Hope you all enjoyed seeing in the new year in your preferred manner. Our local had a 1980s theme night. For my costume I strapped three inflatable plastic seagulls to my head (readers of a more mature age will get the reference). I did well in the popular vote but didn't find favour with the judges.
Before last year disappears in the rear view mirror I wanted to give a quick plug to one of my favourite reissues of the year - a compilation called "I Can Almost See Houston" which brought together the complete recordings of one Howdy Glenn.
Mr Glenn was an African-American country singer who had a couple of minor hits in the late 1970s and was then promptly forgotten about until the person who compiled the album chanced upon an 8x10 promo photo of him in a box of country music memorabilia in Bakersfield. He was a new name to me, and I suspect to most others.
Listening to the album it is hard to understand why he was not more successful. He had a fine voice and some good songs, and the production style was very much in line with the mainstream country sound of the period. It is possible that his colour may have been a barrier to some extent - with the notable exception of Charley Pride no other African-American country singers had any sustained success at the time.
Howdy's biggest hit was a cover of an old Willie Nelson song, "Touch Me", which made it to No. 62 in the country charts in 1977. Here it is with one of several 'tears in my beer' numbers you can find on the album.
"Touch Me" - Howdy Glenn
"I'm Here To Drink It All" - Howdy Glenn
Alongside his recording and performing career Mr Glenn was for many years a firefighter in California, and was sometimes promoted as The Singing Fireman. Which reminds me of another moderately successful singer who was also a dedicated public servant...
Best songs I've heard this year so far!
ReplyDeleteYou clearly haven't listened to your own post yet then. It will be hard for anyone to top them.
DeleteI have zero records by Willie Nelson . There is a strong chance, though, that I will have a Howdy Glenn album sometime soon. Those two tracks are The Bifters.
ReplyDeleteNo Willie Nelson? Really? That's something we need to put right.
DeleteTwo fine tunes from Mr. Glenn. Keeping with the 80s references at the top of your post, I far preferred his Touch Me song to the one by a Ms. S. Fox.
ReplyDeleteYes, very different vibe. I met Ms Fox once in the 80s when I was working as a security guard at an exhibition hall in London. As one of the few guards who could be safely allowed out in public I had the job of escorting her when she came to open an event. No singing was involved fortunately.
Delete"... but she's my little nicotine girl", surely one of the coolest lyrics in British songwriting, ever.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Ernie, hope you have a good one! And... I wonder if I'm just being dense, but... I haven't figured out your inflatable plastic seagulls costume (in spite of my vintage(... please can you give us another clue?!
Was he supposed to be Timmy Mallett?
DeleteI entirely agree about that line, it briefly transports the listener from Lowestoft to the Left Bank and turns Molly Wimbley into Jeanne Moreau.
DeleteObviously a slip of a girl like C could not be expected to get the reference to something from 40 years ago so I'm not sure further clues will help. The word 'seagulls' it itself quite a big clue, but perhaps if you expressed a wish to have a photograph of me - something to remind you - that might help a bit.
Ah! - I was just being dense (although I'll take your 'slip of a girl' comment any day). I hope you styled your hair to suit too..?
DeleteMy original intention was to acquire a wig in that distinctive style but I couldn't find one so had to settle for the plastic inflatables instead.
DeleteAh, The Singing Postman. Is this the only mention of Mundesley in musical popular culture, I wonder? And much as I'd love to say his stereotypical accent is a thing of the past, you can still hear it in many corners of the county.
ReplyDeleteThere is the old Carpenters song in which Karen explains that rainy days in Mundesley always get her down, but I can't think of any others.
DeleteI go insensible at the mere mention of Jeanne Moreau
ReplyDelete