Everyone knows I’m a huge Replacements fan. In the 1980s, I leaned more toward them than mainstream bands. They would produce music that I always hoped the mainstream would, but that didn’t happen. They broke up on July 4, 1991. Westerberg released his debut album, 14 Songs, two years later in 1993. I’ve never explored his solo albums a bunch, but now it’s time.
The album doesn’t sound like a Replacements record, and it doesn’t go after anything modern for the time. It sounds like Westerberg was finding his way without the baggage of the Replacements. With this album, he did find his way just fine.
The album moves between loose home recordings and more finished studio tracks, and that contrast works. Songs like Love You in the Fall and Runaway Wind sound close and personal, almost like letters instead of songs. Westerberg keeps the arrangements simple, letting the songs breathe and sometimes wobble. The roughness isn’t fixed because it doesn’t need to be. The opening song, Knockin’ On Mine (live version here), kicks the door in with a rough, cool, welcoming riff.
He tried some different styles with this album, like Black Eyed Susan and Even Here We Are, with a slight folk feel. The song that really won me over is A Few Minutes of Silence. It’s punchy and powerful, and Westerberg’s voice is on target. Dice Behind Your Shades and Mannequin Shop are two rocking songs that spoke to me right off the bat.
I also noticed on this album that his voice is slightly different. I always loved his voice for the human feel and the roughness. He doesn’t lose that with this album, but it’s more concise and not all over the place…it seems more focused.
What holds 14 Songs together is the writing. Westerberg writes in everyday language and trusts the melody to do the rest. There’s humor, regret, and acceptance, often in the same verse, which again shows his songwriting skills. I always thought that Westerberg was one of the best songwriters of the 1980s, and he didn’t disappoint on this one.
A few weeks ago, Lisa posted something on the Monterey Pop Festival with the Animals. After we got our power back on last week, I was browsing through Tubi, and there it was. It’s been so long since I saw the Monterey Pop Festival, I clicked play, and Canned Heat impressed the hell out of me with this song. Alan Wilson’s guitar and especially Bob Hite’s vocal.
This is their take on an old Delta blues standard that goes back to Hambone Willie Newbern, Robert Johnson, and later Muddy Waters. Canned Heat didn’t try to modernize it too much. They kept the pulse steady, the guitar lines loose, and the vocal right up front, like it was happening in the room.
Bob “The Bear” Hite sings it rough but clear, leaning into the rhythm instead of forcing it. His voice is outstanding, and I know many who would kill to have it. Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson’s slide guitar moves in short phrases, answering the vocal like a second voice. The band holds everything in place with everything going in forward motion.
Canned Heat understood the song didn’t need fixing. They honored the blues structure and let feel do the work. It’s not about showing off licks, just getting the essence of the song right. Simple, direct, and built to roll all the way through. They are one of those underrated bands of the sixties, known for their 3 hits Going Up the Country (1968), On the Road Again (1968), and Let’s Work Together (1970). They are far better than that. A live album by them and John Hooker I can’t recommend enough called Hooker ‘n Heat.
Rollin’ and Tumblin’
Well, I rolled ‘n’ tumbled I cried the whole night long Oh well, I rolled ‘n’ tumbled I cried the whole night long Oh well, I had the feelin’, baby Something’s goin’ on wrong
Oh well, I really love you, baby Come on and say you’ll be mine Oh well, I really love you, baby Come on and say you’ll be mine Well, if you don’t like my taters Don’t you dig up my vine
Oh well, I cried last night, mama I cried the night before Oh well, I cried last night, mama I cried the night before Oh well, I had the feelin’, baby You don’t love me no more
Well, if the river was whiskey I was a divin’ duck Well, if the river was whiskey I was a divin’ duck Well, I would swim to the bottom Baby, I wouldn’t come up
Oh well, I rolled ‘n’ tumbled I cried the whole night long Oh well, I rolled’ ‘n’ tumbled I cried the whole night long Oh well, I had the feelin’, baby Something’s goin’ on wrong
Robert Cray was a delight to hear in the 1980s. SRV, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, and a few others received significant radio play in that decade. It was great hearing the guitar-dominant songs.
The song was recorded for Strong Persuader, the album that changed Robert Cray’s career. The sessions focused on sound clarity and guitar, not excess. Producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker kept the arrangements tight, making sure the rhythm section stayed locked in.
