Professor Mikey’s OLD SCHOOL

OLD SCHOOL #15 Blatant LSD

It is always fun to play songs on the podcast that werent allowed on the radio. Censorship of music that might have held even the slightest reference to drugs was blatant. One pill could not make you larger!The Beatles A Day in the Life got banned from the BBC. So did Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.Today our Old School Subject is the hallucinagenic drug lysergic acid diethlymide. Not songs that were written while tripping on LSD, but songs that were enthusiasticly robust in their search for a key that might unlock the mystery door behind the eyeball that would open Dorothy~like unto OZ. Colors change, breathe, and order breakfast. The smallest thing becomes fascinating before it shouts transparent recipes across the desert honeymoon. The playlist has LA scene icon Kim Fowley, beat bruiser William Burroughs sitting in with the Doors via telekinesis, Mr. Electrical Banana Donovan himself, sugar cubes, and a very strange Rx from Dr. Timothy Leary. A normal show like this would take 12 hours to put together, and then we would be hungry as . But the world would be different. And we might forget completely a song we just fell in love with.Welcome to Old School Fifteen. It is BLATANT LSD.THE TRIP Donovan (1946- )IS EVERYBODY IN? William Burroughs (1914-1997) and Jim Morrison (1943-1971)William Burroughs was a rock star of the literary set, one of the original beat generation icons whose greatest hit was a fabulous druggie novel called Naked Lunch.  On this cut he reads the poetry of Jim Morrison.  This is the trip.  The best part of the trip.  Whip the horses eyes.  Legs furiously pumping.  There’s been a slaughter here.  True sailing is dead.  Lizard King meets the world’s oldest junkie.  Is Everybody In? Lions in the streetLions in the streetAnd roaming dogs in heat, rabid, foamingA beast caged in the heart of a cityIs everybody in?Is everybody in?The ceremony is about to beginThe body of his motherRotting in the summer groundHe fled the townHe went down south and crossed the borderLeft the chaos and disorderBack there over his shoulderIs everybody in?Is everybody in?The ceremony is about to beginOne morning he awoke in a green hotelWith a strange creature groaning beside himSweat oozed from its shiny skinIs everybody in?The ceremony is about to beginMY FRIEND JACK The SmokeWHAT YOU TURN ON WHEN YOU TURN ON Dr. Timothy Leary (1920-1996)APOTHECARY DREAM Sound Sandwich The Sound Sandwich caused some brief concern and got their record pulled from radio in the late 1960s.  According to blogs showing up on the internet, a band member named Les writes:“Our problem was that it was banned on the radio but the DJs liked what they heard.  It was supposed to have been the "rate a record" on American Bandstand but again, it was banned. Kind of funny to think about this very mild song being banned considering what's on the radio today. We were a bunch of young but serious musicians that got close but never quite made it. We did have fun though.” THE TRIP Kim Fowley (1939-2015)Legendary LA wild music man Kim Fowley was involved in sooo many projects, including records by B Bumble and The Stingers, the Hollywood Argyles, The Seeds, the Runaways, and his own slap dash solo career.  He was always a bit ahead of his time, like here when he recorded what is regarded as the first psychedelic novelty record two years before the summer of love.  It came out in Great Britain in 1965 and in the U. S. in 1966, received limited airplay, and survives today as one of the great curiosity’s of LSD. Kenny Rogers dropped acid and went country. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #14 Muddy Rock Stars and the Rainbow Vigilante

From that title you can probably guess it’s a mixed bag of beloved obscurities. Elliot Murphy released Aquashow in 1973 with a blowtorch of a rock roll onslaught appropriately titled “Last of the Rock Stars.” You are in the song, so don’t miss that.Judee Sill made it to 35. The music she left behind is haunting, beautiful, and full of the life mysterious. Someday somebody will make a movie about her, and it will have a sad ending.Pete Seeger was a lifelong folksinger who walked the walk in addition to singing the talk. He was belligerent and aggressive against anyone who wanted to ruin the earth, deny the human rights of human beings, the working man or woman, or send their children off to war. He popularized a song called “We Shall Oversome.” On this episode we have Pete, in trouble with the networks, for singing a tune that felt critical of President Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War.Finally we get to Gene Chandler, loosening his tie, falling to his knees, and bringing an audience back alive, all by rocking a Rainbow.Thanks for tuning in! Whoever you get your podcasts from, click their equivalent of a 👍! Here are some visuals while you listen!LAST OF THE ROCK STARS Elliott Murphy (1949- )THE VIGILANTE Judee Sill (1944-1979)WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY Pete Seeger (1919-2014)RAINBOW Gene Chandler (1939- )RETROFIT is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #13 St. Patrick’s Day Jukebox

