Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Breezy, offbeat, trashy, yet intermittently illuminating – and just in time! Zero to 180’s curated highlights from 1983’s Rolling Stone Rock Almanac humbly serves as your Summer Beach Read! These carefully selected bits of humor and offbeat information have been lavished with picture sleeves from around the world, streaming audio,
I stumbled upon a pretty snappy A-side that is virtually unknown, and what a shame, given the sibling harmonizing and wonderfully oddball percussion sounds during the instrumental section that would be nearly impossible to produce with our current technology. Song clocks in at 103 seconds — and not a single
This recording of Hardrock Gunter‘s mesmerizing voice, with its offbeat hiccup-y rhythms bathed in slapback echo, never fails to enchant: “Boppin’ to Grandfather’s Clock“ Hardrock (“Sidney Jo Lewis”) Gunter (1958) Birmingham, Alabama’s Sidney Louis Gunter, Jr. would record under two other names: Buddy Durham (as noted in the previous piece
How likely is it that Don Davis borrowed the title for 1961’s “Honkey Tonk Woman” from a rockabilly tune released three years prior? “Honky-Tonk Woman” by Lee Russell (1958) Lee Russell appears to have recorded exactly one single before giving up a music career. Unlikely that “Honky-Tonk Woman” spent any
Interesting to learn that the Canadian Sweethearts (who later signed with A&M and Epic) had passed through Cincinnati’s King Records briefly in the guise of Bob & Lucille. King’s Syd Nathan would lease two tracks from two different Bob & Lucille 45s that had been released in the late 1950s
Thanks to Amy Bucci at National Geographic for encouraging my interest in bats by giving me a special set of US postage stamps (“Night Friends” from 2002) that celebrate the world’s only flying mammal. The world’s bat population is imperiled for a whole host of reasons and irrationally targeted by
Orangie Ray Hubbard‘s “Is She Sore” is a big, big tune for such a tiny label — Cincinnati’s Lucky (whose address is a residential home in the Fairview/Clifton Heights neighborhood): “Is She Sore” Orangie Ray Hubbard (1959) “Is She Sore” is actually Orangie Ray’s second single — two years prior, Dixie
I love how the staccato guitars emulate the sound of scratching fleas as a result of the song’s protagonist being banished to the doghouse in this retooling of Hank Williams: Rose Maddox “Move It on Over” (1960) John Maddox & John Newman: Guitar Henry Maddox: Mandolin Allen Williams: Bass Henry
Victor Uwaifo‘s double-neck “magic guitar” with 18 strings immediately brings to mind Andy Tielman and his 10-string guitar. I suspect that many if not most Americans are unfamiliar (as I was) with The Tielman Brothers, a band of siblings from the Netherlands by way of Indonesia. But check out this
My deep appreciation to Brian Horrorwitz of Trash Palace for introducing me to a great tune that was sung by Johnny Cash and featured in a mediocre film in which he starred: “Five Minutes to Live“ Johnny Cash (1960) I am especially in awe of Luther Perkins’ guitar lines, who
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