The song’s success was helped by radio and MTV, which was unusual for a blues artist at the time. The video, simple and story-driven, fit the song’s mood and helped it cross formats. That exposure turned this song into a breakout hit and pushed Strong Persuader into success. This song helped him get to a wider audience, and he didn’t lose who he was.
His guitar tone is remarkably clean and controlled in this song. Sometimes, it’s not what you put into a song, but what you leave out. Silent spaces let songs breathe, and I think that is a big part of this. The song peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100 in 1986. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard Album Charts, #34 in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, and #34 in the UK.
Smoking Gun
I get a constant busy signal
When I call you on the phone
I get a strong, uneasy feeling
You’re not sitting there alone
I’m having nasty, nasty visions
And baby you’re in every one, yeah
And I’m so afraid I’m gonna find you with
A so-called smoking gun
Maybe you wanna end it
You’ve had your fill with my kind of fun
But you don’t know how to tell me
And you know that I’m not that dumb
I put two and one together
And you know that’s not an even sum
And I know just where to catch you with
That well-known smoking gun
I’m standing here, bewildered
I can’t remember just what I’ve done
I can hear the sirens whining
My eyes blinded by the sun
I know that I should be running
My heart’s beating just like a drum
Now they’ve knocked me down and taken it
That still-hot smoking gun
Yeah, yeah, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve taken it, the still-hot smoking gun
Oh, they’ve taken it, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve knocked me down
And taken it
Oh
Back a few years ago, I got into The Blasters. Since then, I’ve followed their guitar player, Dave Alvin, into different bands and soloed all over the map. I never say this phrase much, but Dave Alvin is a true American treasure. I’ve heard the man play roots rockabilly, old country, punk, rock and roll, hard rock, and psychedelic/jazz type of music as The Third Mind. It’s nothing that this man can’t do on guitar.
The Third Mind is a band co-founded by Dave Alvin and bassist Victor Krummenacher (of Camper Van Beethoven) with the idea of creating spontaneous, live-in-the-studio music without rehearsals. The concept is inspired by the free-form recording techniques of artists like Miles Davis, where musicians simply pick a key, start playing, and let the performance evolve organically.
They took this folk song by Richard Farina and gave it some bite with Alvin’s guitar. It’s a folk song stretched into something wider, keeping the original intact. I have also heard them cover Dark Star and Morning Dew (a song originally written and recorded by Canadian Folk singer Bonnie Dobson) by the Grateful Dead. Reno, Nevada, is on the 2025 album Right Now!. This song feels like a drive through the desert at night.
Dave Alvin: I had a crazy idea and was looking for musicians who perhaps didn’t think it was so insane. Many years ago I’d been reading John Szwed’s excellent biography of Miles Davis, “So What”, and was fascinated by his thorough descriptions of how Mr. Davis and his producer, Teo Macero, created some of his classic electric albums like Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson. Basically, Miles would gather great musicians in a studio, pick a key and a groove and then record everything live over several days. Then he and Mr. Macero would edit and shape these improvisations into compositions. Having never recorded like that, I had a fantasy to try it someday if the fates ever allowed.
One night after a gig in San Francisco, a decade or more later, I mentioned this fantasy to Victor Krummenacher. I’d known the always musically adventurous Mr. Krummenacher for a couple of decades (since he was a young buck bassist in Camper Van Beethoven) and hoped he would understand.
The Third Mind Dave Alvin: Guitar, Vocals David Immerglück: Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals Michael Jerome: Drums, Percussion Victor Krummenacher: Bass, Vocals Featuring: Jesse Sykes: Guitar, Vocals
Here is a full performance by The Third Mind
Reno, Nevada
It’s a long, long way down to Reno, Nevada And a long, long way to your home But the change in your pocket is beginning to grumble And you reap just about what you’ve sown You can walk down the street, pass your face in the window You can keep on fooling around You can work day and night, take a chance on promotion You can fall through a hole in the ground
Now there ain’t no game like the game you been playing When you got a little something to lose And there ain’t no time like the time you been wasting And you waste just about what you choose There’s a man at the table and you know he’s been able To return all the odds that you lay But you can’t feed your hunger and you ain’t getting younger And your tongue ain’t got nothing to say
It’s a long, long way down to Reno, Nevada And a long, long way to your home But the ground underneath you is beginning to tremble And the sky up above you has grown There’s a time to be moving and a time to be grooving And a time just for climbing the wall But the odds have been doubled, and it ain’t worth the trouble And you’re never going nowhere at all
I saw them on this tour (Into The Great Wide Open), and it would be the only time I got to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He came to Nashville on that last tour, and I stupidly didn’t go. I bought this album the day it was released. It will always be one of my favorite Petty albums.
