Hudson River Radio dot Com. All right, Tom, pour me a drink.
We have this delicious Australian charaz and I race drink. Oh fine,
here's some Bushmills whisky sounds in a podaiza floating and again nostous Hi, Hi,
race drink much better. This is John fulbrod Hi. This is Star
Williams. Hi. This is Mitch Margle of the Tokens Hi. This is
Gary us Bonds mat here on the Rock and Roll History Showy everybody, welcome
back to the Rock and Roll History Show and Hudson River Radio. I'm Brian
Horrowitz. We have I think an interesting show lined up for everybody tonight.
But of course before we hop in, allow me to introduce all the crambones
out of joining us here tonight. First and foremost, from the Richter Observatory.
He once got fired from a calendar factory for taking a day off meal
r years back behind. He was a leap year. It was a leap
year, that's my out. It was supposed to be that way, right,
but they just wouldn't listen. How you doing, everybody? From paranormally
yours. She learned that in Star Wars they called Darth Vader Lord Vader,
because when they called him Master Vader, all the Stormtroopers started giggling. Gail
Lucam is back, High Gale, Hello, from the silver screen. She
saw a sandwich walk into a bar and the bartender said, sorry, we
don't serve food here. Mercedes kept his basket. I'm Mercedes away, joining
us from his ground floor balcony. He recently lost his pizza cutter, so
he used a Brian Adam CD. It cut like a knife. John Kelly
is here, John, Oh, wow, that looks good. Brian,
how are you? Everybody? And from her secret bunker, she recently bought
a copy of the World's Worst Thesaurus. It's terrible and it's also terrible.
Thank you wife. When this here, that's awesome. Prian, Hey,
everybody, and of course, our newest official Crambone. She figured out that
every novel is a mystery novel if you never finished reading it. Jessica Dean
is back. I guess hey, everybody. So we have been on a
streak of just following holidays across the calendar, so we thought we'd stick with
it, and we're doing all things Irish for Saint Patrick's Day, except you
two. That was my only rule, know you two tonight, So you're
welcome out there, and I am. Yeah. Bring it on. We're
getting into opinion world. So I'm gonna just already we are. I am
the least qualified to explain what Saint Patrick's Day is all about. So I'm
gonna just turn it over to Gail to give us a little synopsis of what
the holiday is all about. Gail, Well, most people in the US
and lots of other parts of the world know that Sat. Patrick's Day is
a cultural and religious celebration, and it's always on the seventeenth of March,
which was the traditionally known death date of Saint Patrick, who lived around three
eighty five a D. To four sixty one a D. So that was
a really long time ago. He was the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
He was a bishop and a missionary. He was born in Roman Britain,
which says like specifically not Ireland, so he wasn't born in Ireland. He
was born into a wealthy family. His father was a Christian deacon and his
grandfather was a Christian priest. Now he wasn't He didn't go through the normal
canonization process in the Roman Catholic Church. There are certain steps that are followed,
and the only reason is because back then, in the first millennium,
there was no formal canonization process. So after he became a priest and a
bishop and helped to spread Christianity throughout Ireland, he was probably proclaimed a saint
by popular acclaim. So you can't do that anymore. Sorry, So you
can't sign up and get on that list anymore. No, No, you
have to die, and there have to be a certain amount of miracles attributed
to you. And there are two things I haven't done, so and everyone
when they exsume you, you have to be not decayed. And there's a
whole bunch of stuff. And there's there's steps to it, like first as
beatification, and you know, it takes certain steps to go through before the
Roman Catholic Church will proclaim you a saint. Now. Saint Patrick's Day was
made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century and it's observed by
all the liturgical churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, especially
the Church of Ireland, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church, and
since March seventeenth always occurs during the penitential season of Lent. Usually the Lenten
restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for that day in order to celebrate
Saint Patrick. But unfortunately that's kind of encouraged and propagated the tradition of a
severe amount of alcohol consumption. Some people think nowadays that the celebrations have become
too commercialized and they foster negative stereotypes of the Irish people. So celebrate safely,
everybody. That's a good reasonable advice. Yeah, yeah, cool,
All right, well, thank you, Gail. My wife happens to be
Irish, and anytime Ireland comes up, I always make comments about potatoes,
so and then she gets mad at me. But to me, it seemed
like a great place to start, because well, Ireland and potatoes are linked
in history. Well so is Idaho. And years ago I knew a couple
that was going to um get married and they eloped to Idaho, and I
asked the wife if she had a bridal bouquet of potatoes. How did that
go? No? No, she she just said no. She knew what
I'm like, so it didn't offend alas right about going to McDonald's for French
fries. That might work. I don't know if they did that though.
Oh I was like, hey, I'm down, when are we going McDonald's
French fries? I would have McDonald's. I would have made a faux bouquet
of fake potatoes, of course, you would have, yeah, as one
does actually with you. You would have used real potatoes and then you would
have planted them later to make more potatoes. I was thinking, actually a
potato sat down, but that's too itchy. We need a potato slip under
it. Doesn't that solve the problem? All right? So I know that
we've gone totally off. Oh yeah, already we're just talking potatoes right now.
Hungry for fries over here? Yeah? Sorry, alright, Neal's taken
us all after McDonald's for frost. A happy meal for that? I want
a happy meal. Well. The potato was first grown as a crop around
eight thousand BC in what is now Peru. It made its way to North
America, and it's believed to have been brought to Ireland from North America by
Sir Walter Raleigh in fifteen eighty six. But that would have been a sweet
potato, not a regular white potato that we think of that was first planted
in Ireland in fifteen ninety by a shipwrecked Spanish sailor. And I haven't seen
the movie, but I believe the first poop potato was planted on Mars by
Matt Damon Mercedes. Is that right? Oh? Yeah, okay. The
potato became popular, especially in rural Ireland, because families needed a large amount
of food for large families, and potatoes are relatively easy to grow, even
in Ireland's rocky soil, so by the mid nineteenth century, about a third
of Ireland's population was depending on the potato for survival. Then in eighteen forty
four, a potato blight, which is a fungus was identified that just turned
potatoes into this inedible mush. The following year they lost half the potato crop,
and then the year after that, in eighteen forty six, the crop
was in total failure and because of the potato famine, between eighteen forty six
and eighteen fifty, about a million people in Ireland died of starvation and another
million moved emigrated to North America, to England, to Scotland, and they
were often not welcome wherever they decided to go because they were blamed for taking
jobs and undercutting wages. If that sounds familiar maybe modern day. Even after
the famine, Irish families continued to emigrate, mostly to North America. I
assume they just shrunk rap bano and put them on a boat and sent them
over here. And it took him a while for him to make it back
over there. And none of that is funny. Of course, since none
of that is funny, We're going to jump to about one hundred years later
to Brooklyn, New York, in the nineteen forties, when a toy inventor
named George Larner came up with the idea of sticking face and body parts into
fruits and vegetables to make little people. You could probably tell where I'm going
with this. Yes, of course, he may have gotten the idea from
his nephew, who would dig up vegetables from their family garden and make little
figures for his sister to play with. In nineteen forty nine, he came
up with plastic pieces with pushpins on the back that kids could use with fruits
or vegetables supplied by their parents. And in the beginning it was actually a
bit controversial because World War Two had just ended nineteen forty four, nineteen forty
five, and people were still in that ration mindset where we don't waste anything,
and people didn't like the idea of wasting food by playing with it.
