Accordion The Whistle Theremin Tenor Sax Oboe Fiddle“The violin sings, the fiddle dances or as some bluegrass musicians say, the fiddle is a violin with attitude”

Cello Guitar Roane Lyre Trombone Harmonica “The harmonica is America’s #1 selling instrument. You’re Welcome.”

Electric Organ Piano

Lit

The Horn

Guest

Rickey J Penn Gillette-Talking about Eddie Eddy The Cello Player Pete Wolfe Keb Mo’

Movies and TV

Rusty in Orchestraville Tubby the Tubba Sweet and Lowdown

“Don’t be sharp, don’t be flat, be natural”

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Luck

It's night time in the big city
Foghorns bellow in the gloom along the wharf
Milk in the coffee only turns it gray.

“As Albert Einstein once said: I will never believe that God plays dice with the universe. Well, I'm not usually one to disagree with someone as smart as Albert Einstein, but today going to look at the idea of playing dice with the universe, as we examine the world of luck. Good luck and bad luck. Luck of the draw. Dumb luck. The luck of the lady and the luck of the Irish. Lucky ducky and pressin' your luck. We're talking about being lucky in love and tough luck. We're gonna be talking about hard luck and down on your luck. And as luck would have it we're gonna be talkin' about shit outta luck.”

The Singers and The Songs

Paul Evans – Happy Go Lucky Me

B. B. King – Bad Luck Soul “Lemon called it ‘Bad Luck Blues.’ A few years later in 1961 B.B. recorded this.”

Eddie Dugosh and The Ah-Ha Playboys – Bad Luck Come My Way “Sometimes you just play a record because you like the name of the band. I love the name of this band, but I also love the record…They later switched to a more rock and roll sound.”

Buddy and Ella Johnson – Alright, Okay, You Win “We play Buddy Johnson a lot of Theme Time Radio Hour, and for good reason – he’s a forgotten guy who made a whole lot of great records. What we haven’t done is played his sister, who was the singer with the band. So here’s brother and sister…”

Lazy Lester – The Same Thing Could Happen To You “Talking about various things that could bring bad mojo upon ya.”

Annie Ross and Zoot Sims – I’m Just A Lucky So And So

Roosevelt Sykes – You Can’t Be Lucky All The Time

Eddie Noack – Take It Away, Lucky “He wanted to be a journalist. We got enough journalists, but not enough people who can sing and write like Eddie Noack”

Guitar Slim – Bad Luck Blues “Here’s another guy named Eddie, Eddie Jones. But he recorded under the name Guitar Slim. He’s one of them wild blues guitar players. He wore brightly colored suits and he would dye his hair blue or green or orange to match the suit. He traveled with a 350 foot guitar chord, so he could wander way out of a club while he was playing…I think he plays pretty good.”

Kay Starr – Wheel Of Fortune “She had so many pop hits, that people forget that she got her start as a solid jazz singer. No matter what you call it, it’s just great singing.”

The Stanley Brothers – If I Lose

The Orbits – Mr. Hard Luck

Little Johnny Taylor – You Win, I Lose

Wynn Stewart – Three Cheers For The Loser “The Bakersfield sound is well represented by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, but there’s one other guy who sometimes gets ignored…and we want to shine the Theme Time spotlight on him right now” (applause)

Frank Sinatra – Here’s To The Losers

Other Songs and Albums

Roses Are Red My Love Bad Luck Blues (clip) Lucky Seven (The Skatalites) (clip) Twisted (clip) Psycho The Things I Used To Do (clip) I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (in background)

Movies, TV Shows, Etc .

Pecker

The Cooler

Let’s Make A Deal

Lucky Charms commercial

Drugstore Cowboys

Phil Silvers Show (watch here)

Record Labels

Sarge Excello Imperial Starday King Chess Galaxy Challenge Reprise

Other People and Players

Albert Einstein Bobby Vinton Elvis Presley Jackie Wilson Reba McIntire John Waters Blind Lemon Jefferson Willie Nelson Doug Salm Johnny Olenn Rudy “Tutti” Grayzell Ralph Waldo Emerson Emily Dickinson Lightnin’ Slim Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross “They took jazz songs and wrote lyrics for the solos” Wardell Gray Joni Mitchell Bette Midler Duke Ellington Monty Hall Roy Crock Henry Ward Beecher Hammurabi Judas Lee Allen Jean Cocteau Leon Payne Buddy Guy B. B. King Earl King – had to perform as Guitar Slim when Guitar Slim was too drunk to play Ray Charles Charlie Poole Earl Scruggs Robert Burns (unlucky poet) The Quails Cosmo Mattassas Earl Palmer The Druids Sir John Milton Johnny Taylor The Mighty Clouds of Joy Buck Owens Merle Haggard William F. Bennett (President Bush’s Drug Czar)

The Places

San Antonio Mesopotamia New Orleans Houston Dougherty, OK New Orleans Los Angeles Las Vegas Bakersfield

Guest

Penn Gillette

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Tears

It’s night time in the big city
Three homeless men share a bottle around a trash can inferno
A rock goes through a window on 12th St.

The Singers and Songs

? and The Mysterians – 96 Tears “Not all songs about crying are necessarily sad. This one at least sounds happy…Led by Rudy Martinez, who actually changed his name to ? …(he) never appears in public without his sunglasses; I gotta admit, they did make him look pretty cool.”

Anita O’Day – And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine

Bobby Charles – Big Boys Cry “He was more successful as a songwriter than as a singer, and that’s a sin ‘cause he’s a hell of a singer. He’s got one of the most melodious voices ever transferred to a piece of vinyl… The boy could sing like a bird, he still does as a matter of fact.”

Solomon Burke – Cry To Me “Here’s a mighty, mighty man, a mammoth talent…He’s the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons…He has 64 grandchildren, and 8 great-grand children. No wonder he’s singing this song!”

Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Julie London – Cry Me A River “Here’s one of the sexiest, most sultry records ever recorded. A deserved smash.”

Jimmy Nelson – I Sat And Cried

The Marvelettes – No More Tear Stained Makeup “Maybe the most pop-oriented of Motown’s major female acts.”

Charlie Rich – Tears A Go-Go

J. Geils Band – Cry One More Time For You

Roy Brown – Laughing But Crying “Part of the great tradition of rhythm and blues songs where the singer breaks down in tears.”

Billy Ward & His Dominoes – The Bells

Alton Ellis and The Flames – Cry Tough In 2006 “Alton was deservedly inducted into the international reggae and world music hall of fame. Congratulations to all concerned.”

Lula Reed – Drown In My Own Tears“Here she is, a heavenly singer with a voice like Gabriel’s trumpet…Oh, if trumpet players could only play like she sings!”

