Speaker 1: Hudson River Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: This is Arnie Pie with Arny and the Sky.
Speaker 3: We've got big problems on the Springfield Memorial Bridge.
Speaker 2: People traffic going way back in.
Speaker 3: Both directions, and look out at the corner of fourteenth Al.
Speaker 2: Because I just dropped my bagel.
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Jesse Carmichael from Room five.
Speaker 4: Hi, this is Phil Margol of the Tokens.
Speaker 1: Hello.
Speaker 5: It's Nicole Atkins on the Rock and Roll History Show.
Speaker 6: Hello, everybody, Welcome back to the Rock and Roll History
Show on Hudson River Radio, your number one distraction from
the Epstein Files. I'm Brian Horowitz. We have an interesting topic.
We're talking about chain stores today, songs that reference like
actual physical stores. We may have to explain what a
store is to a certain age demographic play. We'll get
to that in a minute. Has always allowed me to
introduce the crembones who are joining us here tonight. First
and foremost, from the Richter Observatory. He realized that every
time you clog a toilet, you have exceeded somebody's expectations.
Neil Richter is back.
Speaker 7: My own.
Speaker 6: And from paranormally yours. She tried to take a picture
of a field of wheat. It was grainy.
Speaker 8: Hey, Brian, Yes, what do you call a magic dog?
Speaker 6: Magic dog?
Speaker 8: Yes, yes, a labreka.
Speaker 6: I mean, hey, sorry, I just that's okay, welcome back
from the silver screen. She saw a guy walk into
a bar and ask for a fruit punch. The bartender says, sure,
just get in line, and the guy looks around, confused
because there's no punchline. Mercedes Kent is here.
Speaker 1: Oh that was good, thanks Brian. Hey everybody, and.
Speaker 6: Last but not least, the host of shaving Cream. She
was very sad to learn that Sean Connery was never
able to teach his dog to sit.
Speaker 1: Everybody, I lost you lost me on that one.
Speaker 6: Think Sean Connery and how he talks.
Speaker 9: Yeah, okay, So did you guys know that that many
people like Coldplay?
Speaker 2: I'll tell you that I think a lot more. Yeah.
Speaker 7: That was the most embarrassing part of that whole thing.
Speaker 6: That they went to a Coldplay concert.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I have never been able to get into cold Play.
Speaker 4: I don't know why.
Speaker 1: I don't know what they do. I don't know.
Speaker 6: They just play eighth notes ding ding ding ding ding
ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding.
Speaker 1: Ding And then okay, that is not right up my alley.
Speaker 6: Yeah mine either, not my thing, but hey, what can
I say? They're cold Play and we're sitting here recording
a podcast.
Speaker 1: Yea, so they are geniuses for doing Yeah, exactly exactly.
Apparently they've they've done that other places too.
Speaker 8: And they're laughing all the way to the bank.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, totally yup.
Speaker 6: So all right, I can't argue with that. I don't
remember who came up with this week's topic of chain stores,
and I don't know was it Mercedes, you came up
with it? Was there something that prompted it or just
something that kind of absolutely nothing?
Speaker 1: I have no idea where that came from. And as
I'm going to discuss later, as soon as we decided
on it, I went, oh, my god, I have no idea.
Speaker 6: Well, yeah, I had trouble coming up with one, but
then Barbara made her pick and I went, oh, and
that prompted my pick. But you're gonna have to wait
and see what what it is. But let's hop in Barbara,
you're going to lead us off tonight with your inspiration.
Speaker 2: Tell you.
Speaker 3: I have to tell you when the reason I came
up with this so fast. My pick is because I've
been hanging on to it for a while. I was
researching I think another show or my show or something
someday came across this by accident and said, I'm gonna
have to use it when the time is right, and
when we got to this topic, the time is right.
Speaker 6: So thank you for that. All right, So.
Speaker 3: I'll get to my song choice in a moment, but
first I'd like to talk about the chain store that
I chose. McDonald's Restaurant is headquartered in Chicago and was
fat did in San Bernardino, California, in nineteen forty by
brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. In nineteen fifty five, businessman
Ray Kroc joined the franchise and bought the company in
nineteen sixty one. There are forty thousand restaurants worldwide, and
it's the second largest employer behind Walmart. In nineteen forty eight,
the McDonald brothers introduced the speedy service system using the
fast food principles introduced by Whitecastle over twenty years earlier.
They fired all of their car ops, and probably we
may have to explain what a carps.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it maybe sound a little less joyous about it too.
Jes My life.
Speaker 1: Incidentally, I highly recommend the movie about Ray Kroc. Said
his name Ray Kroc, right, yes, yeah, yes, it's really good.
Speaker 3: Yes, Ray Croc.
Speaker 7: Yes.
Speaker 3: Well, in the early days, when rock and roll was young,
they used to have restaurants where you would drive up
and somebody would bring the food out to your car,
sometimes on roller skates.
Speaker 8: Doesn't Sonics still do that?
Speaker 7: I do that, really, but yeah, yeah, but I remember
doing it.
Speaker 3: I was very very young, and I remember going to
one such restaurant once and I don't remember the name
of the restaurant, but I did it once. So when
they fired all of their car hops, they replaced silverware
and plates with paper wrappings and cups, eliminating the need
for a dishwasher. The original mascot, Speedy, was a chef
with a hamburger for a head. Think about that for
a minute.
Speaker 8: Cute, nightmare and juicing right.
Speaker 3: In nineteen sixty two, Speedy was replaced by Golden Arches,
but that only lasted a year because in nineteen sixty three,
Ronald McDonald the clown was first was introduced to appeal
to children. Current McDonald's employees are provided with access to
various training videos that they can do by logging into
the employee portal. However, before the Internet way back, everybody
training was a bit different. In nineteen eighty four, Weird
Now released his song parody eat It, his answer to
Michael Jackson's nineteen eighty two hit beat It, not to
be outdone. Also in nineteen eighty four, McDonald's released a
training video for their employees called clean It, complete with
them Michael Jackson impersonator, moonwalking and sport and a lone
glove and sparkly socks. So while we wait for our
fries to be done, why don't we listen to clean It?
And some song details will.
Speaker 2: Follow up, and.
Speaker 10: I'll tell you things.
Speaker 11: A donn a danger round, don't want to see the
turn it disappear.
Speaker 2: That's how it's got to be.
Speaker 12: And I'm making it plan.
Speaker 2: Solf clean it, just clean it. Look you've done.
Speaker 4: Don't understand it's work to be done.
Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be a time.
Speaker 4: Let's make it fun.
Speaker 13: So get a bump and bom and get a squat
gun and clean it.
Speaker 10: Just pull up the stas clean, clean, show up me
little showing clean again.
Speaker 2: You ain't notice you offense.
Speaker 10: Just clean it, clean, clean, cleant you get the clean.
Speaker 2: It's got the joke, can't don't.
Speaker 10: Bother me the gan it's getting a candle.
Speaker 3: Take fine and what you do show me that you
understand that's clean.
Speaker 10: It just pull up those slaves clean clean clean, Go.
Speaker 13: Show me showing clean against show shiney clea.
Speaker 10: Shaw, show Explain.
Speaker 4: Clean.
Speaker 3: It was produced and performed by Martin O'Donnell, who collaborated
with fellow producer Michael Santori, with Greg Not Craig Ferguson
on lead vocals. Martin O'Donnell born May for US, nineteen
fifty five is an American sound designer, audio director, and composer.