That's why I wasn't allowed to have one of those, is because my parents
considered it should be wasting food. Yep, yep. So Learner was able
to sell the toy concept to a serial company to be given away as a
prize in the box, you know, the little face pieces and all that.
He then found a better deal with a toy manufacturer, Hassenfeld Brothers.
They bought the rights back from that serial company and officially named the toy Mister
potato Head. It launched in nineteen fifty two, and then Hassenfeld Brothers later
shortened their name too has broke yep. On April thirtieth, nineteen fifty two,
Mister potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. Wow, what
a distinctive honor. Exactly the whole advertising campaign across all media actually was the
first to be aimed directly at kids. Until then, even the toy commercials
were aimed at the parents trying to get the parents to go buy toys for
the kids. This way they flipped it around. They aimed at at the
kids, so the kids would go harass their parents to go buy them something.
That's what we see today. Right In nineteen fifty three, Missus potato
head introduced and then it just expanded from there to other fruits and vegetables.
In the early nineteen sixties, government regulations forced them to change the plastic parts
because somebody realized that maybe sharp pins and tiny plastic choking hazards weren't the best
idea for little kids. You know, I was going to mention, I
was gonna mention that I probably still have scars on my fingers from where those
you know, from pushing it into the into the potato it missed and went
into my hand. Yeah, they were sharp, like right, It seems
like a bad idea, doesn't it. Yeah, No, I'm not kidding.
Well, if it goes into a potato, probably go into a human
too, Oh it did? Oh yes, So, And I do have
to point out that it was the government regulations that changed, not hasbro Realizing
that these things were dangerous. They were forced to change them. Right,
So in nineteen sixty four, the company added the plastic potato body that some
of us have grown up with and parts that were not as sharp. In
nineteen seventy five, the potato body was doubled in size and a corresponding increase
in size of the body parts like the eyes and the mouth and all that,
and that helped open the market up to younger kids who could could handle
the bigger pieces, you know, because they don't have the dexterity yet,
so they actually increased the sales by doing that. Mister potato Head was a
feature character in the Toy Story movies, voiced by the legendary Don Rickles.
There are dozens of variations of mister potato Head, including one I haven't seen,
but it's the Star Wars are two Potato Oh wow, I think I've
I've seen a Star Wars mister potato Head, and that sounds awesome. I've
seen that in my former toy life. That just sounds like it would be
awesome. Yes. In twenty twenty one, people with nothing better to do
got upset about the new gender neutral version that Hasbro put out. Oh gosh,
they didn't discontinue mister and missus they just added a third one, and
I guess people need to get upset about something. I couldn't find the original
commercial. I really wanted to play that. I wanted to hear it.
But I think it's because in the nineteen fifties TV was still done live and
very rarely recorded. So I have a feeling that those commercials were actually done
live during the shows where advertising. But I go right ahead, maybe later,
all right. I did find one that was filmed in the nineteen fifties
for a set called the Mister and Missus potato Head Car and Trailer set from
the nineteen fifties. So mister and Missus potato had had an RV that hooked
up to a car, so I thought I would play the audio from that.
So let's check it out. Hey, what bro, mister and missus
Tadahead with their own cars and tailors. That's what you mean. Mister potato
Head has a car and boat trailer, and there's a car and shopping trailer
for his NiFe, missus potato Heads. It's such fun to do and so
easy like this, take any food or vegetables, just sticking eyes and ears
and then come out. You can make the funniest looking people in the whole
world Ahead, people look different every time you make them. Mister and missus
Potatohead with cars and trailers come in one and two dollars sizes. What else
is new? Has broke a vanity taste with toy cosmetics and beautiful accessories and
be looking doctor a nurse kit. There's a great story. It's fun to
play with Hasbroke. And if you caught that the doctor a nurse kit,
I guess which one is going to be rich? Right? Wow? I
seem to remember that too. Here comes mister potato Head and all his wonderful
friends. That was the song, Oh cool, cool, mister potato head.
Here comes mister potato Head. Here comes mister potato Head and all his
wonderful friends. Come from the pepper yet the pepper? Yeah, pet the
pepper. What was the cucumbers? Kooky the cucumber? There was other ones
I can't remember, but that's great. And if you actually see, you
know the commercials are on YouTube. And if you see, you know the
examples they make with the potatoes. They're some of the scariest, ugliest looking
things. Because I think, like my age group we grew up with the
perfect plastic potato body. So it looked right. But if you just take
a mushed potato and start jamming things in it, just yeah, it looked
like it was at a car accident. It didn't last long. Yeah,
you had mashed potatoes for dinner after you played with that though. Yeah,
whether you wanted to or not. He was like your toy and your dinner
at the same time. Out Yeah, yeah, you know what's your hands
old bandage too? You know, my my little niece and neph you have
mister potato head. And the coolest thing about mister potato head now, and
I don't remember this from back in the seventies, but mister potato head on
the back has this little door and you can put all the little parts in
their. Yeah, so I remember the so cool. Yeah, you can
open his butt up, yeah, and little door and then you put all
the little parts in there. From nice and tidy, I didn't hear any
outrage over that. But you take away a mustache and people lose their minds.
But you can you can jam whatever you want up mister potatoes. But
he showed that in toy story, you know. Yeah, because missus potato
Head says to mister potato Head, and I think it was Toy Story two
when they're going out on their rescue adventure, she says, and I packed
your angry on. I love it so for the for the last Toy story
was it four? And Don Rickles had already passed away, so they were
able to piece together phrases that he had recorded already enough where he could be
in the movie, which I thought was great. Great. So yeah,
all right, So Ireland Potatoes a good place to start. Also a good
place to take a break, and we're gonna be back with everybody's choice for
some Irish rock and roll, So stick around. We'll be right back,
Hudson River Radio dot Com. This concludes the first part of this cassette.
Please turn the cassette over and begin again on side two. If radio TJS
had taught me anything about radio, which you gotta do two things, turn
it up and rip the noo. Hudson River Radio dot Doom and welcome back
to our Saint Patrick's Day edition of the Rock and Roll History Show. We're
gonna jump right in with Neil leading us off tonight. Oh thank you.
We're going to go from one Stereotype Potatoes to another Irish stereotype, whiskey.
