Weather

(The sounds of rain falling)
It's night time in the Big City
Rain is falling, fog rolls in from the waterfront
a nightshift nurse smokes the last cigarette in a pack

The Singers and The Songs

Muddy Waters  – Blow Wind Blow

Jimmy Davis (James Houston Davis ) -You Are My Sunshine

^{“Alright now, goin’ out west where I belong, get away from the G-Rind”}

Joe Jones  – California Sun

Dean Martin  w/ Paul Weston and His Dixieland Eight – I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine

The Prisonaires (lead singer Johnny Bragg) – Just Walking in The Rain

The Consolers  (Brother Sullivan Pugh on guitar and his Wife Lola) – After The Clouds Roll Away

Jimi Hendrix  – The Wind Cries Mary

Judy Garland  – Come Rain or Come Shine

Irma Thomas  – It’s Raining

Sister Rosetta Tharp  – Didn’t it Rain

Slim Harpo (with his harp in a rack) – Raining In My Heart

^{“Slim wrote a bunch of his songs with his wife Lavelle…boy, wish I had a wife like that t’ help me write songs.”}

Lord Beginner – Jamaica Hurricane

Fats Domino  – Let the Four Winds Blow

^{“The Spaniels, were on that ill fated tour…which means probably I saw them, Winter Dance Party, 1959…the day that music supposedly died.”}

The Spaniels – Stormy Weather

Stevie Wonder  – A Place In The Sun

^{“West Coast weather is the weather of catastrophe. The Santa Ana winds are like the winds of the apocalypse. But the summer wind that Frank’s singing about may be a little lighter. Come on in, Frank.”}

Frank Sinatra  – Summer Wind

The Staples Singers  – Uncloudy Day

The Carter Family  – Keep on the Sunny Side

The Poets
St. Basil

The Places
Chicago
Dodge City , KS
Amarillo , TX
Rochester , MN
Minnesota
New Orleans
Italy
Denmark

The Movies
Taxi Driver

Others singers and players
Jimmie Rodgers
Otis Spann
Noah Walter
Sam Phillips
The Rivieras
The Ramones
Elvis
Johnnie Ray
The Sunbeams
The Marigolds
Curtis Mayfield
Prince
Harold Arlen
Johnny Mercer
Otis Redding
Pookie Hudson
Buddy Holly
Ritchie Valens
Link Wray
The Big Bopper
Hans Blotke (?)
The Rolling Stones

^{“Of course they took Irma’s song ‘Time is on My Side’ and had a little hit with THAT”}

Other Songs
Ya Talk too much
Rollin’ Stone
The World On a String
That Old Black Magic
One For My Baby One For The Road
Accentuate the Positive
Ruler of My Heart
Pain in My Heart

The Record Labels
Chess
Sun Records
Columbia
Nashboro
Excello Records

Guests
Sara Silverman

Mama

(Sounds of sirens in city)
It's night time in the Big City
The moon goes behind a cloud
a truck drops off tomorrows newspapers

The Singers and The Songs

Tommy (Elmer) Duncan – Daddy Loves Mommyo

Jan Bradley  – Mama Didn’t Lie  

Buck Owens  (and the Buckaroos) – I’ll Go To The Church Again With Momma

Randy Newman  – Mama Told Me Not to Come

J.B. Lenoir  – Mama Talk to Your Daughter 

Earl King  – A Mother’s Love  

Ruth Brown  – Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean  

Carl Smith  – Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way  

Memphis Slim – Mother Earth  t

Ernie K. Doe – Mother In Law  

Merle Haggard  – Mama Tried  

Rolling Stones  – Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadows  

Dirty Red  – Mother Fuyer  

LL Cool J  – Mama Said Knock You Out

The Places

Kansas City
Whitney , TX
Sherman , TX
Bakersfield , CA
Chester , PA
Chicago
Memphis
Paris
San Quentin

The Movies/TV/Plays

Hee Haw
Black and Blue

Others Singers and Players

George E. Lee
Red Norvo
Benny Carter
Vick Dickinson
Bob Wills  and the (Light Crust Doughboys) Texas Playboys
Curtis Mayfield
The Beatles
Dandy Don Rich
Three Dog Night
SunnyLand Slim
J.T. Brown
Alfred Wallace
Babe Ruth
June Carter
Johnny Cash
Zeus
Matt Guitar Murphy
Don Robey
The Blue Flames
Ronald Reagan
Hank Williams
Buck Owens
Lafayette Thomas
Memphis Minnie
Speckled Red

Other Songs

Gamblin’ Polka Dot Blues
Sick, Sober, and Sorry
There’s Not a Cow in Texas
Act Naturally
Don’t Touch My Head
Mystery Train

Record Labels

V-Tone
Chess
JOB
Parrot
Checker
Specialty Records
Sun Records
Duke Records

Guests

Charlie Sheen
Penn Jilette (of Penn and Teller)

Drinking

(restaurant noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a Styrofoam coffee cup rolls across the street
two sailors get out of a cab

The Singers and The Songs

George Zimmerman and the Thrills – Ain’t Got No Money to Pay for This Drink

Wine, Wine, Wine – The Electric Flag

Loretta Lynn – Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’

Porter Wagoner – Daddy and the Wine

Mary Gauthier – I Drink

Charles Aznavour – I Drink

“…sings in six languages – French, English, Italian. He’s written over a thousand songs…I only know about half of them”

Jimmy Rogers – Sloppy Drunk

Lonnie The Cat – I Ain’t Drunk Lonnie (real name, Lonnie Cation)

Johnny Tyler and his Riders of the Rio Grande – It Ain’t Far to the Bar

“Western swing music: a mixture of country, cowboy, polka, and folk music, blended together with a jazzy swing, little bit of New Orleans jazz and blues. Got everything from a pedal steel to a bunch a saxophones.” 

Hank Williams, Jr. / (Rockin’ Randall) Bocephus – What’s on the Bar

The Clovers – One Mint Julep

The Andrews Sisters (Laverne, Maxine, and Patty) – Rum and Coca Cola

John Lee Hooker – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

“One of those guys that recorded under a thousand different names, John Booker being one, Johnnie Lee, The Boogie Boy…John Lee… one of those guys that always sounds better without a band…13 bars here, 11 bars there, 9 there… it doesn’t matter to him. Nobody can do more with less than John Lee Hooker. A band’s gotta hold on for dear life just to keep up.” 