Mose Allison – Everybody’s Crying Mercy

Other Players and People

Prince Gene Krupa Big Band Stan Kenton Band Bill Haley Bert Russell Thomas Fuller “We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.” Audrey Shepherd Tom Ewell Maxwell Davis Smokey Robinson Lester Young Lee Young Gladys Horton Wanda Young Jerry Lee Lewis Graham Parsons Peter Wolf “Pete got his start as a disc jockey on WCBN in Boston on the Late Night Soul Show, playin’ all the platters that matter, from swing to sweet, bop to ballad, and blues to boogie…see Pete, I can do it too!” Billy Tipton Oliver Wendell Holmes Ray Charles Dylan Thomas B.B. King Woodrow Wilson

Other Songs and Albums

See Ya Later, Alligator T-99 Blues Married Men Like Sport Unlock the Lock Second Hand Fool Meet Me With Your Black Dress On Tears of A Clown (Elvis Costello mentions this one) Tracks of My Tears (Elvis Costello mentions this one) Who Will The Next Fool Be Sitting And Thinking No Headstone On My Grave Lonely Weekends GP Good Rockin’ Tonight Willow Weep For Me (clip) Dance Crasher (Songs by Mose Allison) Your Molecular Structure Your Mind Is On Vacation And Your Mouth Is Working Overtime Hello There, Universe How Does It Feel To Be Good Looking Ever Since the World Ended Thank God For Self Love

Other Songs Where the Singer Breaks Out In Tears

Valerie (Jackie and the Starlights) Weeping and Crying (Tommy Brown) No One to Love Me (The Sha-Weez) The Bells (Clyde McFadder)

Guests

Elvis Costello

Movies and Books

The Mysterians Hard Times, Hard Times (Anita O’Day) The Girl Can’t Help It A League Of Their Own (clip) The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Aesop) Suits Me The Player (clip)

Places

Kingston, Jamaica Tippo, MS Beale Street New York

“Well, the old clock on the wall says it’s time to go, and it’s a good thing, ‘cause I’m out of Kleenex anyway. So I’m gonna hop in my car, and head down the Robinson Freeway, and get myself a beer I can cry into.”

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Laughter

It's nightime in the Big City
Freshly fallen slow turns grey in the gutter
A waitress returns home, happy to take her shoes off

The Singers and The Songs Slim Gaylord-Laughing and rhythm Ernie Caffin-Laughing and Joking.“the rockabilly artist performer with a mile wide country streak.” Clyde Mcphatter-Everyone’s laughing The Louvin Bros.-Don’t Laugh

Big Joe Turner-After my Laughter Came Tears Jimmy Revard and the Oklahoma Playboys-Lose your Blues and Laugh at Life Mark Knopfler and Van Morrison-The Last Laugh “You know these guys! I don’t need to tell you about ’em.” Gene Chandler-After the Laughter “One thing that’s no laughing matter is pigeon-holing. Sometimes people just wanna think you can do one thing and they trap you there. They don’t let you grow. Case in point Gene Chandler.” Sonny Bono-Laugh at me Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding “We’re talking and laughter. Chortle, Guffaws, tee-hees, giggles, hoops, hollers, snickers, ha-has, and other explosive ejaculations of mirth.”(Bob laughs)

The Gardenias-I’m laughing at you“I’m not actually laughing at you, that’s just the name of the song.” Toots and the Maytalls-When I Laugh Roy Brown-I Got the Last Laugh “Vengence is a dish best served cold.”

Kris Conner-They All Laughed The Spinners-Laugh Everyone at the Clown

Places

Northern Mississippi Oklahoma Texas San Antonio Chicago Boston Detroit Sedona, AZ “Hey! That rhymes!” Philly

Record Labels

Sun Specialty Fortune Studio One Atlantic

Operas, Movies, TV and other media

Pagliacci

The Untouchables The Hank McCewon Sybil Grace under Fire Two and a Half men Woody Woodpecker Mad Magazine A Day at the Races Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein The Thin Man Arsenic and Old Lace Bully Born Yesterday Some Like it Hot Zoolander“I hear they’re making a sequel” Lucy and Desi roast

Guests

Chuck Lorie Rickey Gervais

Other people

Jeriko Rosario Robert Deniro Henry Lord Beecher Douglas Corrigan “Wrongway Corrigan”-Who flew to Ireland when I was supposed to be flying to California Leonardo DiVinci Billie Holiday “Back then, Songwriters used to write songs and let the artist interpret ’em. Nowadays, People just write songs for themselves. They put themselves in boxes, ticky-tacky boxes. We’ve lost out on the whole art form on interpretive singing.”

“Seriousness is an accident of time. In consists in putting too high a value on time. Eternity is a mere moment. Just long enough for a joke. ” Hermann Hesse

Walter and Gracie Lance“Walter Lance was on his honeymoon with his wife Gracie. They kept hearing a woodpecker pecking on their roof. The difference between me and him is that it didn’t drive him crazy.”

Mel Blanc “One thing that’s no laughing matter is pigeon-holing. Sometimes people just wanna think you can do one thing and they trap you there. They don’t let you grow. Case in point Gene Chandler.” Curtis Mayfield Art Rupp Cher Kurt Vonnegut David Letterman Joseph Hiller The Marx Bros. William Powell Myrna Loy Broderick Crawford Julie Holliday Billy Wilder Ben Stiller WC Fields Laurel and Hardy Leslie Kahn Harry Einstein ( Parkyakarkus) Albert Brooks (Einstein) Claude Thornhill Christopher Columbus Wilber and Orville Wright Guglielmo Marconi (Nobel Laureate for radio) Richard Pryor Tom Bell

Other Songs

Duke of Earl Pressure Drop Monkey Man 54-46 Was My Number

Other Singers

Julie London June Christy Helen O’Connell Stan Kenton

Ways to Laugh

Behind someone’s back At somebody’s expense Up your Sleeve (16th century) “Well, it ain’t easy to say goodbye either, but I gotta do it. I don’t want to go, but I got to go. Time is up. Let me just leave you with the words of one of the wisest men I know; Uncle Miltie. Milton Berle. He said, and he knows what he’s talking about, ‘Laughter is an instant vacation.’ You got it uncle Miltie. I’m gonna go have myself a vacation.”

 

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Heart

It’s night time in the big city
The last train from Overbrook pulls into the station
A man runs out of excuses.

“Here we are smack-dab in the middle of February, so we’re gonna talk about that fist sized muscle that lies in your chest, right behind and slightly to the left of the breast bone. Just sittin there between your lungs. It’s a remarkable organ; it works hard for you 24 hours a day.”

The Singers and The Songs

Solomon Burke – Home In Your Heart

The 101’ers – Keys To Your Heart

Billie Holiday – Good Morning Heartache

Jerry Butler – He Will Break Your Heart“Not just a nice man, but also a Chicago city alderman. Musically aware, politically aware.”