I thought I'd get your attention there, and whiskey was never my beverage of
choice. I was more of a Guinness stout or a harp blogger type of
guy. But you know, I would never say no to whiskey. But
anyway, I thought that everyone will probably be picking bands that came from Ireland,
YouTube notwithstanding, but I went a different route. I picked an English
band, which is probably you know, heresy or something like that. But
I did pick an English band which has nothing to do with anything about Saint
Patrick's day. The song is about whiskey in the name of the song is
Whiskey Man, and it's by the Who. Now I really don't think the
Who need any introduction, but for those of you whom might not know who
they are, I'll give you a brief overview. Who are they? They
were and are an English rock band, not Irish, and they formed in
London, not Dublin, in nineteen sixty four, with the core and classic
lineup of singer, main songwriter and guitarist Pete Townsend, lead vocalist Roger Daltry,
bassist John Entwhistle and drummer Keith Moon, and they went on to become
one of the most influential rock bands of the twentieth century. In a career
that was highlighted by controversy and tragedy. They sold over one hundred million records
worldwide. Their contributions to rock music include Townsend's feedback and power chord guitar technique,
as well as Entwhistle and Moon's unique playing styles, the development of large
amplification and PA systems, and the invention of the rock opera, to name
just a few. They were also initially known for destroying their equipment on stage,
as well as their legendary performances at the Monterey Pop Festival, Festival,
Woodstock, the Isle of White Festival, and at Carnegie Hall where they did
their rock opera Timey. Their site is as an influence by many hard rock,
punk and power pop bands who went on after them, and they were
the who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in nineteen ninety.
Okay, as I mentioned, Pete Townsend was the primary songwriter, and
if you think of the who you think of Pete Townsend, you'd be correct.
But in nineteen sixty six, for their second studio album, the band's
manager, Kit Lambert had arranged some sort of songwriting deal that required each member
of the group to write a song or two as well. The LP came
out. It was called A Quick One in the UK and Happy Jack here
in the US, and it contains tonight's featured selection Whiskey Man, a song
written by bassist John Entwhistle. The LP also included an Whistle's best known song,
perhaps Boris the Spider, and it secured Entwhistle's role as the second songwriter
in the band. Interesting side note that LP also included the Townsend Pen musical
suite Cold A Quick One while He's Away, which would serve as the precursor
to and the blueprint for his later rock operas Tommy and Quadrafenia. That who
would go on to become famous for. Now, let's talk about John Entwistle
for a minute. John Entwhistle was also known as the Ox, Thunderfingers and
the Quiet One, and he was the only member of the band who had
any kind of formal musical training. He would go on to write songs for
the band for the rest of his career, and he went on to record
a number of solo albums as well. Ed Whistle said that Whiskey Man was
the first song he ever wrote, and it's the story of a drunkard,
believe it or not, whose best friend is a man that he only sees
while he's inebriated, and he doesn't quite understand why no one else can see
him. So eventually, so it's like Kazoo on the Flintstone, sort of
like that. Yeah, So eventually those fine young men in their nice white
coats show up and take him off to the nuthouse and put him in a
nice padded cell, where, much to his chagrin, the whiskey Man was
not invited and allowed to join him. So anyway, let's raise a glass
to the whiskey Man by the Who, sung by John Entwhistle on bass guitar,
and check out the rock and roll French horn. Whiskey Man's my friends
will be there all time. He always joins me when I drink? Can
we get on? Despite nobody has ever seen him by the only one see
me, I must be man and silent is. If that's the way it
is, doom doctors say he's just a figment of my twisted by If they
can't see my whiskey Man they must be going blind to then dressed in white
collected me two days ago, isn't there's all for one and whiskey Man gon
go. Whiskey Man will rest away. He's left his own. I can't
even read him because he isn't hasn't got to. Life is very gloomy in
this little idaself. It's a shame there wasn't drum for whiskey Man as well.
The scheme man's my fun He's Whisney million. He always johns me when
I drink and we get on just fine. We get on just fine.
Talk about the dts. Huh, I've never heard that before. I like
that. That's so cool that french horn. That was whistle playing the french
horn too. Wow? Cool rocked on french horn. Yeah, I thought
that was awesome. Yeah, I thought I thought, Becky, would you
would appreciate that. No clams either. I don't know if you're familiar with
the term clam neil, but clams when a french horn player misses a note.
Clam. Yeah, there there's a you can look it up on YouTube.
There's a the audio of the probably one of the greatest drummers in the
world, Buddy Rich that they recorded him be rating his band in uh,
I guess in the bus after a show. He was, you know,
kind of angry and he was he was referring to clams as all the bad
notes that his band was playing. And I'm not I'm just gonna leave it
there. You gotta listen to it. But yeah, yeah, anyway,
um clam bake. That's when there are a lot of really bad notes.
That's a clammy. Oh boy, Oh yeah that anyway. Unfortunately, John
Entwhistle died on June twenty seventh, two thousand and two, the day before
the Who's two thousand and two US tour was set to begin. It was
after spending a night with a local stripper and groupie and an undetermined amount of
cocaine. He was only fifty seven years old. The medical examiner determined that
the cause of death was due to a heart attack. Yeah yeah, yeah,
he he did suffer from severe heart disease because probably because he smoked a
pack of cigarettes, at least a pack of cigarettes a day for you know,
many years. But that's the way it goes. The WHO, which
is now basically Townsend Adultery, continued to perform as the Who to this day.
Anyway, I thought that would be an interesting song that, you know,
like I said, some people may not have heard and showcase the talents
of Entwhistle, who was always kind of in the background. He didn't get
the He wasn't smashing his guitar or his drum set or failing his microphone around
you could. There are a number of his bass solos on YouTube if you
want to see him playing, and they just they blow your mind. How
good he was. Yeah, no, he was. He was phenomenals.
Down on the top of any any you know list of you know, the
world's greatest bass players type thing. He's always he's always near the top of
all of them, and well deserved. Yeah, and the whole smashing equipment.
You probably know the details better than I do, Neil, But that
all started as a as an accident, totally an accident. Yeah, it
was. They were playing at some you know, you know, they played
in these small little clubs at that time. I guess either the stage was
rather high or the ceiling was rather low, or a combination of the two,
and at one point, towards the end of the the set they were
doing, you know, Townsend did one of his you know, his jumps
or whatever, you know, holding his guitar up, and it hit the
ceiling and broke the headstock off, I guess, or somehow it so of
course he got a little bit angry about that and just proceeded to destroy the
instrument, you know, all together, and the crowd went crazy. So
and there you go. So I guess the next night they played, they
didn't do it, and people were getting mad. So he decided, okay,
let's do it again, and for good measure, Keith Moon decided to
kick over his drum set in a show of solidarity. The crowd went nuts,
and that's what that did it, And I guess they did get I
saw towns in smashing guitar one time. It was so it was he had
a whole rack of them behind him, and they all had numbers on them
too. They were all Less Pauls, and so yeah, he you you
smashed one of those up. Moon kicked over his drum set. I figured,
well that's it. Nope, the roadies came up, put the drum
set back up. He goes over, grabs another guitar, walks up to
the mic and goes, they're all the same to me, and they did
the encore. All right, when you have that kind of money, you
can break your own equipment. I was going to say, that sounds like
a very expensive hobby. Yeah, that's not something newbies do. Yeah.
Well, when they were starting out, it was he'd kind of go into
the music store and grab it and start running towards this I'll pay you later,
and then with you know, nice yeah, nice. Yeah. You
don't see too many french horn players get up and smash their instruments, no
way, only if if they're if they're blowing clams. They did, well,
they did. They did it on Mash, that one episode of Mash
where they squashed the Winchester's French horn because he was only blowing claims. Yeah,
yeah, worth watching. Well they went on to smash up hotel rooms
too, right yeah, well like yeah, well then, like I said,
their antics off stage, and particularly Keith Moon, you know, throwing
m ads and toilets in hotels and throwing them in elevators and out of windows,
and you know that it sounds like, oh that's all funny, but
you know you can get seriously hurt that way. You know. Yeah,
it sounded cool back then, but it really I don't think it was.