Charlie Walker – Who Will Buy The Wine

Betty Hall Jones – Buddy Stay Off That Wine

The Places
Butcher Hollow, KY
Elmo’s Bar
The Grand Ole Opry
Texas
Las Vegas
Topeka , KS
Tipperary , Ireland
Clarksdale , MS

The Restaurants
The Dixie Kitchen

The Movies/TV Shows
The Lost Weekend
Coal Miners’ Daughter
The Ed Sullivan Show

Others singers and players
Stick McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Sissy Spacek
Crystal Gale
Muddy Waters
Ike Turner
King’s of Rhythm
The Cheatin’ Hearts
Maury Amsterdam
Rupert Grant (Lord Invader)
The Cowboy Ramblers
Rolling Stones
MC Hammer
(Free Masons) –
Roy Akoff
Eddie Arnold
Grandpa Jones
Pee Wee King
Little Johnny Jenkins
Roy Clark
Joe Edwards
Charlie Louvin
Hattie Williams
Roy Milton and his Solid Senders
Tommy Makem
James Bond (Sean Connery)
JFK

Other Songs
Close All the Honky Tonks
Honky Tonk Season
Honky Tonk Women

The Record Labels
Atlantic Records
The Liquid Libations
Rheingold Beer
Cheap Wines:
Night Train
Mad Dog 20/20
Ripple
Thunderbird

Guests
Jimmy Kimmel
Penn Jillette
Liam Clancy
The Recipes
Bob’s Mint Julep Recipe:
4 mint sprigs
2 ½ ounces of bourbon (“I prefer 3”)
1 T powdered sugar
1 T water
Put the mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a Collins glass. Fill with shaved or crushed ice. Top with bourbon and more ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
“Two or three of those and anything sounds good!”
Bob’s Rum and Coke Recipe:
1 tall glass, filled with ice
2 fingers of Bombay rum
1 bottle of Coca Cola
“Shake it up well and go drink it in the sunshine!”

Baseball

(car noises)
It’s NIGHT in the big city
somewhere a car alarm goes off
a woman walks barefoot, her high heels in her handbag
“Tonight we’re going to head out to the field of dreams, schemes and themes.”

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME
Verse 1

NELLY KELLY LOVED BASEBALL GAMES,
KNEW THE PLAYERS, KNEW ALL THEIR NAMES,
YOU COULD SEE HER THERE EV’RY DAY, SHOUT “HURRAY!” WHEN THEY’D PLAY.
HER BOY FRIEND BY THE NAME OF JOE, SAID, “TO CONEY ISLE DEAR, LET’S GO.”
THEN NELLY STARTED TO FRET AND POUT, AND TO HIM I HEARD HER SHOUT:

Chorus 1

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, TAKE ME OUT WITH THE CROWD;
BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK,
I DON’T CARE IF I EVER GET BACK,
LET ME ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM,
IF THEY DON’T WIN IT’S A SHAME;
FOR IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT AT THE OLD BALL GAME

Verse 2

NELLIE KELLY WAS SURE SOME FAN, SHE WOULD ROOT JUST LIKE A NY MAN,
TOLD THE UMPIRE HE WAS WRONG, ALL ALONG, GOOD AND STRONG.
WHEN THE SCORE WAS JUST TWO TO TWO, NELLY KELLY KNEW WHAT TO DO.
JUST TO CHEER UP THE BOYS SHE KNEW, SHE MADE THE GANG SING THIS SONG.

Chorus 2

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, TAKE ME OUT WITH THE CROWD;
BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK,
I DON’T CARE IF I EVER GET BACK,
LET ME ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM,
IF THEY DON’T WIN IT’S A SHAME;
FOR IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT AT THE OLD BALL GAME

The Singers and The Songs

The Skeletons – Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Mabel Scott – Baseball Boogie

Chance Halladay – Home Run

“In the 50’s, every red blooded American boy either wanted to play baseball, or be Elvis Presley. Here’s a rockabilly song by Chance Halladay that combines the best of both worlds”.  

Johnny Darling – Baseball Baby

Lawrence Ferlinghetti –  Baseball Canto 

Cowboy Copas – Three Strikes and You’re Out

Sister Wynona Carr – The Ball Game

Buddy Johnson – Did You See Jackie

Les Brown and His Orchestra (Les Brown and His Band Of Renown) – (With Betty Bonney) – Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio

Billy Bragg & Wilco –Joe DiMaggio’s Done It Again

Sonny Rollins – Newk’s Fadeaway

The Treniers – Say Hey

Ry Cooder – 3rd Base, Dodger Stadium

Damn Yankee/1955 Original Broadway Cast – Heart is from the musical/film “Damn Yankees”.

The Places

Club Al
Los Angeles
San Francisco
City Lights Bookstore
New York
Broadway
Washington , D.C.
Chavez Ravine

Others singers and players

Jimmy Lunsford Orchestra
Patsy Cline
Hawkshaw Hawkins
Allen Ginsberg
Abbot and Costello
Woody Guthrie
Willie Mays
Ted Williams – The Splendid Splinter
Babe Ruth – The Sultan of Swat
Ty Cobb — The Georgia Peach
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown
Faust
Gwen Verdon
Ray Walston
Ted Nugent
Styx

The Record Labels

King Records
OK Records
Guests
Charlie Sheen

“I’m gonna head on back to the dugout, see if I can find myself a relief pitcher.”

Coffee

(diner noises)
It's night time in the Big City
pizza parlor is locking up
a drunken security guard drops his flashlight
"Full of caffeinated dreams, schemes, and themes"

The Singers and The Songs

The Ink Spots – Java Jive

Jerry Irby – One Cup of Coffee and a Cigarette

“…one of those guys who went from hillbilly to rockabilly”  

Frank Sinatra – The Coffee Song

Squeeze – Black Coffee In Bed

“A lot of people compared songwriters Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook to Lennon and McCartney…but they were much younger.” 

Otis Redding – Cigarettes and Coffee

Curtis Gordon – Caffeine and Nicotine

“He had a sound that was kind of like a mix of honky tonk and western swing but with a freer, looser, more vibrant singin style.” 

Lefty Frizzell – Cigarettes and Coffee

Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins – Coffee Blues

“Another name for manic depression is the blues…”

Scatman Crothers – Keep That Coffee Hot

The Larks – Coffee, Cigarettes and Tears

Bobby Darin (Robert Walden Cassotto) – Black Coffee

Sexmith and Kerr (Ron Sexmith, Don Kerr) – Raindrops In My Coffee

Blur – Coffee and TV

“You know, at one time coffee was believed to be the drink of the devil. When Pope Vincent III heard about this, he decided to taste the drink before banning it. In fact, he enjoyed coffee so much he wound up baptizing it, stating ‘Coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. I also feel that way about coffee. And about TV. And about Blur…”

Ella Mae Morse – Forty Cups of Coffee

Glen Miller Orchestra – Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee

The Places

Lake Monona
Madison , WI
Moultrie , GA
Nashville , TN
Los Angeles

The Commercials

Maxwell House
Folgers

The Movies and Musicals

Coffee and Cigarettes  (Voices of Tom Waits and Iggy Pop)
The Wild Bunch
Face The Music

Other Singers and Players

Billy Kenny
Charlie Fuqua
Deke Watson
Hoppy Jones
The Brown Dots
Juan Valdez
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand – on the perfect cup of coffee: Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.
Johnny Jenkins and the Pine Toppers
Steve Cropper
Marty Robbins
Abbot and Costello
Flat and Scruggs
Sonny and Cher
Pope Vincent III
Voltaire
Irving Berlin

Other Songs

Secret Heart

The Record Labels

Campo Records
Reprise
Stax Records
The Poets
Henry Ward Beecher
The Guests
Billy Vera
Waldon Robert passato

Jail

(prison noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a truck driver runs a red light
a strange quiet man practices tae chi in a park

The Singers and the Songs

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Magic Sam – 21 Days in Jail

Bessie Smith – Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair

Warren Storm – Prisoner’s Song

“ A little bit of swamp pop from Louisiana…which fused R & B, Country, Cajun, and Creole, a real Brasshopper mixture. And just like Ringo, he’s a singing drummer.”

