Annotated Theme Time

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The Bible

It's night time in the Big City
a girl goes through the medicine cabinet of the man who brought her home
a ringing phone goes unanswered

“For the next hour we're gonna be playin' music about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, The Wisdom of Solomon, First Maccabees and Second Maccabees, First Samuel and Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings. We're gonna be playing stuff that comes out of the Psalms and the Proverbs. You know all of these. Jonah and Malachi – how come nobody's named Malachi any more? We're gonna be playing music that has something to do with Nehemia, Esther, Job, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And of course, The Book of Revelations. So gather the family around the radio and hear the good news. Seek and you shall find.”

The Singers and the Songs
Rev. J.M. Gates – Are You Bound for Heaven or Hell (the man who effectively started the short craze for preachers on record. There are a few options, such as Document's "Complete Recorded Works Vol. 5" (probably the easiest to obtain) or the now deleted, but still found from time to time collection on Columbia/Legacy named after this side. Incidentally, if pursuing the Document path, don't forget to look at Vol. 1, which contains his classic side 'Death's Black Train'.)

The Yayhoos -- Bottle and a Bible (Terry Anderson, Chris Baird, Eric Ambel)
“If you have to choose between the bottle and a bible, you might be needing a 12 Step Program, which was started by Bill Wilson, who helped spread the idea that drinking was a disease. If you feel 12 steps aren't enough for ya, may I recommend the Alfred Hitchcock Classic, The 39 Steps . If you have to go higher than 39 steps just remember, one might be too many, and a hundred might not be enough.” (comes from their album "Fear Not The Obvious" .)

Rev. Gary Davis – Samson and Delilah “Like a lot of other street performers, he always put gospel songs in among his blues to make it harder for the police to interrupt him.” (another piece which has received more than one recording. The 1956 version was the first time though, and it originally appeared on an LP called "Harlem Street Spirituals" on the Riverside label (this may have been re-issued on a CD split with Pink Anderson, called "Gospel, Blues And Street Songs". I'm not 100% sure on this, but the disc certainly has the Riverside logo on it). Another version was recorded in 1960, and was re-issued on Original Blues Classics as "Harlem Street Singer". Both CDs may now be deleted, but s/h copies are not uncommon.)

Kitty Wells – He Will Set Your Fields on Fire (so far I've only found this song on another Bear Family box "Queen Of Country Music".)

Wynonie Harris – Adam Come And Get Your Rib (another one from the Ace release "Lovin' Machine".)

AA Gray and Seven Foot Dilly – The Old Ark's A-Moving (a pretty obscure side, this one can be found for the moment on a Document CD "John Dilleshaw - The Complete Recorded Works 1929-1930". When I was buying another disc on Document's site earlier this week, I noticed that this CD was being sold for about £2, so it might just be that stock is being cleared.

Washington Phillips – Denomination Blues “He was a pioneering gospel performer of the 20's. Recorded only 18 songs but, boy, what songs!” (a very different sound, this can be found on a disc of his entire output on Yazoo, called "The Key To The Kingdom".)

The Four Interenes – I'm Using My Bible For A Road Map (this features on an excellent Ace CD called "The Best Of King Gospel".)

Bob preceeded this track with a snatch of the original by Reno & Smiley. (This is on the "Collector's Box Set" of their complete works)

Ollabelle (lead singer Amy Helm) – Elijah Rock (is on Ollabelle's self-titled album.)

The Melodians – The Rivers Of Babylon (is on a compilation of the group's output called "Rivers Of Babylon: The Best Of The Melodians 1967-1973".)

Blind Willie Johnson – The Revelator (this can be found on several Blind Willie CDs, including the "Complete..." on Columbia, and "Sweeter As The Years Go By" on Yazoo.)

Jess Willard – Boogie Woogie Preaching Man (is on "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor".)

The Swan Silvertones – Oh Mary Don't You Weep “If you listened closely to that song you might have heard Claude Jeter say, ‘I'll be your bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name' – a phrase that inspired Paul Simon, a few years later, to write some song.” (from this mighty gospel group's final phase at VeeJay comes this. It can be found on Charly's "Move Up".)

The Robins – That's What The Good Book Says “Biblical in scope, rhythm and blues in nature. This is the kind of bible study you don't get in Sunday school...And what's a rhythm and blues gospel song without a vibraphone solo, that one probably played by Johnny Otis” is on "Modern Vocal Groups Vol. 1" (on Ace (an alternative take is on the same company's "Mellow Cats N' Kittens: Hot R&B And Cool Blues 1946-1952"). )

Other singers, players, etc.
The Georgia Satellites
Steve Earle
Bill Wilson
The Philistines
Johnny Wright (of Johnny and Jack)
Moses
Sir Thomas Brown
Michelangelo
Rafael
Lowell Stokes ? (fiddle player)
Harry Geiger ? (fiddle player)
Joe Brown ? (fiddle player)
Sir Nathan
Hank Penny
Reno and Smiley – (clip from their version of “I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map”)
Levon Helm
T-Bone Burnett “He's always been a man of great taste.”
Roger McGuinn
Jess Willard
Jack Johnson
Jack Guthrie
Johnny Horton
Jimmy Bryant
Speedy West
Al Green
The Coasters

Other Songs and Albums
Fear Not The Obvious
Bloodshot Eyes
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor

The Places
Gaza
The Brook of Sorec
Nashville
Israel
Simsboro, TX
Babylon
Jamaica
Euphrates River
Chebar River
Baghdad

The Movies
The 39 Steps
The Ten Commandments
The Night of the Hunter
Life of Brian

The Record Labels
King Records
Veejay Records

Guest
Keb Mo

“Well, it's time for me to say goodbye and turn the other cheek and head out of the Abernathy Building, down the street, past the church, and down to Sampson's Diner. And in the meantime, eat, drink, and be merry and forgive them, for they know not what they do. We'll see you next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Amen.”

“Remember, blessed are the peacemakers .”

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Musical Map

It's night time in the Big City
a cab driver curses under his breath
roasted chickens hang in the window of a Chinese restaurant

The Singers and the Songs

Hank Snow – I've Been Everywhere “This is one o f those songs that starts off with a prelude; so don't be concerned, the body of the song will start in just a moment.” (of the cheaper Snow discs noted in prog #9: Divorce, this song only features on "I've Been Everywhere: The Hank Snow Story" (which therefore moves into first place as a recommendation). Fans of the Bear Family box sets of Hank Snow - of which there are an amazing five in all (boxes that is, not fans!) will know, or wish to know, that this song is on "The Singing Ranger Vol. 3", a mighty 12-discs large.)

Professor Longhair and the Shuffling Hungarians – Mardi Gras in New Orleans “Sometimes when you're in the basement, looking at a box of records to buy, you come across a name on a label and you just have to own it. That's the way I felt when I first saw this one...Here's a song that should be the state song for Louisiana” (just how great a record is this? definitely a strong contender for my desert island disc. Yet another song recorded more than once, Bob played the original (and I think best) 1949 recording made for Atlantic Records. My preferred choice here - as much for all the other wonderful New Orleans music contained therein as anything - is "Gettin' Funky: The Birth Of New Orleans R&B", a 4-CD set from Proper. The song can also be found on "Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 1: 1947-1952". What an impossible choice, so buy both!)

Marty Robbins – El Paso “A vivid western saga laden with drama, violence, and romance…a song of rare beauty and elegance…Talkin' about a woman who is as different from other women as cognac is from corn liquor. But as Marty Robbins would no you get the same kind of headache from either one.” (another wonderful song, which broke down barriers due to its length; in the late 50s when the average hit song was under three minutes, this one was over four-and-a-half minutes long - it doesn't feel anywhere near that length though. It can be found in several places, such as the re-issued "Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs" album (which contains both original single and album versions), or "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll: Special Country Edition". Needless to say, any generic Robbins collection is likely to contain this also.)

Wilbert Harrison – Kansas City “You all know this song, and it always sounds good.” (yet another classic song. This features on "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 3". I did say before that this was a wonderful series from Ace!)

Sol K. Bright and his Hollywaiians – Hawaiian Cowboy (one to put a smile on your face, this song turns up quite often on collections of Hawaiian music (along with several other 'usual suspects'). Much more common in fact than the other Sol K. track featured by Bob (see the Summer post). It is however on the same CD where I found Heatwave eventually, namely "Tropical Heatwave Vol. 1" on the Australian Cumquat label. Some great guitar work on both these.)