He teamed up with Santori, who he met at college,
to work on video games scores such as Myths, Ony, Destiny,
and Halo. The Halo soundtrack was voted Best Original Video
Soundtrack by Rolling Stone Magazine. He also collaborated with Paul
McCartney for the video game Destiny, which was ordered Outstanding
Achievement and Original Music Composition and Outstanding and Achievement and
Sound Design at the eighteenth Annual DICE Conference. DICE standing
for Design, Innovate, Communicate, entertain But what I really wanted
to mention was that he got his start writing TV
and radio jingles such as Mister Clean and Flintstone's Vitamins.
So if clean it didn't give you enough of an earworm,
We've got Mister Clean and Flintstone's Vitamins. So he did
this until nineteen ninety seven, when his company Total Audio
transitioned to video games. Side note, I didn't think I
was going to find out much about this song. However,
it pays to read comments on YouTube, because after several
people were asking about the song's creator, about halfway down
the comment section was one for O'Donnell himself confirming he
was a mastermind behind the song and shouting out to
Centaurian Ferguson. And I also found that this was This
video was uploaded to YouTube about twelve years ago, so
it's only been I guess recently made public.
Speaker 6: I don't know if mastermind is the right word.
Speaker 3: But that's what happens when you punch in synonyms your
iPhone and you have to pick one.
Speaker 7: That was Was Michael Jackson aware of this at the time,
as anybody you know, did he?
Speaker 3: Well, well, it wasn't made public, so unless the McDonald's
employee that had access to it leaked it to him.
I really don't know. I did a lot of research
on this and I really couldn't find any evidence.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a lot of employees that could easily
easily too.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I mean it's a parody too, so you don't
need permission.
Speaker 2: You don't.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I don't know if he knew out it.
And the thing is, when I was reading the comments,
a lot of people that were ex McDonald's employees said
that they never had never saw this as a training video.
A couple said, A couple of people chimed in and
said they've seen it, And that's.
Speaker 7: What I was going to say that the real question
is did it really motivate the workers.
Speaker 1: To Did it motivate you to clean right now? Neil, No,
not at all.
Speaker 3: It made me, you know, I wanted it makes me
want fries is about it, you.
Speaker 7: Know, nuggets or something.
Speaker 6: But it makes me think that if they can pay
to make a video like that, they can pay me
just a little more.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, definitely. But the people were mostly on the
YouTube site were criticizing the video because it had like
the dancers were like sliding across the counter after they
just clean it.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 7: That's appetite.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly because of the grease, probably right, because they
were putting.
Speaker 3: Their thoughts on the counter.
Speaker 7: They should have wiped it after they slid.
Speaker 3: Across, exactly exactly. Then the other yeah, well, they did
describe the Michael Jackson actor in the video as a
Michael Jackson lookalike. When I wrote this up, I chose
not to use the term look alike. I use the
word impersonator because it really is.
Speaker 2: There. That's it.
Speaker 3: There, you have clean it that I've been waiting a
long time too. That was good, Yeah, to expose you
to and plague you with so that you have that
earworm forever and ever.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 6: That set the bar pretty high. So great. All right,
thank you, Barbara. We're going to take a real quick
break and be back with more chain stores right after this.
Hudson River Radio, Your dog likes us.
Speaker 1: This concludes the first part of this cassette. Please turn
the cassette over and begin again on side to This
is Hudson River Radio dot Com.
Speaker 6: Ah Way, and welcome back to our chain stores episode.
And Neil, we're up to you all right.
Speaker 7: Back back on the chain gang, as they say, or
the chain store Gang. Now the song I picked was
by the Ramones. It is by the Ramones, and it's
called seven to eleven. And as you know, I've discussed
the Ramones here on the Rock and Roll History Show
many times, although not recently, but many times in the past.
But for those of you who may not know who
they were, allow me to give you a brief overview.
They were a punk rock band formed by four misfits
from Forest Hills, Queens, New York in nineteen seventy four.
The original members Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Deedy all adopted
this surname Ramone, thanks to Sir Paul McCartney, who used
the name Ramone as a surname or an alias when
he was booking into hotels and whatnot during the height
of Beatlemania, so that you know, he wouldn't be mobbed
and the place wouldn't be mobbed by you know, screaming
fans and all. He would sign in as Paul Ramone.
Somehow they got a hold of that and they became
the Ramones, and over the course of the next twenty
two years and a few personnel changes, they performed two
two hundred and sixty three live shows, released fourteen studio albums,
numerous live albums, singles, and music videos, including a full
length feature film, Rock and Mill High School and are
often cited as the first true punk rock band, and
while fame and fortune pretty much eluded them during their
active days of their career, their impact and influence on
the shape and sound of rock music is pretty much
immeasurable now. In regards to today's topic, change stores, the
song title says it all probably the most recognizable name
inconvenience stores. Seven eleven. That's right, seven eleven, the home
of the slurpee giving kids brain freeze since nineteen sixty five.
You know what I'm talking about. But let's go back
a little further. The seven eleven Incorporated. It's an American
convenience store chain and they're headquartered in Irving, Texas. Now,
the chain started out in nineteen twenty seven as the
Southland Ice Company. They sold eggs, milk, and bread from
sixteen to fent and stores in the Dallas area. In
nineteen thirty one, after the Great Depression, the company almost
filed for bankruptcy, but they managed to hang on until
after World War II and during the postwar boom and
In nineteen forty six, they changed their name to seven
eleven to reflect the store's new hours of operation, which
are or were seven am until eleven pm, although many
stores are now open twenty four hours and weathering fluctuating
stock markets, various corporate buyouts, et cetera. Seven to eleven
now operates franchises and licenses about eighty five thousand stores
all over the world. That's eighty five thousand stores worldwide. Okay.
About the song seven to eleven. It appears on the
Ramones sixth studio album called Pleasant Dreams, and it was
released in mid nineteen eighty one on Sire Records. Right
merced he's giving the thumbs up.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I was there.
Speaker 7: The song was written by Joey Ramon and it's a
sentimental ballad in the style of the teenage tragedy songs
that were popular in the late nineteen fifties and early
nineteen sixties, like Leader of the Pack by the Shangri Las,
who Joey was a huge fan of, By the Way
a Last Kiss by Jay Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers
and later covered by Eddie Veteran Pearl Jam and teen
Angel by Mark dinning, and they all lament the tragic
teenage deaths in a very melodramatic fashion. Seven to eleven
carries on that tradition. Boy meets girl at a convenience store,
they date, they fall in love, and then the girl
gets run over by a runaway car. Real tearjerker on
a spoiler wow, as Joey would say, it's a real
tear jerker for you. So let's give seven to eleven
by the Romont Just spend. We'll talk about some Oregan,
what did you get there?
Speaker 12: I met her at the setting in the.
Speaker 14: Man's then Tilly Jim again.
Speaker 2: The feature I never thought of bed a good out again.
Speaker 15: She was standing about space the sea, said candes sy.
Speaker 2: Ether I yet went for a little man.
Speaker 12: Then to the Holiday.
Speaker 2: Were younging, We was younging.
Speaker 12: Up and you only only girl, I never.
Speaker 4: Thinking it up.
Speaker 14: We went then to the Riggags walk begins with them
to the Pittsburg about.