The Pretenders – Back on the Chain Gang

Andre Williams – Jail Bait

“Gus Cannon, one of the best-known of all jug band musicians, made himself a special harness, so he could wear his jug around his neck and play banjo at the same time.” 

Kenny Lane and His Bulldogs – Columbus Stockade Blues

Joe Simon – Nine Pound Steel 

Jimmy Patton – Okie’s in the Pokie
“A thick slab of rockabilly madness…soundin’ funky drunk and full steam ahead.” 

John Prine – Christmas in Prison

Sir Douglas Quintet (Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers) – In the Jailhouse Now

The Mississippi Sheiks (Lonnie Chatmon, Walter Vinson, Bo Carter, Sam Chatmon) – Jailbird Love Song

Wanda Jackson – Riot In Cell Block #9
“An atomic fireball of a lady.”

Merle Haggard – Sing Me Back Home

Hurricane Harry – Last Meal

Other Songs and Albums

Bacon Fat
The Greasy Chicken
Froggie Went A- Courtin’
Sweet Revenge

The Places

Represa , CA
San Quentin
Mississippi Delta
Louisiana
Chicago
Detroit
Beale Street
Memphis
The Red Light
The Blue Light
The Hole in the Wall
The Monarch
Tennessee
Columbus , OH
Oklahoma
Maywood , IL
San Antonio , TX
England
Jackson , MS
Maud , OK

The Record Labels

Sun Records
Bluebird

Other Singers, Players, etc.

Merle Haggard
Willie Dixon
The Rainbow Ramblers
The Wee-Wows
Ringo
Preston Sturgis
Robert Stroud  , “We sure could use him now with the bird flu.”
William Shakespeare
“Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself.”
Jug bands
Dan Penn
Will Rogers
Harry Truman
Nelson Mandela – “In my country we go to jail first, and then become President.”
Charles Bukowski  — I don’t like jail, they got the wrong kinda bars in there.”
Kris Kristofferson
Huey P. Meaux
Hank Williams
The Don Juans
Caryl Chessman
Ted Bundy
Joan Of Arc
Victor Feuger
Last Meals

The Movies/Shows/Plays

The Shawshank Redemption
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou
Cool Hand Luke
Sullivan’s Travels
Julius Caesar
The Don Juans
Caryl Chessman
Ted Bundy
Joan Of Arc
Victor Feuger
White Heat

Guests

Pete Wolf
Merle Haggard

Famous Electric Chairs

Old Sparky (FL)
Gruesome Gerty (LA)
“They don’t have any electric chairs anymore, they threw them out. And even if they did, I don’t think they’d name them.”

Fathers

(subway noises)
It’s night time in the Big City
a nightshift nurse smokes the last cigarette in her pack
a married couple has a late night snack

Singers and Songs

Horace Silver Quintet-Song for my Father

Jimmy Rodgers-Daddy at Home
“The Singing Brakeman, The Yodeling Cowboy, The Father of Country Music”

Shep and the Limeliters-Daddy’s Home

Everly Bros. (Don and Phil)-That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine

Bobby Blue Bland-Dust Got into Daddy’s Eyes

Julie London  “Smokey and sultry”-Daddy 

John Hiatt-Your Dad Did

The Sons of the Pioneers-My Daddy

The Winstons-Color Him Father

Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell  -Papa’s on the Housetop

Jack Rhodes -Mama loves Papa, Papa Loves the Women
“The Rabid Vampire”

The Temptations -Papa was a Rolling Stone
“Lighter than air”

Lowell Folsom-Father Time

The Swan Silvertones  -Father Alone

Ross McManus-Patsy’s Girl

Hank Williams(Luke the Drifter)-My Son Calls Another Man Daddy
“The Battle of the Bulge of all songs” 

Other Singers and Groups

Steely Dan-Ricky Don’t Lose That Number
Shep and the Heartbeats
Gene Autry
Ike Everly
Bobby Troop
Ry Cooter
Nick Lowe
Jimmy Keltner
Bonnie Raitt
Bob Nolan
The Lonestar Buddies
Leon Payne
Norman Whitfield
Barron Strong
Texas Alexander
Ray Charles

Other Songs

A Thousand Miles away and a Free Ride
Route 66
Thing Called Love
Tumbling Tumbleweed
Cool Water
I Love Her Because
They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me
Rolling Stone
Lost Highway

Other Folks

Tex Avery
Martin Sheen
Richard Spencer
Buddha
Derek Jeter
Johnny Depp
Carl Marx
Frederick Dumas

Cartoons

Red Hot Riding Hood “A real cream-puff”

Guests

Charlie Sheen
Elvis Costello
Record Labels
Duke Records
Curtom
Motown
Chess

Movies and TV

Martin Sheen “Free Radical, Atomic Molecule of an actor” Movie Excerpt
Christopher Walken Movie Excerpt
Leave it to Beaver

Places

Washington DC
Tulsa , OK
California
Paris
The Grand Ole Opry

Marriage

(talking at a wedding)
It’s night time in the Big City
a man buys a pack of gum, steals a nail clipper
2 pairs of sneakers are strung over a phone line
“It’s the month of June and that means church bells are ringing all over this great land of ours….strap yourself in and get me to the church on time!”

The Songs and Singers

Fred Rich and His Orchestra-Wedding Bells Broke Up That Old Gang of Mine

Prince La La (Lawrence Nelson)-Sending Out Invitations

Darlene Love and The Blossoms-(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Going to Marry

Ry Cooter-Married Man’s a Fool

Laura Lee-Wedlock is a Padlock

Dave Edmunds-I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock n’ Roll
“Funky, Fusty, Noisome, Putrid, Rank and Reeking Reeky Sound. Stenchful and Stinking. Bad and Foul. Nauseating and Decomposed. Fuggy and Rotten.” (Bob means that all in a good way.) 

Etta James-Stop the Wedding

Ann Cole-Don’t Stop the Wedding

Roy Brown- Fannie Brown Got Married
“A tornado of a singer.” 