Jack Teagarden – Stars Fell on Alabama “One of the top pre-Bop trombonists.” (available on several discs, as is usually the case with well-loved sides. Examples are "Big T" from Proper, "Basin Street Blues (Quadromania)", etc)

Tom Waits – Jersey Girl (is on Tom's "Heartattack And Vine" album, already featured in the Rich Man/Poor Man edition of TTRH.)

The Louvin Brothers – Knoxville Girl “Hillbilly music had no shortage of lust, murder, and mayhem…of course it didn't have as many samples from Herbie Hancock records…but I think if you listen to this you'll be surprised how violent it is” (Bob's response to email questioning a comparison between ‘Hillbilly music' and ‘Gangsta Rap.') (is on Tom's "Heartattack And Vine" album, already featured in the Rich Man/Poor Man edition of TTRH.)

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazleweed – Jackson (this often turns up on Nancy compilations, such as her "Greatest Hits". The original outing was on her "Country, My Way" album.)

Percy Mayfield – Louisiana “Had one of the most distinctive voices in R & B, and he was shockingly handsome...Percy's records have never been equaled.” (is on a disc called "Poet Of The Blues" on Ace (in the UK at least - its listed in their catalogue as not available in US and Canada. Maybe there's a version on Specialty for these markets?). )

Tin Ear Tanner – I Used to Work in Chicago (an aggregation consisting of Cliffie Stone, Merle Travis, Frankie Marvin, Tex Atchison and Art Wenzel, this can be found on another invaluable box set from Proper, "Swinging Hollywood Hillbilly Cowboys".)

Charlie Poole – Baltimore Fire (is on a JSP set of Poole's complete recordings (and some the Ramblers made without him present. There are some single disc compilations available, but the price of this 4-CD box is so reasonable as to make the prospect of anything else seem odd.)

ZZ Top – My Head's in Mississippi “I'm all outta breath just listening to that!” (from their album "Recycler", this track also features on the greatest bits set "Rancho Texicano", which has an excellent line up of songs for the uninitiated (though read the review by "The Woj" at Amazon.com and maybe check out the boxed set ("Chrome, Smoke & BBQ") he mentions.)

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys – Take Me Back To Tulsa “Here on Theme Time Radio Hour we believe you can never play too much Bob Wills. We're gonna prove it by playin' another one of his records.” (one of the best known of Wills' output. This song features on both the discs I mentioned in the TTRH: Flowers post "The Essential Bob Wills 1935-1947" and Proper's 4-disc box "Take Me Back To Tulsa". However, coming up later in this series is Wills' version of Corrine Corrina, which is only on the second of these. That fact makes it worth the extra bucks, quite apart from the great music you'd miss otherwise.)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.
Little Jimmie Dickens
Elvis Presley
Colonel Tom Parker “A man who would put live chickens on a hot plate and tell people there were dancing…A man as hard as his arteries or, as Cleopatra would have said, ‘I'd like two sons by that man.”
Sullivan Rock
Kid Stormy Weather
Toots Washington
Jelly Roll Morton
Mitch Miller
Grady Martin
Vikki Carr
Sandra Day O'Conner
Sam Donaldson
Debbie Reynolds
Irene Ryan
Wilbert Harrison
Bobby Robinson
Wild Jimmie Sprewell
Sol Hoopii
Don Helms
Hank Williams
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars – “I recommend you search out those records”
Kathleen Brennan
Thomas Alva Edison
Jack Nicholson – “He does more acting with one eyebrow than anybody else does with their entire body.”
Otis Span
Papa Charlie McCoy
Leanne Rimes
Eudora Welty
Cassandra Wilson
Walter Payton
Fritz Moot (?)
Johnny Cash
June Carter
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stokely Carmichael
Medgar Evers
Byron de la Beckwith
Alec Baldwin
Ray Charles
Marlon Brando
Carl Sandburg
Tex Atchison
Gene Autry
Cliffy Stone
Rock Wensel
Merle Travis
Albert G. Spaulding
Hugh Hefner
Mayor Robert McCain
Ella Fitzgerald
Thurgood Marshall
Edgar Allen Poe
Johhny Unitas
Mayor Robert McCain
Creek Indians
Garth Brooks
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Blake Edwards
Paul Harvey
Leon Russell

The Places
Reno
Chicago
Fargo
Buffalo
Winslow
Wichita
Bourbon Street
Tulsa
Ottawa
Grand Ole Opry
Texas
Arizona
Mexico
Honolulu
Mobile, AL
Westfield, AL
Huntsville, AL (The Rocket Capital of the World)
New Jersey – “Has the highest population density in the United States, and the most car thefts. But on the plus side, it has the most diners…I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but it has the most shopping malls in one area.”
Menlo Park
LaFleur's Bluff
Louisiana (and the Napoleonic Code)
Chicago
Baltimore – “Lotta drama happens in Baltimore, you can see it on ‘Homicide' or ‘The Wire.'”
Oklahoma
Arkansas River

The Movies
Blue Hawaii
As Good As It Gets
Ghosts of Mississippi
Streetcar Named Desire

Guests
Billy Gibbons (ran into him at a taco wagon)

Record Labels
Star Talent Records
Beltone Records

Other Songs
Polynesian Love Song
Please Send Me Someone to Love
Two Years of Torture
At The Club
Hit The Road Jack
Herbie Hancock sample

“Well we got to go again, here on Theme Time Radio Hour. I'm gonna gas up the car, throw my bags in the trunk, get my Trip-Tic from AAA, and head out and visit a few more of these fine cities. We'll be back again next week with more Them Time Radio Hour. I'll see ya on the highway!”

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School

(school room noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a writer stares at a blank sheet of paper
a pet poodle scratches at a window

“Your school for dreams, schemes and themes. Your university of perversity”
“School's now in session”

The Singers and The Songs
Nat 'King' Cole Trio - You Don't Learn That In School (this is on a book form set called "The Classic Singles". However, the set has come in for some stern criticism at Amazon.com from customers, both for apparently inferior sound quality and poor design for holding the discs. Your choice. Another option is to seek out a copy of a Capitol collection called "Cocktail Combos" which also has music by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, Charles Brown & Floyd Dixon. This route should also be cheaper. )

Graham Parker-Back to School Days (part of the Pub Rock movement from the 1976 album Howlin' Wind) (his appears on his album "Howlin' Wind". )

Tommy Facenda -High School USA (Minneapolis/St Paul version) “He did like 40 versions of it, recorded them all in like 2 days. Imagine what the last version must have sounded like! I get tired just doin' this radio show!” (this record was made in an astonishing 28 regional versions for Atlantic records, plus a "national" version (this in addition to the original, recorded for song writer Frank Guida's Legrand label). The version played by Bob, according to UK Record Collector magazine was his 'local' one, for Minneapolis/St. Paul. If you absolutely have to have that, the only option (apart from tracking down a copy of the record) is a recent (but deleted I think) CD called "High School USA" which collects together all 30 versions of the song! The less obsessive can opt for the Los Angeles version on "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 4" on Ace. )

James Brown-Don't Be a Dropout (this is on a boxed anthology called "Star Time". )

Ricky Nelson-Lincoln and 46 (is on an Ace disc "Rockin' With Ricky".)

Otis Rush-Homework (Otis Rush only made one single for the Duke label, in 1962, before moving on. Consequently, this isn't as simple to find as might have been hoped. So far, the only place I have discovered it is on another deleted disc "The Best Of Duke-Peacock Blues". Any other suggestions welcome, as ever.)

Harry Reser and his 6 Jumping Jacks -I Love the College Girls (this is on "Harry Reser's Six Jumping Jacks Vol. 2" .)

The Marquee's-Hey, Little School Girl I have found that the group in question (one of many "Marquees" around in the 50s) made a couple of singles for the Okeh label. As a result I have just ordered, through Bim-Bam , a CD called " Okeh For Rock & Roll", which has the group on and I'm pleased to say it does contain the Marquees "Hey Little Schoolgirl". Lots of other goodies on here too, including I'm delighted to find, "The Last Meal" by Hurricane Harry (see the TTRH Jail post). If anyone should go to Bim-Bam to seek this disc out, be aware that the search engine is rather on the pedantic side. Putting in Okeh label rock 'n' roll will draw a blank. Put in just "Okeh label" to find it.)