Speaker 5: Bout she wopped, she wiped, she walp WoT she watched,
she wiped, she wap.
Speaker 14: Who didn't had to re read it or and we
did all the fun songs go, some of fun with
the prince puns on.
Speaker 2: But we all the one way wrong the wall or
he was young.
Speaker 4: Or he was youngated and yell the body cause.
Speaker 10: I never dream it.
Speaker 11: Uh.
Speaker 10: And so we went there to the things.
Speaker 2: The witch turned into.
Speaker 12: Man and before I never thought the lea the brizzo
rid Oh no no, no, oh no no.
Speaker 4: I kissed him Punker and I said goodbye.
Speaker 14: Last thing I knew she would if piggured up out
on coming car ran out of control.
Speaker 4: He crushed my baby and and crushed my soul. Now
all I've got the sorrow and pain standing, I give
it the break. The crush all turned whs the silence
of pain.
Speaker 14: He's driving me saying, oh yeah, al, we was young, Oh,
we were young, and the girl all we was junging.
Speaker 1: We was young and you only.
Speaker 7: A romance at the seven Leis And did you catch
it at the beginning there They even mentioned the famous
Motel Chain holiday inn as well, So there's a little
bonus for your chain store. And I'm sure you noticed
that the sound of the song was a little different
from more of the more traditional Ramones song.
Speaker 8: I was gonna say, I think that's probably the slowest
Ramon song I've ever heard, and polished and so Joey.
Speaker 7: But there's a reason for that, and pretty much that's
because Sire Records. They were desperate to broaden the band's appeal. Now,
their previous album, End of the Century, had come out
a year before, and it was produced by a legendary,
the legendary Phil Specter, and it was not received as
favorably as the previous LPs. It was a whole different
sound there too. But even with Spector's clout, and remember
this was before the whole murder conviction and all that,
he was still in everybody's pretty good graces, they still
couldn't get any radio airplay. You'd think Phil Spector, you
think no. And there's a reason for this, and it
was really because of the sex Pistols. Now, a while back,
maybe a year or so ago, Mercedes and I had
the Ramones tour manager Monte Melnick on the show and
we were talking about this and he said, yeah, it
was the sex Pistols because they gave punk rock a
bad name, not that they had a great name to
begin with, but you know, the sex Pistol came out
and there was the spitting and the swearing and oh yeah,
that little incident where he you know, killed his girlfriend
in odide on Heroin. You know, you know it was
it was really not what the whole scene was about,
but of course they sensationalized that and it gave it
a whole you know, a bad name, so to say.
And that's why the Ramones and so many other punk
bands couldn't get They couldn't get an airplay, and the
stations at that time would say, nope, they're not doing it.
Speaker 2: So, you know, they.
Speaker 7: Again tried to Sigh Records in an attempt to broaden
the band's appeal, chose another well known producer for Pleasant Dreams,
a man named Graham Goldman now Graham Goldman. He had
previously written songs for The Yardbirds, The Hollys, and Herman's
Hermit's Back in the nineteen sixties, and he also co
founded the band ten CC I'm Not in Love in
the nineteen seventies, so he had some prestige, some pedigree.
As expected, there were disputes all around regarding the overall
direction of the album, and it did obviously use better
production values and different musical styles that were much different
from traditional punk songs, and as a result, well, this
album didn't do very well. Commercially either. So it was
Marky Ramone, who was the drummer at the time on
Ellen this album. He called it their pop punk phase.
That's a sub genre that wouldn't really become popular for
another decade. Remember this is nineteen eighty one. Pop punk
wouldn't come along until another at least another ten years
in the nineties with bands like Green Day or The Offspring,
you know, and even beyond in two thousand with bands
like Good Charlotte and Some forty one, who really did
a lot better with that. Yeah, the Ramones they couldn't
you know, they couldn't sell it. It took other bands
to copy them and they became famous. But in the end,
you know, it's not record sales. They don't always tell
the whole story. And the Ramones are probably more influential
now and probably have sold more records. This is my opinion,
but I think I could probably back it up. They
probably have more influence and sold more records since they
disbanded back in nineteen ninety six than they did in
the entire in their retire initial run. They're probably selling
more records today than they did back then, which all right,
but it's this influence was in no small part that
led to their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame in two thousand and two, and of course, sadly,
as of twenty fourteen, all four original members are now gone,
but the subsequent members like Marky and Richie on drums
and CJ on bass, they're fortunately still out there. They're
still with us, and they're still carrying the torch. So
you know what, go down, get yourself a slurpy and
put on some of Ramon's records.
Speaker 1: Agreed, you know, this is what I was thinking when
you were playing the song. First of all, I forgot
about that song, and I love that song. But second
of all, I was thinking, you know, in a different
in a different time warp, if you know, like the
butterfly effect, if something different happened. I was trying to
picture Lake, what if all the if each of those
other members were to front the band at the time,
because they didn't really like that the sixty stuff as
much as Joey did.
Speaker 7: Oh, that was totally his.
Speaker 2: Yeah, totally his thing.
Speaker 7: He loved like the Shangri Laws. I know he you know,
he was a fan of theirs and yeah, and even
had one of his birthday bashes after he had passed.
Mary Weiss was one of the guests who came out
and you know, did a set of Shangri Law songs
and so yeah, as as a you know, kind of
a tribute to him.
Speaker 1: So yeah, but he wasn't like if you put if
you put Dede as the lead singer instead of Joey.
For whatever reason, they tried that that yeah, yeah, drummer,
yeah and d d it was a three.
Speaker 7: Piece Johnny on guitar, Dede singing and playing bass, and
Joey on drums. But the problem was, well, Joey wasn't
a very good drummer and deed he couldn't sing and
play at the same time, right, I don't know if
you could chew gum and walk at the same time.
But so that's when they put Joey upfront, who had
been a lead singer in a in a band before
the Ramones back in like the earlier seventy like seventy two.
He was a kind of a glam band called Sniper,
and you know, so he was not unfamiliar with being
the front man. And they tried and looked searched high
and low for a drummer that would sound like what Tommy,
who was the producer, he was going to be their
manager and producer, they couldn't find it, so he said, no,
do it like this, So he played. They said, well,
why don't you do it? So that's how he became
the drummer because nobody else could play the way that
would fit the music.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 1: But in a different world, if DEDI were the one
bringing the influence, it would that band would have a
whole different sound, would you know what I mean?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I, oh, you're totally right. And I don't think
that they wouldn't. I don't think anybody would have paid
that much, not that anybody paid that much to him
at the beginning anyway, or but I don't think I
don't think they would have gotten off the ground if
it had been any other way.
Speaker 1: I mean, we are grateful that they agreed, even though
they didn't really agree, but that they worked together enough
to be able to put things together all together, because
if if each of them were to go off on
their own, it would have just been, you know, a
completely different thing. And I just love that they all
had their input and it ended up to sound the
way it sounded.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, yeah, they did they individually, they didn't get
along very well, but they were united in the fact
they wanted the band. They put the band above their
personal differences.
Speaker 1: Thank god.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I was going to say, still you still.
Speaker 6: See high school bands doing their tunes and all that.
They're great songs to learn.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, they're not easy.
Speaker 6: They're simple because as we've talked about the difference before,
but you know, most of them are three or four
chords and you can learn them and it's a good
start and if you sing a little bit out of tune,
it still fits. Oh, it's all good.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 6: So definitely a legacy. Maybe not upfront, but in the
long run, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 7: You know that they're still being listened to and they're
still influencing. I mean, I mean, let's face it, rock
and roll is not like the most popular form of
music today.