Rosemary Clooney-Get Me to the Church on Time

Jimmy Cavallo-Leave Married Women Alone
 “consequential, meaningful, weighty, basic, essential and fundamental” 

Big Joe Turner – Married Woman a.k.a. Married Woman Blues

Frank Sinatra-Love and Marriage

Llyod Price- Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)

Other Singers and Songs

Dorsey Bros.
Joe Venutti
Bunny Barrigan
Benny Goodman
“Who Shot the La La?”
Delores Ferguson
Phil Spector and His Wall of Sound
“Zippity Doo Da”
“It’s Christmas Baby, Please Come Home”
Minnie Perle- “Getting Married is a lot like getting into a tub of hot water; after you get in it’s not so hot.”
Rodney Dangerfield-”My wife and I were happy for 20 years, then we met.”
Blind Willie McTell a.k.a Georgia Bill, Red Hot Willie Glaze, Blind Sammy, Barrelhouse Sammy, Pig and Whistle Red
Meditation Singers
“Uptight Good Man”
Holland/Dozer/Holland
“Woman’s Love Rights”
“Rip Off”
“If You Can Beat Me Rockin‘, You Can Have My Chair”
Nick Lowe
Johnny Cash
“Never Can Tell”
Chuck Berry
“Got My Mojo Working”
“Good Rockin’ Tonight”
Zsa Zsa Gabor
“A mechanism of evolution. “She’s been married so many times she’s got rice marks on her face”

Phillipe Alba
Conrad Hilton
George Clooney
Mae West
Big Joe Turner
“The Big Beat”
Stan Laurel
King Solomon
Irving Berlin
“Shake Rattle and Roll”
Sammy Kahn
James Van Heuston?
Charlie Parker
Mac Woolright?
Fats Domino
“Personality”

Places

Randolph Co., NC
Korea

Guest

Mike Birbilia

Movies and TV

Lil’ Abner
Intolerable Cruelty
Raising Arizona
Rock, Rock, Rock
Our Town

Fun Facts

June is the most popular month to get married
Average number of guests at a wedding is 178 (Bob doesn’t think he knows 178 people!)
800,000 Japanese brides spend 60 billion dollars every year

Record Labels

Vocalion
O.K.
Blue Bird
Columbia
Atlantic
Regal
Chess
Hot Wax
Roulette
Baton
King

Poems

Marriage-Gregory Corso
“Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”
Shakespeare

Divorce

(shouting boxing match?)
It’s night time in the Big City
a woman watches her neighbor through binoculars
a cat knocks over a lamp

Singers and Songs

Tammy Wynette-D.I.V.O.R.C.E “This song is a rolling buzz”

George Jones-The Grand Tour “a rip-snorter of a song”

Tommy Tucker-Alimony is Killing Me

Jerry “The Guitar Man” Reed-She Got the Goldmine, I Got the Shaft

T-Bone Walker-Alimony Blues

Mattox Bros. and Sister Rose-Pay me Alimony

Doris Duke-Divorce Decree

Hank Snow “The Singing Ranger”-Married by the Bible, Divorced by the Law

Huey Smith and the Clowns-Alimony

Merle Travis-Divorce Me C.O.D “Hot Pickin”.

The Drifters-Mexican Divorce

Loretta Lynn-Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be

William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell-You Can’t Divorce My Heart

Other Singers and Songs

Elvis
Sammy Davis Jr.
The Grateful Dead
Pharaoh Sanders
Gene Vincent
Will Rodgers
Johnny Carson
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Les Hite Orchestra
Chuck Berry
John Coltrane
Miles Davis
Gene Vincent-Crazy Legs
“Guitar Man”
“When You’re Hot, You’re Hot”
“Tupelo, MS Flash”
“Stormy Monday”
“Tune Up”
“Four”
“I’m Moving On”
“The Golden Rocket”
“I Don’t Hurt Anymore”
“Ninety-Nine Miles an Hour Down a Deadend Street”
“Fool Such as I”
Lil’ Richard
“Rockin’ Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu”
“Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette”
“16 Tons”
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Johnny Carosn
Katharine Hepburn
Richard Burton
Marilyn Monroe
Clyde McFadden
Benny King
Rudy Lewis
Johnny Moore
Bill Pinkney
“Honky Tonk Angels”
“Paying for that Back Street Affair”
Pasty Cline
Tammy Wynette
Loretta Lynn
Ray Benson
“Our Hearts are Holding Hands”
“Sweet Things”
“Whose Gonna Take the Garbage Out”
Merle Haggard
“ I Love You 100 Ways”
“If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time”
“Always Late With Your Kisses”
“Saginaw, Michigan”
“Long Black Veil”
Willie Nelson
Jimmy Kimmell
Stan Kenton Orchestra
“Something Cool”

Guest

Jenny Lewis

Places

Tupelo, MS
Canada
New Orleans
Kentucky
Palm Beach
Mexico
Juarez
Springfield, Illinois

Movies

What a Way to Go ?

Fun Facts

44% of all marriages end in Divorce
Largest divorce settlement on record-874 million
$30,000 average cost of divorce services
“Dreams, Schemes and Themes on the American Scene”

Summer

It's night time in the Big City
angry prostitutes fight over a street corner
a man gets drunk and shaves off his moustache
“Time to open up the fire hydrants and have a party in the streets, ‘cause it's summertime”

The Singers and the Songs

Billy Stewart – Summertime 

Eddie Cochran – Summertime Blues
“A song recorded many times by many people, but I don’t think that any of them did it half as good as the man who wrote it.” 

Martha & The Vandellas– (Love Is Like A) Heatwave a

Sol K. Bright and His Hollywaiins – Heat Wave

Bobby Hebb – Sunny 

Fatso Bentley – June-teenth Jamboree 

Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley – So Nice
“What would summertime be without a Samba?”

Van Morrison – Youth of 1,000 Summers 

Mr. Sad Head – Hot Weather Blues
“One of my favorite names in all of music…He could have called himself Heavy-hearted Head, Melancholy Head, Mournful Head, or Sorrow Head, Unhappy Head, Blue Head, or Dejected Head, Down Head or Dispirited head, but instead, he called himself Mr. Sad Head. It fits better on the label.” 

Lovin’ Spoonful – Summer in the City
“Let’s get it goin!” 

Prince Buster (Cecil Campbell) – Too Hot
“He was a boxer when he was young, but gave it up to follow his musical dreams, he had great success and didn’t have to take a haymaker to the jaw. This song Too Hot is not referring to the weather but to the state of Kingston in 1967, as  rude boy  violence raged on and police cowered under the onslaught and the government threatened to bring in the army to restore order.” 

Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime

John Brim – Ice Cream Man 

Dave Alvin – Fourth of July

Sly & The Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime
“The band really was a family affair, with his brother Fred on guitar, his sister Rosie on piano, and other assorted family members helping out. Sly disappeared for a bunch a years, but he recently showed up on the Grammies. Welcome back Sly.” 