Petty had released his solo album Full Moon Fever in 1989, and it was huge, with 5 singles pulled from it. This album was a reunion with the Heartbreakers, and 7 singles were pulled from this album, including this one. The making of Into the Great Wide Open emerged from a creative stretch where Tom Petty felt clear again after the fights with record labels that had plagued him earlier in his career. Coming off Full Moon Fever, he wasn’t trying to recreate that sound. He wanted to make a real band record, one that sounded lived-in, and he succeeded with this one.
A huge part of the album’s sound came from working again with Jeff Lynne, who helped keep everything tight without making it stiff. Lynne pushed for clean arrangements and strong melodies, but Petty made sure the songs still breathed and felt organic. Many tracks started as simple demos, acoustic guitar and voice, then slowly grew as the band locked into the groove. First takes often mattered more than perfection.
This song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts in 1991. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200, #4 in Canada, #12 in New Zealand, and # #3 in the UK. This song was written by Petty and Jeff Lynne.
Out in the Cold
The day fell down, the air got cold I walked out in the street Daydreamed for a mile or two Staring at my feet
Like a workin’ boy, out of luck Fallin’ through the cracks Night rolled in, I turned back home A hard wind at my back
I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold) Body and soul (Out in the cold) There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold) I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)
Well I woke up, my brain was stunned I could not come around I reached out to grab my keys Tumbled to the ground
I thought of you, starry eyed I wonder where we stand Did I just fall from your arms Down into your hands?
I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold) Body and soul (Out in the cold) There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold) I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)
I’m out Standin’ in a doorway
I’m out Walkin’ around Hands in my pockets I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold) Body and soul (Out in the cold) There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold) I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)
If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.
In this one, Carl Kolchak investigates the brutal, unsolved murders of healthy people whose hearts were removed. It seems that an Aztec cult is offering them as sacrifices for their mummified warrior chief. It’s needed every 52 years in a ten-cycle pattern; this being the ninth, and the fifth and final offering must be a willing one. Pepe Torres seems to be that man, though if Carl has any say in the matter, he may make him change his mind…
Though not tightly plotted, this is still an interesting episode that makes use of its millennium theme and 52-year cycles – we’ll have to watch out for the year 2027! This had some gruesome things in it, especially for network television at the time. If this were on today, it would be an HBO series, I’m sure.
In this episode, we have toothy Erik Estrada (playing Pepe Torres) before his fame in CHiPs. Three lovely ladies, Vicky (Sondra Currie), Nina (Merrie Lynn Ross), and Lona (Dorrie Thomson), who is at Pepe Torre’s beck and call, but the story drops the ball by mostly ignoring them, with only Currie getting much screen time. We also have Sorrell Booke, a wonderful character actor made famous by The Dukes of Hazzard and many other shows he was in.
I must say this. One thing I didn’t understand here. Tony Vincenzo is attending a journalist’s convention and has invited Carl Kolchak along. Kolchak hears of a homicide over his police radio and abruptly leaves. I can’t believe that any editor or company, for that matter, would try to prevent a reporter from going to the scene of a crime. But to give it some credit, it’s not a secret that Kolchak doesn’t exactly listen to Tony anyway, so there would be some frustration on Tony’s part.
You know, it would have been cool if Simon Oakland could have been written to help Kolchak a little more. In fact, Oakland said, “I wish he would, then I could get away from the office, but the scripts have been running this way. They want more of me in the office, but we’ve found we’re competing with the other networks for action, so it’s been all Darren’s (McGavin) show. I suppose I could help him, but…”
“Well, I’m supposed to keep the office scenes alive because they can go dead. I’ve got to bring some organic life into them, and I’m really trying to bring a feeling to it…I wish I had a little more to do in the show. I don’t like it, but I don’t mind.”
Fun Note…Simon Oakland and Darren McGavin got along well both on and off set. They were both featured in a Gunsmoke episode called “The Hostage” in 1965.