The Everly Brothers – Brand New Heartache

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – Melts With You

(The Million Dollar Quartet – That’s When Your Heartaches Begin) December 4, 1956 Billy Bunn and His Buddies – That’s When Your Heartaches Begin

Ron Sexsmith – Secret Heart

Little Richard – Directly From My Heart“It’s difficult to carry a secret love, and the ramifications can affect your entire life. I prefer just to sing about love; Little Richard agrees with me. Here’s one of his greatest songs. The Quasar of Rock and Roll, Little Richard…”

Irma Thomas – Ruler of My Heart. “When Otis redid it he called it ‘Pain In My Heart,” and he took a writing credit. Toussaint successfully sued, and the song went back to being written by Naomi Neville.”

Van Morrison – Straight To Your Heart, Like A Cannon Ball

The Jewels – Hearts of Stone

Erma Franklin – Piece of My Heart

The Yardbirds – Heart Full Of Soul“Or as I call em, the Chickens”

The Coasters – Zing! Went the Strings Of My Heart

Other People and Players

St. Valentine Joe Strummer The Clash Mick Jones The Sex Pistols Antony and Cleopatra William Shakespeare Julius Caesar Ptolemy XIV Rufi Curtis Mayfield The Impressions Paul Winchell Henry Heimlich “…who invented the maneuver.” Dr. Robert Jarvik Barney Clark Knucklehead Smith Judy Garland Doug Jones Chet Atkins The Ink Spots Elvis Presley Jerry Lee Lewis Carl Perkins Johnny Cash Mitchell Froom Jeannette McDonald Nelson Eddy Louis B. Mayer Tammy Wynette “You know, it’s funny, I got an email recently from a listener, and they said they’d been listening to a lot of Tammy Wynette, and they thought that she sounded a lot like Little Richard. Well I thought they were crazy, but hearin that song I got an idea what they were talking about!” Andrew Thomas Alan Toussaint Naomi Neville Otis Redding The Rolling Stones Plato Rudy Jackson Johnny Torrence Rev. C. L. Franklin Aretha Franklin Carolyn Franklin The Cleopatrettes Bert Berns Jerry Ragovoy Janis Joplin Charlie Parker Eric Clapton Jeff Beck Jimmy Page Judy Garland

Places

Sunflower, MS Chicago Ponchatoula, LA Shelby, MS

Record Labels

Cadence Record Label MGM Shout Records

Movies, TV Shows, and other Entertainment

The Telltale Heart Lady Sings The Blues (excerpt) Rose Marie Penny Postcards / Penny Dreadfuls Listen, Darling

Other Songs and Albums

Rabbit Fur Coat Pain in My Heart For Your Love

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Shoes

It’s night time in the big city
Bananas ripen on the dock
A number 5 bus breaks down.

“Get out your shoe horns, because today we’re going to trumpet those things at the end of your legs.”

The Singers and The Songs

Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes“Let’s start things off with one of the most famous pairs of shoes in rock and roll.”

Tommy Tucker – High Heeled Sneakers

The Bobby Fuller Four – Gallenkamp Shoes commercial

Joe South – Walk A Mile In My Shoes

Dinah Washington – Take Your Shoes Off Baby “Her voice could make you cry or make you dance. One of the greatest singers in all of jazz, in all of music.”

Billy Walker – Charlie’s Shoes“You ever buy those used vintage shoes? You ever wondered who walked in em before? Maybe it was Charlie.”

The Drifters – I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes

Louis Armstrong – Shine “I don’t think you could do a show about music without playing Louis Armstrong every couple of weeks…Louis was such a personality, you forget what a great musician he was. His singing totally inspired Louis Prima, and on the trumpet he was completely aware that sometimes playing less is more.”

Red Foley – Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy

NRBQ – Get Rhythm

Boozoo Chavis – Paper In My Shoes“He was an energetic performer, always wore a plastic butcher’s apron so his sweat would not ruin his accordion.”

Juke Boy Bonner – Running Shoes “He got his name because as a child he sang in local bars accompanied by the jukebox. He became a one man band, playing the blues hits of the day in neighborhood taverns, beatin the drum, strumming the guitar, playing the harmonica, and singing all at once. You’d think something like that would be really popular, but he still had trouble making ends meet.”

Run D.M.C. – My Adidas “I remember buying this next record when it came out, down at St. Mark’s Records in New York. Actually I bought the twelve inch single, and it blew my mind. It was a powerful, exciting piece of music. Now when people listen to it, they think it’s quaint and old fashioned. They’re already condescending to it and turning it into an ‘oldie’. That’s the problem – people don’t always realize how powerful the innovators are. Take someone like Chuck Berry. When his records came out they were dangerous. There was nothing like them on the radio, they were like a stampede. Now all these bands just play it louder and faster and don’t really add anything to it. And so Chuck Berry, the creator, sounds ‘quaint’ and ‘old fashioned.’ They’re doing the same thing to Run DMC. Rap records have gotten louder, more camouflaged, faster and dirtier, with a thousand samples. Those records are colorful but it doesn’t mean that Run DMC should just be considered ‘oldies.’ They’re important pieces of art, and art isn’t looked at as something old or new, it’s looked at as something that moves ya. And here’s a record that moves me.”

Chuck Willis – Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes “As often as possible on Theme Time Radio Hour we try to feature artists who perform wearing turbans. Here’s one of my favorites.”

Robert Parker – Barefootin’ “The man who wrote the national anthem of shoelessness”

Other People and Players

W.S. Holland “Makin’ the quick sound that just about drives that thing.” Elvis Presley Paul McCartney Stevie Wonder Colonel Sanders Robert Higginbotham Picasso Buddy Holly The Crickets Sonny Curtis Billy Connolly – Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares: he’s a mile away, and you got his shoes. Lionel Hampton Gene Austin “Crooner, songwriter, piano player, and gubernatorial candidate” Grant Sawyer Hawkshaw Hawkins Patsy Cline Cowboy Copas Randy Hughes Clyde McFadder Stu Bernstein, foot doctor King Zulu Louis Prima Ford Dabney Fred Rose Hank Williams Johnny Cash Big Al Anderson Chuck Berry Derek and the Dominoes Jam Master Jay Shoeless Joe Jackson Professor Longhair’s Shuffling Hungarians Oprah Winfrey Carl Cross (?) – There’s no unhappier creature on the face of the earth than a fetishist who yearns for a woman’s shoes and has to embrace the entire woman.

The Places

Baytown, TX Las Vegas Kansas City Montgomery New Orleans Haiti Washington Nashville Lake Charles, LA St. Marks Records Queens Jam Master Jay’s Scratch Academy

Record Labels and Publishers

Sun Atlantic Records Acuff-Rose Music

Movies, TV Shows, Books, Etc.

Perry Como Show

The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show

Sadie Mckee

Gift Of Gab

Melody Cruise

The Devil Wears Prada (“Face it Andy, you sold your soul the day you put on that first pair of Jimmy Choo’s , I saw it.”)

