Somewhere in the 80’s out of all the synthesizers, electronic drums, quadraverbs, and that big sheen production…there was a rock roots movement playing out on college radio. Some was a mixture of punk rock, country, British Invasion, and power pop.
Scruffy the Cat was a cowpunk band that was popular on the Boston area, but never sniffed the charts. My Baby, She’s All Right is from 1987 that got some MTV airplay. I do barely remember the song after seeing the video. I want to thank Paul for bringing this one up.
The song was off the album Tiny Days released in 1987 and the album was in the top 5 of college national radio charts.
Charlie Chesterman was in a band in Iowa and they all moved to Boston in 1981. The band he was in then broke up and some moved back to Iowa. Chesterman stayed on in Boston and eventually helped put together another band called Scruffy the Cat (named for a cat owned by the father of one of the band members). Scruffy the Cat began playing around Boston in 1983 and released its first EP-”High Octane Revival”-on the Relativity label in 1986. They released the LP Tiny Days in 1987, Boom Boom Bingo EP in 1987, and their final album Moons of Jupiter in 1988.
They had several national tours and shared the bill with such acts as The Replacements, Yo La Tengo, and Los Lobos. The band played its final shows in 1990 before disbanding. In 2011, Scruffy The Cat played three reunion shows in the Boston area, with the initial show being arranged as a benefit concert for the cancer-stricken Chesterman. Chesterman died in November 2013.
Their music as been described as “a combination of early Elvis Costello and the Attractions with a touch of Jason & the Scorchers’ tough country punk and the American jangle of the Byrds.” They were together between 1984 through 1990.
My Baby, She’s All Right
She’s a long, tall drink of water
Badder than Bo Diddley’s electric guitar
Badder than anything this whole year
I don’t like bragging but I can’t help myself, well…
Long and lean like a Cadillac
Supercharged like the Batmobile
She drives me into the woods
When she gets behind the wheel
In the desert, in the hottest fire, in the houses and over the seas
In the cities, in the telephone wires
They all talk about what she means to me, ’cause…
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby…
She’s got that certain something
Man, I hope you know what I’m talking about
If you’ve ever had a lover who was really true
Just walking down the street or when you turn out the lights, ’cause…
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby…
And when she kisses me, I hear the Drells or is it T. Rex?
I could hang my arm out the window, but around my baby is where I’ll be…
I know you must have heard about her
You know everything they say is true
I suppose you know what she means to me
And if you don’t then what’s the matter with you? well…
Haven’t you been listening
Or did you hear what I just said?
If someone tried to show me something better
I’d have to say I’m not interested, because…
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby…Yeah, yeah, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby, she’s allright
My baby…Yeah
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Thanks for posting Max! This was one of the first bands I heard on college radio when I moved to NC in the mid 80s. Saw them at a small bar in Chapel Hill. What struck me was how much tighter they sounded compared to the opener which I guess makes sense since they were touring at the time. Didn’t know about the history – thanks for digging it up. Shame about Chesterman
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Thanks for mentioning it! I didn’t recognize the Bands name at all but I do remember this song barely. I must have heard it on an alt channel or saw it on MTV back then.
That was so sad when I read that…same thing with tomorrow’s band…it sucks getting older.
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If you’re looking for another roots rock type band from the late 80s check out the Del Lords. I’m most familiar with their album Based on a True Story
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Very nice sound Max, I like it.
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Never even heard of them, not a bad song, sounds like a band that had potential and also might’ve been a good live show. Decent video for an underground act…that is one scruffy cat in the cartoon!
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LOL…yea they were played on MTV…that may be where I saw it. I don’t remember the band’s name (Hard to believe that!) but I do the song.
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Sounds mighty good to me, Max. Never heard of them. I think I’d remember their great name! I imagine it was fun to see them live!
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Yes it look like it. I remember the song but not that name! That is hard to believe lol.
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Wow never heard of these cats lol… Great read dude..will check em out
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Thanks Deke…I’m digging in the 80s…deep lol.
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I’ve never heard of this band. That reverb on the drums is very 1980s, but it’s still nice.
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That video looks familiar, especially the psychedelic cat. I was just reading about Stona Fitch.
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I saw it in the 80s at one point.
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This was a fun listen. Never heard of them. I would have liked hearing this on the radio in the late ’80s.
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I vaguely remember the video in the 80s but not the name of the band…which strikes me as odd.
Your comments make me happy about liking them in the 80s if you would have heard it because those are the songs I’m looking for.
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I’ll probably sound like a broken record, as you post more of them. 🙂 This music is so much better than what was pushed on us in those years.
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I love repeats! That is fine…I know I’m on the right path…or least the path I want to take…I really appreciate it…you can copy and paste that and I’ll be happy.
The interesting thing is a lot of these bands intertwined with each other…Friday I have one that the lead singer is one of the guys that joined the dB’s on their trip to Memphis to see Big Star…and he produced REM.
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Well, you are going to get almost cut and paste comments, if they keep being things I would have liked to hear back then. 🙂 I’m not surprised that there was a sort of network among some of them. Looking forward to more.
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Heard the name not the music. Fits with a lot that was going on at the time. “Scruffles” one of CB’s many nicknames.
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lol…you probably had many CB. I remember the song but not the bands name…how the hell did I manage that?
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Easy. I seen a band on Letterman years ago, loved everything about them and cant remember the song or the bands name.
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This is new to me, man – really like it too.
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