Speaker 6: It's not it's coming back. You're starting to see things
come back.
Speaker 7: But see, I don't mind that because I think it
flourishes in the underground, in small little clubs, in basements, and.
Speaker 6: I think so much of it is the overproduction, the perfection,
the auto tune everything, the quantizing every beat that just
takes away from so much. You know, there you go
down the rabbit hole, as I do of you know,
like producers that will take an old Frank Sinatra tune
because now you can break apart into each individual track
and they'll auto tune Frank Sinatra into what it should
be exactly. And it's just the emotion's gone.
Speaker 2: It's just.
Speaker 6: What it's supposed to be.
Speaker 7: All the technical skill and all that you can't replace,
you know, the heart and soul that it has no
heart and soul.
Speaker 6: Nope, it's mechanical.
Speaker 7: I don't need it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, agreed, all right, awesome. I guess I'm gonna
get a slurpey tonight. See how that goes.
Speaker 1: I got some French fries.
Speaker 6: I'm trying to think the last time I had a slurpe.
It's been it's been quite a while, long time. Yeah, well,
I mean, you know, seven to eleven slurpy. I had
an adult slurpy at the sight yesterday. Yeah, that's another story.
Speaker 7: That did the brain freezes from another room?
Speaker 6: Yeah yeah, exactly. All right, thank you, Neil, Gail, what
up to you?
Speaker 8: Thanks for I barely know where to start with this
because there are just so many cool details about the
artist and the song. And my song title is not
a chain store, but this song does mention a chain store.
It mentions Stoppin' Shop. The Stoppin' Shop Supermarket Company runs
the largest grocery chain in the New England Northeast area
of the United States, with more than three hundred and
forty supermarkets and combinations supermarket slash general merchandise stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. In
nineteen ninety six, Stoppin' Shop was acquired by a Whole USA,
the largest grocery retailer on the Eastern coast. And they
are a subsidiary of a Dutch company.
Speaker 6: And this is why our prices are going up. Yeah,
become bigger conglomerates in less competition. Yeah, that's another show.
Speaker 4: Right, it is.
Speaker 8: So the song itself is called Roadrunner, and it's written
by Jonathan Richmond, written and performed by him. It's usually
listed as performed by him when he was in the
Modern Lovers. And this it's interesting. It wasn't released till
October nineteen seventy six, but it was recorded in nineteen
seventy two. And that version was recorded on Berserkly Records
and the producer was John Cale. Now Jonathan Richmond wrote
the song. He described it as an ode to Massachusetts
Root one hundred and twenty eight. Now he comes from Natick, Massachusetts.
As a teenager, he saw the Velvet Underground perform many times,
and the format of Roadrunner the song is derived directly
from the Velvet song Sister Ray. Roadrunner mainly uses two
chords G and A and very briefly E, rather than
Sister Ray, which uses GF and C, but they share
the same type of rhythm and lyrics, which in performance
were largely improvised around a central theme. He says he
wrote the song by nineteen seventy and he began performing
in public at age nineteen. Former bandmate John Felice were
called that As teenagers, he and Richmond used to get
in the car and just drive up and down Route
one twenty eight and the turnpike. We'd come ope over
a hill and he'd see the radio towers, the beacons flashing,
and he would get almost cheery eyed. He'd see all
this beauty in things where other people just wouldn't see it.
Some of the things he mentioned besides Stop and Shop
were the Howard Johnson's Restaurant. That's another chain, the Prudential Tower,
Quincy cohas it, Deer Island, Route one twenty eight and
Interstate ninety. Let's have a listen, run up.
Speaker 2: Fast, let a draft at a stop and shop.
Speaker 4: Put the radio on. Jesus that be would have pulled outside,
would have lit a.
Speaker 12: Nothing radio.
Speaker 16: I'm like, all right, I'm in love with about a
good line once twenty eight when it's dark outside, I'm
in love with Massachusetts.
Speaker 2: I'm in love with the radio.
Speaker 17: They helped me from being the lows late at night,
help me from being lonely lay night.
Speaker 4: I don't feel so bad now. I want the car.
Speaker 12: Don't be so long, not already al.
Speaker 17: I right, got fifty spirit of fteen fifty six. Make
sure the bushes next of fifteen seven, the highways.
Speaker 7: To go for next week.
Speaker 4: No black wig, suburban tree, suburban speed at it sounds
like canna say road road or twice.
Speaker 17: I'm in love with rock and rolls that I'll be
out of that.
Speaker 2: That's why O. Well, now.
Speaker 4: That's the busy.
Speaker 11: Love gotta drop to stop the shop with.
Speaker 4: The radio on at night and be in love with
mon fid be in love with on a rock and
roll on as a bot, a rock and roll wild.
Speaker 2: At the radio like a roller.
Speaker 4: Okay, now you say about a lover.
Speaker 2: I got the.
Speaker 4: Let, the car let, the son, got the.
Speaker 16: Rock bottle me on, I got the corn Messecuss got,
I got the pot of Massachusetts, played.
Speaker 4: It, played a night of it. I got one sounds
a bottom Massachusetts, I.
Speaker 12: Got the world and got the I've.
Speaker 4: Got roll.
Speaker 2: A ry.
Speaker 3: My god.
Speaker 8: I love that song so much.
Speaker 7: It is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Speaker 8: You cannot possibly hear that and be in a bad mood.
I just it's it's just so cute a couple of
little fun facts. Critic Real Marcus described it as the
most obvious song in the world and the strangest, which
is probably why I like it.
Speaker 3: Rolling.
Speaker 8: Jhone ranked at number two six' nine on their list
of the five Hundred Greatest songs Of All time in
two thousand and four and number seventy seven in twenty twenty.
One it charted at number eleven on THE uk chart
in nineteen seventy. Seven, Now, NEIL i know you know
a lot about the artist of the.
Speaker 6: Song what can you add for?
Speaker 7: Me all, right let's start. Off you did mention that
How Jonathan richmond was influenced by The Velvet underground and
you mentioned the producer of that particular track that recording
As John. Cale, now, Yep John cale was the original
bass player for The Velvet. Underground oh. Nice any coincidence,
THERE i think. Not John kel, Was, yeah he was
on the first Two Velvet underground, records AND i, remember,
Yeah well it was released in seventy six and it
was touted as you, know the record that was recorded
in nineteen seventy two that the world wasn't ready for
until nineteen seventy. Six love it and truer words were never.
Spoken now there, Are, well there's several different. Versions there's
two main versions of that, song the one we just
heard and the other, version well they call the one
we just heard Road runner number. Two, okay WHY i don't,
know because it was recorded. First runner number one was
recorded in nineteen seventy five For Berserkly, records and it
was more of like an acoustic sounding it was a little.
Cleaner it was released on an album Called Berserkly Chartbusters volume,
one and.
Speaker 1: The rubies were on that record.
Speaker 6: Too oh my.