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

The Gershwin Brothers
Bo Diddley
Holland-Dozier-Holland
Bill Akamuhou
Irving Berlin
Anton Chekov
JFK
Harold Hebb (Bobby Hebb’s brother who died in a knife fight)
Roy Akoff
Aristotle
Stan Getz
Tennessee Williams “One of my favorite play-writes, not to be confused with…”
Tennessee Ernie Ford
John Sebastian
Dave Van Ronk
Dirty Dozen Jug Band
The Mug Walks
The Mamas and The Papas
Gabe Caplin
Ray Dorset
Little Walter
Phil Alvin
The Blasters
The Knitters
Exene
John Doe
X

The Guests

Astrid Gilberto

The Record Labels

Motown

The Places

Honolulu
Texas
Bahai , Brazil
Greenwich Village
Kingston

Other Songs and Albums

Hawaiian Scotsman
Girl From Impanima
Enlightenment
The Poets
Emily Dickinson (Def Poetess)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Slightly Def Poet)
T.S. Elliot

The Movies, Shows, etc.

Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case
Flirtation Walk
South Sea Rose
Grand Ole Opry
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Sweet Bird of Youth
Welcome Back Kotter
Cats — Andrew Lloyd Weber
“I’d rather listen to Mungo Jerry”
This show had lots of old time radio station jingles. One of them, with a little help from DJ Bob, goes: “Why is everybody listening to this DJ? Why is everybody mad about his style? For music that’s best stay tuned to – Bob interjects: Theme Time Radio Hour! – for a while!”
“Just because the days are longer in the summer doesn’t mean we can stay here longer than an hour. That means we gotta go. Some I’m gonna go out, sit on the bank by a clear river, throw my draperies off, water my lawn, tack up some mosquito netting, slice myself a watermelon, and just watch the mercury rise. They say the earth’s warmin’ up; be careful of that global warming, and wear your sunscreen. I’ll see you all next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Put on your shades.”

Flowers

It's night time in the Big City
outside the dogs are barking
a woman walks barefoot, her high heels in her handbag

The Singers and The Songs

Bob Wills-The New San Antonio Rose 

Friends of Distinction-Grazin’ in the Grass 

George Jones-A Good Year for the Roses 

Paul Clayton-Bonny Bunch of Roses i

Luscious Venible Milinder (Lucky)-The Grapevine

“Startin’ to see Pink Elephants on that one…” 

Duke Ellington-Tulip or Turnip
“A song about Choices”

Tiny Tim- Tiptoe Through the Tulips
“No one knew more about old music than Tiny Tim. He studied it and he loved it. He knew all the old songs that only existed as sheet music.”

The Carter Family (“The most influential group in country music history.”)-Wildwood Flower

Laura Cantrell-When the Roses Bloom Again

Geraint Watkins-Only a Rose 

Merle Haggard-I Threw Away the Rose

Wilson Pickett-Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool 

Alan Toussaint/Elvis Costello-The Sharpest Thorn

Places

Nashville
The Netherlands
Austin , TX

Other Musicians

Hugh Masakela
Tammy Wynette
Liam Clancy
Sister Rosetta Tharp
Ray Nans ?
Alvin P Carter, Sarah Carter and Sister Maebelle
Dave Edmonds
Shakin Stevens
Nick Lowe
Van Morrison
Other Songs
San Antonio Rose

Other People, Beings and Writers

Thomas Becker “Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into”
Robert Frost-Frosty poet “The Rose Family”
Gertrude Stein “A Rose is a Rose is a Rose”
Christopher Marlowe “  The Passionate Sheperd to His Love  ”
Isabella Mae Cantrell
Buddha-“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, a whole life would change.”
Georgia O’Keefe- “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.”
Abraham Lincoln
Kenny Gamble
Leon Huff
Ellen Louise Wilson
Woodrow “Woody” Wilson
Johnny Carson
John Field

Poems

Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue
Some Poems Rhyme,
This one doesn’t.

State Flowers

AL-Camellia
AK-Forget Me Not
AR-Apple Blossom
CA-California poppy
DE-Peach Blossom
GA-Cherokee Rose
MN-Pink and While Lady’s Slipper
MS-Magnolia
NB-Goldenrod
NM-Yucca Flower
NH-Purple Lilac
TN-Iris
HI- Pua Aloalo
WY-Indian Paintbrush

Flowers

Roses
Bougainvillea
Passionflower
Butterfly Clerodendrum
Angel’s Trumpets
Firecracker Plant
Double Delight
Gemini
Julia Child
Knockout Shrub
New Dawn
Mr. Lincoln
Rosa Regosa
Angel Face
All the Jazz
Cary Grant
Cinderella
Gen. McArthur
Judy Garland
Lady Diana
Sir Lancelot
Snow White
Chevy Chase
Other Flowers:
Morning Glory
Silver King
German Status
Globe Thistle
Joe-Pie Weed
Violet
Daisy
Chrysanthemum
The Arrow
The Tansy
Bachelor’s Button
Cock’s Comb
Lion’s Ear
Love in the Mist
Victoria Sorghum (Bob made this one up)
Pansies
Azaleas
Himalayan Poppy

Guests

Ricky Jay the magician (speaking about  Eva Vlieghan  who was purported to live entirely off the scent of flowers)
Gonzalo Perez
“I gotta make like a tree and leave’”
“Theme Time Radio Hour your perennial favorite”

Cars

(rain)
It’s night time in the Big City
the wind picks up from over the bay
a delivery boy makes a wrong turn

The Singers and The Songs

Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats – Rocket 88 

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Cadillac Ranch
“I think Bruce is from New Jersey…’Tearin’ up the highway like a big old dinosaur’; first time I heard this song I thought it was ‘Tearing up the highway like Dina Shore!” 

Billy “The Kid” Emmerson – Every Woman I Know 

Memphis Minnie – Me and My Chauffer Blues
“One of the great blues songs of all time – one of the great car songs of all time – one of the great chauffer songs of all time! Sung by one of the great old ladies of all time.” 

George Clinton and Parliament – My Automobile 

Dixie Hummingbirds – Christian’s Automobile

Joni Mitchell – Car on a Hill“… She taught herself to play guitar with a Pete Seeger instruction book…I mighta seen that same book!”

Sonny Boy Williamson II – Pontiac Blues 

Jimmy Caroll – Big Green Car 

Richard Berry – Get Out of the Car
“If Richard won’t drive you home, I will. I got a car of my own.” 

David Lindley w/ his band El Rayo-X – Mercury Blues
“Dave is a great instrumentalist, known as much for his great guitar playing as he is for his loud polyester shirts and mutton chop sideburns.” 

Smiley Lewis – Too Many Drivers
‘His given name is Overton Lemons – I oughta use that name!” 