It’s a great time for the St. Patrick’s Day Jukebox! There it is, up against a green wall in a green tavern, blasting out the tunes that made the holiday bubble like the Guinness Stout. Everybody wants an Irish song, so the jukebox is loaded. With quarters.The Old School Podcast begins with The Belfast Gypsies who sound like the Irish group Them with good reason.  Brothers Jackie (the organist) and Pat (the drummer) McAuley had been along for that band’s string of successes that spotlighted lead singer Van Morrison.  Somehow they hooked up with LA producer Kim Fowley in London in 1966, and formed a band that would produce one album, with the confusing title “Them Belfast Gypsies.”  Since we heard Them without Van, it’s fitting we hear something from Van without Them. A lesson in recent Irish history comes next from John and Yoko. The “Mr. Tambourine Man”-era Byrds offer a Scottish/Irish ballad. The closer is from Johnny Cash. What’s a good memory filled holiday traditionally celebrated with alcohol without a cry in your beer tear jerker?Stick around for the videos. Ole Bing himself solves a holiday mystery centered around fashion and Irish cuisine. Roger Daltry and Sinead O’Connor rock steady with the Chieftains, the Pogues reminisce, the Irish Rovers and Dr. Dog sing about The Unicorn. Then get out the green handkerchiefs as Sinead returns to bid farewell to Molly Malone and St. Patrick’s Day.This is a free newsletter so share with your holiday wishes! Also download this episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! Faith and begorrah y’all!GLORIAS‘S DREAM Belfast GypsiesLINDEN ARDEN STOLE THE HIGHLIGHTS Van MorrisonSUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY John Lennon, Yoko OnoWILD MOUNTAIN THYME The ByrdsDANNY BOY Johnny Cash This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #12 Led Zeppelin Uncovered

Led Zeppelin is one of the most litigated bands in history. Like The Beatles, it is a big payday for any artist when a jury of their peers finds even a snippet of a song may originated elsewhere. Forget that Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones (the bassist who stole his name from a famous navy admiral), might have improved the original. Bottom line, when an artist sells nearly 300 million albums, there is a significant bottom line.The band maintains all titles were researched for proper accreditations. Memphis Minnie was listed as a songwriter for “When the Levee Breaks,” updated by Led Zep 1971, and received healthy residuals. Randy California of Spirit sued over “Stairway to Heaven,” claiming the opening notes were way to close to his instrumental composition “Taurus” from 1968. His heirs were still in court when California passed in 1997. The dispute ended in Zeppelin’s favor in 2020.For a good legal brief on Led Zeppelin in court, check out this testimonial from Rolling Stone.Today we hear three tunes from the first Zeppelin LP that were mostly controversy free. “Babe I’m Going to Leave You” came from a Joan Baez recording of a song written in the Fifties by Anne Breton. Here we get it from the pop prep rambling Plebs. Willie Dixon was correctly identified as the composer of the other two songs, as we hear pre-Zep versions of “I Can’t Quit You’ from Otis Rush and Muddy Waters on “You Shook Me.”The Retrofit Old School podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, most anywhere you get your podcasts.BABE I’M GONNA LEAVE YOU The PlebsOne of the amazing things when you spend a lot of time in the Old School detention hall is that songs you always assumed were originals were really covers.  That’s right, the walkin’ in the park every day knock out punch from Robert Plant was also the only release by The Plebs back in 1964.  Stranger still, it’s a traditional folk song recorded two years before that by Joan Baez.  But today we get it post-Joanie and pre-Robert Plant.  The Plebs and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You…”I CAN’T QUIT YOU Otis RushLeft-handed blues guitarist Otis Rush left his hometown of Philadelphia Mississippi when he was 14 years old.  He headed straight for the South Side of Chicago, where he began playing in small clubs and working on the legend.  In 1956 he was all of 21 when he signed with the Cobra label, where he stayed for three years until the label went bankrupt.  Rush’s career went strong until a stroke sidelined him in 2004.  British blues took a major page from the Otis Rush book. You can hear him in Eric Clapton and certainly in Led Zeppelin.  Here he is from that first Cobra album in 1956, with a song that went to number 5 on the R & B Charts.  YOU SHOOK ME Muddy WatersWillie Dixon’s song “You Shook Me” got covered twice in 1969.  Once by the Jeff Beck Group featuring Rod Stewart, and another time on the debut album from Led Zeppelin.  Dixon was 54 at the time and enjoyed the royalties, which were much more than he received when it was covered in 1962.  Here’s that version, featuring Muddy Waters.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #11 Sons of Backstreet Good Guys

