Dunk 'n Dine

Here's a random photo from the pile that has gotten cooler with age. Dunk 'n Dine in downtown Atlanta, circa 1990. I'm pretty sure the Dunk 'n Dine chain is no more. The one on Cheshire Bridge road lasted the longest, and became too self-aware to be a real diner any more. In this photo - I was just thinking that $6.95 seems a little steep for a plate of diner shrimp in 1990, no?

Peanut Pie In The Sky

As this Thanksgiving pie-time wanes, so must Part 1 of the Jimmy Carter novelty song project come to a close. And "Peanut Pie In The Sky" is the perfect song, crass and depressing, to go out on.

It's 1980. Carter is losing. Such awkward phrasing, this "trying hard to stay inside" hook. No funky ad hoc novelty band name here. (Just a list of four theater majors with a jug of chardonnay and a contract from a morning zoo crew to make a Carter-is-losing song?) The label tells us that this is from an album called "The Last Of The First Family." Scared/Interested.

The drum machine signals an entry into the cold inverse-Kremlin Reagan era.

President names hold weight.

I hope to run a Part II of the Jimmy Carter song feature in the future - there are more out there! Until then, I will get back to the original blog plan of small groceries and lost songs of all types.

Enjoy Kurt Kilpatrick, Marilyn Eastman, Teri Rini, Karl Hardman:







Update: just found out that Karl Hardman produced the original Night of the Living Dead film in 1968, and starred in the film along with Marilyn Eastman as the bickering older couple whose daughter was catatonic after being bitten by a zombie!

From Peanuts to President

You thought I was done...Nope. Two more stunners before I am through with the Jimmy Carter novelty record project.

Today's entry is the kind of real-deal recording that will bring tears to the eyes of perfectionists and Plains residents alike.

This is an ultra-obscure (autographed!) record by Max Culler, written by Gail Davis. I'm not sure where this is from (BMI gives the current address for Rusty York publishing in Greensburg, Indiana), but it will sure make you feel good about "the great state of Georgia".

The only Gail Davis I can find with any creative credentials is the one who portrayed Annie Oakley on TV in the 1950s. Wikipedia says she lived until 1997. Might she have been struck with populist Carter pride in 1976, and written this song? The flip side, "The Hurt Is Slowly Going Away" is also sung by Max Culler and written by Gail Davis.

OUR COUNTRY'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE...YOU GUESSED IT, JIMMY WON:

Redneck Power, the book

Does somebody have a copy of this I can borrow?

The Ballad of Billy Carter

I've been going easy on you-all so far. Now it is time we get stuck in the deep stuff. As the Billy World Turns. Your stern must be made of stiff stuff to plow into these waters. It's the Ballad of Billy Carter!

The pain in Plains is dulled by the Grain.






Peanuts...oh oh oh oh, Peanuts. Doodle doodle doo!

Yeah, that'd be FRED SMERDLEY & THE DIXIE PIXIES.

Eatin' Peanuts & Drinkin' Billy Beer

The Jimmy Carter Time! train rolls on...

When we talk about artists who have never gotten their due, we usually mean artists whose releases failed to capture an audience. On this record, Bobby Mann did not get his due from the outset, as his name is not even on the cover of the record.

Harkus 'Pig' Robbins and Hank Williams produced...not that Hank Williams.

In this song, Jimmy and Billy Carter serve as mere signposts to the narrator's divorce, letting us know that it must have occurred some time in the late 70s. The Carter presidency provides a rare opportunity for a sad-sack character to drown his sorrows country-style, while still maintaining a presidential flair.

Two '76 Debate cut-in records

Here are two shockingly raw cut-ins from before the 1976 election. The great thing here is that, unlike all the later novelty records, the word "peanut" only gets mentioned once! (Listen for the Henry Kissinger character.) One early Jimmy Carter media scandal at play here is his apparent admission in a Playboy interview that he "lusted after hundreds of women."

At this point the Iranians had not yet taken American hostages, and nobody knew about Billy.

In case you don't know what a cut-in record is, it's when the DJ pretends to have an interview with a famous figure, whose answers are all given in the form of audio samples of lines from hit songs.

Bonus points: Name the songs that appear in BOTH of these cut-ins! There are at least three.

Road Hog And The Neon Cactus
"The Presidential Debate"

What a great band name! You wish it was a lost psychedelic masterpiece.

You'll notice this "song" was "written" by Don Imus. All these popular song samples? This thing is a copyright nightmare. Perhaps the only thing that could save them is the de minimis doctrine ("we only used a tiny bit!"). And you can't spell "Don Imus" without "De Minimis".




If you want to really go wild, play them both at the same time!

Super Stu / Allen Dennis & The Disco Turkeys
"The Great Debate"

Band name: they should've just dropped "Allen Dennis" and gone with SUPER STU & THE DISCO TURKEYS.