Speaker 7: God, yes there was never A volume, two by the,
way but, yeah the rooms were on there our Pals
Jonathan richmond and a guy Named Greg kin and the
Greg Kin band who went on to become pretty. Famous
and when his hit or WHEN i think it was
the breakup, song became a, hit unfortunately for the rest
of the, roster they all pretty much got dropped and
all the support went To Greg. KIN i, MEAN i understand,
it BUT i feel. Bad you, know The rubenus can
tell you about. That but, anyway the, record that's WHERE
i first heard the. Song WHEN i got that. RECORD
i think it was released in seventy. FIVE i heard
it in seventy six and heard it on the, radio
believe it or. Not and it also has the classic
line about the stop and shop where he goes, FIRST
i walked past the stopping. Shop THEN i drove past
the stopping. Shop AND i like that a lot better
than walking by the stopping shopping BECAUSE i had their radio.
On so, yeah, that, yeah that that was you, know
i'd heard that. Version then they released it was on you,
know on the same. LABEL i, said, oh you, know
and it's a totally different feel to. It but but
The Modern. Lovers the first one also has a, distinction
actually two. Distinctions there were two members of the band
on that album that went on to have become a
little more. Popular one was Drummer David, robinson and they
were in The boston. Area he went on and joined
a band Called The, cars also out of The, YEAH
i think you know who The cars and the organist
and on that, track and you know he took his
name Is Jerry, harrison and he would a little bit
later become a member of The Talking.
Speaker 4: Heads oh my.
Speaker 8: Goodness so there's there's some.
Speaker 7: What do you call that pedigree or link lineage or
something like. That so and then and then of course
the bass Player Ernie Brooks mercedes AND i ran into
at A Pat irwin show P I, trio and Even
pat was like in awe of the guy he.
Speaker 8: Was that Was that's. Great don't you love it when
when other artists like fanboy or fangirl on other. ARTISTS
i love.
Speaker 7: That this is Totally this is another case of where
a record that was made was probably, not you, know
popular by any stretch of the, imagination except for the
people that influenced and went on to like you know
tout it, is, like you, know one of their all
time favorite, albums and that album it's got a lot
of great songs on, it and it's if you like
The Velvet, underground you would love this.
Speaker 2: Record.
Speaker 8: OKAY i will have to look into that a little bit.
Speaker 7: More and it's one of the only, albums well not,
only but one of the few ALBUMS i ACTUALLY i
had on vinyl and THEN i went out and bought
it ON cd when it you, know when CDs became a,
THING i. DIDN'T i haven't downloaded it.
Speaker 8: Digitally, yeah, yeah but you, will oh one of these.
Days it's it's interesting because in twenty, thirteen the state
representative For massachusetts back, then whose name Was Marty, walsh
introduced a bill to Have roadrunner named the official rock
song Of. Massachusetts, However, richmond, however him out against, this
SAYING i don't think the song is good enough to
be A massachusetts state song of any.
Speaker 7: Kind, well you, Know i've seen this is back in the.
DAY i. SAW i Saw Jonathan richmond perform a couple of, times,
coincidentally both at the same, place The Town hall In
New York, city about it about a year, apart and
one of the times The rubenus were the opening, act
but he Never i've never seen him, perform AND i
don't think he performs The roadrunner. Anymore he won't play.
Speaker 2: It oh, YEAH i.
Speaker 7: KNOW i think it's just, like well that was. Me
then this is WHAT i, do you, know which is
like kind of a shame because everybody loves. That, yes
but but That's, jonathan you. Know, YES i know, Personally
i've been going up To, massachusetts you, know SINCE i
was a kid up To Cape, god SO i knew
what Stopping shop was way before they, expanded you, know
the stopping shop was all over you, know Doing england In.
Massachusetts along With bradley's that was like. That, yes speaking
of another, chain.
Speaker 8: You're in this, county we had, Gosh i'm thinking it
had to be the nineteen seventies, anyway if not before,
that we had together in the same shopping center stopping
Shop bradley's And Meddi, march which was the pharmacy that
was affiliated with those two other.
Speaker 7: Chains, yeah and just for, Those bradley's was like a department.
Speaker 6: Store it was Like cole's Before. Coals, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7: Yeah to explain it to the to the younger members
of our. Audience. Yeah but so when this song came,
out and we used to go up and drive around
On Cape cod just you, know teenagers doing what teenagers,
do and we would drive past the stopping shop and
we'd start singing this song for as one was and
we had the eight track.
Speaker 8: On, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7: Oh it's so it, also you, know tugs at my
heart strings too WHEN i hear that song was very you,
know reminds me of a a Happier time's.
Speaker 8: Cool, well thank You neil for helping flesh out.
Speaker 3: My.
Speaker 6: INFORMATION i learned a lot that was. Cool that was very.
Cool all, right thank, You. Gail we're going to take a,
second real quick, break and we're going to be back
with more right after.
Speaker 3: This Hudson River radio dot.
Speaker 4: Com Hudson River radio.
Speaker 10: Dot com.
Speaker 6: And welcome, Back.
Speaker 1: Mercedes your turn speaking speaking of The rubenous that was? Them,
yeah uh. Okay, so AS i said, EARLIER i pitched
this topic without already having an idea for a. SONG
i googled around a bit AND i didn't find a
SONG i wanted to do until it dawned on me
THAT i knew one and knew it very. Well because
it was An Alice cooper. Song if you don't know
this by, Now i'm a Big Alice cooper, fan are.
Speaker 3: YOU i didn't know, that AND i didn't know that
And neel like the remove.
Speaker 1: Might have something new every.
Speaker 6: Day So i've said this, before but my FIRST i
think Only Alice cooper. Concert mercedes happened to be there,
too and she's always down front and more often than
not she catches the cane That alice throws into the.
Craft so then we met up afterwards And i'm, like
CAN i hold the? Cane mercedes has never side eyed
me so, hard LIKE i was just a stranger that
came up out of nowhere asking, to you, know enter her.
Speaker 1: House so she's, like, say DID i let?
Speaker 6: You she's, like all, right you can hold, it but
you have to give it right. Back i'm, Like i'm
not going to run. Over SO i got to hold,
it but she like had a hand around, it ready
to catch it right. Back it's as close AS i ever.
Speaker 2: Came those are precious.
Speaker 7: THINGS i would be remiss not to mention. That And
Alice cooper cut was it the first concert That mercedes
AND i went to see, together although separately we didn't
know each other right and wouldn't meet for another you
know how many?
Speaker 2: YEARS a?
Speaker 1: Few, yeah quite a. Few that's. Crazy, Yeah so speaking
of nineteen seventy, THREE.
Speaker 7: I DIDN'T i didn't SAY i.
Speaker 1: Know this song is on The Billion Dollar babies record
and it was released in nineteen seventy three and the
original lineup of The Alice cooper group is still. Intact
Alice Statis Done, Away Michael, Bruce Neil smith And Glegg
Craig Glenn Buxton. Rip it reached number one, and according To,
wikipedia covered topics as and themes such as, necrophilia dental, fear,
horror and sexual. Harassment it was produced By Bob ezrin
And donovan sang on the title. Track donovan is known For, Sunshine, Superman,
atlantis And Mellow. Yellow donovan later described The Billion Dollar
baby song as a horror story. Song David byrne Of
The Talking heads has said that the album inspired him
to write the Song Psycho Killer, nice WHICH i did not.
Know the title comes from the fact that the members
of the band were surprised at their climb to, success
so they are The Billion Dollar babies. Generation, landslide which
is my, song was later re recorded As Generation landslide
eighty one his For alice's nineteen eighty one Album Special Fortune,
forces Which i've never. Heard how crazy is?