The Tempo Club

Keds commercial

Hoodoo Blues

Wizard of Oz (Clip)

Get Smart (clip)

You and Your Work

Other Songs and Albums

Tug Of War Ebony and Ivory I Fought The Law My Blue Heaven My Melancholy Baby Ramona Sleepy Time Gal When My Sugar Walks Down the Street How Come You Do Me Like You Do Lonesome Road Chattanooga Choo Choo I Feel So Bad“Features the immortal line: I feel like a ballgame on a rainy day” It’s Too Late What Am I Living For Mardi Gras In New Orleans

Guest

Sara Silverman “See ya next week on Theme Time Radio Hour, your home for Dreams, Themes, and Size 9 Schemes.”

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Colors

It’s night time in the big city
A truck driver runs a red light
A ringing phone goes unanswered.

The Singers and The Songs

Somewhere Over The Rainbow – in background

The Singers and The Songs

Ella Mae Morse – House of Blue Lights“The first song ever to use the popular term ‘homey’ in it.”

Joe Liggins And His Honeydrippers – Pink Champagne

Lefty Frizzell – Long Black Veil

The Beatles – Baby’s in Black “It’s time for four mop-tops from Liverpool, who changed the course of popular music and cut into the heavy sugar”

Warren Smith – Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache “There used to be a lot of record labels, not like today, and each of those record companies had their own sound. When you dropped the needle on a Specialty Record, you knew it was a Specialty Record. Same with Imperial, Chess, King, and a million others. Perhaps the most distinctive were those that came out of the Sam Phillips Memphis Recording Studio and were put out on his Sun record label, like this one.”

The Ravens – Deep Purple “One of the pioneering R & B vocal groups.”

Bob Luman – Blue Days, Black Nights

Della Reese – Blue and Orange Birds

Johnnie Ray – The Little White Cloud

Joni Mitchell – Little Green

Nat King Cole  – Orange Colored Sky

Clint West – Big Blue Diamonds

Jimmy Rushing and Count Basie – Blue Skies“The man known as Mr. 5 X 5, because he was five feet tall and five feet wide.”

Sammy Masters – Pink Cadillac

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – Yellow Coat

Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze “His music is rare and valuable, and he’s one of the kings of the guitar…The activating, energizing, vitalizing, vigorous, forceful Jimi Hendrix, Purple Haze.”

Other People and Players

Jimmy Dorsey Freddy Slack Jimmy Liggins And His Drops Of Joy Redd Foxx “I don’t know about them fancy wines that the pretty boys drink, I got the same taste Redd Foxx does: ginger ale and Ripple – Champipple.” Danny Dill Marijohn Wilkin Red Foley Rudolph Valentino Sam Phillips Deep Purple Mitchell Parish Peter De Rose Buddy Holly Mahalia Jackson The Meditation Singers Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Claude Monet – “Color is my daylong obsession, joy and torment.” Vincent Van Gogh The Vidrine Playboys The Boogie Kings The Fabulous Kings Billie Holiday Helen Humes Joe Williams Irving Berlin Belle Baker Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys Ollie Rasmussen and his Nebraska Cornhuskers Spade Coolie Earle Scheib

Other Songs and Albums

Think Pink The Honey Dripper God Walks These Hills With Me Beatles for Sale Beatles 65 Deep Purple Blue Sweet Loraine “Nat King Cole was a great jazz piano player. He never planned on being a singer but when a drunk audience member kept requesting that he sing the song Sweet Loraine, Nat finally did it, just to shut him up. The audience loved it, Nat recorded it, and he became one of the most popular vocalists of the 20th century.”

Places

Texas Louise, MS Bowhead City, AZ Memphis Louise, MS Puerto Rico Calgary Sasakawa, OK

Record Labels

Specialty Records Imperial Chess King Sun

Movies, TV Shows, And Other Entertainment

Funny Face (clip) Sanford and Son Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color Theme Song (played) Grand Ole Opry Touched By An Angel The Bold Ones Roots Chico and the Man Betsy

Guest

Jenny Lewis Billy Vera

Poems

A slash of Blue— A sweep of Gray— Some scarlet patches on the way, Compose an Evening Sky— A little purple—slipped between— Some Ruby Trousers hurried on— A Wave of Gold— A Bank of Day— This just makes out the Morning Sky.

— Emily Dickinson “blue poet”

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Texas

The Singers and The Songs

Webb Pierce – Drifting Texas Sand

Andy Anderson – Deep in the Heart of Texas“Here’s a song that mocks sentimental patriotism”

Jimmy Lewis – All Those Girls From Texas“He sounds as bad off as a rubber-billed woodpecker in a petrified forest”

Jimmie Rodgers – The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas (T for Texas, T for Tennessee)

Don Santiago Jimenez – Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio “One of the great things about Texas music is that it has so many influences. You hear country, blues, soul, and from right across the border, canjunto norteno music, and you hear some of the best.”

Tex Williams and His Western Caravan – I Got Texas In My Soul “I think I’d get an angry phone call if I let this hour go by without playing the red-headed stranger” “It seems like we’re playing a lot of country music this week. What do you expect? We’re down in Texas where they say a worm is the only animal that can’t fall down.”

Larry Davis – Texas Flood “The great songs live outside of the moment of their inception”

Bob Downen – Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas) “The word yodel is derived from the German word eyoden, meaning to utter the syllable ‘yo’, as in Yo Bro.”

June Christy – Across the Alley From the Alamo

King Bennie Nawahi and His Hawaiians – Under A Texas Moon

Oscar McLollie and His Honey Jumpers – All That Oil In Texas

Doug Sahm – Texas Me “There’s one for all you head-bangers out there” “I was talking to this one guy from Texas. He was braggin’ about his ranch. He said to me ‘Bob, I get up in the morning, I get in my car, drive for 8 hours and I reach the other end of my ranch.’ I said to him, I used to have a car like that too.”

Ernest Tubb – Waltz Across Texas “The Original ET”

Dixie Nightingales – Assassination

Ry Cooder & Freddy Fender – Across The Border Line

Other People and Players

Buster Coward The Rolling Stones (the OTHER Rolling Stones) Mick Jager Ray Charles Sam Phillips Elvis Jerry Lee Lewis Charlie Rich The Drifters Johnny Cash Ralph Peer Flaco Jimenez Don Kirby Allen Augustus Allen Sam Houston Ernest Tubb Zeb Turner Tex Williams Fenton Robinson Don Robey Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown Big Mama Thornton William Travis David Crockett Beckham Boyd Raeburn – orchestra leader Stan Kenton’s Orchestra David Ruffin The Temptations Ollie and the Nightingales Roy Rogers King Nawahi and the International Cowboys Kinky Friedman (name not actually mentioned) “Like one of the recent gubernatorial candidates of Texas most recently said, ‘If you ain’t Texan, I ain’t got time for you.’ “ John Steinbeck – I’ve said that Texas is a state of mind but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion.” Woody Guthrie – clip from radio interview Leon Rene – wrote All That Oil in Texas Willie Nelson (again) “Willie nelson’s tour bus runs on cooking oil…I’ve toured with Willie…sometimes late at night you can see us, I’m filling up at the gas station and he’s filling up at Denny’s” Hank Williams Jack Nickolson Harvey Keitel John Hiatt Jim Dickinson

