Back when the Tower Records was still around, the one near me had a killer 45 section. They of course had the top hits, the Billboard Top 100 if I recall, all displayed side by side with all the picture sleeves competing for attention. But my attention was elsewhere; down below the display of the hits lay the oldies. Hundereds of titles, a lot you wouldn't believe were still in print. Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun, Little Richard, Guitar Slim and others on Specialty, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters on Chess, Stax all over the place. Of course, these weren't first pressings, but besides collectors who the fuck cares? Little Richard's "Rip It Up" with the classic Specialty label for a little over a buck? Are you kidding? I snagged many.
There were also oddballs, one hit wonders originally released on smaller labels that were licensed by generic oldies labels, often with two different artists on the same 45. Hey, it's still a 45, and will still go in a jukebox should that day arrive. One of the generic oldies label 45s my brother bought was "All American Boy" by Bill Parsons. He'd never heard it, but bought on a whim right about the time Rick Derringer's All American Boy LP came out. What the hell, right? Anyway, the song was in my head the other night when I was on my way home from the beach, toying once again with the thought of getting a guitar giving it a go. My thought was that if I had started learning the guitar instead of doing this blog, and spent all that time on my chops, I would have much more to show for my time. It's been 12 years, and many, many hours have been spent in front of a screen. "Get a guitar and put it in tune, you'll be rockin' and rollin' soon", that's the line that was in my head.
There were also oddballs, one hit wonders originally released on smaller labels that were licensed by generic oldies labels, often with two different artists on the same 45. Hey, it's still a 45, and will still go in a jukebox should that day arrive. One of the generic oldies label 45s my brother bought was "All American Boy" by Bill Parsons. He'd never heard it, but bought on a whim right about the time Rick Derringer's All American Boy LP came out. What the hell, right? Anyway, the song was in my head the other night when I was on my way home from the beach, toying once again with the thought of getting a guitar giving it a go. My thought was that if I had started learning the guitar instead of doing this blog, and spent all that time on my chops, I would have much more to show for my time. It's been 12 years, and many, many hours have been spent in front of a screen. "Get a guitar and put it in tune, you'll be rockin' and rollin' soon", that's the line that was in my head.
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| Bobby Bare |
When it came to looking for the song, I knew who would have it. Mother lovin' Rocky 52 never disappoints. That was that. Or so I thought. I didn't know until yesterday that the song, written by Parsons, was miscredited on the label and was actually sung by Bobby Bare. So in lieu of looking for a photo of the 45 I went looking for a photo of Bobby Bare, and in doing so saw a blurb about Dylan covering it, released on one his Bootleg Series things, apparently from around the time he was messing around with the Band out in the sticks. In the beginning of his version it sounds like just a goofy jam where he's improvising the lyrics, but then it goes on and it's almost like he's cut up the lyrics and rearranged them and added his own in between. It's a sloppy hoot, and that's a good thing since the original is so goddamn corny you feel guilty just listening to it.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:Bill Parsons (Bobby Bare) - All American Boy mp3 at Rocky 52
Bob Dylan - All American Boy (streaming) at Elsewhere
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