Dave’s theme for TurnTable Talk was “That’s New!” I hope you can dig back into your memories and recall one artist you heard that was unknown to you but made you instantly react with a “Wow! That’s good!” . It might be someone you discovered as a kid, could be someone you just found out about this month, could be a first release or could be some old, established artist you didn’t know about… just something that was new and exciting to you. You might also add if you continued to enjoy the artist in later years…
I knew nothing about Jake Bugg back in 2012. He popped up on YouTube as something I might like. Well, that did the trick. Jake Bugg caught my attention in 2012 when the song Two Fingers was released. It has an older feel to it. It did not chart in America, but it did peak at #28 on the UK charts. I like the echo in his voice, and the chorus will stick with you.
The next song I heard by him was Lighting Bolt. The song peaked at #26 in the US Adult Alternative Songs Billboard and #15 in the UK in 2013. The song was on his self-titled debut album. Jake is an artist who could have debuted in the 60s and ’70s and fit in perfectly.
Jake Bugg’s debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts. He was only 19 years old when he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position. The song was about his home life growing up. He said it wasn’t exactly like the video, but not far off.
I don’t attend many concerts anymore, but in December 2018, my son and I saw him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, with Kelsey Waters opening up. There was an even mixture of young and old to see the 23-year-old play. He has listed influences as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, and Nick Drake. He played with mostly just an acoustic and knocked the place out.
I have followed him ever since. He is always changing, but always brings up something good to the table. In the era of boy bands, this talented artist came up and made a noise. This wasn’t One Direction, who were popular at the time; this was rootsy music, not choreographed for a video. Bugg was his own man.
From the first time I heard Two Fingers…I knew I found a newer artist that I truly liked.
If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.
A stone tablet is found in the Middle East and is brought back to America for study. A deadly mystical force is unleashed. In that way, it reminds me of The Exorcist. Kolchak investigates the strange murders of healthy young men who died of apparent heart attacks, all accompanied by the deaths of young women under strange circumstances.
It opens with an Illinois state college athlete out for a spin one night who gives a lift to an attractive young woman. The young athlete is later found dead of a massive shock-induced heart attack, with the body of the girl he’d picked up lying next to him. The only problem is that the girl he picked up had died hours before of a drug overdose.
Another college student dies under the same circumstances. Kolchak starts to realize the killer isn’t just a person with a grudge. The episode plays with the idea of beauty as bait. As Kolchak digs deeper, the answers get stranger, and the people around him either don’t believe him or don’t want to.
Spoilers Next
It turns out to be the result of a succubus, a female demonic spirit, as mentioned in the ancient stone tablet from the Chicago college. He must persuade the disbelieving professor (played well by Andrew Prine) in charge to destroy the tablet to stop the demon. Keenan Wynn makes a return as police captain Joe “Mad Dog” Siska.
While not quite among the best monsters of the series, the Succubus’s method of luring her victims is certainly an interesting angle. By the end, you get the usual mix of danger and frustration; he finds the truth, survives it, and still has to fight to get anyone to listen. The makeup and special effects in this episode are really good.
During the 1980s, I was watching/listening to MTV, and INXS was one of the top bands they played. They always had an energy about them and some good, solid rock songs, which I appreciated at the time and still do!
They formed in 1977 in Australia and first called themselves The Farriss Brothers (because of the brothers in the band…Andrew and Jon Farriss). They picked the name INXS in 1979, a name that looked like a logo and sounded like a radio station. They were young and already aiming past the local scene. They went on until 1997 when lead singer Michael Hutchence passed away. After that, they had some guest singers, but it just didn’t work.
In 1985, this single was released from the album Listen Like Thieves.
By the time they recorded this album, Listen Like Thieves , they’d already proven they could write catchy singles. They were looking for the perfect balance between rock and dance-floor music. This song lands right in that lane. It’s built on a tight riff and a rhythm you can’t miss. They made it lean, and they made it hit.
A big part of the story is producer Chris Thomas, the guy who’d worked with everyone from the Sex Pistols to Roxy Music to Pretenders. Thomas helped INXS refine the sound, ensuring the songs had space and punch without sacrificing their edge. It’s not too glossy; you can still hear the band playing like a band. The mix keeps the groove upfront where it belongs.
The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #21 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #51 in the UK in 1985. Listen Like Thieves peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album Charts, #24 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #48 in the UK.
Altogether, they had 12 studio albums, 4 live, and 71 singles!
What You Need
Hey,
here is the story
Forget about the trouble in life
Don’t you know,
it’s not easy
When you gotta walk upon that line
That’s why –
You need
That’s why –
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need
Don’t you
get sad and lonely
You need a change from
What you do all day
Ain’t no sense in
all your crying
Just pick it up
and throw it into shape
Ugh Yeah.
