I’ve posted a few of Sahm’s tracks in the past 4-5 months. I was inspired this time to post again. I have been reading 11.22.63 by Stephen King, and it’s about a man who was told about a time portal that takes you to September 9, 1958. He walked through and was going back to stop Oswald from killing JFK if Oswald was the one. The book is interesting because of the time he has to kill between 1958 and 1963, and the side trips he takes.
One of them is in Texas in a fictional town called Jodie. He is at a picnic, and this is the paragraph that caught my attention: I got my beer in a paper cup and walked closer to the bandstand. The kid’s voice was familiar. So was the keyboard, which sounded like it desperately wanted to be an accordion. And suddenly it clicked. The kid was Doug Sahm, and not so many years from now he would have hits of his own: “She’s About a Mover” for one, “Mendocino” for another. That would be during the British Invasion, so the band, which basically played Tejano rock, would take a pseudo-British name: The Sir Douglas Quintet.
Hey, inspiration may come from anywhere for a post. After reading that…I’ve been in a Doug Sahm mood. The recording blends country, soul, and Texas rhythm in a way that was natural for Sahm. The groove leans on a steady beat, light horns, and a melody that sticks without trying too hard. It came out during a period when he was working under his own name after years with Sir Douglas Quintet, and it showed how easily he could move between styles. The song had crossed over to country charts and pop audiences, which wasn’t common at the time.
You may remember the version by Charley Pride that peaked at #1 on the Country Charts in 1970. Sahm recorded this for his 1973 album Doug Sahm and Band. Something about Sahm’s version just sounds so authentic that I had to post his version. That is something about Sahm I’ve realized, everything he does sounds authentic. It was written by Glenn Martin and Dave Kirby. The first version was by Bake Turner in 1970.
Doug Sahm and Band peaked at #125 on the Billboard Album Charts and #54 in Canada in 1973. This is another artist where the charts don’t tell the story. His albums are accessible and are full of good songs.
Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone
Rain drippin’ off the brim of my hatIt sure is cold todayHere I am walkin’ down 66Wish she hadn’t done me that way
Sleepin’ under a table in a roadside parkA man could wake up deadBut it sure seems warmer than it didSleepin’ in our king-sized bed
Is anybody goin’ to San AntoneOr Phoenix, Arizona?Any place is alright as long as ICan forget I’ve ever known her
Wind whippin’ down the neck of my shirtLike I ain’t got nothin’ onBut I’d rather fight the wind and rainThan what I’ve been fightin’ at home
Yonder comes a truck with the U.S. MailPeople writin’ letters back homeTomorrow, she’ll probably want me backBut I’ll still be just as gone
Is anybody goin’ to San AntoneOr Phoenix, Arizona?Any place is alright as long as ICan forget I’ve ever known her
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Great story about how you arrived at this song Max. I have always loved the version by Charlie Pride and honestly never heard of Bake Turner but he did a great job on it. First time hearing it from Doug Sahm and I particularly enjoyed that live version. He really puts it out.
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Thanks Randy…it shows that inspiration comes from everywhere. I really like watching him live more than anything…something about him…I call it authentic but it just grabs my attention.
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Classic! ✨
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Since he’s from San Antonio, that’s about as authentic as you can get. I like the live version with them switching up on instruments. Instead of Vox Continental, Augie Meyers is on guitar, and Sahm is on fiddle instead of guitar.
I’m trying to remember if we were fooled when The Sir Douglas Quintet came out with “She’s About a Mover” and if we actually thought they were British.
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Yes…I like seeing him live the most. Something about him draws me in live. Of course I also like his studio records but there is a spark live that he had.
That is a good question on if people were fooled.
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Great song. I knew of Doug Sahm’s “Mendocino” decades before I had ever heard his name, which was likely on your blog.
German crooner Michael Holm recorded a German version of that song in 1969 and scored a major hit with it there. Since I was only 3 years then, I doubt that’s when I heard it for the first time, but I definitely recall hearing it later on the radio and watching Holm perform it on TV.
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That is so cool that a German version hit there like that singing about San Antone! I would have never guessed that.
I think I just posted Mendocino a few months ago…I don’t like posting artists this close together but since I came across his name in that book…thats the only excuse I needed!
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Quite listenable and very country! I like the mix of bluegrass instruments going on there.
Cool that you found him referenced in the Stephen King novel. That’s one I’ve not read but always thought looked intriguing. King rarely lets a book go by without getting in a reference to the Ramones, I seem to remember.
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I thought maybe you had heard of Pride’s version. Something I’ve noticed Dave…Country Music was HUGE in Canada in the 70s…more than I ever thought when I look at the Canadian Country Charts…not this song in particular but in general. Well Doug’s album did much better there!
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