Prince – Little Red Corvette
“Prince is from the same area of the country that I’m from so we have plenty in common.” 

Chuck Berry – No Money Down
“Go ahead Chuck….Let’s get it goin’!”
“Chuck’s music’s always got that hidden thing about it where, you know, the cause is always hidden but the effect is KNOWN.” 

Other Singer, Players, Etc.

Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm
Kansas Joe McCoy
The Parliaments
Funkadelic
The Brides of Funkenstein
Fuzzy Haskins
Clyde Barrow
Henry Ford
Pete Seeger
Fats Domino
Rod Stewart
Linda Rondstadt
Ry Cooder
Warren Zevon
Jackson Browne
Jorge Calderon
Bernie Larsen
Ian Wallace
Henry Kaiser
Huey “Piano” Smith
Elvis Presley “Cleaned up that naughty ‘One Night’ and hit big with it.”
Judy Garland

The Guests

Hudson Marquez
Keb Mo

The Record Labels

Vee-Jay
Chess Records

The Places

Algiers , LA
Fort Macleod , Alberta , Canada
Glendora MS
Helena AR
New Orleans

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Bonnie and Clyde
King Biscuit Flower Hour

Other Songs and Albums

Court And Spark “One of my favorite albums”
Peter Epstein Pontiac commercial – Frank Sinatra (sung to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm)
Yama Yama Pretty Mama!
Louis Louis
Blue Monday
One Night
I Hear You Knockin’
“Well, the little needle’s pointin’ on the E, which means we’re out of gas for another week. Remember, the trick is to drive so that your license expires before you do.”

Rich Man, Poor Man

 
(coins) 
It's night time in the Big City
a guilty man goes home to his wife
it's time to make the doughnuts

“Get rich quick themes, dreams, and schemes”

The Singers and The Songs

Bob Miller – The Rich Man and The Poor Man

“All kinds of life lessons in this song with no crap-ola.” 

Tony Bennett – Rags to Riches

“A song right on the bleedin’ edge”

Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) – Get Rich Quick

The Farmer Boys – Charming Betsy

Bing Crosby – Brother Can You Spare A Dime

Tom Waits – On the Nickel

“Waits has a raspy, gravelly singing voice, described by one fan as like how you’d sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes, and swallowed a pack of razorblades, after not sleeping for three days. Or as I like to put it, beautiful.” 

Fiddlin’ John Carson and Moonshine Kate – Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All

“…a song that is as relevant as it is today as when it was written in the ‘30s.” 

Louis Armstrong – Hobo, You Can’t Ride This Train

Woody Guthrie – Do Re Mi

Freddie King – The Welfare Turns its Back on You

Louis Jordan – If You’re So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich?

Emmylou Harris – Hobo’s Lullaby

The Movies / Books

Sullivan’s Travels
My Man Godfrey
The Wizard of Oz
Bound For Glory
Trading Places
Proverbs, Chapter 19, Verse 17

The Places

Memphis
New York
Salem
Los Angeles
Okemah
Sweden

Other Songs

There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
If I Only Had a Brain
Tutti Frutti
I Won’t Cry
You Can Have My Husband But Please Don’t Mess With My Man
Secret Agent Man

Other Singers and Players

Tom Jones
Marla Maples
Aristotle Onassis
Helen Keller
Eva Gardner
Andrew Carnegie
Leonard Feather
“How come music critics don’t write songs any more? “
Charles Ponzi
Ron Popillo – (The Pocket Fisherman, Veg-O-Matic, Dial-O-Matic, Hair in a Can, The inside the shell egg scrambler, the smokeless ashtray) Thanks, Ron, for making my life a little easier
Buck Owens
Ken Nelson
Jay Gorney
Yip Harburh
Confucius
Frito Lay
Willie Nelson
Box Car Betty
Jack Dempsey
Clark Gable
Eugene O’Neill
Harry Partch
Utah Phillips
Jack Kerouak
Mae West
Jimmie Rodgers
Jack London
Dorothy La Bostrie
Jonnny Adams
Irma Thomas
Lillian Bettencourt
Betty Nesmith Graham
Mike Nesmith
The Monkees
Thoreau
Picasso
Chick Webb – the famous hunchback drummer
Chuck Berry
William Blake
Goebel Reeves

Guests

Billy F. Gibbons (of ZZ Top)

The Record Labels

Specialty Records
“I’ll leave you with the words of Benjamin Franklin. He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. Thank you, Ben. Peace out. “

Devil

(fire)
It's night time in the Big City
an ambulance races though downtown
an off duty cops parks in front of his ex-wife's house

“This is Theme Time Radio Hour, and there's Hell to pay…”

The Singers and the Songs

Robert Johnson – Me and the Devil Blues
“According to legend, Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil, at the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49…” 

The Louvin Brothers  (Charlie and Ira) – Satan is Real this

Grateful Dead – Friend of the Devil
“This song is a road story, a hitch-hiking journey of the early 70’s counterculture…” 

Elvis Presley – Devil In Disguise

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys – The Devil Ain’t Lazy
“…they had a country string section but they played pop songs, as if they were jazz numbers.” 

The Flying Burrito Brothers– Christine’s Tune aka The Devil In Disguise

Dandy Livingston (Robert Livingston Thompson) – Suzanne Beware of the Devil

The Donays (lead vocalist, Yvonne Alan) – Devil in His Heart

“The Donays only made one record…you only have to make one, if it’s this good.”

Otis Spann – Must Have Been the Devil
“This record was recorded after an all night party, and it sure sounds like it.” 

Johnny Tyler – Devil’s Hot Rod

Skip James – Devil Got My Woman
“Here’s another barn burner. This is my man, Skip James…Skip had a style that was celestially divine, sounded like it was coming from beyond the veil. Magic in the grooves. He had a style that was ghostly and other worldly, rare and unusual, mysterious and vague. You won’t believe what you’ll hear. Listen for yourself and you’ll see – you be the judge.” 

Count Basie and His Orchestra, featuring  Helen Humes  – Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Shorty Long – Devil With a Blue Dress On
“I wonder if he means Monica Lewinski?” 

Beck – Devil’s Haircut

Gene Vincent (and the Blue Caps) – Race With the Devil

Tom Waits – Way Down in the Hole
“Low on schmaltz and a real show-stopper, not pullin’ any punches.” 

