This might sound like another example of our Saluting Silly Songs feature, but it's not. All we're interested in today are strange song titles that tickle our fancy. If you haven't had yours tickled lately, these might do the trick. This post started when I was chuckling to myself about a memory of my son … Continue reading Titles That Tickle
It's been a while since we had a Country Catalyst, the special feature that spotlights a country song that might open the eyes (and ears) of mainstream music fans. Today's example is a piece that could be classified as soft pop or folk music, but it certainly began life as a country song -- even … Continue reading Country Catalyst: A Sailor’s Dream
Several years ago I began a new feature called Saluting Silly Songs, a series of posts that spotlighted goofy songs and the talented artists who performed them. To name just a few; Weird Al Yankovic, Spike Jones, and Commander Cody come to mind. Today's featured duo built their career on a collection of hilarious parodies … Continue reading Saluting Silly Songs — The Song Butchers
Your first thought when reading the title of this post might be: wait -- aren't all politicians con artists? Well of course they are, but today we're going to get specific and tell the story of Dudley Joseph LeBlanc (aka 'Coozan Dud'), a huckster who became a Louisiana legislator and then made a fortune selling … Continue reading Politician + Con Artist = Super Showman
I have a confession to make. I have big feet. REALLY big feet, as in size 15EEE shoes. Of course I'm used to them by now because I'm pretty sure I always had big feet, but I don't remember when they first began to attract notice. My dad wore a size 12 so there were … Continue reading In Search Of Bigfoot
It always tickles me when I discover a surprising connection between two completely different types of musical artists. Johnny Tillotson, the subject of today's post, has been entertaining fans for more than a half-century as a successful country/pop singer, but I think he'd be the first to agree that a lot of his early … Continue reading Connecting The Dots With Johnny Tillotson
We're overdue for another edition of Country Catalyst, the Special Feature that offers a classic country song while hoping to open a few ears and make some new fans. As it happens, today's song is another one with an American Indian theme, sort of like our previous post, but this one has quite a pedigree. … Continue reading Country Catalyst – Back To The Teepee
Folk music legend Pete Seeger is someone you probably remember, but did you know that one of his musical influences might have been his 'almost' nanny? Although Pete was pretty much on his own by then and housekeeper Elizabeth Cotten wasn't exactly Mary Poppins, she did take care of his younger step-siblings while attending to … Continue reading Elizabeth Cotten – Pete Seeger’s ‘Almost’ Nanny
We might seem to be in a bit of a rut by featuring yet another actor/singer, but the story of Bill Hayes is a lot different from that of a recent GMC subject, Eddie Albert. For one thing, in 1955 he charted a #1 hit record -- "Ballad Of Davy Crockett" -- and for another, … Continue reading What, Another Singing Actor?
I don't think there's any doubt that "Purple People Eater" is a song that qualifies for our Saluting Silly Songs feature. In case you don't remember, it was a huge #1 record for singer/songwriter Sheb Wooley in 1958. But it's also been sort of misunderstood through the years, because the question arose: was the alien … Continue reading Saluting Silly Songs – A Puzzle In Purple
Geezer Music Club 