Girls from texas

Sissy Spacek Joan Crawford Mary Kay Ash Bonnie Parker Janis Joplin René Zelwiger Carol Burnett Lady Bird Johnson

Other Songs and Albums

Doin’ That Thing – Ray Charles album Houndog – Big Mama Thornton Something Cool – June Christy Turkey in the Straw Mendocino-Doug Sahm Pecos Bill theme song

Movies and other clips

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure “I don’t see anything so lingo about it. Looks like more Texas as far as I’m concerned. -You don’t have no eyes” “There’s always an inequity in life…” Giant “We really stole Texas didn’t we…….Leslie you mustn’t talk that way to a Texan, they feel very strongly about their state” J F Kennedy-quote from News Conference, 3/21/62 “There’s always an inequity in life…” The Border

Albert Brooks -The Alamo

Record Labels

Tangerine Records Sun records Minute Records Victor BMG Sony BMG – “They got all these people working for them, but I don’t see any of them going out and finding people like Jimmy Rogers and the Carter Family. They’re in CBGB’s which is also gone now. Time marches on.” Arhoolie Records – Don Jimenez Duke Records Peacock Records Stax Records

Places Louisiana Tennessee CBGB’s Dallas Memphis Bronze Peacock Dinner Club San Antonio The Alamo Spain Mexico San Pedro Catalina Island Los Angelos Beaumont, Texas

Guests David Hidalgo Ellen Barkin

“All of our shows are about truckers, if not for truckers” “Well as the sun sets in the west, it’s time to bid adieu to our largest state in the continental 48. We’re gonna hop in the car, drive across the panhandle and see what we find out. We’ll report back here cause you can bet your bottom dollar that whatever we find is gonna be another theme right here on the Theme Time Radio Hour. Adios.”

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Trains (part 1)

It’s night time in the big city
A night watchman rinses out his thermos
The last train from Overbrook pulls into the station.

“Today we’re gonna hit the road, we’re gonna ride the blinds, and dodge the yard bulls. We’re gonna take a ride on the Redding, transfer over to the B & O, and if we have time, pick up our tickets for the Orient Express. So all you box car tourists, get yourselves out of the roundhouse and hop aboard, as we spend the next hour contemplating the iron horse. It’s not a crazy idea, but we got a ‘loco motive’ and it’s all about trains. In the background, Meade Anderson Lewis; perhaps you know him better as Mead Lux Lewis. He was one of the kings of the honky tonk piano and, like a lot of the great piano players, he used his rockin’ left hand to imitate the rhythm of the trains on the tracks.”

The Singers and The Songs

Johnny Burnett Trio – Lonesome Train on a Lonesome Track “Believe it or not, the Johnny Burnett Rock and Roll Trio were invited to appear on Ted Mack Amateur Hour, where they won the competition three times in a row. I want you to listen to this record, and just imagine anything this raw winning 3 weeks in a row on American Idol.”

Little Junior Parker – Mystery Train

Jimmie Rodgers – Waiting For A Train “Well you can’t do a show about trains without playing something by the Singing Brakeman. We played him a bunch of times, and we’ve talked about him, and the most you’re gonna get here is a sample. There’s no substitute for going out and listening to all of his records or reading about his life. There’s a bunch of great books about him, or you can just look him up on Wikipedia!”

Scottie – Draw Your Brakes

The Clash – Train In Vain (Stand By Me)

Jimmy Forrest – Night Train

The Delmore Brothers – Freight Train Boogie

Freddie King – Lonesome Whistle Blues

Frankie Lane – Mule Train “HeyAAHH!”

Lord Buckley – The Train “An eccentric performer who got his start as the master of ceremonies at dance marathons. He had a unique vocal style, rhythmic in presentation, as you can hear for yourself on this little piece all about trains.”

Tiny Bradshaw – Train Kept Rollin’ “I want you to listen to the beginning of this record. There’s a call and response section. Tiny goes ‘Boodow!’ and the whole band goes ‘Boodow!’ Then Tiny goes ‘Booday!’ and the whole band goes ‘Booday!’ Except for one guy who still goes ‘Boodow!’ Nowadays, you’d just take pro tools and take that guy out, or maybe you’d re-record the whole track. But back then, it was more important to be great than to be perfect.”

The Monkees – Last Train To Clarksville “I’ve always believed that the first rule of being subversive is not to let anybody know you’re being subversive.”

Leadbelly – Midnight Special

Laura Cantrell – Yonder Comes a Freight Train

The Jubalairs – Casey Jones

Grateful Dead – Casey Jones

Other People and Players

John Coltrane (played briefly in background before Bob’s intro) Milton Subotsky Glen Moore Sam Phillips Elvis Presley –“the swivel hipped rockabilly cat” Auburn Hair Muddy Waters Derek Harriott Benny King Don Kirby Allen Augustus Chapman Allen Sam Houston Wayne Raney –“King of the choke style harmonica” Johnny Hodges Duke Ellington Bunky Parker W.H. Auden Hound Dog Taylor Grand Funk Railroad Aerosmith Led Zeppelin The Yardbirds Sid Nathan (clip) Ray Pennington Kenny Price The Reno Brothers Jim and Jesse McReynolds Casey Jones

 

Other Songs and Albums

Honky Tonk Train Blues – Meade Lux Lewis (played in background during Bob’s intro) I’m Gonna Murder My Baby (clip) London Calling That’s The Blues, Old Man Hide Away We’re An American Band When The Roses Bloom Again Two Trains Running — Muddy Waters (plays as Bob is saying goodbye)

Places

Minneapolis Texas Tennessee Gilmore, TX Chicago Sugar Land, TX Memphis Canton

Record Labels

Sun Federal King

Movies

Strangers on a Train The Harder They Come Night Train Runaway Train W. H. Auden’s “Night Train“–also titled “Night Mail” (Commentary for a G.P.O. Film, July 1935) “So we’re just gonna pick up our bags at the station, pull our arms outta the window when we go through a tunnel, get our ticket punched, and we’ll see ya back at the depot next week, on your home for interstate travel, Theme Time Radio Hour. Look out for the cow catcher.”

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More Trains

It’s nighttime in the big city
Fog horns bellow in the gloom along the wharf
A spinster finishes a jigsaw puzzle

“This is Theme Time Radio Hour and last week we played a bunch of train songs. We had so many that this week we’re gonna do it again this week. We’re gonna buckle the rubbers, grease the pig and hook her up and pull her tail because it’s railroad time.”