Other Singers and Players

John Milton
Rev. Gary Davis
Chet Atkins
Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions
Ken Kesey
Anton LaVey
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Richard Nixon
Chris Hillman
Graham Parsons
Christine Frka  / Girls Together Outrageously (GTOs)
Rico Rodriguez
Ernie Ranglin
The Specials
Leonard Cohen
George Harrison
The Beatles
W.C. Fields
Bob Shadd
Oscar Wilde: “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”
Muddy Waters
B.B. King
Dylan Thomas
Skip James
Charlie Patton
Billie Holiday
Lester Young
Mitch Ryder
Monica Lewinski
Marvin Gaye
Stevie Wonder
Princess Grace of Monaco
Princess Diana
Isadora Duncan
Albert Camus
James Dean
Jackson Pollock
Jane Mansfield
George Patton, Jr.
Cliff Gallup
Blind Boys of Alabama
Neville Brothers
Holland-Dozier-Holland
The Dust Brothers

The Poems  

Paradise Lost

The Places

Clarksdale , MS
Reno
Cook County , IL
Los Angeles
Jamaica
Arkansas
Missouri
Bentonia , MS
Philadelphia
Grafton , WI
Motown
Detroit River
Norfolk , VA

Songs and Albums

The Devil’s Dream
American Beauty
Rudi: A Message to You
Odelay
Frank’s Wild Years

The Record Labels

Trojan
Time Record
Paramount Records

The Guests

Twyla Tharp

HBO Series

The Wire
“We’ll see you next week, sure as Hell!”

Eyes

(sirens in city)
It’s night time in the Big City
a trail of perfume follows a girl leaving a cheap hotel
a man wakes up in an alleyway

“Welcome once again to Theme Time Radio Hour. This week the eyes/I’s have it. Whether they’re blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes, ya got pink eye or red eye. If you’re an eyesore, or if you’re walleyed , we got the song for you.”

The Singers and the Songs

Chuck Berry (Charles Edward Anderson Berry )– Brown Eyed Handsome Man

Jimmy Martin – 20/20 Vision
“Say what you will about him but he was no jive turkey.” 
.
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

Jimmie Rodgers – My Blue Eyed Jane

Clarence ‘Gatemouth” Brown – She Winked Her Eye

Al Martino – Spanish Eyes

Ernestine Anderson – Keep an Eye on Love

Chuck Higgins– Eyeballin’

Blue Sky Boys (The Bolick Brothers) – Brown Eyes

Sonny Boy Williamson – Eyesight to the Blind
“the only song from the rock opera Tommy that The Who didn’t write” 

George Jones – Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong
“We don’t usually do commercials here on Theme Time Radio Hour, but we do want to tell you that George Jones has his own brand of dog food, and sausage – enjoy ‘em.” 

Nick Lowe – Raging Eyes

Wynonie ‘Mr. Blues’ Harris – Bloodshot Eyes

Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone

The Flamingos (“Or as I call ‘em, The Flaming O’s”)– I Only Have Eyes For You

The Streets (Mike Skinner) – Dry Your Eyes

Other Songs

Smoke gets in your eyes

Other Singers and Players

Jerome Kern
John Lennon
Osborne Brothers
Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys
Them
George W. Bush
Lula Belle (?)
Cicero
Johnny Fontaine
Frank Sinatra
Shifty Henry
David Bowie
The Crazy Hickory Nuts
Kiefer Sutherland
Christopher Walken
Joe Pesci
George Washington
Louis Pasteur
Tommy Smothers
The Monroe Bros
The Delmore Brothers
The Dixon Brothers
The Louvin Brothers
The Everly Brothers
Gandhi
Johnny Cash
Carlene Carter
The Pretenders
The Damned
Snooks Eaglin
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Joe Reynolds
Rev Gary Davis
Sonny Terry
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Blake
Howlin’ Wolf
Mary Burnett
Tommy
The Who
Nancy Sepulveda
Landsberg Barbarians
Harry Warren
Da Vinci

The Places

Sneedville TN
England
Grand Ole Opry (2 mentions)
Belfast Ireland
The White House
Orange , TX
East Hickory , NC
Philadelphia , PA
Blue Ridge Mountains
Twist, AK

The Record Labels/Recording Studios

Victor Records
Hollywood Recording Studio
Bang
Sioux Records
Duotone Records
Columbia Records

The Movies/Radio Shows/Plays

The Godfather
Black Eye
King Biscuit Flower Hour
42nd Street
Camille  (Quote: “Unfortunately I like him too. Why unfortunately? Because his eyes have made love to me all evening. That’s a lie, he barely glanced at you…”)

Guests

Ellen Barkin

Dogs

(barking dogs)
It's night time in the Big City
newlyweds make love on the roof
a ringing phone goes unanswered

“Get off the couch, get yourself a bowl of water, and heel.”

The Singers and the Songs

Under his intro Bob played part of Serenade To A Poodle by Slim Gaillard (pronounced Gay-Lard).

Patty Page – (How Much is That) Doggie in the Window?
 “Here’s a record that everyone always talks about when they talk about how dull radio was before rock and roll. Personally, I don’t agree with them; I think Patty Page made beautiful records.”

Ronnie Self – Ain’t I’m a Dog
“It’s a shame he didn’t have more success as a singer, because the few records that he did make rocked like nobody’s business.”

Rufus Thomas – Stop Kickin’ My Dog Around

Bob Dorough (words by Lawrence Ferlinghetti) –  Dog  

Jean Shepard and Ray Pillow – I’ll Take the Dog

Red Foley ( Clyde Julian Foley) – Old Shep

Howard Tate – How Come My Bulldog Don’t Bark?
“A stupendously expressive singer.” 

Everly Brothers – Bird Dog

Allen Brothers (Austin and Lee)– A New Salty Dog
“Delightful kazoo leads.” 

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys – Hound Dog

Hawkshaw Hawkins – Dog House Boogie

Uncle Tupelo – I Wanna Be Your Dog

Mighty Sparrow – Russian Satellite

Webb Pierce – I’m Walking the Dog

Other Songs

Serenade to a Poodle –  Slim Galliard
Don’t Let The Stars Get in Your Eyes – Perry Como
I’m Walking Behind You – Eddie Fisher
Theme From Moulin Rouge – Percy Faith and his Orchestra
Crazy, Man Crazy – Bill Haley
Crying in the Chapel – The Orioles
Walking The Dog
Get it While You Can
Hound Dog
Nestles jingle (with Farfel)
T-Bone Walker – Papa Ain’t Salty No More
Giddy Up A Ding Dong
Rock Around the Clock
Ken-L-Ration jingle (“My dog’s better than your dog…”)
Theme from Lassie

Other Singers, Players, etc.

Leo Fender
Sam Phillips
Elvis Presley (x3)
Sheryl Crow
Rolling Stones
Aerosmith
Patsy Cline
Cowboy Copas
Richard Nixon
“One of the most misunderstood people of the 20th century, often maligned, but obviously capable of great humanity. He loved that dog, and he loved that his daughter loved that dog, too.”
Lou Carrol
Louvin Brothers
Janis Joplin
Chet Atkins
Big Mama Thornton
Sara Silverman
Aldous Huxley
Andy Rooney
Will Rogers
“If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering someone else’s dog around”
William Blake
Iggy Pop and the Stooges
The Wilburn Brothers
Floyd Kramer
Tillman Franks
Faron Young

The Dogs

Checkers
Hoover (Red Foley’s dog)
Farfel
Laika

The Places

Tintown , Missouri
Cincinnati
Macon , GA
Las Vegas
Moscow
Louisiana
Shreveport , LA

The Movies/Shows/Plays

The Awful Truth
Old Yeller 
  “I don’t trust a man who doesn’t tear up a little watching Old Yella.”