SOMETIMES GOOD GUYS DON’T WEAR WHITE The StandellsThe Standells from Los Angeles will always be remembered for taking their garage sound all the way to number 11 on the pop charts with their ode to Boston “Dirty Water.” Lead singer/drummer Dodd had been a Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club.  Larry Tamblyn, on the keyboards, was the brother of Russ Tamblyn who had starred in West Side Story. Tony Valentino had left Italy to go to Hollywood, and Gary Leeds eventually found himself in the Walker Brothers.  They are caught on film in “Get Yourself a College Girl,” and “Riot on Sunset Strip” and even appeared in the TV sitcom The Munsters.  As far as bands go, they have a great gritty sound and they really capture the summer of ’66, in that precious time after the British Invasion and before psychedelics.  Here’s the Standells from their first album and Some Times Good Guys Don’t Wear White…BACK STREET LUV Curved AirCurved Air emerged on the prog rock scene in London in 1969 when members of the band Sisyphus added female singer Sonja Kristina Linwood.  They took their name from a Terry Riley composition, "A Rainbow in Curved Air."  The vocals were the last step in their puzzle, but a very big part of their sounds were the sonic violin antics of Darryl Way.  The band lasted from 1970 to 76, but time has not been particularly kind to this band.  One of the reasons could be sloppy remasters of their CDs.  With that in mind, we go back to the original vinyl and hear a forgotten masterpiece.  SON OF SHAFT The Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays were a Memphis soul ensemble that began life as an instrumental group, then faced the solemn task of rebuilding after major tragedy.  Four members of the original group died in the plane crash that also claimed the life of Otis Redding in December of 1967.  Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash, bassist James Alexander had missed the flight.  The group they assembled would back Isaac Hayes on his album Hot Buttered Soul.  Cauley and his new guitarist Michael Toles also played on the Shaft soundtrack, which brings us to this cut, recorded Christmas Day 1971 with singer Larry Dodson. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #10 Honky Tonk Women’s History