Brenda Holloway with The Supremes-Play it Cool, Stay in School (issued I think only as a one-sided promo record, this appears to be available only on "The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6".)

Babs Gonzales-Professor Bop (is on a 4-disc set from Proper called "BeBop Spoken Here" )

Sam Cooke-Wonderful World (this wonderful song features on most Cooke collections, including the recent "Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964".)

Gene Summers-School of Rock n' Roll “Listen to the piano playing on this record, it just pushes the thing along. Without the piano the guitar player might as well drop out.” (this is on a CD from Collector called "School Of Rock 'N' Roll". In the UK it might still be available on a compilation put together by rock 'n' roll magazine 'Now Dig This'.)

NRBQ -Still In School (this is on the album "Riding In My Car" or on "Peek-A-Boo: The Best Of NRBQ (1969-1989)". Bob actually gave a different album title during the show; this is the one re-issued under the "Riding In My Car" title above)

Lulu-To Sir with Love (a kind of anti-Mr Lee, this can be found on "To Sir With Love: The Complete Mickie Most Recordings".)

Jerry Lee Lewis-High School Confidential “the Killer" (if there's a Sun period Jerry Lee disc that doesn't have this in some shape, I'll eat my hat!)

Vincent Fornier (Alice Cooper)-School's Out “Guillotine and golf officianto” (the title track of ol' Vince's biggest album, this warhorse is also on any Alice Cooper best of worth a dime.)

Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Morning Schoolgirl (the original John Lee Williamson just for a change, as opposed to Rice Miller. This track is on, eg, "The Bluebird Blues" for starters.)

Other Singers, People and Songs
Brisbee Schwartz
Martin Belmont
Gene Vincent and the Bluecaps
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson
James Burton
Elvis
Gene Vincent
Carl Perkins
“I Can't Quit You, Baby”
“My Love Will Never Die”
“3 Times a Fool”
“All Your Love”
Don Roby
Jazz Pilots
Campus Boys
The Rounders
The Park Lane Orchestra
The Clicquot Club
Bill Ridges and His Orchestra
Bob Wills
Horris Man
Bo Diddley
Marvin Gaye
Chester Simmons
Peece Palmer
James Nolan
Mark “no ding dong” Twain “I never let my schooling interfere with my education”
Victor Hugo
The Beatles
“You Make Me So Very Happy”
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Sonny Rollins
JJ Johnson
Whitten Kelly
Roy Haynes
Lou Adler
Herb Albert
Terry Adams
Everly Brothers
“All Hopped Up” (album)
Sidney Pottier
Michael Stipe
Natalie Merchant
Bill Clinton “Definitely a man who could take you from crayons to perfume.”
Mimi Vandorn
JW Brown
Myra Gayle

Guest
Carla Thomas (speaking on why you should stay in school)

Cheerleaders
Ann-Margaret
Paula Abdul
Halley Berry
Katie Couric
George W Bush
Dwight D Eisenhower
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Steve Martin
Trent Lott
Samuel L Jackson
Madonna
FDR (also 32nd president) "The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize."

Commercials and Publics Service announcements
Robert Hall (back to school)
Les Paul and Mary Ford
The Big “O” Otis Redding Stay in School (this can be found on the box set "Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding". I think it's also on a Stax CD "It's Not Just Sentimental".)

Places
Barnwell, SC
Welsey, MA
Dallas, TX
Atwater Village
Glasgow, Scotland
LA
Ann Arbor

Record Labels
Cobra
Duke
Okay
Motown
Red Rooster

Women's Colleges
Barnard
Smith
Holyoke
St. Benedict
Wellesley

Colleges
University of Michigan-Behavioral Neuroscience
Princeton-Experimental Psychology
Harvard-Historical Sociology

Poems
Gwendolyn Brooks-We Real Cool

Schools
Global School of Private Investigation
ABC School of Bartending
Dave's Accordion School
Cook St. School of Fine Cooking
Second Nature School of Taxidermy
The Superior Fashion Institute of Montreal
Eastern School of Musical Instrument Repair

School Mascots
Florida Gators-Albert
Dunker the Inflatable Horse
Sammy the Slug- UC Santa Cruz
WooShock -Wichita State
Zippy the Kangaroo “He's all he's cracked up to be”

Kinds of Teachers
Shop
Latin
Profs of Law
Profs of Medicine

Subjects Covered
History- The Battle of Hastings
Biology-The Cerebrum
Science- Potential and Kinetic Energy “Let me hip ya”
Math-Slide Rule

Valedictorians
Johnny Bench
Cindy Crawford
WC Handy
William Renquist
Emmylou Harris
Alicia Keyes
Conan O'Brien
Weird Al
W.E.B DuBois
“I wonder if William Renquist gave the same type of speech as Weird Al? Somehow I doubt it.”

“I went to a tough high school, even the debating team was on steroids”

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Telephone

It's night time in the Big City
The air is thick with a chemical
a woman takes a shower before going home to her husband

“This is Theme Time Radio Schnizzle My Drizzle"
“Hello...This is Bob Dylan” (Bob's Anwsering Machine)
“On the way to the studio I almost hit a telephone operator with my car. It was a close call.”

Singers and Songs
A short excerpt of Kraftwerk - The Telephone Call was used as intro music.( it comes from their last album of any consequence, "Electric Cafe". This appears to be deleted in the US - still available in Europe.)

Elmore James -Talk to Me Baby ( Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson ) (is on a fine 3-CD set from Charly "King Of The Slide Guitar". There was a 4-disc set with the same title some years ago, but some shifting of tracks (more per disc I think) together with the removal of a small number of items has produced this new edition.)

Spirit of Memphis Quartet - Atomic Telephone (another fine gospel item, which is on "The Best Of King Gospel" mentioned once before in the Bible post.)

Glenn Miller Orchestra-Pennsylvania 6-5000 (who disappeared mysteriously during WWII) (this is far more common than the other Miller piece Bob has played (see the Coffee post), and simply picking up any Miller set is as likely to bring it up as not. However, if both these items are desired I recommend the budget priced 3-disc "Golden Greats" from Disky.)

Etta James ( Miss Peaches )-842-3089 (Call Me) (not encountered quite as often as Stop The Wedding, this is on "The Essential Etta James".)

Eddy Gorman and His Group-Telephone Blues (this one I have only found on "Too Late To Be Good: Vocal Harmony Vanguard 1937-1952".)

Lattie Moore -The Jukebox and the Phone (can be found on the excellent disc "I'm Not Broke But I'm Badly Bent".)

George Jones “The Possum”-Wrong Number (until yesterday this is one I had slim hopes of finding. However, it is on both CDs called "She Thinks I Still Care" referred to in a note added to the Friends And Neighbours post. These are both deleted, but Amazon.com have s/h copies of both listed .)

The Kinks-Party Line (this is the opening track of the band's fine "Face To Face" album.)

Eddie“Cleanhead” Vinson -Party Line “He was called ‘Cleanhead' cause he burned all his hair off with hair straightened. The first time I heard this song it knocked my socks off!” (the easiest place to locate this track is on JSPs "Honk For Texas".)

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn-As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone” (Recommended by Pete Wolf) (once more, from the set "Honky Tonk Girl".)

“Jumpin' Jehoshaphat You don't hear records like that anymore!”

Muddy Waters-Long Distance Operator (this also features on the excellent "King Of Chicago Blues" set from Proper.)

Pigmeat (Dewey) Markham-Your Wire's Been Tapped (so far as I know this has only been available recently on a VA disc called "Talkin' Trash: Lookey Dookey" which is, no surprises, deleted. Most annoying, as I'd had it on my lists for something else. Ah, well!)

Blondie-Hanging on a Telephone (being a massive hit means this will be on any best of type release. Original home of course is on "Parallel Lines".)

Little Milton and Olive Sain's Orchestra-Long Distance Operator (this track can be found on "Anthology 1953-1961".)

Hank Penny-Hold the Phone (can be located on "King Of Hillbilly BeBop".)

Graciela With Machito Orchestra -La Bochinchera (is on "Intimo Y Sentimental". Amazon in both UK and US are listing this as unavailable. I have found a UK site which says it can supply this CD here. There is one copy left at time of posting.)