The Singers and The Songs

Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West-Railroadin’ “Mind the gap now!” Curtis Mayfield-People Get Ready “Where’d I put my luggage?” Papa George Lightfoot-That Mean Old Train Captain Beefheart-Click Clack Jimmy Lunceford and his Orchestra-Blues in the Night Part1 Lord Kitchener-The Underground Train Sister Rosetta Tharpe-This Train Johnny Cash-Train of Love Muddy Waters-All Aboard Los Lobos-That Train Don’t Stop Here No More Lil’ Eva- The Loco-motion Louis Armstrong-2:19 Blues “We’re talking about trains. Tackle hairs, flagmen, teamster, herders, boomers, brass buttons, britch hogs brownies, broken knuckles.” Jimmy Martin-Mr. Engineer Randy Newman-Gone Dead Train Furry Lewis-Kassie Jones Part 1 The O’Jays-Love Train

Railroads and Train Stuff

Reading Shortline B&O Pennsylvania Orange Blossom Special Orient Express “Which is in Europe” The Super Chief The Blue Train TranSiberian Train Deluxe Chihuahua Pacifico Glacier Express Palace on Wheels Frontier Mail Grand Trunk Express Broadway Limited Canadian 20th Century Limited California Zephyr Indian Pacific Puffing Billy The GulfLander “Take a guess where that train is. You guess Australia? You got it mate!” (chuckles) Chapel Cars (churches on wheels)

Places

New York Miami Chicago LA Russia S. Africa Johannesburg Victoria Falls Switzerland India Pakistan Ireland Natchez, MS Woodstock Italy Scotland (Tay Bridge Disaster) Edinburgh Dundee Memphis

Other Singers

Howlin’ Wolf Chet Baker Romano Mussolini Carole King Gerry Goffin Didi Sharp Jack Nitsche Russ Titelman

Other Songs and Albums

The Spotlight Kid “The 5:15” “The 12:30”

TV, Film and Lit

For a Few Dollars More (clip)

Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River exerpt-Thomas Wolfe (Bob plays passage read by Utah Phillips from his Starlight on the Rails) “We walked along a road in Cumberland and stooped, because the sky hung down so low; and when we ran away from London, we went by little rivers in a land just big enough. And nowhere that we went was far: the earth and the sky were close and near. And the old hunger returned – the terrible and obscure hunger that haunts and hurts Americans, and makes us exiles at home and strangers wherever we go. Oh, I will go up and down the country and back and forth across the country. I will go out West where the states are square. I will go to Boise and Helena, Albuquerque and the two Dakotas and all the unknown places. Say brother, have you heard the roar of the fast express? Have you seen starlight on the rails?”

Choo Choo Charlie ad

Other People

Joshua Lionel Cowen Martin Davis Greg Feldman Neil Young Harriett Tubman Frederick Douglass Horatio Herbert Kitchener Benito Mussolini Clara Petachi Casey Jones

Guest

Matt Groening“I was talking to Matt Groening. He’s the guy that created The Simpsons. I never miss an episode. I’m a real Mr. Burns fan.” Charlie Sheen

Record Labels

Chess Dimension Records Deckard

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Fools

It’s nighttime in the big city A businessman kisses his secretary under a street light A drunken security guard drops his flashlight “James Thurber once said, ’you can fool too many of the people too much of the time’ and for the next hour we’re gonna try and do just that…for the next hour we‘re gonna play the greatest records about our favorite half-wits, the fools.”

The Singers and The Songs

Aretha Franklin – Chain of Fools

Hank Snow – Now And Then There’s A Fool Such As I

Otis Rush – Three Times a Fool (or as Bob calls it, three times a Frenchman) “Among the most atmospheric and unusual sounding of all the Chicago blues.”

Third on a Match “As bad as it is to be three times a fool, it’s even worse to be third on a match.” (background)

Sanford Clark – The Fool “I always thought it was one of the best Elvis Presley records that Elvis never made”

The Clovers – Fool, Fool, Fool “The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.”

Eddie Hope and the Mannish Boys – A Fool No More “If you want to be a fool no more, you might wasn’t to try some Ginkgo Biloba. It’s the extract of the Ginkgo plant. Some people say that it’s a memory enhancer. I read that somewhere but I just can’t remember where.”

Sonny Stitt – Fools Rush in (Where Angels Fear to Tread)—background “I always liked songs with parentheses in the title.”

Ike and Tina Turner – A Fool In Love

The Crickets – Love’s Made a Fool of You

The Drifters – Fools Fall in Love

Bobby Blue Bland – I Pity The Fool

Little Walter – Just Your Fool

Buddy and Ella Johnson – Just your fool (clip)

James Carr and Bettie Harris – I’m a Fool For You

Teddy Humphries – Guitar Pickin’ Fool “The kings of the chord and the sires of the solo”

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers – Why Do Fools Fall in Love

Other People

Don Covey Evon Kruger? Match seller Sam Patch“Yankee Leaper” Anne Bolin Henry The 8th Gene Brown – foolproof systems Shakespeare –“Hell of a cat” William S Burroughs Samuel Taylor Coleridge “Sir, I admit your general rule that every poet is a fool, but you yourself may serve to show it, every fool is not a poet.” Mr. T Mohammed Ali Waldo Peirce – painter Abraham Lincoln MLK Rpy Riegels— 1929 Rosebowl Jim Marshall – MN Vikings“And I was there that day. (chuckles) Strange but true.”

Other Singers and Songs

Pop and Mavis Staples Willie Dixon (producer) Nancy Sinatra Elvis Presley Buddy Holly Bob Mongomery Lee Hazelwood – composer and producer Al Casey Matthew McCarter Jerome Windley Bill Harris Sonny Curtis Bobby Fuller “I Fought the Law” Clyde McFatter Johnny Paycheck David Allen Coe “You’re Gonna Make it After All” Ahmet Ertegun “He was that rare creature who could lead a business and still be in love with the music. We could sure use a lot more of that now.” Michael Jackson Diana Ross Billy Ward and The Dominoes OV Wright Ray Charles Little Walter Buddy and Owen Johnson Rodger Humphries Frank Humphries Eldridge Humphries

Record Labels

Atlantic Records –“Looks like we’re gonna play a lot of records This week from the Atlantic Label. Don’t know sure if that means anything but I find it interesting” RCA Cobra Record Chess Marlin Duke Goldwax

Literature

Stephen Crane (foolish poet)– (Bob Reads) “Why do you strive for greatness, fool? Go pluck a bough and wear it. It is as sufficing. My Lord, there are certain barbarians Who tilt their noses As if the stars were flowers, And Thy servant is lost among their shoe-buckles. Fain would I have mine eyes even with their eyes. Fool, go pluck a bough and wear it.” A Midsummer Nights Dream Twelfth night As You Like It Gene Brown“Fool-proof systems don’t take into account the ingenuity of fools” Mark Twain “The first day of April is the day that we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.” T.S. Elliot – The Waste land

TV and Movies

The Maltese Falcon “I’m no fool, no siree, we play safe” jingle The Simpsons (clip) “I’ve got to fool before the day is out….” Bart Mary Tyler Moore Show Rocky III “I’m No Fool” [Jiminy Cricket] – Cliff Edwards [Husker Du’s version] (from The Music of Disney: A Legacy of Song)

Places

New Jersey Niagara Falls East St. Louis Paris Memphis

Guest Deke Dickerson –“He’s a walking hillbilly encyclopedia”

Other

History of April Fools Day “The wise man draws more advantage from his enemies than the fool from his friends.”   top

New York

It’s night time in the big city
The rain soaked streets reflect the glare of passing headlights
A cab driver tosses a fifty cent tip out the window
A woman with a torch stands in the harbor.

