Tag: Groover’s Paradise

A groove you can drive a truck through
wider than a Texas mile

I’ve been waiting until I could start listening to the former lead singer of the Sir Douglas Quintet. The time has arrived, and I knew it would be some quality music, and I’ve enjoyed dipping my toe in the Doug Sahm waters. I’d heard his music from the ’60s and ’90s, but didn’t know much about the 1970s; it didn’t disappoint.

Texan Doug Sahm was an exceptional talent. By the time most kids were still figuring out how to play Little League, Sahm was already on stage. At age 11, he played steel guitar at the Skyline Club in Austin, sharing the bill with Hank Williams on what was one of Hank’s final performances on December 19, 1952.

Why choose one genre when you can play ‘em all? He could play country, blues, Tex-Mex, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, and anything else that came his way. He was one of those musicians who seemed to be a walking jukebox.

This song is very country-rock and has a San Francisco hippie feel to it. He was basically Americana before Americana was a popular word. He didn’t chase trends at all; he did what made him happy, and that is why his music sounds so genuine. He hung out in San Francisco for a while in the early seventies. Among his friends were Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, and the Grateful Dead. But he always went back to Texas.

This song is the title track from his 1974 album. It was produced by none other than Doug Clifford and Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival; the album has a loose, laid-back feel, and Clifford played drums. This song is a tribute to Austin, celebrating the unique blend of hippies, cowboys, and soul that defined the city in the mid-1970s.

For me, he was like a bridge between genres and generations. He could play an accordion song, a honky-tonk ballad, then rip into a garage rock, all in the same set.

Here is one of his sons, Shandon Sahm, playing this song.

An entire concert, but I have it starting on Groover’s Paradise.

Groover’s Paradise

Go out on the highway
I thumbed myself a ride
Too long in New York City
My mind is taking a ride

I want to go back to Texas
Cosmic cowgirls playin’
I want to have some fun
in a good ole Texas way
Down in Groover’s Paradise
Groover’s Paradise, Groover’s Paradise

Told you one or two times
Ain’t gonna tell you no more
Too long in Detroit city
I can’t hardly breathe no more

I need a whole lot of cold Pearl beer
and a little Texas smile
A groove you can drive a truck through
wider than a Texas mile
Down in Groover’s Paradise
Groover’s Paradise, Groover’s Paradise

Groover’s Paradise!

Well the guacamole queen is there
Man she’ll really curl your hair
Enchiladas and Bar B Que
Come on baby what you gonna do?

Come on over here beside me
Tell me how you’ve been
When I get done layin’ it on you
Then you’ll know I am back again
Back in Groover’s Paradise
Groover’s Paradise, Groover’s Paradise