Aaron Neville-Wrong Humber Again “The distinctive voice of Aaron Neville, a lot of people think we sing the same.” (a listing on another forum states this track is from 1967. However, my limited research suggests that it was recorded in 1961, became a hit in 1963, and was then issued on an exploitative album (Like It Is, which is I believe, available on CD) in 1967 to cash in on Aaron having another hit, "Tell It Like It Is" on another label in that year. I found mine on a Charly disc "The Very Best Of Aaron & Art Neville".)

Pee Wee (Connie) Crayton -Telephone is Ringing (so far the only place I have found this is on a deleted CD "Taste Of The Blues Vol. 1").

Natacha Snitkine - Le Jeu Du Téléphone (Bob only played a short excerpt at the end. It can be found on "Pop à Paris Vol. 2: À Tout Casser!", a collection of various French artists.)

Other Singer, Songs and People
Alexander Graham Bell - Invented the telephone in 1876 made his first telephone call to his assistant saying “Mr. Watson , come here I want you.” He thought you should say ‘Ahoy, Ahoy' when you answered.
Johnny Otis
“Out of Control”
“Sweet Papa Pigmeat”
“Here Come the Judge”
President Lincoln
Sylvester Stallone
Sam Phillips
Albert King
Fontella Bass
“We're Gonna Make It”
“If Walls Could Talk”
“Grits Ain't Groceries”
Don Foster
Bob Wills
Spade Cooley (who killed his wife)
“Blues Afterhours”
“Papa Stoppa”
T-Bone Walker
“Texas Hop”

Ads
Add-a-phone

Random Phone Stuff
Dial-a-Prayer for Atheists-Nobody Answers
God-Pod-iPod with scriptures
Party Lines

Bob's helpful Hints
Hero Rymes with Zero

Hotels
Hotel Pennsylvania (Hotel Statler)

Places
France
Hollywood
Juke Joints (Juke Boxes)
Scottsville, KY
Durham, NC
Semoodio Itnl. Airport
E. St. Louis
Birmingham, AL
Texas
LA
Fresno

Companies
Automatic Music Instrument Company
Wurlitzer
Seabird
Rockola
VeeJay

Movies and TV
Rowan and Martin
Copland

Guest
Art Linkerletter (Public Service Announcement on Not using the phone after atomic bombing)
Peter Wolf
Gina Gershon (talking about a mambo song by Graciella)

Record Labels
Sun
Bobbin

“If you'll excuse me I'm gonna make a few phone calls”

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Water

“A giraffe can go a very long time without water. But he wants to see a menu right away.”

The Singer and The Songs

Danny Kaye – Mommy, Give Me a Drink of Water (not been able to find anything on this so far. Help!!)

Ramsey Lewis – Wade in the Water (is the title track of one of Ramsey's albums.)

The Sons of The Pioneers – Cool Water (this can be found on a set from the omni-present Proper, "My Saddle Pals And I".)

William Bell – You Don't Miss Your Water (this is on "Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 4 (1958-1962)", only as an import in the US it appears.)

Charlie Patton – High Water Everywhere Part 1 “It's called Part 1 because back in the days of 78's if you had a song longer than three minutes you had to split it up on side one and side two, because the records only were three minutes long. So you only did a long song when you had something important to say, like this song about the most destructive river flood in United States history.” (there are a few editions of Patton's complete works now - the sound quality does need to be borne in mind, especially as many of his records were Paramount issues, which weren't especially good even when new, and wore out more rapidly than others - cheapskates! A good one I think, which also contains some of his contemporaries, is on JSP. Take a comparative listen on Amazon if samples are available.)

Effie Smith – Water, Water (another elusive record, which to the best of my knowledge has only been on a couple of CDs. One of these was on the Relic label, which is now defunct, and all product deleted. The second is devoted to the Squires, and is called "A Dream Come True". It contains three tracks on which they backed up Effie Smith. This is yet another disc I obtained through Bim-Bam .)

Booker T & The MG's – You Left the Water Running (this is on a Stax disc called "Booker T & the MGs Play The 'Hip Hits'". Despite the title, all the tracks were previously unreleased!)

James Carr – Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (this song is available in either mono, on "The Complete Goldwax Singles" or in a new stereo mix (from the master, not some ghastly reprocessing) on the expanded album "You Got My Mind Messed Up". Both these are on the Kent label.)

Porter Wagoner – Cold Dark Waters “We heard about cool, clear water before, but the water Porter Wagoner sings about is colder and darker.” (As with the last Wagoner song, this is on "RCA Country Legends". If the record company do regard him as such however, how about some more action to restore his catalogue, huh?)

The Cats and the Fiddle – I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water (this appears in a few places, eg, "When The Sun Goes Down: The Secret History Of Rock 'N' Roll", where it is on one of the first four volumes, which came out both singly and as a set. I think these are either gone or going out of print now, but still seem reasonably available s/h or new in some cases. Another option is the first in a series of 3 discs rounding up the works of this group on Buffalo Bop, "Killin' Jive: Complete Recordings Vol. 1 (1939-1940)".)

Randy Newman – Louisiana 1927 (as before, this is on "Lonely At The Top: The Best Of Randy Newman".)

Tommy Johnson – Cool Drink of Water Blues “Along with Son House and Charley Patton, no one was more important to the development of Delta Blues than Tommy Johnson. And long before the stories about Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, those same stories were being told about Tommy Johnson. His live performances where he would play guitar behind his neck, while hollerin' the blues at full volume, were legendary...Tommy only recorded until 1930, but he was still performing as late as 1956..seems a shame we never got to hear some of them later performances.” (Tommy only made sufficient sides to fill a single CD. The one I have is from Document, "Canned Heat: The Complete Recorded Works 1928-1929".)

Howlin' Wolf – I Asked For Water, (She Gave Me Gasoline)“Holy Moly that's good!” (effectively the Wolf's version of the previous song, this classic can be found on "The Genuine Article", or "His Best" for example. )

The Standells – Dirty Water (some garage rock (in case Bob's still wondering what that is, eh!!). This is on the "Nuggets" set if you want a 4-CD collection, and why not, its very fine. Another option is a two-LPs-on-one-disc reissue "Dirty Water/Why Pick On Me - Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" on Big Beat.)

The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Jesus Gave Me Water (those FBB of Alabama didn't quite corner the sightless quintet market, as this fine combo makes clear. The track can be found on "Good News: 100 Gospel Greats", another indispensible set from Proper. Don't these people ever sleep?)

Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang – Have to Change Keys
Lonnie Johnson – Backwater Blues “Lonnie's a real interesting character. He recorded solo blues numbers, he also recorded jazz guitar, as early as 19 and 27…but time passes on, and even as great a talent as Lonnie Johnson can be forgotten. By the late 50's, he was toiling as a hotel janitor when he was rediscovered and had a major comeback on the folk blues festival trail.” (from the early days of the amazingly prolific Lonnie comes this. I got both of the above on Document's "Complete Recorded Works 1925-1932 Vol. 2 (1926-1927)" though there are probably other sources around.)

Myra Taylor with Jimmie King's Orchestra – Still Blue Water “One of the last authentic swing singers in the Kansas City tradition.”( is on "My Night To Dream". )

Glenn Barber – Ice Water “At the age of 6 he got in trouble for touching a neighbors guitar (Spinal Tap clip). His dad saw how much he loved it and worked day and night so that he could buy him a 3 dollar and 50 cent guitar. Turns out it was a good investment. That guitar became his best friend and he made some rockin' music on it.” (appears on yet another Proper collection, "From Boppin' Hillbilly To Red Hot Rockabilly".)

Ramblin' Jack Elliot – Grand Coulee Dam (this comes from Elliot's classic album of Woody Guthrie covers, now re-issued along with another subsequent LP as "Hard Travelin'".)