“Tonight we’re gonna be goin’ from the Bowery to the Bronx, from the East Village to Harlem, from Hudson Heights to Lenox Hill and from Korea Town to Little Italy, from Hell’s Kitchen to Greenwich Village , from Manhattan Valley to Marble Hill, from Midtown South to Midtown itself, from Murray Hill to NoHo, from Roosevelt Island to SoHo, from Spanish Harlem to Sugar Hill, from Sutton Place to Tribeka, from Tudor City to Turtle Bay, from the upper Eastside to the upper Westside, from the West Village to Washington Heights, from West Harlem to Yorkville…”

The Singers And The Songs

Duke Ellington – Take The A Train (background)

Jimmy Reed – Goin’ to New York

Dyke and the Blazers – Funky Broadway, Pt. 1

Lou Reed – Dirty Boulevard

Ray Charles – New York’s My Home“It might not be totally true, but who cares? It’s a good song.”

Johnny Colon — New York Mambo

Harry Nilsson – I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City

Bobby Womack – Across 110th Street “I’ve always been partial to the demo…shows how funky you can be with a couple of acoustic guitars.”

Autumn In NY – Vernon Duke (background) played by Charlie Parker

NRBQ – Boys In The City

Anita O’Day & Roy Eldridge – Let Me Off Uptown

Gene Krupa drum solo

James Brown – Down And Out In New York City Moondog (background)

The Beastie Boys – No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters – Broadway “That one just about made me drop my mustard squirter!”

Dinah Washington – Manhattan “If there was ever a love song to a city, I’d say it was this one.”

Other Singers, Players, Writers, etc.

Billy Strayhorn (Sweet Pea) Art Laboe The O’Jays Wilson Pickett Frederic Auguste Bartholdi Gustaffe Eiffel“Designed the famous tower in France, the Gustaffe Tower…” Emma Lazarus Neil Simon Moss Hart Fred Neil Bobby Womack Quentin Tarantino F. Scott Fitzgerald Yaphet Kotto Anthony Quinn Tony Francioso Vincent “Chin” Gigante Saul Bellow Joey Spampinato Skeeter Davis Gene Krupa Larry Cohen Leonard Bernstein Arturo Toscanini Rogers and Hart

A Few People Who Were Born in New York

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Humphrey Bogart Herman Melville Ogden Nash Barbara Stanwick Martin Van Buren Tupac Shakur

Places

Pittsburgh Dunlieth, MS Chicago Phoenix Buffalo Los Angeles Georgia Beverly Hills

Other Songs and Albums

Blood Count And His Mother Called Him Bill Everybody’s Talking Cookie Puss (clip) License to Ill

Quiz Shows that took place in New York

The 64,000 Question Information, Please Winner Take All Quiz Kids What’s My Line? It Could Be You The Big Surprise Beat The Clock

Record Labels

Original Sounds Label Atlantic Records Prestige Def Jam

Movies

Manhattan (Woody Allen) Midnight Cowboy features Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight Across 110th Street Black Caesar An Affair To Remember features Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. The Naked City (clip) Sweet Smell of Success

“Blaxploitation” Movies

Foxy Brown Shaft Superfly Coffee Cleopatra Jones

Books and Poems

The New Colossus (Emma Lazarus) Seize the Day The Great Gatsby “New York has always been good to me, I hope I was nice to it for the last hour. I’ll see you on the streets of Manhattan.”

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Death and Taxes

It’s nighttime in the big city
A woman pulls out a 1099 form
A man lies about his deductions

The Singers and The Songs

Gene Autry – I paid my income tax today

(The Kinks – Lazing on a sunny afternoon)

The Beatles – Taxman “Written by George Harrison, and recorded by his group, the Beatles”

Prince Buster – Taxation “Like all great artists, he was able to turn things that bothered him into three minutes of musicsal pleasure, like here.”

Hank Penny – Taxes Taxes

(J.B. Lenoir — Eisenhower Blues)

J.B. Lenoir – Tax Paying Blues “The names were changed to protect the guilty.”

New Lost City Ramblers – Sales Tax On The Women “New Lost City Ramblers Mike Seeger, John Cohen, Tom Paley– They never made the big time like the Kingston Trio, but they never did wear striped shirts. One of the things the New Lost City Ramblers did was uncover great old songs. Songs that you could only find those days in piles of 78s in somebody’s barn. They breathe new life into those songs and their records stand the test of time, just like the originals.” “As bad as taxes are, you will eventually recover. On the other hand, death is something you never come back from. It a subject we visit in every episode of Theme Time Radio Hour, but right now we’re gonna shine the spotlight on it for just a few songs.”

Bukka White – Fixin’ To Die Blues

(Egyptian singer– Umm Kulthum)

Carolyn Sullivan – Dead! “One of the darkest, saddest songs ever recorded.“ “Kind of a jaunty organ for such a sad song”

(Milton Brown and his musical Brownies – I’ll be glad when you’re dead you rascal you)

Louis Armstrong w/ Louis Jordan and his Tympani 5 – I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You “Jazz meets R and B meets jump blues and you hear the beginnings of rock and roll”

Curtis Mayfield – Freddy’s Dead

David Bowie – Rock ‘N Roll Suicide

The Stanley Brothers – Oh Death “Kind of a roots music greatest hit since it’s appearance in…”

Richard and Linda Thompson – Withered And Died

Other people

Irving Berlin Barry Goldwater “The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.” Mark Twain – “What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? A taxidermist takes only your skin.” Ralph Limbo-Victor Records Lester Melrose John Feyhee Ed Denson Major Bill Smith – record producer Isadora Duncan-Strangled by her own scarf Frank Hayes, Jockey had a heart attack during a horse race, his horse, Sweet Kiss went on to finish in 1st. Li Po, Chinese poet-drowned trying to kiss the moons reflection the water from a boat Gordon Parks, Jr. Cohen Brothers

Other Singers and Songs

Ray Davies The Rolling Stones The Beatles “Prince Rodney” Spade Cooley Dude Martin – had a show Jack White Will Rogers “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.” The Dixon Brothers Songs from the Depression – New Lost City Ramblers The Kingston Trio Charlie Patton The Mach 2 Vycretia Watson Sam Thread – wrote I’ll be glad… Mick Ronson Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust – told everyone he was going to retire from the stage after the Ziggy Stardust tour“I remember that; I told him not to do it” “Crying, Give Me Your Hands” I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight Willie Nelson Redd Foxx Sanford and Son Theme Song