Ellen Muriel Deason, aka Kitty Wells, was 32 in 1951. Her latest country hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” crossed the line. It blamed men for a few glaring inequities. It was heard by Alabama-born Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, 25. She had just signed with Peacock Records and was aiming for similar success. Her statement song was so powerful it was covered by Elvis Presley.Loretta Lynn was a 19 year-old mother of three, still two years from receiving her first guitar from her husband as a birthday present. Wanda Jackson at 14 was already performing on the Oklahoma City radio stations where she first heard Kitty Wells and many others. She would snag a recording contract at 17.All four scored in a tough, male dominated music business orbited around rough bars, juke joints, and smoke filled honky-tonks. They played one-nighters, visited out-of-the-way radio stations, and performed standing on orange crates in music centers and record stores. And more than once they pondered real life in real songs. Grab a beer, it’s time for some “Honky Tonk Women’s History.” And don’t come home a-drinking with lovin’ on your mind.HOUND DOG Big Mama ThorntonBig Mama Thornton’s version of Hound Dog, recorded almost four years before Elvis Presley got hold of it, takes on a whole new meaning when sung by a woman.  And what a woman.  Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wrote the song for Thornton, who at the time was singing with the Johnny Otis band.  It topped the R&B charts in 1953, then turned into a legal nightmare.  The Peacock label gave Otis writing credit, then the lawyers swarmed in when various takeoffs were released.  The story goes that Elvis was unaware of Big Mama’s version when he recorded what would become a monster hit in 1956.  Still, savvy critics noted that the song made little sense when sung by a man.  Here’s the original, exhibit A, Big Mama Thornton recording in Los Angeles on August 13, 1952.FUNNEL OF LOVE Wanda JacksonBorn in the tiny town of Maud, Oklahoma in 1937, Wanda Jackson is today considered to be one of the first true female voices on the vast landscape of rock and roll.  She got her break when Hank Thompson heard her singing on the radio in Oklahoma City.  She dated Elvis, who told her to move away from country gospel and to use that big voice to rock out.  Her first record came out in 1956.  We’re going to tune into a 1961 song, wherein she combines the power of love with a familiar sight on the Okie weather Map.  From 1961, Wanda Jackson and Funnel of Love…Thank you for reading RETROFIT. This post is public so feel free to share it.THE PILL Loretta LynnIt is hard to imagine today the controversy that surround Loretta Lynn’s ode to birth control, a song called simply, The Pill.  She was once quoted as saying “I’ve always said that you have to be different, great, or first.  So maybe I was first—first to come to town, write my own stuff and sing it.  You know, I think that’s what the whole deal has been.”  In 1975 she became the first recording artist to mention birth control in a song.  T. D. Bayless wrote the lyrics, Loretta recorded the song in 1972, but her fearful label sat on it for three years.  The idea that a woman might have control over her life by regulating the number of children she bears was simply too hot to handle.  Even when the song was released, many country radio stations took it upon themselves to shelter the public from these radical notions.  Here it is, uncut and uncensored.  From 1975, Loretta Lynn and “The Pill.”You wined me and dined me when I was your girl, Promised if I'd be your wife, you'd show me the worldBUT all I've seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor billI’m tearing down your brooder house 'cause now I've got THE PILL All these years, I've stayed at home while you had all your funAnd every year that's gone by, another baby's comeThere's gonna be some changes made right here on Nursery HillYou've set this chicken your last time 'cause now I've got THE PILL This old maternity dress I've got is going in the garbageThe clothes I'm wearing from now on won't take up so much yardageMiniskirts, hot pants, and a few little fancy frillsYeah, I'm making up for all those years since I've got THE PILL I’m-tired of all your crowing how you and your hens playWhile holding a couple in my arms, another is on the wayThis chicken's done tore up her nest and I'm ready to make a dealAnd you can't afford to turn it down 'cause you know I've got THE PILL This incubator is over-used because you've kept it filledBut feeling good comes easy now since I've got THE PILL It’s getting dark, it's roosting time, tonight's too good to be realAw, but Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got the pill Oh, Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got THE PILL💊IT WASN’T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS Kitty WellsUnlike many successful country stars, Muriel Deason was actually born in Nashville.  Her husband Johnnie Wright of Johnnie & Jack added her to open the show, but he changed her name to something a little catchier, after the old folk ballad I'm a Goin to Marry Kitty Wells.  In 1952, she exhibited her own bit of cat power, with a single that served as an answer to Hank Thompson's Wild Side of Life.  A feminist cowgirl who claimed unfaithful women were the spinoff from unfaithful men was something new and dicey, and the song itself solidified her as the Queen of Country Music, someone for young Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette to look up to.  Here she is with the song that put her name in lights.  Kitty Wells and “It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels...” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #9 Nothing But Psychopathia Sexualis

The Flirtations with a bold realization kick off #9! Then a yet to be lionized Lenny Bruce releases a single from his second groundbreaking (check the cover) album, recorded in 1958 at Ann’s 440 Club in San Francisco. He’s a young comic seeking to shock, relieve, poke, educate, and entertain all in 2 minutes of jazz poetry doomed for zero airplay. Fast forward almost a decade down the line, and the hippy darlings of Grand Rapids, Michigan, hang the bedspreads on their 1967 garage walls, inhale a little Escanaba Waba, and memorialize their tie-die lifestyle in song.NOTHING BUT A HEARTACHE The FlirtationsThe Flirtations were an all girl soul group who could have called themselves the Pearce Sisters, except sisters Betty, Shirley, and Earnestine included their friend Viola Billups.  They began life in the early 60s as the Gypsies, but changed their name in ’65 when they were signed by Josie Records.  Betty left the group a year later.  In 1967 the remaining Flirtations did their own American invasion, and moved to England, where they began recording for the Parrot, then the Deram label.  Their big song of 1969 is what they are remembered for, a swinging big sound with enough Top 40 hooks to fill a tackle box.  And even though it was a hit in the U.S., the group stayed in Great Britain for another ten years.  Here’s the Flirtations and Nothing But a Heartache…PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS Lenny BruceComedians have been going into recording studios for a long time.  Novelty hits are a fast payday if they click, and if they don’t, there’s always another club.  In his 40 years, Lenny Bruce would change the face of stand up comedy, not only because he brought dirty words to the stage, but because his vision of humor included savage observations on bigotry, religious contradictions, evil politicians, and everything that can go wrong in life and love.  Lenny loved jazz and was a beatnik at heart, both which come through on this single that was released from the 1959 album The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce.  Psychopathia Sexualis…BLESS OUR HIPPY HOME The AssortmentToday we dip into the Michigan garage sound of the 1960s.  The Fenton label hailed from Sparta, Michigan, and ultimately became more famous than any of their bands.  Most of their acts were little known, never made it nationally, but were huge on the Grand Rapids and Muskegon sock hop circuit.  They also had excellent studio recordings made of their garage sounds, thanks to the Fenton engineers.  Here’s a good example, a pretty dumb song with great production values.  From 1967, it’s The Assortment and Bless Our Hippy Home… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #8 Junior and Georgie on a Mission

