My sister bought me a novelty birthday card which included a cd of music from the year of my birth, 1979.
It is full of the goofiest, hokey-est music. Neil Sedaka! Jimmy Dean! Harry Belafonte! Out o f 20 songs, there are 3 or 4 that I will listen to in their entirety. And one of them is "Big Bad John."
Shamelessly manipulative, clearly progeny of American folk tales and at only 90 seconds long, impressively rich in context, it's an incredible vehicle for Jimmy Dean's rich voice.
ok. Maybe that birth year was not accurate. You do the math.
This song is so, so irresistable- the hokey backup singers, the catchy tune, the heroic story, Dean's awe at the big, big man, and the song's overall position at the crossroads of country and pop.
I made Andy listen to it, and he literally laughed out loud at the unfolding, predictable events. AND THEN HE ASKED ME TO PLAY IT AGAIN. He was singing along. When he got home, he called his band buddy and told him to start learning it, because they were going to record a remake.
1 comment:
We had this album growing up. I loved that song.
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