Billy Riley and The Little Green Men – Red Hot

When I wrote up Robert Gordon last week, he covered a song by this artist. Love his voice and the intensity of Sun Records. His voice is what made me listen right off the bat.

Riley grew up in rural Arkansas in the 30s and 40s. He soaked up hillbilly music, blues, and raw Southern grit. By the time he drifted into Memphis in the mid-1950s, he already sounded like someone who’d lived hard and fast. Sam Phillips loved his edge and his delivery that felt like it could veer off the rails at any moment. He cut a string of in-your-face singles, Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll, Trouble Bound, and of course, this 1957 song, Red Hot. Records that were made with urgency and no restraint.

It has been said that Riley was every bit as talented as his Sun peers, but timing and luck never quite lined up, leaving him almost-famous. This song should have been his ticket, but instead it became a cult classic, passed down among rockabilly obsessives. He was on the same label as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison. Riley was competing in a house full of once-in-a-generation talent, and someone had to draw the short straw.

I love the sound of him swinging hard at the big time with his records. To hear his recordings, he gave everything he had. Decades later, this song it still jumps out of the speakers like it wants another chance, and it deserves one. History isn’t just about the winners; it’s also written by the ones who swung just as hard and never got the crown. I tend to lean toward that crowd.

The song was written by his labelmate Billy “The Kid” Emerson in 1955.

Red Hot

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot

Well, I got a gal, six feet four
Sleeps in the kitchen with her feets out the door, but

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, yeah, alright

Well, she walks all night, talks all day
She’s the kind of woman who’d have her way, but
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, woah, alright

Well, she’s the kind of woman who lounges around
Spreads my business all over town, but

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, woah, alright

Well, she’s a one-man’s woman, that’s what I like
Not a wishy-washy woman, change her mind every night, but
[Chorus]
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

33 thoughts on “Billy Riley and The Little Green Men – Red Hot”

  1. Pingback: Billy Riley and The Little Green Men – Red Hot – MobsterTiger

  4. Doodly-squat (or its common variant, diddly-squat) is a colloquial slang term meaning absolutely nothing, a tiny amount, or something that is worthless, often used for emphasis in negative contexts. His girl being 6 foot four inches, “sleeps in the kitchen with her feets out the door” is a very funny line.

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    2. You ain’t saying nuttin’

      And saying it with style and grace, I might add. Although I think Grace wants to go back to her friends.

      🙂

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    2. Randy, the reason why this song was never a hit is preposterous and obvious. Can you imagine how many drunken swings would have been made at how many cover bands had the lyric “Your gal ain’t doodly squat” was performed every night?

      (I warned you the reason was preposterous.)

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  8. Allow me to be serious for a moment and say the reference to Billy The Kid Emerson is a link to a song in Ry Cooder’s repertoire and that ain’t doodly nothing.

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