Magic Moments in Recorded Sound, Part One
“Hi, I’m Chuck and this is my Substack story!” How I lost 30 pounds eating lunch with tech bros.
A baker’s dozen of Magic Moments in recorded sound. In no particular order. Let’s go ahead and call this PART ONE.
“Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”
The Bob Seger System
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (1969)
Robert Clark Seger. That’s Bob Seger to you. Or just “The Seeg.” Where was I? Oh yes, that drum intro! I wish it could go on forever. “Ain’t good looking, but you know I ain’t shy.”
“Cindy’s Birthday”
Johnny Crawford
A Young Man’s Fancy (1962)
John Ernest Crawford (March 26, 1946–April 29, 2021) of “The Rifleman” fame. “Cindy’s Birthday” is one of those songs like The Rubinoos’ Tommy James-penned “I Think We’re Alone Now” where the chorus actually gets quieter. Johnny brings it down, working the mic here like Vic Damone and sounding wise beyond his years for a 15-year-old Hollywood kid. Stoltz swears he attended a wedding in L.A. where Johnny Crawford was fronting the wedding band. Nuts! Those hyperactive little handfuls, child actors got it bad. But Johnny comes off pretty cool here. Kind of kid you’d like to take out into the backyard and hit some grounders to.
“One Man Guy”
Loudon Wainwright III
I’m Alright (1985)
A song about enjoying your own company. “Sure it’s kinda lonely but it’s what I love and know.” It took me ages to get comfortable playing solo. But I got there . . . eventually. Ever see Loudon perform live? There’s a masterclass in solo for you.
Oh, and, in a very hip move, his son Rufus cut “One Man Guy” and made it a song about monogamy.
“Forgive the Cunts”
Jinx Lennon
Know Your Station Gouger Nation (2006)
I’m starting a rumor this song is on the pope’s iPod.
Back in the “Trip in the Country” days one astute listener crowned Jinx Lennon the “poet laureate of TITC.” We could do a lot worse. Thanks to Jinx and Billy Nomates and Ry too, (we’ll circle back to that dude later), and a precious few others, there’s more to singer-songwriters tradesman tools than Taylor guitars and capos. Jinx can rock a Casiotone. He’s also pretty dangerous on a megaphone.
My mother’s refrigerator has a magnet that says FORGIVE. I asked her about it. She said it never hurts to give out a little forgiveness, “You might want some yourself someday.” I thought, I know that, Mom. I just wanted to hear you say it. I love my mom. And seriousness aside, forgiveness is like what that character said in Repo Man about a book called Diuretics he found in the back of a Maserati in Beverly Hills: “That shit’ll change your life.”
“Brimful of Asha”
Cornershop
When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997)
“Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow.” Amen.
“Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold”
Calvin Russell
Calvin Russell (1997)
I played on this Calvin Russell (born Calvert Russell Kosler; November 1, 1948–April 3, 2011) track and later did some tour dates with him overseas. French TV and more. Great guy. Jim Dickinson used to refer to Calvin’s music as “jailhouse rock.” Which kind of makes sense since when I did those dates and got to know him and his band, it seemed like most of the guys in his band had served time. Calvin was a Townes Van Zandt protégé. An Austinite. And an eighth-grade dropout.
He ran drugs across the border, got busted, and did time in a Mexican prison. They say the first day he was incarcerated his cellmate said in so many words, “Nice boots, I’ll take them.” From that day on, he was always cold. We cut this record in a Memphis studio. And Calvin said more than once, “Can we turn the air conditioning down, maybe save a few pennies?” He didn’t like being cold.
