By Tony Attwood
In this series on the Theme Time Radio Hour programmes, I am looking back at some episodes recorded by Bob for series one, and choosing a few songs that interest or perhaps intrigue me, and for which I can find copies on the internet that I can share. A list of the episodes already considered in this way is given at the end.
As I say, I do add my comments, but the key point is to offer a reminder online of some of the songs that Bob commented upon – particularly those which, because of their age, might not otherwise be noticed.
Previously in this series
- 1: Happy 20th anniversary, Theme Time Radio Hour. Still offering us fun
- 2: Mother
- 3: Drinking
- 4: Coffee
- 5: Jail
- 6: Father
- 7: Wedding
- 8: Divorce
- 9: Summer
- 10: Flowers
In this next piece we look at Bob’s selection of tracks relating to Cars and the I’m starting with the oldest track, not least because it contains a brief instrumental part that Chuck Berry copied for “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”.
It’s a straight 12-bar blues but with a really unexpected instrumental break – do play it all the way through, even if this isn’t your type of music. It’s worth it just for the break. This recording was made in 1941.
Apart from that song, Bob didn’t venture back into the 1940s, but he certainly gave us a rare collection of songs from the 50s. From 1951 we got another 12-bar blues, “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats which is interesting musically because not all the sung verses are 12 bars long. And this track does reveal the development that happened around this time of having a final instrumental verse that was not improvised but was rehearsed and prepared as the conclusion to the song – I really liked that approach, rather than just another verse and the lead guitarist or singer nodding to the band that it was then all over.
Now, the next track I picked out was “Every woman I know” which is slightly odd in a series about cars. But the full title is actually “Every Woman I Know (Crazy ‘Bout Automobiles)” which excuses its inclusion….
In fact, the majority of songs in this episode come from the 1950s, which tells us quite a lot about the 1950s, I guess. But although Bob did not include any songs from after 1983, he did fit in three from the early part of that decade.
And the emphasis on trying to make music that somehow reflected the power and macho approach to cars, which was so strong in early rock, but subsequently faded away. “Mercury Blues” was a perfect example. This is by David Lindley, and he does manage to slip in one extra chord (so I guess it is a 12-bar variant), and some very good harmonies.
But I guess I have to finish with Chuck Berry, which has a very extended introduction, but is still a 12-bar blues
So I guess all the classic car-related songs were all 12-bar blues, although sometimes the 12 bars were greatly extended as happened in the Chuck Berry song above. We do eventually get to the chord change, but it really does take a while.
So I am left asking, why have songwriters felt the urge to a) write songs about cars and b) write songs about cars that are straightforward 12-bar blues (albeit occasionally with an extended opening section on the tonic chord). I drive a car, but I am not actually sure I could immediately tell you what the make is… cars really don’t mean too much to me. Maybe if they did I’d devote myself to the 12 bar blues more often… but somehow it just doesn’t seem worthwhile.
But the fact that cars are so often associated with the 12-bar blues seems to say something, although at this moment I am not exactly sure what.