That’s why – That’s why
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need
OH, oh,
YEAH, yeah
No, no, no
HEY
Hey you,
won’t you listen
This is not the end of it all
Don’t you see there
is a rhythm
I’ll take you where you
Really need to be
Ugh Yeah.
Cheap Trick…unlike some of their power-pop brethren had staying power. They toured like crazy and released some great music. They are still out there today playing. I became a fan of them when I heard Surrender. This song is a perfect example of them. Power chords, power pop, power vocals, with a fun subject.
Rick Nielsen has talked over the years about the “dream police” concept as that feeling of being watched or chased, even when you’re trying to shut your brain off. That’s why the song moves the way it does; it’s got a steady drive but it also feels a little tense. Robin Zander sells that perfectly; he keeps the vocal clean and direct, but there’s a nervous edge to it.
This song dates back to 1976. It was one of 22 songs the band had written for their first album, and it didn’t make the cut. The song evolved as they played it live and refined it in the studio, and it was released as the title track of their fourth studio album. By this time, their live album At Budokan had been released, making them big with the single “I Want You To Want Me.” They were wise to release it after they had hit with the live Budokan album.
They went into the studio with producer Tom Werman to make the Dream Police album, and the goal was pretty clear: keep the hooks, keep the punch, and prove they could deliver a big studio record, not just a great live one. The title track was built to be a centerpiece, something that sounded like a single but also carried the album’s theme of paranoia and late-night unease.
The next single was “Dream Police,” which became one of their most popular songs, peaking at #26 on the Billboard 100, #9 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand in 1979. If you want one track that shows how this band could balance power-pop hooks with a harder bite, Dream Police is the one to listen to.
Dream Police
The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police
They come to me in my bed
The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me
Oh no
You know that talk is cheap
And rumors ain’t nice
And when I fall asleep
I don’t think I’ll survive
The night the night
‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain
The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police
They come to me in my bed
The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me
Oh no
Well I can’t tell lies
‘Cause they’re listening to me
And when I fall asleep
Bet they’re spying on me tonight,
Tonight
‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain
I try to sleep
They’re wide awake
They won’t let me alone
They don’t get paid to take vacations
Or let me alone
They spy on me
I try to hide
They won’t let me alone
They persecute me
They’re the judge and jury all in one
‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain
The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police they come
To me in my bed
The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me
The dream police (police, police)
The dream police (police, police)
She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine Make me feel warm in the wintertime
This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week, the theme is to find a song that mentions Cold.
I could listen to that 50s reverb all day long. Vincent gets overlooked by many who only know Be Bob A-Lula. His voice goes with that slapback echo better than any other singer. The more I listen to him, the bigger a fan I become. He could go from ballad to rocker in a split second.
This is one of those cuts that lives in that sweet spot between early rockabilly and straight-up teen rock ’n’ roll. After Be-Bop-A-Lula hit big in 1956, Gene’s life sped up fast, touring, TV spots, label pressure, and the constant push to follow up on that song. By the time he was recording this, he wasn’t just an up-and-coming artist anymore; he was a well-known performer.
In the bigger picture, this song shows Gene doing what he did best in the studio, grabbing a basic idea and turning it into something that feels alive for two minutes. The song was on the album Gene Vincent and the Blue Capsreleased in 1957. The song was written by Jack Rhodes and Bill “Tex” Davis.
If you’re building a Gene Vincent playlist beyond the big hits, this one earns its spot. It’s not a history-changing single; it’s a solid piece of teenage rock ’n’ roll that shows how good Gene could be
Red Blue Jeans and a Pony Tail
Got a crazy little cat that works down town
Cuts an awful lot of capers when I come around
She’s got the westbound Diesel with the evening mail
And a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
She can do more tricks to this heart of mine
Than ten little monkeys on a long grapevine
I know when she holds me, why I get so weak and pale
Ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock!)
Yeah, she’s got more rhythm than a ten piece band
She can rock ‘n’ roll to the clapping of your hand
I know why they watch her like a train does a rail
It’s a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine
Make me feel warm in the wintertime
She packs a lot of wallop, can be so small and frail
It’s ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock again now!)
It was around 1989 when I first heard these guys. It was around the time that She Drives Me Crazy was released. I had just broken up with my first proper girlfriend, so after wallowing in self-pity with Temptation tapes in my car…I listened to this band as well. They had been around since 1985, but I really noticed them 4 years later. Better late than never.
Fine Young Cannibals formed after The Beat split, with bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox teaming up with singer Roland Gift, who had been acting and singing. This song was one of the key early songs of what the new band was, less ska bounce, more tension, and sharper. The production has that clean guitar and a vocal that sits right on top. Gift’s voice is the signature, and the track is built to frame it.
The song, like most of their songs, has a great dynamic to it. You can feel it build and fall and rinse and repeat. In the mid-80s, when a lot of pop was glossy and loud, Fine Young Cannibals made something that was clean and sharp.
After their second and last album The Raw & the Cooked blew up, they were suddenly one of the biggest bands in the world, and that kind of pressure can crush a band. They were also a band that worked slowly and carefully; they weren’t the type to crank out an album every year. So basically, they split up at the height of their fame. You know what? I totally respect that, and they left on top.
They did release a few songs for benefit albums and released a song called Flame in 1992 for their greatest hits package. Roland Gift does do an occasional tour now under the name Roland Gift presents Fine Young Cannibals, but not the original band.
This song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand, and #8 in the UK in 1985.
Johnny Come Home
Nobody knows the trouble you feel
Nobody cares, the feeling is real
Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry
Use the phone, call your mom
She’s missing you badly, missing her son
Who do you know, where will you stay
Big city life is not what they say
Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry
You’d better go, everything’s closed
Can’t find a room, money’s all blown
Nowhere to sleep, out in the cold
Nothing to eat, nowhere to go
Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny (Johnny), we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on home
Johnny, won’t you come on home
Captain Beefheart, like Zappa, has always been known as odd. I love odd so that music fits me in a lot of ways. I’ve always liked the quirky artists who try something out of the ordinary and believe me…Captain Beefheart is that. This song has a hell of an intro groove to it. I also liked Happy Love Song.
Captain Beefheart was born Don Van Vliet and was a prodigious sculptor in his childhood. I first heard about him from a Beatles book…as I did with a lot of the artists I know. John and Paul were fans of his albums Trout Mask Replica and Safe As Milk. There are two stories about how he got his name – the one he gave to David Letterman was that he chose it because he had a “beef in his heart” about how humanity was ruining the environment.
This song and album are very accessible to a lot of people. It’s almost like he’s daring you to admit he can write “normal” without losing the weirdness. The song comes from the album Unconditionally Guaranteed in 1974, the Captain Beefheart album, where the edges got filed down. The band and some fans didn’t like the album because it was more conventional than some of his other albums. The man couldn’t win either way he went.
He is taking blues and R&B shapes and bending them until they look unfamiliar, but still feel like music you’ve heard and loved. He did bring in some other musicians on this album, like Mark Marcellino on keyboards, Andy DiMartino on guitar, and Del Simmons with the sax and flute. His Magic band played as well.
After this album, the Magic Band quit because of financial reasons and also because Beefheart ran a tight ship. Here is the full albumUnconditionally Guaranteed on YouTube.
Upon the My-O-My
The decks were stacked
The wind blew low, the wind blew high
The stakes were low, the stakes were high
Upon the My-O-My
Hands low, hands high,
Ho-ho-ho, hi-hi-hi
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
How was I to know she was so shy?
Upon the My-O-My
Across the light, across the night
You can hear the Captain’s cry
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
Got to make her roll, got to make her fly
Upon the My-O-My
Now tell me, good Captain,
How does it feel
To be driven away from your own steering wheel
Upon the My-O-My . . .
Dave posted this on TurnTable Talk on November 1, 2025. The subject was: to either pick a song about a spooky or scary person or event, or else just highlight a song that sounds that way to them..
I never thought I would ever post a trucker song, but here I am, posting a trucker song! It was one of the first singles I remember playing as a child. When I was a kid, this story scared me to death. There’s something about a good ghost story that never leaves you, especially when it’s told in a Southern drawl through the crackle of a CB radio. This Red Sovine song is one of those perfect country songs that is Americana, part Twilight Zone, and part 1960s country storytelling at its finest.
An eerie monologue about a hitchhiker picked up by a kind-hearted trucker named Big Joe. The kid hops out at a truck stop, orders a cup of coffee, and the waitress gives him the shocker: Big Joe died ten years ago, crashing his rig to save a school bus full of children. The twist lands like a punchline from beyond the grave. “Son, you just met Big Joe and the Phantom 309.” 4-year-old Max got goosebumps every time.