But it was nice for the hotel. It wasn't. They found it harder
and harder to find hotel rooms after a while. Oh, I bet driving
driving cars into swimming pools at the martel, which great experience. But you
know, probably we are makes good stories. But yeah, I guess if
you were there would be a different story, definitely, especially if at your
pool. Yeah, if your car or your car. Yeah, that's true.
I assume it was his own car, but I guess you never know
who. Yeah, awesome, good lead off like that one. I've never
met the whiskey man. It sounds like I have work to do. Yeah,
well, you know, just just remember, get a designated driver,
that's all I'm saying. I'll be home. I'm good. Oh, I
got a designated recliner all ready to go. That's perfect. I'll let you
know how it goes. Probably not well, Mercedes, you're up. I
have a short potato story, if I may please. We we had a
house in Southampton that we built, and this was kind of a long time
ago, but we had bought the land and had the house built, and
it was on some property that used to be some farms or a farm.
And um, a lot of people hadn't started building yet, so there was
a lot of open open land still. And one day and I'm looking out
the window and there are these two women with aprons picking things off the ground
and putting them into their pockets and their aprons and stuff. I couldn't figure
out what they were doing. So we watched and watched and watched, and
treenough was potatoes. And I went out and talked to them, and they
said, oh, yeah, yeah, this used to be a potato field.
So they were going out as long as people weren't building houses there yet,
they were going out and digging up the potatoes. Cool. They are
easy to grow. One of our other shows is Getting Dirty the Allusan and
avan Our farmers, and they give great advice. And they got me growing
this little mini farm right behind me, and they got me drying potatoes.
And they are actually very easy to grow. So I have one more quick
potato story. I'm just full of potatoes today. My husband was half Italian
and half Irish, but he really embraced his Irish side more than his Italian
side, and he was very proud of that, and a lot of his
friends were very Irish and he the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York was
a very big deal for all of them. And they would start off real
early in the morning. I get up Wiley early and get dressed and go
out. And you know, it's usually pretty cold on Saint Patrick's Day,
so they would they would bake potatoes in the oven and then put them in
their pockets and then go out and party, and when they get hungry,
they would eat the potatoes because they'd be cool enough by then. And take
sense, that's great, very practical. And think you'd use them for handwarmers.
I guess they were and throughout history for a long time as handwarmers.
No, that's exactly why they had them in their pockets. It was to
keep their handwarm. Yeah. Sure. Now, if you're if you're really
a nerd, which I am, I watch a star talk Neil deGrasse Tyson's
YouTube channel and he actually talked about, you know, cooking, and of
the things he talked about was potatoes. And you know, baking a potato
takes forever, and it holds heat that long because for as long as it
takes to absorb heat, that's how long it's going to radiate the heat back
out, which is why you know, you toast a piece of bread and
it takes two seconds and then it dissipates the heat two seconds. So yeah,
potatoes were used for a very for a long time his hand work.
I never knew that. Yeah, yep, it's it's another rabbit hole.
So use your time wisely. Just got put mashed potatoes in your pockets.
Yeah, yeah, don't mash them with your hands while they were in your
pockets. Do you guys remember the comedian Mitch Hedberg. He passed away number
of years ago, but he was great with the one line is. One
of his things was that he always since baked potatoes take forever. He always
has one in the oven because you just never know. I love it.
Yeah. So if you have like a stubborn icy patch in your driveway in
the winter, can you just throw a baked potato on it and then melt
all the tater tots? Yeah that's better instead of salt. Yeah exactly,
And then in the spring you got a nice snack when you get home from
work. Many many years ago, many years ago, was in a living
situation where you know, it was kind of a shared kitchen and I had
a microwave, and one of the other people who were there said, you
know, if you know you're not using it, could I use it?
So I said, sure, you know, go right ahead. So I
wasn't there at the time, but apparently he decided to bake a potato.
Oh he didn't stab it first, Well, you put it in the microwave
and said it you know, probably at high for three hours. Oh my
god, Oh my gosh. Did the house blow up? Apparently I wasn't
there when this went on, but I came, you know, in the
aftermath, and apparently, yeah, this thing was like a molten meteorite,
you know that. Wow, I'd better pull the door off the microwave.
Probably you get burned that way. You open the door and the thing explodes
in your face. Yeah. I was like, who would do that?
But you can bake potato in the microwave, but do do it for like
five minutes? Yeah, And this was like, you know, a long
time and yeah, wrong, Yeah, that's insane. That's insane. All
right. So my song is not about potatoes, all right, they can't
all be perfect. My song is I Don't Like Mondays. It's a song
by the Irish new wave punk group The boomtown Rats. It was written by
Bob Geldoff and Geldoff is a singer, songwriter and political activists. He also
conceived and co wrote band aids tune do They Know It's Christmas with his friend
musician Midge You of Ultravox, which became the nineteen eighty four Christmas number one
in the UK and the best selling British pop single until that time. Band
Aid later evolved into Live Aid in nineteen eighty five, the first international real
time concert broadcast across the globe for two days. Band Aid and live Aid
were created to bring relief to the starving in Ethiopia, Ethiopia. Geldof was
knighted by the British Conservative Government in nineteen eighty six for this achievement. The
song was originally written as a reggae song which I did not know. I
am a huge boomtown Rats fan. It was released in nineteen seventy nine from
their The Fine Arts of Servicing album. The boomtown Rats were formed in nineteen
seventy five. All members were from Ireland. They were called originally the Nightlife
Thugs, which I kind of love, yeah yeah, from a Woody Gulf
It's a bit of a mouthful though, I guess Boomtown rises a mouthfuls,
which is from Nighttime Nightlife. Thugs was from a Woody Guthrie autobiography. Bob
Geldoff was initially the manager, but he took over the lead vocals. He
wrote the song after reading a telex report at Georgia State University's campus radio station
WRIS on the shooting spree of a sixteen year old Brenda Anne Spencer, who
fired at children in a school playground at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego,
California, on January twenty ninth, nineteen seventy seventy nine. Excuse me,
killing two adults and injuring eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed
no remorse for her crime. Her explanation for her actions was, I don't
like mondays this live NDS up the day, which I had never heard.
There was a second part to it. Oh yeah, So she lived across
the street and she opened fire on the school with a rifle her father had
given her for Christmas. Geldof said, I was doing this radio interview in
Atlanta with Johnny Fingers, also from the band, and there was a telex
machine beside me. I read it as it came out. Not liking mondays
as a reason for doing something is a bit strange. I was thinking about
it on the way back to the hotel, and I just said, silicon
chip inside her head had switched to overload. I wrote that down, and
the journalists interviewing her said, tell me why it was such a senseless act.
It was the perfect senseless act, and this was the perfect senseless reason
for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it.