Singers, players, etc.
Leonard Sly
The Rocky Mountaineers
Bob Nolan
Gene Autry
Roy Rogers (The Singin' Cowboy)
Thomas Fuller – “We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
Rufus Thomas
The Del Rios
Bessie Smith
Kansas Joe McCoy
Memphis Minnie
Randy Newman
Don Sugarcane Harris
Dewey Terry
The Harmony Echoes
The Blue Ridge Boys
Phil Walden
Austin Powell
Jimmie Henderson
Ernie Price
Chuck Barksdale
The Mills Brothers
Stick McGee
Huey Long
President Coolidge
Dick Dodd
Larry Tamblyn
Russ Tamblyn
Mousketeers
The Cotton Blossom Singers
The Jackson Harmoneers
Don Robey
Louis Armstrong's Hot Five
Duke Ellington Jungle Band
Clarence Love
Roy Eldridge
Harlan Leonard
Eubie Blake

People Who Had Burials At Sea
Steve McQueen
Ingrid Bergman
Dennis Wilson
Rock Hudson
Vincent Price
Robert Mitchum
John F. Kennedy
Jerry Garcia

The Songs, Albums and Poems
Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King “Which we'll probably hear on our Halloween show”
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
You Got My Mind Messed Up – James Carr
I'm Daydreamin' Tonight
Blues Mixture
Drinkin' Wine Spodee Odee
Good Old Boys – Randy Newman
John, Chapter 4, Verses 3-15 – read by Johnny Cash
He's a Jelly Roll Baker
Tomorrow Night
The Spider and The Fly
Take It Easy, Greasy
I'm In My Sins This Morning

The Places
Cincinnati
California
Mississippi
Memphis
Arkansas
Illinois
Kentucky
Tennessee
The Piney Wood School
Jackson, Mississippi another good 1927 Mississippi River Flood link

Hollis, OK
Louisiana Flood 1927

The Record Labels
Stax
Cold Wax
Bluebird Records
Peacock Records

The Movies
Casablanca
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Monsters, Inc.
Chinatown
Spinal Tap clip (Don't touch it. It can't be played)

“I'll see ya next week, come hell or high water!”

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Time

(As Time Goes By)
It's night time in the Big City
a student faces down a deadline
a man with gin on his breath is pulled over

“America's favorite radio program”

Singers and Songs
Irma Thomas “A snow leopard ready to pounce“ -Time is on My Side (time to pay a second visit to the anthology CD of the same name.)

Dr. John-Right Place, Wrong Time (is on the good doctor's album "In The Right Place".)

Arthur “Dooley” Wilson -As Time Goes By (as everybody knows, this is featured on the soundtrack to "Casablanca". Top song, top movie.)

Derrick Morgan -Time Marches On (this is on the CD of the same name - possibly deleted in the US, but still listed new at Amazon UK.)

Sleepy LaBeef -All the Time (this can be found on a fine Ace VA collection "Rockabilly Shakeout".)

Etta James-Only Time Will Tell (find this on "The Very Best Of Etta James: The Chess Singles", an import into the USA. This is in fact a better choice than "The Essential Etta James" mentioned in the Telephone post, as it contains both songs featured, where that one doesn't have this song.)

Eddy Boyd-24 hours (is on "Chess Blues Classics: 1947 to 1956".)

Tyrone “ Tyrone the Wonder Boy ” Davis-The Hands of Time (from "The Tyrone Davis Story" .)

Bobby Milano -Life Begins at 4 O'clock (this can be found on "More Hollywood Rock 'N' Roll".)

Billy Ward and The Dominos-60 Minute Man (this classic song turns up all over the place on roots of rock 'n' roll type sets, and almost equally predictably on any Dominoes anthology.)

Cab Calloway- 15 Minute Intermission (this classic song turns up all over the place on roots of rock 'n' roll type sets, and almost equally predictably on any Dominoes anthology.)
“That time of the evening when you just want to take a break, visit your old friends alcohol and nicotine.”

Willie Nelson-Funny How Time Slips Away (one of Willie's earlier songs, this appears on "The Essential Willie Nelson".)

Lou Reed-September Song (this is from a VA set called "September Songs: The Music Of Kurt Weill".)

Ray Charles-2 Years of Torture (this is a track from Brother Ray's album "The Genius Of Ray Charles". Real hardcore Ray fans may like to investigate a recent set of his complete recordings for Atlantic (8 discs I think!). I have an older box of his R&B output for the label (3 CDs) which doesn't include this song.)

Patsy Cline-Walking after Midnight (here are many Patsy Cline sets around, and I should think the ones that don't include this (if that's any at all) could easily fit onto the fingers of one hand. One example, "The Patsy Cline Collection". As with the Ink Spots, a choice is governed by how much Cline is wanted, and how much (or little) is prepared to be spent.)

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown -The Witching Hour “the boogie rambler” (as with the previous Gatemouth track on TTRH, this can be found on "Boogie Uproar: Texas Blues And R&B 1947-1954" on JSP.)

Eugene Pitt and the Jive 5-What Time Is It? (this is on Rhino's "The Doo Wop Box II", and on a group round-up called "Our True Story" on Ace, to name just two sources.)

The Soul Vendors-Real Rock . (This group (also known as Sound Dimension) were the house band at the famous Studio One in Jamaica. This item formed the basic rhythm track for the next song played by Bob. It can be found on "Studio One Rockers: The Best Of Studio One", where I think the group are listed as Sound Dimension rather than Soul Vendors.)

Willi Williams -Armigedion Times (the first time I heard this great song was when the Clash covered it for the B-side of their London Calling single, but it wasn't for a long time after that I came upon the original on a CD called "100% Dynamite! Soul, Ska, Rocksteady & Funk". This is currently available in Europe, but listed as a pre-order on Amazon.com. Another option is a set called "Respect To Studio One", or there are discs devoted to Williams also.)

The Chambers Bros.- Time Has Come Today (can be found on the group's "Greatest Hits".)

Other Singers, People and Songs
Kay Wending
The Rolling Stones “I've always been partial to Irma's version”
Benny Goodman
JJ Johnson
Jerry Ragavoy
Didi Warwick
Sissy Houston
Shakespeare “It's better 3 hours too soon, than 1 minute too late.”
Boarman Porter
Hal Wilner
“Mr. Dooley”
Humphrey Bogart (with real Casablanca quote)
Prince Buster
Gordon Lightfoot (“I had a very similar thing with Gordon Lightfoot.”)
Pablo Nesbitt
Thomas Halsely LeBeth
Poppy Daley

"Whatever music you love, it didn't come from nowhere!  It's always good to know what went down before you, because if you know the past, you can control the future.”

Louis Gordon “Rockabilly is a poor man's big band”
Minnesota Fats
Sir Sanford Fleming -Time Zones
William Faulkner “The past is never dead, it's not even past.”
Macbeth “Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow…”
George A. Custer “General overconfidence, not to be confused with General Custer.”
Henry Ford
Edsel Ford
The Crooning Crybaby
Vincent Domina
Milano Crime Family
Keely Smith
Louis Prima
Sting (who practices tantric sex ) “You go Sting”
Bill Brown
Billy Walker
Sammy Davis JR.
Al Green
Joe Hinton
BB King
Stevie Wonder
Johnny Cash
Wanda Jackson
Ray Price
Hal Wilner
Walt Disney
Tom Waits
“Mac the Knife”
Bobby Darin
“Alabama Song”
Percy Mayfield
“Hit the Road Jack”
Heathcliff and Catherine
Pip and Stella
Rick and Ilsa
Tex Carbone
Washington Irving
Mary Shelley
Bob Feldman
Jerry Goldstein
Richard Gotterer
“My Boyfriend's Back”
The Strangeloves
“I Want Candy”
Bow Wow Wow
The McCoys
“Hang on Sloopy”
Blondie
The Gogos
Joan Armatrading
“How Much Time Do We Have?”
The Soul Vendors
Papa Michigan and Smiley
“Nice Up The Dance”
Percy Shelly

Places
Denmark
Pecan Theatre
Europe
America
Chicago
Jamaica
Aspen, CO
Helsinki, Finland
Little Big Horn
LA
Germany
Gore, VA
Armstrong, AU

Movies, Theatre and TV
60 Minutes
Casablanca
The Exotic Ones
Ted Mack Amateur Hour
Days of Our Lives
3 Penny Opera
Mahogany
Arthur Godfrey TV Show
The Beat

Literature
Macbeth
The Sound and The Fury
Madame Butterfly
Wuthering Heights
Great Expectations
Frankenstein

Organizations
The Mile High Club
AFM

Other Topics Covered
The history of clock setting

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Guns

It's night time in the Big City
an elderly man looks at his wife's empty pillow
a nervous thief stands in a doorway

“Welcome to Theme Time Radio Hour. Leave your iron at the door, ‘cause tonight we're gonna be playing music of the highest caliber. We're gonna shoot from the hip and put another notch on our barrel.”