How this record was in my house when I was 4 is a mystery to me. My dad had Merle Haggard music, and my mom had Elvis albums, and my sister would never have this. Not one of them was into trucking songs…but there it was all the same. It was released in 1967… The song peaked at #9 on the Country Charts.
It inspired covers by artists from Tom Waits to the punkabilly of Mojo Nixon. Even Pee-wee’s Big Adventure tipped a hat to it when Pee-wee hitched a ride with “Large Marge.” That alone belongs in the Twilight Zone.
Phantom 309
I was out on the West Coast, tryin’ to make a buck And things didn’t work out, I was down on my luck Got tired a-roamin’ and bummin’ around So I started thumbin’ back East, toward my home town.
Made a lot of miles, the first two days And I figured I’d be home in week, if my luck held out this way But, the third night I got stranded, way out of town At a cold, lonely crossroads, rain was pourin’ down.
I was hungry and freezin’, done caught a chill When the lights of a big semi topped the hill Lord, I sure was glad to hear them air brakes come on And I climbed in that cab, where I knew it’d be warm.
At the wheel sit a big man, he weighed about two-ten He stuck out his hand and said with a grin “Big Joe’s the name”, I told him mine And he said: “The name of my rig is Phantom 309.”
I asked him why he called his rig such a name He said: “Son, this old Mack can put ’em all to shame There ain’t a driver, or a rig, a-runnin’ any line Ain’t seen nothin’ but taillights from Phantom 309.”
Well, we rode and talked the better part of the night When the lights of a truck stop came in sight He said: “I’m sorry son, this is as far as you go ‘Cause, I gotta make a turn, just on up the road.”
Well, he tossed me a dime as he pulled her in low And said: “Have yourself a cup on old Big Joe.” When Joe and his rig roared out in the night In nothin’ flat, he was clean out of sight.
Well, I went inside and ordered me a cup Told the waiter Big Joe was settin’ me up Aw!, you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quiet And the waiter’s face turned kinda white.
Well, did I say something wrong? I said with a halfway grin He said: “Naw, this happens every now and then Ever’ driver in here knows Big Joe But son, let me tell you what happened about ten years ago.
At the crossroads tonight, where you flagged him down There was a bus load of kids, comin’ from town And they were right in the middle, when Big Joe topped the hill It could have been slaughter, but he turned his wheel.
Well, Joe lost control, went into a skid A nd gave his life to save that bunch-a kids And there at that crossroads, was the end of the line For Big Joe and Phantom 309
But, every now and then, some hiker’ll come by And like you, Big Joe’ll give ’em a ride Here, have another cup and forget about the dime Keep it as a souvenir, from Big Joe and Phantom 309!”
If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.
The writing in this one is a little weaker than the others to me. It has some gaps and some padding. It’s still entertaining, though, like the rest.
A bad summer in Chicago centers on a string of deaths involving decapitated victims. The murders seem random at first, but Kolchak notices that each killing follows a clear pattern. Witnesses report a motorcycle rider who appears suddenly, strikes, and vanishes. The police treat it as a gang or copycat case, but Kolchak suspects something older at work. We have some stars in this episode. Larry Linville (the notorious Frank Burns on Mash…and some Frank is in him in this episode), Jim Backus (Mr. Howell on Gilligan’s Island), and Jesse White (a great character actor).
Digging into city records and the morgue, Kolchak links the killings to the legend of the Headless Horseman. The motorcycle becomes a modern stand-in for the horse. Kolchak uncovers past incidents that were quietly buried, all involving the same method and the same result. The pattern has resurfaced, and the cycle (no pun intended) has begun again.
Kolchak clashes with the police as he pushes the supernatural theory. The evidence he gathers and witness statements support his theory, but no one wants to accept it. Tony remains cautious, knowing the story will be dismissed if it goes too far. Kolchak has also helped drive Tony to an ulcer, and there is a good scene with them talking about it. Carl really pours it on in this episode. Telling tall tales to get what he wants.
The episode works by placing folklore into a modern setting. The Headless Horseman is not treated as fantasy but as a recurring force that adapts to its surroundings. Kolchak does what he always does: identifies the truth and watches the official story erase it. By the end, the threat is stopped for now, and Chicago returns to normal, unaware of how close it came to something it doesn’t believe exists.
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 