It's hard to describe how odd it was for Wall of Voodoo to cover "Ring of Fire" back in 1980. Reaching back for unlikely covers happened, that's always happened, but hearing Johnny Cash covered by a band that featured a synthesizer, as ho-hum as that sounds today, was a bold move in 1980. Even bolder from a group of guys in the L.A. punk scene (members were from the Skulls, the Eyes, and Black Randy and the Metro Squad). They also covered Ennio Morricone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Hang 'em High". That one kind of makes sense since Stan Ridgway was running a film score company when the band formed. (His business was across the street from the Masque, a small gritty club that was the epicenter of the L.A. punk scene at the time, which is how the band ended up with a bunch of punk rockers). Here's a handful for those of you who can only drudge up "Mexican Radio" when Wall of Voodoo gets mentioned at the after work mixer.
Wall of Voodoo - Ring of Fire mp3 at Internet Archive
Wall of Voodoo - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly/Hang 'em High (live) mp3 at Internet Archive
Wall of Voodoo - Longarm mp3 at Internet Archive
Wall of Voodoo - Granma's House mp3 at Internet Archive Effective
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