The Singers And The Songs
Junior Walker and the All Stars – Shotgun “We're gonna start things off with a record that starts out like a gun shot…one of the funkiest records ever to come out on Motown.” (find this on "The Ultimate Collection" for example. For Motown obsessives this is on the "Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5" set, where curiously enough it seems to be the album version included. Doesn't that defeat the object somewhat?)

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Shotgun Boogie “..known as the “Old Pea Picker” because he always use to say ‘Bless your pea-pickin' heart.'” (this pops up on loads of compilations of various types. For purposes here I'll point you towards the "Hillbilly Boogie" set from Proper, on the grounds that its already been mentioned here (in the Dogs post), and that it's great.)

Albert King – The Hunter “The least known of the three Kings of the blues: B.B., Freddie, and Albert.” (this is from Albert's most famous album "Born Under A Bad Sign". The title track was covered by Cream, and this one by Free. Must be a goodie!)

The Valentines – Guns Fever (Blam Blam Fever) (can be found on "The Trojan Rude Boy Box".)

The Clash – Tommy Gun “A song written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Joe explained that he got the idea to write Tommy Gun when it occurred to him that terrorists, like rock stars and movie stars, probably enjoy reading in the press about their so-called triumphs.” (is from "Give 'Em Enough Rope". Great songs, shame about the Perlman production.)

Wanda Jackson – This Gun Don't Care Who it Shoots “The Atomic Fireball” (can be found on another Ace compilation, "The Very Best Of The Country Years".)

Robert Jefferson – I Got My Equalizer “Well usually I have a story about the people we play, but I know nothin' about this fella, except that he's a little bit dangerous.” (this is one I have only found so far on an unofficial disc "Stompin' Vol 18".)

Johnny Cash – Don't Take Your Guns To Town (a second visit to "The fabulous Johnny Cash" for this track.)

Los Lobos – La Pistola Y El Corazon (originally from the album of the same name, this track also appears on their best of, "Wolf Tracks".)

Al Dexter And His Troopers – Piston Packin Mama (this one is on an earlier companion set to the much-mentioned "Stompin' Singers..." collection, called "Doughboys, Playboys & Cowboys: The Golden Years Of Western Swing".)

Hurricanes – Pistol Packin Mama “(Sid Nathan) was called Little Caesar because he was short, fat, and ruled his label like a dictator…but nonetheless he knew what people wanted to buy and he knew there wasn't that much distance between the white audience and the black audience. He took Al Dexter's song and handed it over to the hurricanes and it came out something like this. Actually, it came out exactly like this!” (whilst this version can be found on "The Best Of King Federal Deluxe Doo Wop Vol. 1".)

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – The Big Guns (is from their album "Rabbit Fur Coat".)

Jerry Irby And His Texas Rangers – Great Long Pistol “Here's an old friend of Theme Time Radio Hour. It's that practical joker, Jerry Irby…Shoot ‘em up!” (is another selection from the aforementioned "Stompin' Singers & Western Swingers".)

Vernon Green and the Medallions – Don't Shoot, Baby “Be careful, you don't want to get hit in the Pompatus.” (this one is on "Speedin'", a round-up of the group's recordings from Ace.)

Richard and Linda Thompson – Shoot Out The Lights “You ever heard Rumble, Richard?” (was the title track of their final album together.)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.
Jimmy Reed
Steve Copper
Duck Dunn
Al Jackson
Booker T. Jones
Rude Boys
Trenchtown
Annie Oakley
Billy The Kid
Wyatt Earp
Bat Masterson
Johnny Ringo
Sid Nathan “Listen to a little bit of Sid addressing the troops…any of you record company employees? Might wanna take some notes.”
Samuel Colt
Link Wray
Britney Spears

The Record Labels
King Records

The Places
Kingston
Ezekiel's Gun Shop

Other Songs and Albums
Rabbit Fur Coat
The Letter
Rumble
1000 Years of Popular Music
Oops, I Did It Again

The Movies, Etc .
Shane
The Big Combo
Dirty Harry
The Bugs Bunny Show

Gene Autry's Cowboy Code
“And I'm not ashamed to say that I live my life according to that code. Quite a man, that Gene Autry!”

Guests
David Hidalgo “I caught up with David Hidalgo at the Amoeba Record Store Haight Ashbury …or as I call it “Hashbury.”
Jenny Lewis
Penn Jillette

“We just want to remind you that we here at Theme Time Radio Hour do not condone violence. Nor do we encourage it.”

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Halloween

Enter death's waiting room if you dare
below the crypt lies
Bob: Theme Time Radio Hour
(Male voice speaking)
a female announcer dresses like me
a skeleton puts on a fat suit
I gotta put some gas in my car but I don't wanna put it in the tank
I don't want to conform to what everyone else is doing
I know I won't smoke that night though

“Below the crypt lies ‘theme time radio hour.' “

The Singers and the Songs
Albert King -Born Under a Bad Sign “He was born on May 25th which makes him a Gemini. Gemini's are curious, good multi-taskers and in Albert King's case, they play guitar left handed.” (the title track of the album .)

Tommy Collins- Black Cat (is on "The Best Of The Capitol Years".)

Johnny Otis , Marci Adams and the 3 Tons of Joy-Castin' My Spell (can be found on "The Greatest Johnny Otis Show" from Ace.)

Denzil Lang-Beware of the Vampire (this song is also known as Beware Of The Pepper. Under the 'vampire' title I'm only aware of it being on a deleted Lee Perry CD called "Dry Acid", under the 'pepper" title I also have it on another set called "Lost Treasures Of The Ark". The good news is that both are identical.)

Screaming Jay Hawkins -I Put a Spell on You (this fabulous song is another which received more than one outing from its creator - as so often, the original version is the best. This can be found on a Collectibles CD called "I Put A Spell On You".)

Nat Gonella and His Georgians -Skeletons in the Closet (I've only tracked this down to a deleted CD called "Halloween Stomp" so far.)

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band -Look Out There's a Monster Coming (is from their album "Gorilla".)

Eugene Fox “Sly Fox“-Hoo Doo Say (this one is included on "Leiber & Stoller Present The Spark Records Story".)

Stevie Wonder-Superstition (in addition to various 'best of' and Motown compilations, this classic found its original home on the album "Talking Book".)

Dr. John- Morgus the Magnificent “A fellow you want to hear every Halloween.” (is a second track from "Mos'scocious: The Dr John Anthology".)

Louis Prima and Keely Smith-That Old Black Magic (amongst the places to find this is on "Ultra Lounge Vol. 5: Wild, Cool & Swingin'". )

Zeke Manners and His Swingbillies-Mr. Ghost Goes to Town (this one can be found on "Park Avenue Hillbillies And West End Cowboys".)

The Charmer (Louis Eugene Walcott a.k.a Louis Farrakhan )-Zombie Jamboree (only found on deleted CD "The Charmer is Louis Farrakhan: Calypso Favorites 1953-1954".)

Bobby Boris Pickett-Monster Mash (another one that crops up all over the place. Just one example is "Land Of 1,000 Dances".)

The Poets-Dead (being unfamiliar with either group or song, it took me ages to even find out what style of music this one is, involving a diversion through the annals of a 1960s Glasgow band of the same name. Eventually I did find out about this Los Angeles Doo Wop combo though. So far I have traced two CDs which include the song; one is a deleted Relic CD "Golden Era Of Doo Wops: Flash Records", the other - which may also be deleted, is "Doo-Wop Halloween Is A Scream".)

June Christy-Ding Dong The Witch is Dead (this one comes from June's album "The Cool School", which is currently available paired with the album "Do Re Mi".)