It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy. Really sad, Let's play that
song. It's a great song. Though, Silkin chip Bell said, ahead,
get switched to OVERLOWD, and nobody's gonna go to school today. She's
gonna make them stay at all, and that it doesn't understand it. He
always said she was good at school, and he can see no reasons because
there no reasons. Why the reason do you need to be shore? Oh,
tell me why I don't like money, tell me why I don't like
many, why I don't like him? And I want to shoot the funk
day down makes machine is kept so clean and it types do awaiting world I'm
learning feels so shocked. Father's world is right, and the Dutch don dude
their own little girl sweet sixteen Niga beat Chinky Now I hain't so to admit
dim beat. They can see no whole reasons because there are no reasons.
Why reasons? Do even need a time? Any why? I don't like
this anyway? I don't like mine anywhy I don't like moness. I want
to shoot the funk day down, down down, shooting on down another plane
stopped in the playground. Now she wants to play with the dregleman and school
time early and so we'll be learning in the lesson today is today? And
then the boat home backles of the captain tangles with the brothers your wife,
and he can see no reasons because the no reasons what pleas him? Do
you need to? Who die? Die? And the silicon chip ben say
ahead gets switched to overlow Oh, and nobody's gonna go to school to She's
gonna make them stay, and that it doesn't understand that he always said she
was good. It's good and he could see no reasons because I'm no reasons
why reason knew you need to be sure. Tell me why I don't like
Moneys anyway, I don't like many. Tell me why I don't like I
don't tell any why I don't like my. Tell any why I don't like.
I don't tell you I don't like place. Tell me why I don't
like they don't want to shoot Boo the Hall day down. Lots of feels.
Huh, Yeah, I've never heard that before. That was fantastic.
Really it's on Oh my gosh, I haven't heard it. When was it
written? Mercedes, you're like the most irish of the group I know,
and considering the bat well, we can't see this, but we you can,
but considering my background here on the video is Galway. And but yeah,
I've never heard that, and Mercedes that that was just I liked it.
I just had a lot of like, like feeling and passion to it.
I don't know how else to describe it, you know, yep,
yep. I mean it was a beautiful piece of music. It's so beautiful.
Such a topic is so sad. But I think that was the problem
that they that that that that was probably their biggest hit, but it was
such a dark subject that it it kind of like nobody want wanted to hear
what else they did, you know, And they had a lot of other
great stuff. They had amazing songs, but this one you're not going to
be hearing in a nightclub somewhere or you know, nobody's gonna be playing an
on the jukebox. Yeah, let's say it's not a feel good song.
Let's put it that way. No, but while it was playing, I
texted Mercedes. I said, this song has all the characteristics of musical theater.
It's just so well done. It was very it was very like Broadway
issh in terms of its y. You know. Yeah, I think they
were probably bigger in the UK than than they were or should have been over
here. And like you said that, Geldolf, he was knighted for the
live age stuff, so I mean, he definitely people knew who he was
but for that. But I don't think like, well, you say,
John, this is a new one for you. But it wasn't really a
big hit over here. It was it was just too dark. It was
just too you know, tragic. Yeah, well, I got to see
it years ago. Time. I'm sorry. I think probably at the time
it was like an isolated you know, incident that was completely unexpected and it
is so unfortunate that it's so relevant in our world today that you know,
this could be anywhere, anytime, anybody, for no reason at all.
I remember this getting a lot, a lot of airplay. Some stations did
play it, Yeah, it did, and it was well, it was
still kind of topical at the time, Like I think the the tragedy happened
with seventy five and the song was like four years later, so it was
still you know, fresh in people's memories too. That explains a lot too
then because fall of seventy eight to fall of seventy nine I was living over
in the UK, so that explained well I heard it a lot now that
would do it and uh and then I think it unfortunately I kind of co
opted as like you know, oh it's money. Oh I don't like Mondays,
you know, like you know, like like it like it was some
sort of like you know, like not a joke, but it was not
the seriousness that the song wasn't. Right. Well, if you don't know
what the song is about it and it just sounds like a great song,
Yeah, if you don't know what the lyrics are you don't pay attention to
it. And I remember, I remember when it actually happened. I remember,
yeah, when when it happened. So and so, you know,
when he wrote the song, I knew as soon as I heard. I
was like, I knew what he was talking about, or you know,
what what he was singing about. And and I remember that, you know,
that was the shocking reason too, that you know, whatever her reasoning
was, that was nothing new too. That was that was well known,
and everybody was just like, you know, incredulous. And and here we
are, you know, almost fifty years later, and we're still scratching our
heads like what's going on here? But I'll get off my soapbox on that.
I finally got to see them a few years back, a handful of
years back, and I didn't I got a ticket. I just found out
that they were playing, got a ticket. I am a huge fan,
like I said, and I was living up in Rockland and decided to go
see them. Got in my car by myself, got stuck on the Palisades
Parkway for I don't know how long. I was flipping out because I did
not want to miss this band, because I had wanted to see them for
so many years. I got to the club, got there, got inside,
like, ran inside, found out that they hadn't started yet and there
was four opening bands, four four opening vand oh lord, so I had
to stand by myself for four sets before they came on. And then when
I left there, I went back to get my car and the garage was
closed. Oh. I was crying outside the garage and then finally discovered a
phone uber like in a little little tiny words land letters somewhere and I earned
numbers and I called and the guy said yeah, yeah, yeah, So
he came and brought my car out, and I got onto the West Side
Highway and got pulled over by a coup man Mercedes. You're striking out this
whole night terrible. The good thing was that I got to see them.
But the cop said to me, were you drinking? And I said no,
and he said are you sure? And he was sniffing inside my car
and no, office, I was not drinking. And he said, do
you know why I pulled you over? And I said no, I honestly
don't and he said, your lights turn on. Oh oops. I was
so stressed out from the garage situation and the whole entire night that and you
know it's still it's in the city, it's still light in this you know,
not what time it is. It was light on the highway so well
as I found out the hard way once that that's a telltale sign to you
know, probably telling Brian nothing. He doesn't know. That's a telltale sign
that there may be something ishy going on, you know, alcohol wise with
a driver. If if they're driving around without the lights on it and it's
pitch blackout and you say, well, yeah, because I just got out
of a parking lot it was all lit up, and yeah, but you
still have to remember to turn your lights on. But better better idea call
a cab. Yes, yeah, you know, Mercedes. I have to
tell you I got pulled over once for not having my lights on either.
And I didn't have any cool story around it involving going to a concert.
It was just I had just moved to Cooperstown to work for Glimmerglass Opera,
literally just moved there and I was just super stressed, like with everything,
and you know, you get to a new town and you don't know where
anything is and driving around and it's like, whoops, my lights aren't on
because I have no idea what I'm doing, and I'm totally confused. I
just moved here, so it wasn't nearly as cool as your story. And
honestly, just the garage part alone, I could understand. That's why you
were like super stressed and I forgot to turn your lights on? Makes perfect
sense to me. Why I do it all the time? I forget and
I haven't had a drink in thirty years, and I still forget to turn
my lights on. So you know it's not. My car has an automatic
setting for the lights. That's good, so it turns them on when it
needs to. Yeah, I bet so many people like us have had that
experience, just from like being super stressed and then you forget to turn them
on. And now all the cars they just have automatic lights. I don't
think I got a pictures, and I think I didn't get home till two
or three in the morning, and as I said, I was by myself.