Speaker 5: THAT i?
Speaker 9: Know so.
Speaker 1: Let's talk first about the chain stores mentioned in the.
Song the first one Is. Krazgi's anybody Remember Krazgi's, No.
Nope so before there were discount, stores there were dime,
stores named because items sold for a dime or. Nickel
krazgy's was a dime store open in eighteen ninety nine In,
Detroit michigan By Sebastian Spurling, kresgy and it Sold Housewaars linen's,
clothing school, supplies and. Toys they were mostly located in The,
midwest but there's also a large one In, Newark New.
Jersey by nineteen, twelve he had eighty five. Stores by
nineteen twenty, four he was worth three hundred and seventy
five million, dollars which is over ex billion. Today he
passed in nineteen sixty, six but the discount store was
later Named. Kmart oh, okay oh my, goodness who? Knew
the Last kmart closed in twenty twenty. Four the other
chain store in the lyrics Is wilworth's and you probably remember.
Those maybe it was opened in eighteen seventy nine As
Woolworth's great five Cent store and you Tout New. York
that one, failed But wilworth opened his first Successful Woolworth's
great Five cents store in eighteen seventy nine In, Lancaster.
Pennsylvania the chain went out of business In july nineteen ninety,
seven when the company decided to focus primarily on sporting
goods and renamed Itself Venerator VENATOR i don't know. Group
by two thousand and, one the company's company focused exclusively
on the sporting goods, market changing its name to the
current name Foot, Locker. Inc Which woolworth started in nineteen
seventy four under the Name Kenny. Shoes it was all
what you, Remember, KENNY.
Speaker 3: I remember back to school shopping and yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah it was Also walworth was also a five and time,
store which undercut the prices of other local. Merchants of,
course The British woolworths were known as three and sixpence.
STORES i think it's. Adorable it was one of the
First american retailers to put merchandise out for the shopping
public to handle and select without the assistance of a sales. Clerk,
famously On february, first nineteen sixty, Four African american students
from a Nearby agricultural And Technical State university started The
greensboro sit ins as at a white's only lunch counter
in The, Greenboro North Carolina wilworth store that became a
landmark event in the civil rights. Movement in nineteen ninety,
three an eight foot section of that lunch counter was
moved to The Smithsonian, institution and the store site now
contains a civil rights. Museum wilwor has had four thousand
stores in THE us at its highest. Point the LAST
us location closed in nineteen ninety, seven but it is
still a thriving business In, mexico all. Right so the
song Is Generation, landslide which is the second song on
the second Side Billion Dollar. Babies this single was backed
with Below, hoay which is another great. Song and by the,
way listened closely Because alice plays the harmonica on. This
so let's hear.
Speaker 18: It please clean and flit down the load of boots
and see your don't you?
Speaker 12: Know people are.
Speaker 11: Starm in In, korea alcohol, raised blazing boys in and,
needles kindergarten.
Speaker 4: People they use, them they need. Them the over indulgent
machines were their. Children there wasn't.
Speaker 11: A way down on her here to cool them because
they looked just like. Humans And chris is a, woover
but decoding BRAINS wo would to destroy Brass in battalions
were ruling the street scene Indiration landslide close.
Speaker 2: The gap between the MEN i left to.
Speaker 11: Myself man and the ladies never see the billion.
Speaker 2: Dollars LET i got up.
Speaker 11: Lets his mothers hiding in the, basement just using my fan,
says their shields and the helmets myles a mill bottles
keep umping her cheers when mother's then, burnt prinsertis and.
Papers And dad gets his lawrence from His sonny the,
dealer who's a few weeks to the world but loll
and d dance sisters out just five doing the bank.
Speaker 1: His son's, hours but she owns.
Speaker 2: Miles ride that's his gift from his.
Speaker 11: Father stop apples be at one hundred miles per.
Speaker 4: Hour the cold gain in penc.
Speaker 11: Upple she'll find the gut of what.
Speaker 4: My last rself and see those stellar.
Speaker 1: Fast, so according to one contributor on Song, meanings And
i'm Very i'm suspect of, this BUT i did look other.
Places they. Said this is a satirically, satirical dark dystopian
nightmare horror film where the establishment and the adults of
the world are assaulted by their old children due to
the way they were. Raised an entire generation who were
spoiled and taught that everyone wins a, trophy brought up
on alcohol and razor, blades suddenly rebel against their upbringing
and attacked their own hypocritical parents with brats in battalions
And molotov milk bottles while militant mothers are hiding in their. Basements,
luckily by the end of the, matinee the protagonist's parent
finally win the day by employing The Colgate, invisible only
to find out that these are not their own children at.
ALL i laughed to myself at the men and the
ladies who never conceived of those billion dollar. Babies i'm
not really sure that anyone But alice really knows the
meaning of this, song BUT i guess it's kind of
close to where WHAT i. Thought SO i reached out
To Dennis, dunaway the bass player of the Original Alice cooper,
group BECAUSE i am lucky enough to be able to do.
THAT i asked him if he had any fun facts
About Generation, landslide and here's what he sent. Me, Neil,
Michael Alice glenn AND i were on the top floor
of a hotel in The Canary. Islands the band were
the very first people to stay in the brand new.
Hotel we needed another song for The Billion Dollar babies,
album but we had to create something from. Scratch we
weren't getting anywhere Until neil started playing the beat and
then it fell into place in one. Afternoon then we
returned to THE uk to record it In Morgan. Studios
we had to finish overdubs on several tracks we had
recorded at The gileskie estate In, Greenwich, connecticut plus recording
a couple of new Tracks Unfinished suite And Generation. Landslide
but Drunkards Harry nilssen And Keith moon kept barging into
our studio and interrupting our, sessions and so it became
very difficult For neil AND i to hould the tempo
steady due to the feeling that we had to hurry
up and finish recording the songs before those guys showed.
Up and then he, added it's probably my favorite Lyrics
alice ever, wrote WHICH i love so. Much so thank
you To dennis Done away so much for this BECAUSE
i thought it was. Amazing AND i would be remiss
IF i didn't mention That dennis will be on The
rock And Roll channel On Talk Shop live tonight at
nine pm with collectibles and signed Merch AND i already
spent too much money tonight tonight being when tonight? Tonight
Oh i'm sorry whatever tonight is Currently, sorry It's july twenty.
Speaker 6: First, yeah so it will have already happened by the
time everybody Gets.
Speaker 1: Well my fellow crambones can can check it.
Speaker 6: Out we got the inside track now nobody else. Knows,
awesome all, right all, SET i don't want to step
on you if you get more.
Speaker 1: All, SET i just want to say thank.
Speaker 7: You we can.
Speaker 1: Tennis, yeah that was.
Speaker 2: It.
Speaker 6: Yeah WELL i got to meet him once through you
at one of the film, festivals so happy to chat
and all. That, yeah that was very.
Speaker 1: Cool oh my, gosh. Amazing and he's been on my
show quite a few, times at least three but probably
four THAT i can think.
Speaker 8: Of his wife is super.
Speaker 6: Nice, yes his.
Speaker 1: Wife he came on to talk about his. Book he
came on With cindy ALTHOUGH i kicked him off talk
to talk about designing clothes for The Alice cooper. Group
he came on With michael boy a boy yeah yeah,
yeah to talk about his band as being a roadie
For Alice cooper. Band, anyway you can check all those
out if you go back to our podcast on the silver.