Other Singers, People and Songs
Buck Owens “ I bet you heard of him”
“Willie and the Hand Jive”
Lee Scratch Perry
The Heptones
Jimmy Cliff
Toots and The Maytals
Louis Armstrong
Louis Prima
“I'm the Urban Spaceman”
Paul McCartney
Neil Inis
The Rutles
Ike Turner
Jeff Beck
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Maila Nurmi ( Vampira )
James Dean
Bela Lugosi
Mort Johnson
Morgan Broman
Sam Butera
“Pennsylvania Polka”
Buddy Epson
Albert Brooks
Mickey Rourke
Boris Karloff
Leonard Kapetsey
Humphrey Bogart
Ronnie Lewis
“She Blew Good Thing”
Juggy Murray
Yip Harbond
Harold Arlen
Ozzie Smith

Literature
The Raven -Poe “Master of the macabre”
Julius Caesar-Shakespeare
Macbeth-Shakespeare “Poet of Deftness”

Halloween stuff
Witch Hunts
Black Cats-In Brittan and Japan it is good luck to have a black cat cross your path. “They drive on the other side of the road there too!”
18th century Vampire scare “Our politicians today don't hunt for vampires, they're too busy sucking blood.”
Mummy Tombs (with Poison Mold Spores)
Werewolf
Frankenstein
Vampires
Zombies

Record Labels
Capital
Sue

TV, Theatre and Movies
Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon
Dracula
Curse of the Mummy
Monty Python
Morgus the Magnificent (and Chopsley)
Plan 9 from Outer Space
The Beverly Hillbillies
Barfly
Dawn of the Dead
Exorcist

“Calypso Follies”

Magic Words
Abracadabra
Hocus Pocus
Presto
Open Sesame
Alakazam
“But to me the magical words are Please and Thank You.”

Places
London
New Orleans
Alexandria, VA
Chicago

Popular Costumes
Spiderman
Princess
Witch
Vampire
Monster
Spongebob
Ninja
Athlete “that's not much of a costume”
Ghost

“Boo!”

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Dance

The Singers and the Songs
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – Dancing in the Street `(“Only one song we could start with.” as Bob suggested, could this episode have begun any other way. Yet again, this is another classic Motown record that crops on endless anthologies.)

Roy Hogsed and his Rainbow Riders Trio– Let's Go Dancing “Here's a song make you feel like you were born in a barn…sing us a song, Roy!” ( connoisseurs of the art of drinking will know that a Hogshead is a large barrel, with a 50 imperial gallon capacity. Way to go, Roy!! This song can be found on a disc called "Cocaine Blues". )

The Ramones – Do You Wanna Dance “Joey Ramone, along with Johnny, Tommy and Deedee, all brothers from different mothers, they were an influential early punk band and some people say they invented the form of pop-punk.” ( Bob already told you that this is from the band's third of their four great studio sets, "Rocket To Russia". )

"Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane."- HP Lovecraft

Bobby Fuller Four – Let Her Dance – “One heavy cat.” (Bobby was a talented guy who met a grisly end. The sleeve notes to the CD I have suggests he got on the wrong side of a local gangster, and was forced to drink gasoline. Anyway, his music lives on, and this can be found on "I Fought The Law: The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four".)

Anita O'Day – Ten Cents a Dance “This next song can eat your heart out.” ( this one appears on "Anita O'Day & Billy May Swing Rodgers And Hart".)

Junior Brown – My Baby Don't Dance to Nothin' But Ernest Tubb “I only wish I knew a girl like that! Junior remembers watching et on TV when he was young and always being a big fan of his later on he met Ernest Tubb and Ernest Tubb gave him some good advice: ‘keep it country, son.' That's what ET said to him.” (this is on Junior's "Greatest Hits" set.)

7-11 – Dance the Slurp this next record's called Dance The Slurp, and it was put out by 7-11 to promote their Slurpees. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist use it as the basic rhythm track for their dance mix called Brain Freeze. People talk about the obscurity of my songs…oh, yeah? Give a listen to this!” (Bob told all about the provenance of this 'record as advert' on the show. As to availability, the most recent commercial issue was on a very hard to find vinyl single called "Brainfreeze Breaks" (a tie-in with the DJ Shadow Brainfreeze record). However, I found a free download at this site . Just direct your scroll bar to about half way down the page.)

The Lebron Brothers – Dance, Dance, Dance “Pablo, Jose, Angel, Frankie, and Carlos. Urban and funky with a little bit of R&B.” (this one I have located on a CD called "Latin Soul: New York Barrio Grooves 1966-1972".)

The Turbans – When You Dance “This is Theme Time Radio Dance Program, and we have had a lot of requests to play a good kazatzka, and for those of you who don't know, the kazatzka is a Slavic folk dance performed by a couple…This record is one of the first Doo-Wop records to play a good kazatzka.” (I have this on Rhino's "Doo Wop Box" (already mentioned), but its also on, eg, the Turbans "Greatest Hits" on Collectibles.)

Delroy Wilson – Dancing Mood “I'm in a dancing mood, I'm in a dancing mood…three times he's in a dancing mood!” (issued in 1966, just in time to catch the back-end of "Rough & Tough: The Story Of Ska 1960-1966" .)

Bunker Hill – The Girl Can't Dance “Calming music is a good thing…unless you don't want to be calm!” (appears on a dic called "More Wild And Frantic" a follow-up to Wild And Frantic (surprise, eh!) on a Danish label called Official. So far as I'm aware, neither disc is 'official'. Who said Scandanavians have no sense of humour.)

Fred Astaire – I Won't Dance “The smoothest dancer known to man.” (neither would I Fred, after what that guy said about you ("can't act, can't sing, slightly balding. Can dance a little"). The song is on "Steppin' Out: Astaire Sings")

Roy Newman – I Can't Dance (I've Got Ants In My Pants) – “Roy was a western swing band leader, he was making records even before Bob Wills. He was about the least countrified of the western swing band artists. He used a lot of clarinet, giving his band a Dixieland flavor.” (this song was recorded by a host of jazzers before the war, including Chick Bullock (1934), the Dorsey Brothers (1934), the Georgia Washboard Stompers (1934), Nat Gonella (in both 1934 and 1937), Kitty Gray (1937), Willie Lewis (1935), Valaida Snow (1935), Chick Webb (1934) and Clarence Williams (1934). Must have been a lot of ants around in the mid-30s! Roy's fine version can be found on the oft-mentioned "Stompin' Singers & Western Swingers".)

Chris Montez – Let's Dance (turns up on many discs, including "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 1".)

Eddie Seacrest & The Rolling Rockets – Dancing To The Rhythm “Here's a song that's gonna drive Christopher Walken nuts!” (at times this sounds like a proto-ska record (and dig those cow bells!). It can be found on "Starday Dixie Rockabilly Vol. 2" from Ace.)

Bill Parsons – Dance Dance Dance – “He was roommates with Willie Nelson? That must have been quite an apartment!” (this one features on another Ace collection, "All American Rock 'N' Roll From Fraternity Records".)

Archie Bell and the Drells – I Can't Stop Dancing “A great example of that Philly soul sound.” (I think the original album on which this appeared is available, but it's also on "Tightening It Up: The Best Of Archie Bell & The Drells".)

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos – Save The Last Dance For Me (It is on Buck Owen's album "Together Again/My Heart Skips A Beat" (curiously named for both sides of a double sided hit single).)

Types of Dances

The Pony
The Watusi
The Jerk
Mashed Potato
Electric Slide
Line Dancing
Break Dancing
Slam Dancing
Lambada
Macarena
Chicken Dance
The Crumble
Round
The Rondell
Bolero
Cakewalk “When you're prancing with a backward tilt”
Cha Cha
Conga
The Faruka “Spanish gypsy dance with sudden tempo and mood changes”
The Hora
The Hula
Jitterbug
Mambo
Rumba
Twist
Stomp

Other Songs and Albums
Satisfaction
Rocket to Russia
I Fought The Law
Twelve Shades of Brown
Mississippi Queen – Mountain (clip)
Shakin' With The Flavor
Lawdie Miss Claudie
Tighten Up

Email

Tonight's email:
I find your show very entertaining. I only wish it could be more educational.

“Thank you Mary, for your enthusiastic letter. Let me enlighten you about something. Alexander Pope, the English poet, said that a little learning can be a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring. The Perian Spring, Mary is on Mt. Olympus, a sacred place to the muses, the 9 sister goddesses who inspire song and poetry, all the arts and sciences, and dances too. A little dancing is also a dangerous thing, so let's embrace the danger here tonight, on Theme Time Radio Hour.”