So why didn't you tell me about this? I would have gone to
that. I've never seen them. I would have definitely gone to that show.
I don't feel like I don't think you were. No, this was
not that long ago. I think you were doing something or something something was
going on. Was it like a super last minute thing that you have been
thinking about it and then at the last minute you decided no, no,
yeah, you got you got to see you got to see them. That's
yes, that's it And who will be forever forgotten? Yes, Oh,
I have absolutely no idea. I didn't remember nothing about them. I remember
thinking, how am I going to go to the ladies room before Bob Geldof
goes on and get my spot back? Because I had a really good spot.
You know, you make friends. Yeah, I asked the people next
time, I'll be right back and told Spot that's it. Yeah, they
said, as I call it, look big bumping for me. Nice anyway.
Bob Geldof had originally intended the song as a B side, but changed
his mind after the song turned out to be successful with audiences. Spencer the
girl's family, tried to prevent the single for being released in the US,
but were unsuccessful. Later, Geldof admitted that he regretted writing the song because
he felt he had made Brenda Spencer famous. In twenty nineteen, Bob Geldof
and Johnny Fingers reached an agreement in their dispute over who had written the song,
because until then it was credited only to geldof Fingers received a financial settlement
and a co credit and despite it reaching number one in the UK Neil,
as you said, it only reached verse seventy three on the US Billboard Hot
one hundred. That's it, that's it. I was waiting for a big
finale, like okay, finale was my story. But getting pulled over.
I didn't know about the second part of the quote. Yeah, it's interesting.
I had no idea, no idea. It's disturbing. It's disturbing to
say the least. Yeah, yeah, all right, this Liiven's up the
day. Yikes is what she said. Should have had a cup of coffee
instead. All right, we're gonna take our second real quick break and we're
gonna be back with more Saint Patrick's Day slash Irish related kind of stuff right
after this, So stick around. This is Hudson Riddle Radio dot Com.
Oh right, Hodson, your radio dot com wants a nicer hot and you
can't stop and welcome back. We're gonna just hop right back in with Gail.
The song I chose is called take Back the City, and it was
released in two thousand and eight by the band Snow Patrol. Snow Patrol is
an Irish Scottish band. The founders met at Dundee University back in nineteen ninety
four and they're still going today. The members are Gary Lightbody, Johnny Quinn,
Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson and Johnny McDade. This song is from their
fifth album called A hundred Million Sons and the lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody
and the music was composed by Snow Patrol as a group. And the song
has positive lyrics and it's about light Bodies love for Belfast, which is his
home city. So let's give a listen. I don't know if I might
be the only one in the group who knows this song. I don't know.
I just remember when it came out, I didn't know what it was
about. I just knew I liked it. Seek back to City for your
sil tonight. I'll seek back to city for me, Seek back to City
for your sil tonight. Whoa woa. God knows you put your life into
it times and it's both creedle you and crushed. But now it's time to
make your own demands. WHOAOA? All these years later, and it's killing
me. You're broken records and works, ten thousand creators, where else should
be? Whoa wo don't need to put you onto smile mouth, don't need
you then sing it all. I love this place enough to happle down woo.
It's a last, it's a start. It's a far. O my
god, art, you're sad. You're a call every crack, every one
an side. They can fight and get your fright. We can say until
you dry. It's a fun just never starts. I love the same and
night. I love the same, always gets steep like light and especi me
out after days long, LI know a small as make silence, sake back
the same and night. Tell me you never wanted more than this, and
I will stop talking now. One perfect partner, Want a turtle cass,
whoa whoa Sit back the city for yourself tonight. I'll sit back the city
for me. Take back the city for yourself tonight. It's a mess.
It's a start. It's a far, my god, far you're saying,
You're called every crack, everyone to the side. You can fight, you
get your side fly, you can say until you drop. Fun just never
starts. I love say tonight say always like a light Express after silence,
Si Si Si love the Sun and night I love the Sun, the Sun,
the city. Ah, So what do you think, guys? I
like it. I like it and like Mercedes Selection. I actually had not
heard that one either, and I was very good. Yeah, that was
new on me and I really liked those crunchy guitars that Yes, this came
out in two thousand and eight. Believe it or not, it went to
number one on the US Adult Alternative Songs Billboard or that either definitely a nineties
influence. The charted in the top five in Ireland and the top ten in
the UK. And in an interview when the song came out, light Body
commented that the song is about the love for Belfast rather than concentrating on the
conflicts that have taken place over the years. And you can you can just
hear it in in this song, how much he loves this city. And
he said, you could really take away the lyrics. You should google the
lyrics sometime that you could really apply the lyrics to this song to whatever your
own beloved city is. It's just so positive and I really like it.
All right, cool, Thank you, Gail and rough to Jess. All
right, So I have to admit that I really struggled picking a song for
tonight's show because I wanted to do something that was meaningful and respectful and you
know, very positive for the Irish culture and all of that. I didn't
want to pick a drinking song, and I really didn't want to pick a
funeral song because that's just way too depressing for me. What else is less?
So that really limited? Why should you be any different than the restauran
that or you two? Right? Yes? And I knew that you two
wasn't an option, so oh that's not the problem. Um, So I
wound up getting not too far from where from from the whole funeral thing because
the song that I ultimately picked is a song that's actually about lovers being separated
by an emigration. So that was also a very you know, common kind
of Irish thing where somebody had to leave and um, you know, so
so it's it is a sad song, however it is I think the version
that I chose in particular is a beautiful song. So, uh, here's
a little bit of background. The version that I chose is by The High
Kings and that was released in The group was formed in Dublin in two thousand
and eight. They have released a total of five studio albums, and the
first three of which appeared on the Billboard World Music Charts at number three or
higher. The album that the song was recorded on is called Memory Lane,
which was released in twenty ten on the music label Universal Music Ireland. The
song itself comes from actually a Scottish song that was originally called the Bonnie Banks
oh Lock Lamond, and it dates back at least to the nineteenth century.
The Irish variation is sung to the traditional melody. It was popularized by Tommy
Makeum, who is often known as the godfather of Irish music. The earliest
known recording of the Irish version dates back to nineteen thirty four, and it's
been done by many artists, including the Chieftains as well as the Irish Tenors.
So let's take a listen the hills, my bonny Irish lass, come
over the hills to your daring. You choose the rue love, and I
amill make the vow and I be your true love forever. Race the rose
that youngder garden rose fearsly of the viely clear, the water that flows from
the point, But my love is fair. Then lady tours damn by colar
ernees green woolls that westray when the moon and the stars they were shiney the
moon chee on its rays, on her locks of golden hair, and she
swore she'd be mine love for falser rows that in yonder garden rows fair is
the lily of the viney canlearise the water that flows from the point. But
my love is fair. Theny it's not full the parting that my sister pains.
It's not for the grief of my mother. It's all far the loss
of my bodyishes that my heart is breaking for read is the road sad and
young dad and grows faaries. The lily of the vibely clearies the water that
flows from the point. But my life is fair. Theny ready rose yonder
garden rose fair. The vily clears the water that flows from the boine.
