Tag: Willy DeVille

Mink DeVille – Spanish Stroll

While talking to my friends CB and Paul…they bring up Mink Deville a lot so I decided to go check them out. I’ve heard of some of their music but I wanted more so I spent a few hours listening…I see why they bring them up…they are different and bring a lot to the table.

Mink DeVille was formed in 1974 in San Francisco but they are known for their association with punk bands at the New York club CBGB. They would go on to record six albums and Willy DeVille made 10 albums solo. The band lasted until 1986.

When I post a song of a more unknown artist to most of my readers…I try to find a song that is more commercial…maybe not their best song but a “radio-friendly” song to get people digging more. This one is radio-friendly and has a Lou Reed feel. I really like this band’s music…love the lyrics to this.

The song “Spanish Stroll” by Mink DeVille is an iconic track from their debut album, released in 1977. It’s very New York and it describes navigating around in urban life to escape the mundane and ordinary. They blend genres, I can hear Latin and punk elements, which helped propel this track into the mainstream. I can also hear some Springsteen and even Mellencamp on some of their songs.

This was on their debut album Cabretta. It peaked at #186 on the Billboard Album charts. The song Spanish Stroll peaked at #20 in the UK in 1977. The song was written by the lead singer Willy DeVille.

I learned a lot by reading Paul’s reviews of their albums on his site. He has a wide variety of album reviews to look at…and that is an understatement.

Bob Dylan on how Willy DeVille should be in the Hall of Fame: “(DeVille) stood out, his voice and presentation ought to have gotten him in there by now.”

Peter Wolf:  “He had all the roots of music that I love and had this whole street thing of R&B – just the whole gestalt … He was just a tremendous talent; a true artist in the sense that he never compromised. He had a special vision and remained true to it.”

Willy DeVille: “We were sitting around talking of names, and some of them were really rude, and I was saying, guys we can’t do that. Then one of the guys said how about Mink DeVille? There can’t be anything cooler than a fur lined Cadillac can there? “What could be more pimp than a mink Cadillac? In an impressionistic sort of way.” 

Piano player Kenny Margolis:  “I don’t think the American public had a chance to experience him because in America at that time you had MTV telling you what to like. Europe had not had MTV at that point and they were very open to different music.”

Spanish Stroll

Hey Mr. Jim I can see the shape you’re in
Finger on your eyebrow
And left hand on your hip
Thinking that you’re such a lady killer
Think you’re so slick!
Alright

Brother Johnny, he caught a plane and he got on it
Now he’s a razor in the wind
And he got a pistol in his pocket
They say the man is crazy on the West Coast
Lord there ain’t no doubt about it!
Well allright

Sister Sue tell me baby what are we gonna do
She said take two candles,
And then you burn them out
Make a paper boat,light it and…. send it out
send it out now..

Spanish Stroll
Spanish Stroll
Spanish Stroll

Hey Rosita! Donde vas con mi carro Rosita?
tu sabes que te quiero
pero ti me quitas todo
ya te robasta mi television y mi radio
y ahora quiere llevarse mi carro
no me haga asi, rosita
ven aqui
ehi, estese aqui al lado rosita
Spanish Stroll

Mira aqui!

Hey Johny! Yeah, tenth street Johny
We’ve been looking for you man
Everybody told me you had moved uptown
Hey! you wanna go for a ride
I’m going uptown myself
For what?

Yeah, ain’t it right?
Yeah, one time for Tito Puente, one time
Are you ready?
Yeah, of course we cannot leave out, Mr Ray Baretto
Are you ready?Are you ready?Are you ready?

Jim Dickinson – Dixie Fried

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

He was born James Luther Dickinson but most people knew him as Jim Dickinson. It doesn’t get much more southern than this album and the title track.

He worked at Memphis Sun Records and Ardent Studios in the 1960s on, to sessions with the Rolling Stones (piano on Wild Horses at Muscle Shoals), Ry Cooder and Bob Dylan. He also played with his roots band Mud Boy & The Neutrons and the Dixie Flyers.

Dickinson produced recordings for performers as diverse as Willy DeVille, Green on Red, Mojo Nixon, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, Toots and the Maytals and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

In the 70s he produced Big Star’s 3rd Sisters/Lovers album and in the 80s The Replacements Please To Meet Me album in Memphis.

In 1971 he started to focus on production work, producing and appearing on Ry Cooder’s acclaimed Into The Purple Valley and Boomer’s Story albums. Atlantic offered him a chance to record a solo album, and his debut Dixie Fried came out in 1972. It gave him the chance to present his own off-beat take on southern roots music, resulting in an album full of R&B and country.

The song was written by Carl Perkins and Howard “Curley” Griffin.

So if you want… sit back and sip some Tennessee Straight Sour Mash Whiskey and get Dixie Fried.

Dixie Fried

On the outskirts of town, there’s a little night spot
Dan dropped in about five o’clock
Took off his jacket, said, the night is short
He reached in his pocket and he flashed a quart

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

Well, Dan got happy and he started raving
He pulled out a razor, but he wasn’t shaving
And all the cats knew to jump and hop
‘Cause Dan was raised in a butcher shop

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

Well, the cops heard Dan when he started to shout
They all ran in to see what it was about
And I heard him holler as they led him away
He turned his head and this is what he had to say

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you

Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

Now, Dan was the bravest man that we ever saw
He let us all know, he wasn’t scared of the law
The black dog barked, but the boy didn’t flinch
He said, it ain’t my fault, hon, that I been pinched

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

Now, Dan was the bravest man we ever saw
He let us all know he wasn’t scared of the law
And I heard him holler as they led him away
He turned his head and this was what he had to say

He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried

Yeah, it’s almost dawn, the cops ain’t gone
And I’ve been Dixie fried