Unlike the Underground FM sets I would put together in the early 70s as a charter member of the Association of Progressive Radio Announcers, these three song Old School shows don’t have much to do with each other. That will probably change but for these first few it’s grab bag mode. Unearthing genius locked silent for a half century is enough!If today’s bill was a show, I would be there with you on the front row. Junior Wells was a legend. Musically he was family taught by cousins Junior Parker and Sonny Boy Williamson II. On the other side of the ocean Georgie Fame fed on American blues and brought a hep cat groove to the British Invasion. Fast forward a little and Boston’s Mission of Burma plays their first gig on April 1, 1979.OK, push play please…SNATCH IT BACK AND HOLD IT Junior WellsJunior Wells, 1934-1998 enjoyed a 40 year performing career that established him as one of the baddest blowers of the blues harp. Born in Memphis, he attended the school of hard knocks in Chicago. He was performing with a group called The Aces in 1952 when he heard that Little Walter had dropped out of Muddy Waters band. By the 1960s Junior was on his own when he recorded perhaps his greatest album, the Hoodoo Man Blues. The idea was to recreate in a studio what a night in a west side lounge might sound like Especially sweet is his Chicago Blues Band, consisting of bassist Jack Myers, drummer Billy Warren, and a guitarist called Friendly Chap on the first pressings, but you don’t need a weatherman to know that axe is being wielded by Buddy Guy. Don’t even try to sit still. Junior Wells 1965…Snatch it Back and Hold It…YEH YEH Georgie FameGeorgie Fame points to Louis Jordan, Booker T and Mose Allison as major influences on his jazzy British style.  Oddly enough, the sound was just offbeat and swinging enough to earn him a high rank in the British Invasion.  His first hit had been recorded by Mongo Santamaria, with lyrics written by Jon Hendricks of Lambert Hendricks and Ross.  London went cool cat, and Georgie has been bopping ever since.  From 1965, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Yeh Yeh…YEH YEH George Fame and the Blue Flames!THAT’S WHEN I REACH FOR MY REVOLVER Mission of BurmaExactly where 80s punk was going to go was still a big question in 1981, when Boston’s Mission of Burma released their first EP, Signals, Calls and Marches.  Here was a four piece band, with three traditional instruments and one guy running tape loops from a mixing desk, onstage no less.  Singer and bass player named the song after a Henry Miller essay, only to find out later that Miller had gotten the title from one of Hitler’s favorite , Hermann Göring.  Here’s Mission of Burma, and a sweet little novelty entitled “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver…” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #7 Wild Life Macumba