With Jim Dickinson producing, we cut this Townes Van Zandt song. David Hood on bass, Roger Hawkins on drums. Yes, the Swampers. THAT rhythm section. (See, “Mustang Sally,” “I’ll Take You There,” and more.) David Hood worked up Nashville number charts for all the songs. But Calvin couldn’t really read a chart and would wander this way and that getting through the song. Never played it the same way twice. David was a real gentleman and would simply amend the chart accordingly and have the revised chart copied on the Xerox machine. For this song the charts eventually went completely out the window. Drummer Roger Hawkins was so cool that instead of following the chart, after a while he just asked for the lyrics, and put them in front of him on a music stand. He later told me his strategy was that whenever there was a line break he would play some fills. Then go back to grooving until another line break came up. And that worked just fine.
I’m playing Max Butler’s Gibson SG into a RAT here. Kind of out of character for me.
And what about this Townes song?
“Rockin’ Daddy from Ding Dong, Tennessee”
The Country Rockers
Free Range Chicken (1988)
Gaius “Ringo” Farnham is a one-armed drummer. The call and response is a hoot. Who is it, I wonder? Memphis. Am I right? Yeah, I know Twitter is a turd pool. But how else can I keep up with @JerryLawler?
“Gone Country”
Alan Jackson
Who I Am (1994)
What klip calls a “spokes on a wheel” song. Each verse a different sitch ramping up to a payoff. Bob McDill wrote this song. He wrote an astounding 31(!) number one songs before he retired. With nothing more than an acoustic guitar, a pencil, and a legal pad. He was a buttoned-up dude all the way. Clocking in 9-to-5 to the office on Music Row. In Nashville, if anyone expects to get their songs cut, their demos have to leave nothing to the imagination. They need to be decked out in the hooks of the moment. Whether it’s pedal steel, or fiddle, or 80s Rick Springfield licks. That’s the rule. Unless you’re Bob McDill. He was the exception. His demos were simple guitar/voice demos. Don’t mess with success. McDill saved every legal pad he ever wrote on. And those 217 legal pads stacking up four feet high are on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Pretty cool.
“Jet Fighter”
The Three O’Clock
Sixteen Tambourines (1983)
Recently re-issued by Yep Roc. This is for the Paisley crowd. And any fans of the Top Gun franchise. Or just anyone who shares a passion for aviation.
“Are You Going with Me?”
Pat Metheny Group
Offramp (1981)
Matt tells me to “open your mind up to it.” Says, “Sure there’s a little dentist office element to it. But you’ll get past that.” Matt never steers me wrong.
“Small Town Saturday Night”
Hal Ketchum
Past the Point of Rescue (1991)
When small-town songs were charming. And cute. And wholesome.
“Bobby told Lucy, ‘The world ain’t round. Drops off sharp at the edge of town. Lucy, you know the world must be flat. ’Cause when people leave town, they never come back.’”
“Hey Bulldog”
The Beatles
Yellow Submarine (1969)
The word on the avenues is they were in the studio doing a promo film for “Lady Madonna,” got bored lip-synching, decided to jam on something new for the cameras instead, and worked this up on the spot. Why not? They had the power—that everything-is-going-your-way effortlessness power. Messing about never sounded so good.
(This song is tucked away on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. I got to know it from a mixtape Patrick Winningham made me all those years ago.)
“Ain't No Mountain High Enough”
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (1970)
K-EARTH101. Can I get an Amen from the choir? The recitation vocal in the last verse alone is worth the price of admission. Oscar worthy.
“Ow! Say it again!”
Also, about the fine art of newslettering? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still making this up as I go. Why not become a paid subscriber today if you’re not already? If not, you can always donate to Doctors Without Borders. They've been providing food, water and healthcare around the globe for 50 years. Or an abortion fund or any gun violence prevention group. They can ban abortions, but can’t seem to regulate guns.
You can also do none of the above and just carry on. We are happy to have you.
Onward,
-CP
This is great Chuck. I can see I'm going to disappear down a few rabbit holes here. TITC for a new age!
(Hand raised) Hey Proph after listening to the playlist my score has changed to 7 out of 12.
Surely a passing grade.
Maybe a B-…? Lol
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