Screen Excellent Hudson River radio Dot.
Speaker 6: Com that's, right thank, You. Mercedes all, right we have
one more to, go AND i went with a. Song
she's never going to admit, it BUT i think you'll
all agree with. Me gail puts this on loudly every
time she's driving home from church every. WEEK i know,
it you all know. It she won't admit, it but
we're talking about The Humpty dance By Digital. Underground oh my,
god you know she. Does before we go any further,
alleys that's, right Prand, bones let me show you my
Official Digital UNDERGROUND t shirt that was gifted to me.
Speaker 4: THAT i forgot to put. On, nice so.
Speaker 1: Nice you KNOW i only heard that song once and
it was at a. Wedding, YEAH i believe.
Speaker 6: It, Yep i'm Thinking i'm Wearing Digital underground t shirts
to the symphony. Rehearsals now, one let's.
Speaker 1: See what happened, nice.
Speaker 2: All?
Speaker 6: Right so the Group Digital, underground they kind of grew
out of the influence Of Parliament. Funkadelic you could call
them one, band two bands headed By George, clinton somebody
THAT i don't think we've talked about, yet somebody who
we will be talking about. Soon. Now each band was
known for having rotating roster of, musicians known as a music.
Collective George clinton was the steady, guy and he would
bring in people and many of whom would go on
to their own successful. Careers they got their influence from all,
over including doo, wop early, Motown Jimi, hendrix Sly, Stone Frank,
zappa and they would subsequently influence the next, group many
of whom would go on to create the hip, hop,
world rap and other rock and roll kind of overlapped
stuff like. That So Digital underground was really one guy
in the. Beginning Gregory. Jacobs he was born in nineteen sixty.
Three he grew up In, Tampa, florida wound up moving
To New York city when his parents. Divorced he played
the drums in, school but wound up trading them for.
Turntables when he first started hearing the beginnings of hip
hop come, together he was just drawn in by. That
he was hanging out with other young, DJs including a
friend who went by the stage name mc Shaw t Shah,
t WHICH i, love and he suggested That jacobs go
by SHAW, g which he misheard AS, shotg and he
liked that, better so he just went WITH. Shockg that's
what he was known as in the hip hop. World
he wound up going back To tampa and he dropped
out of high school to form a LOCAL dj crew
and they actually got booked a lot for a lot of,
events especially a weekly outdoor event that caught the attention
of the program director of a LOCAL r AND b radio,
station who wound up HIRING shokg as a RADIO dj
at age. Sixteen how cool would that?
Speaker 2: Be?
Speaker 6: Wow at sixteen to be hired by your local radio
station back, then back when radio stations were actually.
Speaker 1: Something Something, yeah, Exactly so.
Speaker 6: It's a big deal for all you youngins out. There
just trust. Us but as things would, go he got
himself fired because he had the tendency to play the
long album versions of songs instead of the shorter radio,
edits And neil could probably explain it better than anybody
at a radio station OR tv station or. Whatever even,
nowadays it's timed out. Perfectly the commercials are going to
have to be played at a certain in. Time you
need to stay on. Schedule and he did not fair
enough to, say.
Speaker 7: Long, Gone, yeah that was not a.
Speaker 6: Thing you, know your sponsors paid for their commercial to
be played at four oh two, pm and it better
beyond at four oh two, pm you, know SO i
can kind of understand. That so he found himself taking
odd jobs and kind of backpacking around to make ends.
Meet but while he was doing, that he would also
pop into music stores and trespass into college practice rooms
to teach himself how to play the. Piano, okay not too.
Bad this actually prompted him to go back to. School
he got his, diploma and then he started taking music
classes at the local community, college and he did well
enough with that to get, gigs get. Hired he learned
enough and he had enough success that he wound up
moving with his girlfriend To Los angeles to look for bigger.
Opportunities he wound up settling in The San francisco area
and started working at a music, store which gave him
steady income and also gave him access to all the
new up and coming toys that were coming about in
the nineteen. Eighties this was when you were starting to
see more and more digital, stuff the, keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers,
samplers all that kind of, stuff and when you don't
have to buy it and you have access to, it
it's kind of kind of. Cool so good for. HIM,
shokg along with two, friends released a single on a
small local label which got them signed to a slightly bigger,
Label Tommy Boy. Records and getting signed To Tommy Boy
records resulted In Digital underground's biggest, album known As Sex
packets in nineteen ninety and get the word sex in,
there it gets everybody's. Attention there you, go and it.
Worked the original plan was for them to be a serious,
group addressing serious topics you, know in society and all
that kind of. Stuff but as hip hop took, off
a lot of groups started doing exactly that they would
write about serious, topics so they went in the complete opposite.
Direction music for fun and music for entertainment meant p
funk style like their, Heroes Parliament, FUNKADELIC shockg would perform
as several alter, egos using different, voices, voices different, styles
often within the same, song so it would sound like
a duet or a, trio but it was just him
doing all different. Voices fans even thought it was a
group of different singers doing. It the record company thought
it was a group of different performers doing, it to
the point Where shakgi had to actually add more people
to the Group Digital underground to make it a, group
because it was him doing almost. Everything sometimes in, performances
somebody else would be lip syncing and it would BE
shockg turning his back or just be in the wings
actually doing the voice with somebody on stage just lip
syncing it doing it, himself WHICH i. Love it's. Great
he would go on to be successful working with other
artists and his own solo, Career but today we're going
to focus on one of his alter, Egos Humpty Hump gale's.
FAVORITE shockg used such a different voice and different persona
that people just bought it as being a completely different
person THAN. Shockg he wore the groucho glasses with a nose,
coverings ridiculous over the top like pimp style clothing and
what they called a buffoon persona on purpose love. It
they even wrote a fake bio and included it in
the press kit for the, album saying That humpty's real
name Was Edward Ellington humphrey The. Third he was the
former lead singer Of Smooth eddie and The, humpers and
he wound up wearing the grouchow glasses and the fake
nose after having an accident with a deep. Frar this
was the backstory that they gave. Him, yes and people
just ate it.
Speaker 2: Up it was.
Speaker 6: Real Digital underground's biggest hit was off that sex packet
album Called The Humpty, dance sung By humpty Hump Alter.
Ego the backing track was put together from a bit
of drum machine, sounds a, guitar and samples from a
bunch of different. Songs they used a drum loop from
sing a simple song By slying The Family. Stone there's
a handclap sound that comes in partway through the song
that was from a theme From The Black hole By,
parliament and a vocal sample From let's Play, house also By.
Parliament this is when the lawsuits started flying over the
use of samples in, songs but it hadn't been settled,
yet so they kind of got away with, it almost
flew under the. Radar but in, turn The Humpty dance
would then go on and itself be sampled in well
over one hundred songs that became popular, too so they
kind of started this as it moved. Forward the whole
point of the song is the overinflated ego Of humpty
talking about himself and how great he is and.
Speaker 4: All this kind of.
Speaker 6: Stuff but the other message is that it's a dance
everybody can, do which really. Easy it's very. Inclusive it
doesn't matter who you. Are everybody get out on the
dance floor and everybody have a good. Time, so, Yes
humpty's being a bit of an, egotist but everybody come
out and enjoy themselves and get on the dance. Floor
and of COURSE i picked this song Because humpty claimed
that he once got busy in anybody a burger king.
Speaker 15: Bathroom, right stop what you're, doing Because i'm about to
ruin the image and the style as you're used.
Speaker 5: TO i look, funny but, Yo i'm making. Money see so, yo,
WORLD i hope you're ready for, me.
Speaker 2: AND i got the.
Speaker 5: Round i'm a little fooling down and my sounds laid
down by the. Underground i'm Drinking Palla. Hennessey you got
on your, shelf so just let me do. Myself my
name Is, humpty pronounced with the. Humpty your, ladies oh
HOW i like to fump thee and love rappers in
the top. Ten please allow me to pump. Me i'm
stepping tall on, y'all and just Like Humpty, dumpty you're
gonna fall and the stereos plump.
Speaker 2: ME i like to. RHYME i like my, beat, Funky i'm.
SPUNKY i like my holp. Meal love. Me i'm sick
with this straight gas the, mact but SOMETIMES i get.
Speaker 5: RIDICULOUS i leave a bun of crackers in your.
Speaker 2: Liquorice are your fat? Girl come? Here are you taking? This?
YEAH i got your. Fat look at. Me i'm skinny
and never stop me from getting. Busy i'm a. FREAK
i like the girls with the. BOOM i once got
busy in a burger king. Bathroom i'm. Crazy allow me
to amaze. Thee they, Say i'm uggly gonna just don't FaZe.
Me i'm still getting in the girls, dance AND i
even got my whole. Dance come, on come, on you
check me, Out, john just watch.
Speaker 10: Me do you know What i'm?
Speaker 2: Doing come, ON i. Do people say you're, humpty you're
really funny. Looking i'm all right CAUSE i get things.
Speaker 5: Cooking you're, stead you're. Gread you're constantly trying to compare,
me but you can't get near.
Speaker 2: Me i'm giving more on c and on the floor
me all the girls they adore.
Speaker 5: Me oh, yes, Ladies i'm really paying to see it
because in the sixty nine my humpty nose will tickle
your Rib my nose is.
Speaker 2: Big i'm not a shamed big like a. Prickle i'm
still getting. PAID i get laid by the. Ladies you.
Know i'm in, charge no palm, living and my nose is.
LARGE i get. STUPID i shoot a narrow like cute.
Speaker 5: Bit i'll use the word that do me not yet
Like Luke, TIN i, sang don't do what you? Like
and if you missed, It i'm the one who say
just grab them in the. BISCUITS i also told you.
Speaker 2: THAT i like to. Bite, well, YEAH i guess the
sign me a. SAUSO i like to.
Speaker 5: Write oh, yeah the dude is give humpty a. Chance
and Now i'm gonna do my dad.
Speaker 12: Chance come on, yeah sea, man, Come i'll do the sex,
many come on, Top.
Speaker 2: I'll. Do they're winning with the winning love, hump, Y'all i'll.
Do watch me do the hoppy. Hup oh, yeah that's the, break.
Y'all let alone that base group right, here ud? Right really.
Speaker 5: Yeah, NOW i told y'all a little bit about. Myself
let me tell you a little bit about this.
Speaker 2: Dance it's real easy to.
Speaker 17: Do check it.
Speaker 5: Out put some limit to the sign like my legs was,
broken shaking a twitch and god LIKE.
Speaker 2: I was Smoking cristy. Wack. Funky people say you look
Like i'm on crack.
Speaker 5: Humpty that's all right because my body's in Merchan it's
supposed to look like a fiddle of.
Speaker 2: Conmulsion anyone can play this. Game this is my. Dance
H ill humpty humps my, Name no, too will do
what the.
Speaker 5: Same you gotta dam when you appear to be in, pain, humping, funking,
jumping jog, around shaking your rum and winning the jump.
Speaker 2: Points a finger like a start telling him step. Off
i'm doing the hump. Shot, Everybody come, on ye, up,
yoh want to do the.
Speaker 12: Black?
Speaker 5: PEOPLE i do the, hefty do the come on white,
PEOPLE i do the houghty, HUMP i do hup want to?
Speaker 2: RECOND i do the houghty hep just keep. On some
moments they help the.
Speaker 4: Up.
Speaker 6: Damn let's JUST i just Saw neil add that to
A spotify playlist you trying to.
Speaker 7: Screen i'll ADMIT i did mention this while you, know
well it was that's the first Time i've ever heard
this song to full, disclosure.
Speaker 6: See gail's full of. IT i Believe, neil BUT.
Speaker 8: I didn't know it was a real.
Speaker 6: Song oh, yeah. Yeap all, right so.
Speaker 1: A lot of people that do think it's a real.
Speaker 6: Song what's a fake? Song that was a real. Song
it was a big hit and it's still catchy AND
i still like. It so there you.
Speaker 7: Go, WELL i Admit i'm not probably am, not and
was not in the demographic that it was.
Speaker 6: Aimed.
Speaker 4: At nor Is.
Speaker 2: Gail.
Speaker 6: YEAH i was in high school when it came, out
SO i was square in the middle of no. Excuse,
yeah what year was, that nineteen Ninety.
Speaker 7: Oh, okay, yeah, no, yeah, NO i was out of
high school by.
Speaker 6: Then well it's a happy, song but you, know AS i,
do we're going to bring it. Down, Unfortunately shakg died
On april twenty, second twenty twenty, one at age fifty.
Seven he was In tampa. Motel the medical examiner said
that it was from an accidental overdose of, fentanyl, alcohol and. Metal,
oh any one of those alone is not a good,
thing but all three together is.
Speaker 12: Not a good.
Speaker 4: Combo so oh that's.
Speaker 6: Sad, yeah but he was performing up till the. End
he was still. Going he you, know he did a
lot of guest appearances at other shows and all that
kind of. Stuff and, yeah so he had a good
success from when he started all the way to the.
Speaker 7: End so well from what you're, saying, yeah he was
very clever with all the different. Personality yeah, yeah oh,
YEAH i was totally impressed by. That that was he
had like a whole thing going. On he had a
whole universe going totally.
Speaker 6: Totally and you, know if you if you want to
go down again that rabbit hole of YouTube and watched
all the videos At digital on The ground put, out
you'll see the different personas it's it's all. Him so, yeah,
yeah very, creative so very. Catchy and with, that that's
All i've got you, guys have any final thoughts before
we wrap it, up pull the. Plug not a.
Speaker 1: Thing i'm glad WHEN i WHEN i suggested. This AFTER
i suggested, THIS i, thought is this even gonna? Work
BECAUSE i can't think of, anything.
Speaker 4: And we all like a.
Speaker 7: CHALLENGE i thought That i'd go into a chain store
and you, know just to, buy you, know some. Chains
they looked at me and they didn't know WHAT i was.
Speaker 8: Talking mm.
Speaker 1: Hmm, Anyway i'm proud of you all for coming up
with something that was a good.
Speaker 6: ONE i thought they were great. SELECTIONS i THOUGHT i.
Speaker 1: Thought they were really good. Too, yeah, yeah good.
Speaker 6: Topic all. Right thank you for, That, mercedes great. Selection
thank you Cram, bones and thank you all 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 At Hudson River.
Radio there is something for. Everybody we will be back
next week with another brand new, episode even though we
haven't picked a topic. Yet we will see you then
until next. Week be, safe have a great, weekend and peace.
Speaker 2: Out.
Speaker 6: Everybody come rock Cop bottom and Tram.
Speaker 4: Okay bye.
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