This sort of shit happens all the time. Ever since I first heard it on a garage compilation about ten years ago, I've played the shit out of the Groupies "Down In the Bottom". And, as I've done periodically for, shit, years, I was just looking for an mp3 of it last night. I didn't find it but, what the hell are the chances, I ran into Howlin' Wolf's original version today. (It was written by Willie Dixon, but the Wolf was the first to record it.) I hadn't heard it, or even thought of it, in years. Like I said, what are the chances?
But, back to the Groupies. They're the guys that brought you "Primitive", the song the Cramps taught us. The Groupies had but one 45 when they existed, "Primitive" backed with "Hog (I'm A Hog For You Baby)" That was it. They didn't exactly endear themselves to Atlantic Records head honcho Ahmet Ertegun. This is a good stuff (from The Great Hollywood Hangover):
"Everybody, including Ahmet, figured they had a big career ahead, but the Groupies kept screwing up. One of the worst screw-ups, was when they were scheduled for a concert appearance in Philadelphia. The Groupies cashed in the plane tickets and flew to Los Angeles instead. That may have been the straw that broke Ahmet's backing. The Groupies, however, were only sixteen and seventeen years old, and had no handle on responsibility." Classic.
What I like about their version, or at least what attracted me to it, was the combination of snotty vocals and ratty ass, practically entry level, slide guitar. The singer's grunts and such, vocal swagger. The fact that it was a remote recording, by a fan with remarkably good equipment, of them playing live on some L.A. area beach (likely at some local radio station beach party. It was the mid-sixties) makes it better. And that it didn't see release until four decades after it was recorded makes it even better. Great, in fact. Great enough to continue trying to find a download-able version for you guys year after year. To no avail. Fuck it, here's Howlin' Wolf's.
But, back to the Groupies. They're the guys that brought you "Primitive", the song the Cramps taught us. The Groupies had but one 45 when they existed, "Primitive" backed with "Hog (I'm A Hog For You Baby)" That was it. They didn't exactly endear themselves to Atlantic Records head honcho Ahmet Ertegun. This is a good stuff (from The Great Hollywood Hangover):
"Everybody, including Ahmet, figured they had a big career ahead, but the Groupies kept screwing up. One of the worst screw-ups, was when they were scheduled for a concert appearance in Philadelphia. The Groupies cashed in the plane tickets and flew to Los Angeles instead. That may have been the straw that broke Ahmet's backing. The Groupies, however, were only sixteen and seventeen years old, and had no handle on responsibility." Classic.
What I like about their version, or at least what attracted me to it, was the combination of snotty vocals and ratty ass, practically entry level, slide guitar. The singer's grunts and such, vocal swagger. The fact that it was a remote recording, by a fan with remarkably good equipment, of them playing live on some L.A. area beach (likely at some local radio station beach party. It was the mid-sixties) makes it better. And that it didn't see release until four decades after it was recorded makes it even better. Great, in fact. Great enough to continue trying to find a download-able version for you guys year after year. To no avail. Fuck it, here's Howlin' Wolf's.
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Listen:Howlin' Wolf - Down In the Bottom mp3 at Internet Archive
The Groupies - Down In the Bottom (streaming) at YouTube
The Groupies - Primitive (streaming) at YouTube
The Groupies - Hog (I'm A Hog For You Baby) (streaming) at YouTube
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