But my love is fair. Then So that was Rubs the Rose by the
High Kings. An amazing a cappella version. I think it's vocals. It's
tough to beat a nice, tight harmony like that. Wow, did you
Jess, did you say it was luck Lomond lam Lamont. Yes, you
know what I was thinking listening to that, I thought, that sounds so
much like Rhythm of My Heart by Rod Stewart, and you know it from
Yes that is I thought, I remember, I vaguely remember he wrote.
He wrote, it's a tribute to World War One veterans, and they kind
of grew into all veterans, but that's where he got it. Yeah,
yeah, amazing stuff, amazing stuff. I also listened to the version by
the Irish Tenors and this song, you know, also lends itself to a
full orchestra as well as just the harmony of the four voices. So it's
amazing what these folk songs, you know, what you can do with them
over time. And I had to because I didn't recognize a word in the
song, so I said, let me look this up. I had to
look up what the Boin was. And so if there's anybody else who doesn't
know, that is a river in the East Republic of Ireland and it rises
in the Bog of Allen and flows northeast to the Irish Sea. So in
case you were not sure what the boy had no idea, their idea.
So that's my bit of education for the Day, Happy Saint Patrick's Day.
Everybody. Yeah, I like that one. That's yeah, that was good.
I think I would take that over the Irish tenors. But that's another
fight. We'll fight about you two today, Irish centers another day. We're
gonna take another quick break, and we have two more to go, so
stick around this more coming up here on the Rock and Roll History Show Hudson
River Radio. Your dog likes us Hudson River Radio dot com and welcome back
to the Rock and Roll History Show. We have two more selections to go
for this week's Everything Irish except you two, and we're up to Becky.
Okay, So after the very inspiring and lovely song that Jess chose, I'm
gonna bring it down with my choice. I'm sorry. You know this is
very interesting. I admit I didn't know about any Irish groups or singers other
than you two, and I knew that tonight's topic was anything but you two.
So I did a little research and discovered that one of my favorite groups
is Irish. And I should have known this, but I didn't. Because
the song that I chose is Zombie by the Cranberries and it was released in
nineteen ninety four when I was in college and I was just practicing my bass
clarinet, like eight to ten hours a day, and that's all I was
doing. So the world was kind of going on around me and I had
no clue about anything. So terns out. Probably everybody knows that that's an
Irish group. So the group what? The group is no longer together?
The lead singer of the Cranberries Dolores Mary Eileen oh Reordan. I hope I
pronounced that correctly. I would think it's oh Reordan, but I honestly can't
tell. I listened to a bunch of interviews. I don't know if it's
oh Reordon or anyway. I won't butcher it. I know nothing about Gaelic.
I'm not gonna even attempt it. Which is going to call her Dolores
o Reordan because I'm an American and I don't know how I've heard it.
Yeah, I think that's the only way I've heard That's the only way I've
heard it, so oh Reordan, Yeah, okay, perfect. So you
know, she had this incredible voice, and I say had because sadly she
died in twenty eighteen at the age of forty six. I remember hearing about
this. She drowned accidentally in the bathtub um and died from alcohol intoxication.
So she she had overdosed on alcohol it's like point three to three percent in
her body and um, and she drowned it in the bathub um. The
day that she died, she was actually supposed to be singing vocals for a
new cover of the song by Bad Wolves. Yes, that is a very
good woe. Yeah, so they didn't know what to do. They ultimately
released the cover as a tribute to her and donated all the proceeds to her
children. She had three children. She was born in nineteen seventy one,
and she got her start singing in the church. She was very Roman Catholic,
so the Catholic church was where she got her start, and she just
loved singing. She was very close with her mother. I read that sadly,
between the ages of eight and twelve, she had been sexually abused by
a person in a position of trust with the family. That's all it says.
You can kind of conclude or get some ideas of who that might have
been, because she said that when her father passed away, she had all
kinds of anxiety about having to see this person again, and she did and
the person, the man, apologized, and of course, what can you
do? Then she already the damage was done. And she had struggled her
whole life with depression. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she
just she had a really difficult time in life. She had a very short
life. She did get married in ninety four to Don Burton, who was
the manager of Duran Duran he was He's Canadian and so you know, okay,
she kind of lived in She lived in Canada and then in Ireland and
Canada, Ireland, US, you know, back and forth. She's from
She was from County Limerick in Ireland and just such a tragic story. But
her voice is like none other. It's just so beautiful. And the song
Zombie, unfortunately, is about something that we hear a lot about in Irish
music, especially with you two, about the conflict with Northern Ireland, the
IRA, and so this song is particularly about the ninety three bombing in England
where two young boys were killed, just in Warrington, Cheshire, England,
and two young boys Jonathan Ball and Tim Perry Perry sorry we're killed. So
it's kind of heavy, you know, but she just has such a beautiful
voice, and I just this is really my favorite song by the Cranberries.
Her other songs are you know, she has more uplifting songs that she did,
but I just love this one. So let's go ahead and listen to
Zombie had Hands, Holy chart. I s calls styling. Are we stay
mat You see, it's not me, it's an and my family your yard
there fighting with their chas and their bombs and their bombs and their guns in
the yard yards yr ar army, armyr sarve arve, my father, spread
hot jeans, take over causes science. We must be staging. It's the
same odeed since nineteen sixteen in the yea in the yard head they're still fighting
with their tanks and their bombs, their bombs and their guns. He d
a yard dian yar yardingtveingtveing sarve. I know it's a sad topic, but
you know, Dolores oh Reordan, she just there will never be another voice
like hers. Um. She was just um, a beautiful soul, beautiful
singer. Praised for being an iconic figure in Ireland. She was there.
It was like a three Day memorial for her. When she was buried in
Ireland, the President of Ireland was there and she was she was an iconic
figure. A couple of kind of interesting things that are not so sad.
The video Okay, so the video is intense, but it was directed by
Samuel Bayer, who also directed Nirvana's Smells Like Teen spirit Um So if you
haven't seen the video, check it out. After the song was released in
nineteen ninety four. In on August thirty first, nineteen ninety four, just
a few weeks after the song was released, the IRA declared a ceasefire after
twenty five years of the conflict um and It's Some critics believed it was They
wondered if it was because at the Cranberries and the IRA didn't want them to
make any more release any more songs about them, which I think is kind
of funny. But hey, you know, maybe maybe it's true. Maybe
they just didn't want to be the topic of any more songs. Uh.
Nevertheless, that was that was great. That's that's good, and there's so
much passion in that song. That's one of those songs that's just so all
around good that I'm actually tired after listening to it. But I love that
song. There's just so much substance to it vocally, creatively, instrumentally,
it's really just like it's moved. It's really really grabs you because it just
starts so it with such control and you know, kind of focus and very
small and you think, oh, this is nice, and then it's like
boom uh. And that's the power. I think of her voice and of
the writing. Like you said, Gail, Um, what else was I
gonna say about the Cranberries. Oh, the original name of the Cranberries,
h was the Cranberry saw Us. I'm that Oh, there's going to be
a Stanberry talk about mister potato head grand that Cranberry saw you. And she
saw it and said, I don't actually I don't know who decided to change
the name in the band. Um. The original the band formed in nineteen
eighty nine. Brothers Noel and Michael hor Hogan sorry from Limerick, Ireland,
founded the band and then they brought on drummer Spurgal Lawlor and then there was
a different singer, and then Dolores came along and they loved her and she
was their lead singer. But yeah, the original name original name was the
Cranberry Sauce. I'm so glad they changed going either cranberries or sauce, but
together just doesn't work. Yeah, I don't think sauce would have worked either,
quite frankly, but no cranberries. That was that was a great name.