When most of us who were there, regardless of our powers of recall, the psychedelic 60s are fueled by musical memories. Great Britain ruled with Beatles and Stones, trailed by a loopy gaggle that included Donovan, Small Faces, and infant Pink Floyd. Living in the USA meant the Dead, the Airplane, the Electric Flag, the plastic inevitable, the acid test. But in Brazil, all those inputs were peppered with the home country heroes Os Mutantes. Weird, political, original, they were as psychedelic as the blue sands of Rio in the moonlight. They started in ‘64, regrouped and added and subtracted personnel over the years, but remain a global legend.Presenting their first song, the gateway audio drug to the endless whirl that Os Mutantes! BAT MACUMBA Os MutantesRare video from French TV!Barbara George wrote her single hit basing the melody on one of her church choir faves, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” The lyrics were pointed at the jerk she had married at 16. It was a blessing as well as a blessing out.In 1961 “I Know” topped the R&B charts at hit #3 on the US pop charts. As composer, she reaped the benefits of cover versions by Ike and Tina, Fats Domino, Bonnie Raitt, and Cher. British invaders Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recorded it. Such a fun song, it’s sleeping now, awaiting a reimagined cover somewhere down the line. How do I know? I Know.I KNOW. Barbara George
I know (I know)You don't love me, no moNo mo (no mo)No, no mo (no mo)And I, don't wanna be hurtedAny mo (no mo)Any mo (no mo)Say he can't hide the lustful heartEv'rything I did was no joySorry, I can't love you right, babyI don't have to love you at allI know (I know)You don't want me no moNo more (no more)No, no more (no more)And it had been someone elseWho lovin' you mo'(No mo) lovin' you more (no more)Ain't no use sitting here crying, nowAfter seeing you have put me downSo, you don't want me no mo, babyAin't no use in your hanging 'roundI know (I know)You don't want me no moNo mo (no mo)No, no mo (no mo)And it had, to be someone elseWho loving you more (no mo)Loving you more (no mo)Ain't no use seeing me crying, nowAfter seeing you have put me down'Cause you don't want me no more, babyAin't no use in your hanging 'roundLugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco turned 79 on Feb 19. His best birthday will always be his 23rd in 1966, when he had the Number One song in the country. On March 3, “Lightnin’ Strikes” went gold, signifying a million sales, mostly to teenage girls who knew exactly where Lou Christie was coming from. And where he wanted to go. Most of Christie’s hits, heavy with falsetto and naughty romance, are rough and edgy for the times. To date he is the only artist to have a record banned for including the phrase “making out.” Christie loved the bad rich boy persona that emanate from his songs, his album covers, his live performances. Lou forever comes across as the privileged white teen who shows up late for the chaperoned sweet sixteen birthday house party with a trust fund in the works, rocking a plaid blazer. He’s driving his father’s Jaguar. And at some point of the party he takes two or three cool guys out to the driveway for a smoke and shows them the pistol in the glove box.Christie and his labels created this image and squeezed it into a very successful career. “Wild Life’s in Season” is a lesser hit for him, but it is such a perfect example of what Lou Christie was all about. The man, the legend, the haircut.WILD LIFE’S IN SEASON Lou ChristieThanks for listening! If this is your first time, the player at the top plays this episode. There’s also a place to click to add this episode to your saved podcasts. Know someone who may enjoy some time in the Old School detention hall? Please share! Enjoy! “The past is a blast.” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

OLD SCHOOL #6 Petite Adrenaline

For fifty years, I’ve been bewildered. Why wasn’t “Feel Older Now” by The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie (Flo and Eddie y’all) a huge hit of 1972, like Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” or Roberta Flacks’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”It is joyous, it is mad, it is weird. Maybe that affected the record sales. Also there was the blossoming of the Watergate scandal. Who had time for two refugees from the power pop giants The Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan? Clearly they had moved on from lollipops and roses hits like “Happy Together.”Clearly, Mark and Howard had taken the LSD Frank Zappa had offered them, grown their beards out sloppy, and adopted the scuzzy hippie look of their new band, The Mothers of Invention.What happened in those time is told well by Howard Kaylan in Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.Yes they smoked pot in the Lincoln bedroom. They may have imbibed a bit during the sessions for this blasting ballad that features the whimsy of growing old backed by bitterness, regret, and amplifiers stacked to the moon.FEEL OLDER NOW Phlorescent Leech and EddieI talk about seeing Jackie Wilson in person on a golden oldie tour in the podcast. What a presence. Wilson was an incredible performer who brought such passion and joy to his music. The video is him doing one of gymnasium nation’s greatest hits. In the show is his professional debut from 1956. Jackie wails. As Van Morrison said, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”.REET PETITE Jackie WilsonWrapping OS#6 we have a great tune from the industrial pioneers led by Genesis P-Orridge and Casey Fanni Tutti. They began life as COUM Transmission, and performed as Death Factory before hitting on the name we remember them for.ADRENALINE Throbbing GristleAll this energy destroys me Killing my security Sitting here you make me shiver Sitting here I lose all fear Making love in different places Jealousy brings you So nearIt still helps me be happy It still helps make me free Yet it still helps me be happyA And it still helps made me freeAdrenalin, adrenalin paper-thin adrenalin paper-thin adrenalinSitting here you make me shiver Sitting here you see my fear I am split in different places I am split from everything Longing for securityPaper-thin adrenalin Paper-thin adrenalin Waiting for the life you giveHere we are just sitting prettyHere we are just sitting prettyPaper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalinLonging for securityI am split in different placesI am split from everythingYet it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalinAnd it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalinCan I be alive once more?Sitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalin “The past is a blast.”Thanks for listening to Old School. Remember it is easy to load these in with your podcasts and things update there every time I click go on this end. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe