Hambone is the traditional folk music consisting of rhythms produced by slapping oneself and making noises without singing. It traces its history to the pre-civil war South, and was probably introduced by west african slaves. Regardless of your musical tastes, Hambone is harder than it looks. Try it yousef and you’ll see.
The Hambone Brothers showed up occasionally on the long running TV show, “HeeHaw.” The guy on the left was cool, but the guy on the right always creeped me out.
Jeff Holt does Hambone with the always amazing Doc Watson.
Holt and Watson doing “Soldier’s Joy” and “Ragtime Annie.”
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, with Pete Seeger on banjo. Terry’s breath control and “whoopin'” on harmonica was directly related to Hambone, if you didn’t notice. (Unless I’m mistaken, Sonny and Brownie also had a small cameo on the first Blues Brothers movie.)
And finally, a public service announcement from Plaxico Burress.
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.
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.
Interesting documentary… Interviews of some of the patrons of the “Spin Cycle” laundromat somewhere in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Oh, yeah. “Ya ya ya aya…” Gotta post some music. Do not mock those who try. [Also found at Arbroath.]
Howlin’ Wolf’s classic “Smokestack Lightning.”
[UPDATE: The bass player in this clip is Willie Dixon. THE Willie Dixon. Sorry I missed giving him credit. Dixon wrote a number of songs that later became rock standards. He recorded some albums himself, and didn’t stutter when he sang. More after the break below.]
“Theme to Peter Gunn.” Here’s Henry Mancini’s live version, introduced by Steve Allen. (The horn section rocks, whether you like it or not.)
Last Post on THIS Spin Cycle: The Late Great Roy Buchanan‘s explosive take on Mancini’s “Theme to Peter Gunn.” (This one’s for all you Aussies – Thanks for the hula-hoops, mates!)
Bluegrass has its roots in northern Britain according to my ear. The chord patterns of early country music from Appalachia follow those of Scottish and Irish reels. In the immigration wave of the early 1800’s, the Scottish and Irish tended to venture southward, away from the constrictions of the north, to where they could work their own land. No wonder that early southern recordings sound similar to those of Ireland and Scotland.
Bill Monroe & his Bluegrass Boys popularized it and gave the style it’s moniker: Bluegrass. This song (video from 1956) is a tribute to Pendleton Vandiver, Monroe’s uncle. Monroe joined his uncle Pen’s band as a kid; his sound dates back to the turn of the century.
The Dillards were the Darlings clan on the Andy Griffith show. The Dillards decided that L.A. had more to offer than the Missouri Ozarks, and advertised themselves on the streets in the early 1960’s.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were influenced by the Dillards, and took Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. BoJangles” for a ride.
What I was really looking for when all this linkyness began was New Grass Revival‘s version of “Steam Powered Aeroplane,” one of the prettiest bluegrass songs I ever heard:
"Well I went away on a Steam Powered Aeroplane.
Well I went and I stayed and damn near didn't come back again.
Didn't go very fast on a steam powered aeroplane,
The wheels went around, up and down, and inside and then back again.Sittin' on a 747 just watching them clouds roll by,
Can't tell if it's sunshine, if it's rain.
Rather be sittin' in a deck chair high up over Kansas City,
On a genuine old fashioned oil finish Steam Powered Aeroplane.Well I'd could be PILOT on the Steam Powered Aeroplane.
I'd pull that pilot wheel 'round, then back again.
And I'd wear a blue hat, YEAH, on the Steam Powered Aeroplane,
With letters go 'round the brim and then back again.
Sittin' on a 747 just watching them clouds roll by,
Can't tell if it's sunshine or if it's rain.
Rather be sittin' in a deck chair high up over Kansas City,
On a genuine old fashioned oil finish Steam Powered Aeroplane."
Here’s the songwriter, John Hartford, with Tony Rice, Vassar Clements and others. (Yeah, his vocals don’t do justice for the song.)
Great pre-sunrise morning roadtrip music, just like Pat Metheny’s “New Chataqua Highway,” or anything by Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli.
[Bunk’s compiling his roadtrip list for next month. Lemme know your favorites.]
I don’t own Leslie Gore. She owned me up until I saw her hairdo and horseface. Bunky just sealed his eyeballs shut and listened.
I remember hearing this on the battery powered transistor radio I got for Christmas that I hid under my pillow, and Skeeter Davis sounded so purty. She’s another one who had a great voice and a bad hairdo. (I’d never seen her until a few minutes ago, but I was in love with her when I was about 8.)
Then there’s k.d. lang. Just ’cause she gotta big caboose and a butch haircut doesn’t mean I don’t like her music.
And then there’s poor Baz. [Tip o’ the tarboosh to Phil. He says it’s been around for a few years, and somehow he knew that I’d like it by saying so on his Blog From Down Under.]
Speaking of Down Under, some time ago, when WordPress was revamping it’s vamps, I was unable to add the video above to this post. Found a new link for it by accident, so here it is.
Noodlin’ is catchin’ de fishes widdout dem bait in tackle. Feel ‘roun’ fo de ho in de mud, reach innan grab ‘im what dere. Justin Wilson be done do dat, too. Noah fence.
There are professional noodlers, and the good ones are missing fingers because snapping turtles nest the same way. (Once they got you, turtles won’t let go.)
Then there’s this. It’s cool, too, except for that giggle at the end.
Lookee here folks… this particular post has no theme, so it makes complete sense to post a coupla completely unrelated videos here.
“The Commitments” was a very underrated movie about a bunch of Irish misfits that came together with a love for 1960’s American R&B and pulled it off before self-destructing. Put it on your “must rent” list if you’ve not seen it.
Here’s the real deal that’s too hot to handle and too cold to hold: The Wicked Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances.”
Otis Redding followed in Wilson’s footsteps. Here’s “Try A Little Tenderness.” Look for Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Al Jackson and Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the M.G.’s) backing him up.
Tacky Raccoons 