And also, you know, I did see a lot of interviews online
on YouTube with Dolores, and uh, yeah, it's there's so many great
interviews with her. If you have the chance, go listen to them.
You know, one thing about her singing is she was very unapologetic about her
Irish accent and she you know, she did not apologize for having it,
and you can hear it come through if you listen to this song again.
She says it's the same old thing since nineteen sixteen, but when you listen
to her singing, it sounds like it's the same old ting. And if
you hear an interview with her, I just noticed, like she I guess,
the ahes are just not pronounced, kind of like in French, ages
are not pronounced. So that was kind of neat. I always like to
hear those things in singers when there's especially when they're speaking, you know,
when they're in interviews because you could hear it in their singing and then you
know, you hear an interview go oh that's pretty cool. So did somebody
actually want her to apologize for having an Irish accent? What's up? Somebody
wanted her to apologize for having in Irish accent? Well, you know,
a lot of a lot of artists when they come from a country another country,
they you know, hires and people try to get the accent out of
their singing, and any trace of it is not seen is a good thing.
Um, Which is I think why like when I was younger, middle
school, you know, high school or whatever, I'd be so shocked when
I would hear a singer talk in an interview after Yeah, because they're they're
songs they sing, so you know, it's like so even in terms of
you can't hear any kind of inflection or dialect. Um. So yeah,
I'm I'm glad she she hold she was holding tight to her her roots and
she was I don't know, oh yeah, okay, people were weird.
Yeah, I mean it's it's trying to kind of like, um, you
know, everything has to be mainstream, everything has to be kind of uh,
I don't know, even I guess monolization of America. Yeah, so
that was my choice. All right, we got one more to go.
I went with a band called horse Lips from Ireland. You heard me right,
Horse than Sauce, which ended the Horse the Lips all right, never
mind. The three founding members Barry Devlin, Aim and Carr Charles O'Connor,
they all worked together at an advertising agency in Dublin. They were recruited to
be in a pretend band for a harp lagger commercial, one of Neil's former
drinks of choice, and they needed a keyboard player or a pretend keyboard player,
so they grabbed a friend named Jim Lockhart, and the four of them
enjoyed pretending to be a band so much that they decided to become a real
band in nineteen seventy kind of like the Monkeys, similar story. So the
name of the band is a spoonerism from the title The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, which turned into the Four Pocksmen of the horse Lips. And as
where Horselips came from? I like that, yep. Originally they spelled it
lyp Se and then they just changed it to l ips. They went pro
on st Patrick's Day in nineteen seventy two. They were one of the few
groups that were able to cross the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland without any
problems. They were popular on both sides, something that wasn't very common at
the time. They played together for ten years and then called it quits on
good terms. They just decided that was it. Ten years was good.
They've gotten together with different members on and off against sporadic gigs every once in
a while, but no touring, nothing. Steady Horse Lips are widely considered
to be the founding fathers of Celtic rock for their infusion of traditional Irish music
styles and the use of traditional instruments, which you will hear if you see
their performances from the nineteen seventies, and there are a few on YouTube.
I can't help it laugh because it's spinal tap. It is washing spinal tap,
the way they dress, the facial hair, the settings, the fog
machines going well, it is watching spinal taps. So the music is not
supposed to be funny, and it's not, but watching them is very funny,
and I just can't help it laugh. Their most popular song was released
in nineteen seventy three. I'm going to do my best to pronounce it.
It's called Dark Doom d e a rg, which I believe is Darg and
I hope I'm saying that right, Darg Doom, which roughly translates to red
destroyer, an Irish mythical warrior named Hound of Ulster. The song itself is
based on an Irish battle march called O'Neill's Cavalry March. And keep your ears
open for some fifes. And there's a bagpipe in there and some other traditional
instruments. So let's check out Dark Doom from nineteen seventy three. That is
cooler. Then let mother see my mine is older. That is tree.
I SI just see me coming. You would better run gone. I can't
gone, gone, gone, you speaking whispers the fire myself and see your
dad the bloody said with me. I don't want you, I don't need
you, I don't love you. And to see I can't go. I'm
carry down. I'm carried down, I'm dying down. I'm when to start
flight. You can hear me shouting to hit the Battle of nine one hundred
heads, so much better than wine. When it starts light, he shouting
to hit the Battle of nine hundred heads so much better than one. I'm
a boy who was all not too bad, right, that's awesomest line is
jamming. Yeah, it's like Irish nil Rogers. I remember, I remember
hearing about them or reading the name, but I don't. I didn't know
anything about them. I don't. I might have heard them on one of
the more progressive FM stations at the time, you know, around the mid
seventies, but I didn't remember or know anything except you know, the name
is kind of you know that stakes with you? Oh that that that was
pretty cool. Again, I didn't know what they sounded like really, and
yeah it was. It was good and they went out on the top.
So you got to hand it to him. What's that? I like that
story too, I like that. Yeah. So all right we made it
to the end and it didn't turn into a brawl about you too, so
that's good. I mean, I didn't even talk about it, I know.
That's why I'm smiling. Expressly prohibited. It was expressly prohibited. But
that doesn't mean there's not going to be a fight about it. Oh go
ahead, that was gonna say that, Brian. I'm wondering if there might
be some not total with some agreement with you on this, you know,
with the whole topic of you two. I don't know, I don't I
don't know. In other words, there's no reason to fight. Yes,
oh, okay, fair enough. I liked some of their songs and I'm
not embarrassed about it. I think it's great that we were able to choose
other songs to show how many diverse um Irish groups and singers are out there.
That yes, we didn't know, and we didn't even touch on thin
Lizzie. So there you go, now, asked my other choice. Oh,
they irritate me. Ah, well, now we know I can argue
about that. If girl's having a bad day, we avoid the Lizzie.
If you know what's good for you. Yeah, and we learned so much
about potatoes and multi purpose vegetables that you can use to warm your hands and
use this toys. I remember my mom told me that mister potato Head was
originally she had that with a with a potato and I thought that's crazy,
but no, it's true. Oh yeah, no, that that's the way
he started. Believe. I've got the scars and toys that you can stab
yourself with that's just from plastics and that cool little door on the back of
him where you can statch on the accessory toody parts, potato button, potato
rump yep. And with that it is absolutely time to pull the plug and
get out of here. Well, thank you Crambones for for a great show,
and thank you everybody for joining us here for the rock and roll History
Show. Don't forget to subscribe in your favorite podcast app and check out all
the other shows we do here in Hudson River Radio. We have a little
sun for everybody. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode.
Until then, have a great weekend everybody, and we will see you later.
Piece out a rock bottom okay, b bye. Hudson River Radio dot
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