Record Labels
Motown
Delphi
Herald

The Places
Forest Hills, Queens
Baytown, TX
Brooklyn, NY
Philadelphia
Kingston, Jamaica
Mount Olympus
Los Angeles, CA
England
Charleston, WV

Guest Twyla Tharp

Movies, Etc.
Libby's Sloppy Joe Commercial
Flying Down To Rio
Top Hat
The Gay Divorcee
The Barclays of Broadway
Holiday Inn
Funny Face
Easter Parade
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
“ More cowbell ” clip from SNL
Saturday Night Fever (clip) – John Travolta

The Poets
The Red Dance – Anne Sexton “Def Bostonian Poet”
Alexander Pope

“I'd be a great dancer except for two things: my feet.”

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Sleep

(Santo and Johnny-sleepwalk)
It's night time in the Big City
A man regrets using a gas station restroom
birds are still a couple hours away from getting the worm

“Your queen size home for themes, dreams and schemes. Please do not remove tag under penalty of law.”

The Singers and The Songs

Santo and Johnny – Sleep Walk (played in background during intro) – “an instrumental duo from Brooklyn” (this great instrumental can be found on "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 5" for example.)

Louis Jordan And His Tympany 5 – A Man's Best Friend Is a Bed (another song from the lesser known fringes of the Jordan oeuvre, as before this will be on Bear Family's comprehensive "Let The Good Times Roll" box. )

Sammy Myers – Sleeping in the Ground “You know, every shut-eye ain't sleep. Sometimes you're sleeping in the ground, taking a dirt nap, saying the big good bye.” (this one is on Ace's fine compilation CD "Harp Blues".)

100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – Somebody's Been Sleeping (can be found on the group's "Best Of" disc.)

Berna-Dean – I Walk In My Sleep “Here's a woman who sure doesn't sound like she sleeps alone.” (I've located this one on three discs so far, but all appear to be deleted. Take your pick therefore from "Spirit Of New Orleans: The Genius Of Dave Bartholomew", "The Girl Group Sound Vol. 6" or "Poodle Skirts & Poni-Tails: Lost Groups Vol. 4".)

Hoagy Charmichael – Two Sleepy People “This song is featured in the Bob Hope movie, Thanks For The Memories l and also this week on Theme Time Radio Hour.” (still attempting to locate the 1938 recording)

George Jones – I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep “I was looking through my records the other night. Ya know, I have over 70 George Jones Records?! If you look at them all, it gives you a great history of men's haircuts. Here's George in a period of time when he had just grown out his brush cut and had a bit of a mutton chop sideburn look going.” (this song is on George's "My Favorites Of Hank Williams" album. On CD this has been re-issued both on its own, or coupled with another Jones album (whose title escapes me). So far as I know, neither edition is presently available, but s/h copies seem reasonably common.)

Peter Wolf -- Sleepless “I ran into Pete at an all night drugstore, and he told me about this song.” (this is the title track of one of Peter's records.)

Belton Richard -- Another Sleepless Night “…one of the original members of the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame , which was established in 1997, not a moment too soon.” (good to hear some cajun music on TTRH at last. This one is on another Ace disc "Another Saturday Night: Classic Recordings From The Louisiana Bayous".)

Little Miss Cornshucks (“the former Miss Mildred Cummings”) – Rock Me To Sleep (its a sign of how much things have changed that we can be incredulous about how any artist could be labelled as such, though this nom-du-disc pales beside the extraordinary Little Miss Sharecropper epithet that LaVern Baker had to endure in her early years! The song can be found on a Classics CD "Little Miss Cornshucks 1947-1951".)

The Monkees – Love Is Only Sleeping – “Another finely crafted pop classic” (this track first appeared on the pre-fab four's album "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd", though it also crops up on several latter day anthologies of their work.)

Little Willie John – Sleep “Hmmm, sounds like me playin' the organ!” (from the man who gave us "Fever" comes this. It is on the second of two (so far) CD collections rounding up his King recordings, "The King Sessions 1958-1960". Both are from the invaluable Ace (Fever is on the first).)

Jody Reynolds and the Storms – Endless Sleep “This next song is not for the faint of heart. Death rock was a phenomenon that happened in the late 50s and early 60s – maybe it was because of people's fear of the atomic bomb during the Cold War…This record is one of the most atmospheric of the bunch.” (wonderful song, a cover of which gave Marty Wilde his first UK hit single in 1958 (Jody's version wasn't a hit over here until 1979, during a rock 'n' roll/rockabilly revival). It features on many sources, including "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 3".)

The Band – Sleeping “Here's a distinctive voice with an unquiet heart, Richard Manuel, singin with The Band, a voice of dreams…” (is from their album "Stage Fright".)

Louis Armstrong – When It's Sleepy Time Down South – “This is how Louis used to close his shows; we'll use it to close ours.” (as befits the tune that became Satchmo's theme song, the great man made several recordings of this. The earliest, from 1931, can be found on "The Big Band Recordings 1930-1932" from JSP.)

Other Singers, Players, and Stars
Elmore James
General Johnson “…is an interesting guy. First of all, his name is General Johnson, and that's interesting right there. Second of all, he had two hit records, and you never heard his name before.”
Dave Bartholomew – “…who wrote and arranged a log of Fats Domino's big hits. He's still down in New Orleans playin. He would show up at Preservation Hall on a regular basis to play just for the love of the music, despite his millionaire status. You gotta respect that.”
J. Geils Band
Neil Sedaka
Otis Redding
Humphrey Bogart
Lauren Bacall
Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
Eydie Gorme

Writers, Poets and Painters
Ben Franklin
Charlotte Bronte – A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow

James Joyce – from Chamber Music

Sleep now, O sleep now,
     O you unquiet heart!
A voice crying "Sleep now"
     Is heard in my heart.

The voice of the winter
     Is heard at the door.
O sleep, for the winter
     Is crying "Sleep no more."
My kiss will give peace now
     And quiet to your heart--
Sleep on in peace now,
     O you unquiet heart!
Shakespeare – Hamlet “We quote a lot of this guy, but who can blame us? He's one of the best. The kid's real good.”

To die, to sleep…To sleep, perchance to dream.
Ay, there's the rub
For in that sleep what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil -- “Don't shuffle off too soon we got a lot more music to play ya!”

Anthony Burgess
Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone”

1st Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 30: For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep (Paul) – “And by sleep, he means dead.”

Edward Hopper – Nighthawks (often mistakenly called Nighthawks at the Diner )
“If you look carefully you'll see that there is no door. There is no way in, and there is no way out. I think I know that diner. Sounds like Sampson's.”

Rainer Rilke – To Say Before Going To Sleep

Famous Nightowls
Fran Leibowitz
Ludwig the 2nd of Bavaria
Winston Churchill
Marcel Proust
Ann Coulter

Bob's rap about Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco :
“The difference between Cajun, Creole and Zydeco might be hard to pin down, if you don't listen to a lot of em. But here's a couple of handy hints. Cajun tends to sound more like kearly country. It's typically a waltz or a two step. Creole, very similar, but the rhthms tend to be more pronounced and the vocals are a bit more blues influences Zydeco on the other hand sounds more like gospel or r and b with accordion and rug board washboard. A lot of people who plaly one kind wont' play with peopeple who play another kind, but me personally, I never understood any kind of border patrol when it comes to music.”

The Places
New Orleans
Preservation Hall
Boston
New York
Greenwich Village
Cullendale, AR
Washington State Prison
Walla Walla, WA
Pearl Harbor

Fairy Tales, Movies, TV Shows, Etc.
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Honeymooners -- clip played of Ed Norton sleepwalking and calling for his lost dog, Lulu
Sominex commercial
To Have And Have Not

Other Songs and Albums
It Will Stand (clip played) – The Showmen
Give Me Just a Little More Time (clip played) – The Chairmen of the Board
Rockin' Chair
Georgia On My Mind
Stardust
Stage Fright
Try a Little Tenderness
He's Sure the Boy I Love
Uptown
Blame It On The Bossa Nova
On Broadway
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling
Teen Angel
Running Bear
Tell Laura I Love Her

Guest

Peter Wolf “You can call him at five in the morning and he's still up playing records – I know because I've done it.”

“Well, it's sleepy time everywhere right now, so it's time for me to hang up my headphones, get out of the Abernathy Building, and slip into a dry martini. See ya next week. Pleasant dreams, schemes and themes.”

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