Whatever happened to these guys? They were a blast when they came out in the late ’70s. Here’s the Bus Boys‘ promo video.
Better yet, whatever happened to The Paladins? Great 3-man flat head six rockabilly, and here they are live in Holland of all places. I saw them decades ago opening for The Fabulous Thunderbirds at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California. Track down any of their records and you won’t be disappointed.
When I was dating the future Mrs. Strutts, we went to see the Paladins in L.A. Opening for them was Jimmy & the Mustangs.
Opening for the Paladins and the Mustangs: The Forbidden Pigs. Stand up bassman Billy Bacon was amazing, standing on it, rolling around with it, jamming it. At one point the drummer took a flip over his drumset to beat on the bass while Bacon fingered the chords. Great show.
When you’re an 11-year-old girl at a sleep over, watching the results of “American Idol,” some things matter A LOT. [via Woosk.]
This is kinda cool, even though it’s contrived and the music drips with lameosity. Combines Picasso, Dali, Van Gogh and Escher imagery.
Thanks a wad to TR Commenter Breon for reminding me of the late great Danny Gatton. Here’s a kickass medley of Sun Records hits, in typical out-of-sync Utoobage fashion.
But I remember Gatton for THIS incredible stunt. (Phil, y’all pane-tension?)
Shortly after Vaughan passed on, Buddy Guy fronted SRV’s band, Double Trouble, on Austin City Limits in 1991. Here’s his tribute version of “You Better Leave My Little Girl Alone”.
1959’s “Shombolar” by Sheriff and the Ravels post dated The Chips’ “Rubber Biscuit” by a few years, but had some of the same Hubba inna Jiggawa phrases. Gotta love it. (Watch for the Dick Dale cameo.)
Bill Haley & the Comets’ “Rip it Up” (ripping off Little Richard’s original verision). Awesome jitterbuggin’… Lookee here for mo betta.
This one’s for Aussie Phil. Ready for some speed blues? Here’s “PRESSURE COOKER.” Clarence Gatemouth Brown was one of the most underrated bluesmen of the modern era. He was one of those rare folks that if you told him a set of jumper cables was an instrument, he could play ’em.
Jaco Pastorius with John Scofield. Not sure who is on drums. Pastorius is my all time favorite bass player, (with Bootsy Collins a close second).
Willie Dixon was a classic bassman. Not sure who is on the ivories, but it’s not Eubie Blake, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons or Pete Johnson. Memphis Slim?
This has gotta be one of the greatest blues lineups in history: Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, T-Bone Walker, Helen Hume, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and John Jackson.
No Photoshopoopage here. This is cutting edge, wave of the future stuff. I already posted it here, and there’s no reason that you folks should be left out of the loop. Check it out:
No clear-cutting, only culling of old timbers, without the logging roads. Ingenious, but slow and expensive.
“Levi Stubbs was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the famed Motown R&B group The Four Tops.”
From Billboard’s Top Pop Singles:
“R&B vocal group from Detroit formed in 1953 as the Four Aims. Consisted of Levi Stubbs (lead singer), Renaldo ‘Obie’ Benson, Lawrence Payton, and Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir. First recorded for Chess in 1956, then Red Top and Columbia, before signing with Motown in 1963. Stubbs was the voice of Audrey II (the voracious vegetation) in the 1986 movie ‘The Little Shop of Horrors.'”
Besides being a cousin to Jackie Wilson (!) Stubbs was also the voice of Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors.” I never made that connection until today.
Aretha Franklin’s tribute to Levi Stubbs, after his stroke and during his fight with cancer. Hard to watch.
But there’s more to his story. Besides being a household word for rock n roll and gettin’ hot babes, the late Ted Cassidy played TWO parts in “The Addams Family” TV Series. Lurch was one of them… the other was “Thing.”
“Lurch (Ted Cassidy) is the household butler. Morticia and Gomez summon him by means of a bell pull in the form of a hangman’s noose, which rings the massive bell located in the mansion’s bell tower; the resulting gong shakes the entire house when the bell’s noose is pulled. When Lurch appears (usually immediately or within seconds thereafter), he responds with an extremely deep-voiced, “You rang?”
“According to IMDb, Lurch was intended to be a non-speaking part, as the Charles Addams cartoon character was silent; however, Cassidy improvised the line during his audition, and it was so well-received that it became a feature of the character. When questions are posed to him, Lurch’s primary response is a deep throaty rumbling and, at times, tremendously annoyed sound, which the family nonetheless interpret as spoken words. Superhumanly strong (he cleans the family car by simply lifting it and shaking it out like a rug), Lurch often plays the harpsichord (the music is actually played by The Addams Family composer Vic Mizzy).
“Lurch is very high-minded about visitors; when a plainclothes policeman (played by George Neise) visited the family, Lurch patted him down and regarded him suspiciously when he found his gun. Neise showed Lurch his badge, whereupon Lurch returned the gun.
“Lurch occasionally regards his employers’ activities with some dubiousness, but only as any servant might regard the idle rich, not because he does not share their macabre tastes.”
As far as the Addams Family goes, Lurch was my 2nd favorite. Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams), well, um, you know. Cassidy also appeared in several episodes of:
Star Trek;
I Dream of Jeannie;
Wild Wild West;
and The Six-Million Dollar Man (as Bigfoot).
Y’all can forget his cameo on Batman, too… or not.
Cassidy ALSO appeared in the movie “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” in this Classic Scene.
As a completely unrelated aside, anyone curious about what the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten is up to these days? Seems he’s turned Shatner on us. Promise.
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