Jeannie C. Riley I once read an article that called singer Jeannie C. Riley a "corn-pone Nancy Sinatra." Funny, but that's not far off the mark. Riley, a Texas gal, hit it big in 1968 with the anthem-of-sorts "Harper Valley P.T.A." That made her the first woman to top the Billboard Top 100 charts and the country charts at the same time. She followed up that smash with a number of other successful tunes, like "The Girl Most Likely" and "The Back Side of Dallas." Often seen on TV wearing a miniskirt, [...]
Always proudly contrary, I thought I'd post some pictures of unusual wedding cakes today, since I already covered divorce cakes in a previous piece . But to be even more contrary, I decided to show pictures of just the little figurines they put on top of wedding cakes. They're called - appropriately enough - toppers. And of course, some appropriate music. Jeannie C. Riley - "The Wedding Cake" Click [...]
Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime Feist: Mushaboom Big Star: In the Street Jonathan Richman: Rockin' Shopping Center The Monkees: Pleasant Valley Sunday Jeannie C. Riley: Harper Valley P.T.A. Earlimart: Parking Lots Weezer: In [...]
Three new answer songs, though one is more a case on expanding on the story of the original. The first answer song here is one of the funniest in the genre. The Carol in the title of Neil Sedaka's song was his high-school girlfriend Carole King, though we should not be deceived to believe that this was some kind of soul-baring singer-songwriter moment. After Oh Carol became a hit, the budding songwriter, still all of 18 years old, responded with a pretty funny response. Alas, it was not a hit. The third featured song here is the excellent Harper Valley [...]
Inspired by Totale's excellent write-up of Badfinger, Phil steps up with a look back at a staple of the country soul set.
Jeannie C. Riley : Harper Valley PTA [ purchase ] In 1968, record man Shelby Singleton put singer Jeannie C. Riley together with a song by some guy named Tom T. Hall and the rest was music history - Riley became the first female singer to simultaneously hold the #1 spot on both the Country and Pop music charts. It even spawned a motion picture and television program of the same name. Sit back and enjoy the tale about the miniskirt mama who socked it [...]
On a recent work trip to Ann Arbor the other day I snuck off to a few record stores and picked up these great L.P.s. George Jones - I'll Share My World With You (Purchased at Encore Records for $10). This one, on the Musicor label, was my favorite pick of the day. Lot's of great (and humorous) tunes like these: George Jones – I Don't Have Sense Enough (To Come Out Of The Pain) (mp3) George Jones [...]
Harper Valley P.T.A. , authored by the legendary Tom T. Hall , has got to be one of the best confrontation songs of all time. It's the story of a mini-skirt-wearing widow who received a disapproving letter from the local P.T.A. and decided to respond by publicly pointing out the antics of the PTA members themselves. In other words, she "socked it to" them. Hypocrisy exposed. I love a good story song and Tom T. Hall was a master story teller. In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley was the perfect singer to [...]
30 Days Out
Geezer Music Club
Pretty Goes with Pretty
Any Major Dude With Half A Heart
Glorious Noise
Star Maker Machine
Setting The Woods On Fire
Cadence Weapon - "Conditioning" (CFCF Remix)
Gaggie x Bo Deal – Loose Lips [Prod. by Young Chop]
Summer Camp - "Always"