Places

England Las Vegas Nashville Detroit Parchment Farm Chicago Aberdeen MS Memphis Cairo Fort Worth Brooklyn London

Movies and TV

“Not taxis, death and taxes” – movie like the Benjamin Franklin book The Hank Penny Show Stranger Than Fiction The Untouchables Betty Boop Superfly Oh Brother, Where Art Thou

Guest

Deke Derkerson

Record Labels

Victor“I think I liked the world better when talent scouts also sold furniture” Bluebird Ahooley

Lit

e e cummings“capital poet” – Dying is Fine, but Death “For my money the most profound poet of the 20th century” Nascalus – Greek playwright –killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head Aesop’s fable, the dog and the bone Dorothy Parker – Resume Dylan Thomas – Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Famous Suicides

Johnny Ace Cleopatra Hart Crane Virginia Wolf V. Van Gogh Hemingway Sylvia Plath Socrates Lupi Valez Sigmund Freud (took morphine) –“hmm I wonder what that means…” “I want to leave you with the words of Willie Nelson and Red Foxx ‘Pay your taxes!’ ”

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Spring Cleaning

It’s night time in the big city
You can smell rain in the air
I really gotta get those boxes out of the basement

The Singers and The Songs

(Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf – Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most)

Betty Carter – Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most “Crazy man, crazy!”

Fats Domino – Be My Guest“A lot of music historians point to this song and say it’s one of the big influences on ska… I listen to it and I can hear that, but even more important it’s just a great record.”

Memphis Minnie – You Need A Friend“That was the smooth tongued Memphis Minnie, sleek and slick, rippleless, slyly loquacious and harsh and rugged as they come.”

Roy Orbison – Crying “Here’s a classic, a nail bitin’ mini-drama, sung by…one of the sweetest, strongest voices in popular music.”

Cookie & The Cupcakes – I Cried

Garnett Mimms & the Enchanters l – Cry Baby“You can hear it in his voice, he started off as a gospel singer.”

Ruth Brown – Teardrops From My Eyes“Frankie Laine gave our next artist her nickname, Miss Rhythm”

Joe South – Rose Garden

(Igor Stravinsky – Rite of Spring) “The premier was scandalous. Never mind that the ballet was a bizarre story of pagan sacrifice, Stravinsky’s musical innovations tested the patience of the audience to the fullest. Stravinsky had a bassoon player play higher in range than anyone had ever done; it was unrecognizable as a bassoon. People walked out. When the curtain came up and the dancing began, a musical theme without a melody began. It was a loud pulsating and dissonant chord, with jarring irregular accents. The audience responded to the ballet with hisses and catcalls. Nowadays the Rite of Spring is recognized as a groundbreaking work. Igor Stravinsky: madman with a fountain pen.”

Elvis Costello – Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes“Let’s open up this closet and get rid of some of these shoes. We got a bunch of them left over from a few weeks ago, when we did our shoes show. I think this first pair is a size nine.”

Vernon Oxford – Little Sister, Throw Your Red Shoes Away“…singin’ about the red shoes that tell everyone your business!”

Elmore James– Dust My Broom“Speaking of brooms, here we have Elmore James with a song that’ll drive you round the bend.”

Roy Milton – Fools Are Getting Scarcer

The Main Ingredient – Everybody Plays the Fool

Fats Waller – Spring Cleaning (Getting Ready For Love)

Bobby Bare – Detroit City

Buck Owens – Waitin’ In Your Welfare Line

Dinah Washington – Richest Guy In The Graveyard

Porter Wagoner – Skid Row Joe“Next up, a very sad song. A recitation a sermon. A speechifyin’ testification…telling a tale of a sad man, down on his luck in the dirty part of town.”

(Eric Dolphy – Spring Is Here)

Howlin’ Wolf – I Ain’t Superstitious

George Jones – Take The Devil Out of Me “Nothing less than a reinterpretation of one of the great myths.”

The Producers – Springtime for Hitler

The Mississippi Sheiks – Sales Tax

Faron Young – Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young

Tex Williams – Brother Drop Dead “Some people die too soon, others you’re kind of hopin.’ Tex Williams has a song for just such a situation.”

Buster Brown – Fannie Mae

Rockpile – Heart

Hank Williams – Crazy Heart“A song of sadness born of desperation”

Jackie DeShannon – Put A Little Love in Your Heart

The Spaniels – House Cleaning

Tom Waits – You Can Never Hold Back Spring

Poets and Poems

T.S. Eliot The Wasteland Sylvia Plath Alfred Austin Edna St. Vincent Millay – Spring Dorothy Parker Locksley Hall Alfred Lord Tennyson“A poet with a spring in his step” Jack Kerouac On The Road Stephen Crane“Crimson Poet” The Red Badge of Courage

Movies, TV and other Entertainment

Ajax laundry detergent commercial Moulin Rouge Club Fibber McGee and Molly (clip) (characters) Mayor LaTrivia Doc Gamble Abigail Uppington Horatio K. Boomer Wallace Wimple Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve Wizard of Oz MGM Studios Smithsonian Museum Johnson’s Wax commercial The Producers Monty Python The House In The Middle

Singers, Players, and Others

Phil Phillips Jerry Ragavoy Janis Joplin Irma Thomas Rolling Stones The Evening Stars The Harmonizing Four The Norfolk Four Joe Simon Frankie Laine Rudy Toombs Charles Dickens Billie Joe Royal Deep Purple Elvis Presley Simon and Garfunkel Gilbert Adrian Cuba Gooding, Sr. Cuba Gooding, Jr. Amos Milburn Martha Raye The Farmer Boys Luke the Drifter Red Sovine Rodgers and Hart Willie Dixon Henry Gray Hubert Sumlin Sam Lay Jimmie Rodgers Mel Brooks Denzel Best Thelonius Monk Red Norvo George Shearing William Gottlieb Deek Dickerson St. Francis of Assisi Eric Idle The Pretenders Audrey May Shepherd Lucretia and Bocephus Williams Billie Jean Jones Eddie Cochran Randy Myers

Places

Lake Charles, LA New York City Philadelphia Nashville Songwriters’ Hall Of Fame England Hazel, KY

Other Songs and Albums

Matilda Piece Of My Heart Bye, Bye Baby Get It While You Can Try Just a Little Bit Harder Sea of Love Time Is On My Side“…which the Rolling Stones took from Irma Thomas” Games People Play Down In The Boondocks Hush Walk a Mile In My Shoes The Sound of Silence Bad, Bad Whiskey I’ve Got To Get Peter Off Your Mind Field of Flowers Thinkin’ and Drinkin’ Let Me Go Home, Whiskey One Bourbon, One scotch, One beer Good, Good Whiskey Confessions of A Broken Man Big Joe Phantom 309 Move D.D.s Dance Bemsha Swing Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) Needles and Pins When You Walk in the Room Orphans

Record Labels

Atlantic Records Duotone Records Aladdin Records