Rock Around the Clock
The Louisiana Hayride

The Record Labels

Columbia
“It’s too bad that the big labels ignored rock and rockabilly and blues. It would have been great to hear more records of this caliber.”
Stax
Sun
WDIA Memphis
Verve Records
Top Town Records (?)

Guests

Jimmy Kimmel

Friends and Neighbors

It's night time in the Big City
a light drizzle starts to fall
an anxious lover waits by the phone

The Singers and The Songs

Porter Wagoner and the Wagonmasters – Howdy Neighbor

Sister Rosetta Tharpe  – Don’t Take Everybody to Be Your Friend
“A powerful force of nature, a guitar playin’, singin’ evangelist…Anything but ordinary and plain. She was a big, good lookin’ woman, and divine. Not to mention sublime and splendid, always dressed like she was on her way to church, with that electric guitar strung across her shoulder. Matter of fact I saw her a few times myself, at the National Guard Armory.” 

T-Bone Burnett – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend
“Long and tall and on the ball.”

Bob also played (a snatch of) Marilyn Monroe ‘s recording of ” Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend “

Doc Guidry – La Valse D’Amitie (The Friendship Waltz)

Moon Mulligan – Make Friends
“Here’s another Texan…I guess Texas is a friendly place. Moon’s combination of pumpin’ piano and country vocals were a huge influence on Jerry Lee Lewis”

Jerry McCain  – My Next Door Neighbor
“He once heard Little Walter play, and it changed his life forever. Music used to do that.” 

George Jones and Melba Montgomery – Let’s Invite Them Over

“I played this record for some of the guys here in the Abernathy building, and they couldn’t believe their ears. This is country music at its best, friends. Give a listen!
“Now I love country music, but I say ‘What happened to it?’ You hear a song like this and it’s obvious it’s about real people, and real emotions, and real problems, that’s all, that’s the country music we learned to love. Now days they want to sweep all the problems under the rug and pretend they don’t exist. Well guess what folks – they do exist! And if you try and sweep em under the rug, they’re just gonna pop up somewhere else. So we might as well all just face it and listen to the old style country music, the real country music. You know, about drinking and sleeping around. That’s my kind a country music, and I hope yours! But I digress.” 

Howlin’ Wolf – My Friends
“This next song is entirely without flaw and meets all the supreme standards of excellence.”

Little Walter  – Last Night

Carole King – You’ve Got A Friend
“I could be here all day just sayin’ songs Carole King wrote. I’d rather listen to her sing one.”

Ronnie and the Delinquents (Ronnie Barron) – Bad Neighborhood
“Another true zombie tale from the swamps of New Orleans.”

Rolling Stones – Neighbors
“Here’s my old pals the Rolling Stones. And I guess you heard about Keith and everybody’s glad he’s feeling better now. Here he is with Charlie, Mick, Woody, and a bass player.”

Hank Williams (Luke the Drifter) – Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals
“One of the greatest songwriters who ever lived was Hank Williams, of course. Hank could be headstrong and willful, a backslider and a reprobate, no stranger to bad deeds. However, underneath all of that, he was compassionate and moralistic.”

War  – Why Can’t We Be Friends
“We don’t need any border patrols, or people trying to pigeon hole music. We just need more records like this.”

Quotes About Friends

Frederick Nietze – Go up close to your friend, but do not go over to him. We should respect the enemy that is in our friend.
Oscar Wilde – A true friend will stab you in the front (“Well said, Oscar”)
Muhammad Ali – Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school, but if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship you really haven’t learned anything at all.
“Moon Mulligan, Muhammad Ali – two ways of sayin’ the same thing.”
It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg. – Thomas Jefferson “Reminding us about the separation of church and state.”
Aristotle – In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds
Ralph Waldo Emerson – He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, while he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.
Nicholas Berdyaev — Bread for myself is a material question; bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one.

Other Quotes

Horace  : I strive to be brief and I become obscure (Bob quotes this and in the Latin too, in response to an email asking why all the songs he plays are so obscure)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Muddy Waters
Jule Styne
Leo Robin
Carol Channing
Howard Hawks
Lorelei Lee
Happy Fats Band / Rayne Bo Ramblers
Jerry Lee Lewis
Tammy Wynette
Trini Lopez
Willie Dixon
Fats Waller
Neil Sedaka
Gerry Goffin
The Charelles
Dr. John  (Mac Rebennack)
The Prime Ministers
Paul Harvey
Pete Townsend
Luke the Drifter
Eric Burdon
The Animals
Night Shift
Deacon Jones
Lee Oskar

The Places

England
National Guard Armory
St. Louis, MO
Fort Worth, TX
Dallas, TX
Jackson, MS
New Orleans
Los Angeles

Other Songs, Albums, Etc.

Clip from Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s wedding at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC
“I didn’t know you could charge admission to your wedding – I wish I’d a known that.”
Oh, Carol
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)
Chains
I Feel the Earth Move
Locomotion
One Fine Day
Take a Giant Step
Tapestry
Pinball Wizard
Tattoo You
Spill the Wine
Slippin’ into Darkness
The World is a Ghetto
The Cisco Kid  (Bob’s personal favorite song by War)

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Clip – Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.’
The Sopranos

The Record Labels

Trumpet
Excello
Jaycee Records

Radio

(Mr. announcer who are you?)howdy everybody this is
Bob Dylan tell me the station I’m listening to
the xm network, satellite radio
how about telling a time to meet
it’s time for theme time radio hour
and what’s the weather gonna be?
it’s cold and fatty and it’s raining. It’s going down to 30 degrees tonight.
I don’t know what it’s like where you are but that’s what it’s like here.

It's night time in the Big City
a woman in a red gown throws out her cell phone
a man sleeps with a gun under his pillow

The Singers and the Songs

Grandpa Jones  – Turn Your Radio On

Boyd Bennett  and His Rockets – Cool Disc Jockey

The Blasters – Border Radio
“Our next song is all about radio stations that cropped up just across the Mexican border. These stations did not have to obey the same laws as their American counterparts. They were able to broadcast deep into the United States. These stations were very influential, playing a lot of regional bands of all types of music. In this song the blasters pay tribute to these early hothouses of modern music.“ 

12 Year Old Richard Lanham – On Your Radio  

“With kind of a Frankie Lyman influence”

Lord Melody (Fitzroy Alexander) – Radio Commercials

The Clash – Radio Clash
“Here’s a song that is anything but perfunctory….The Clash, a group that knew about the political power of the radio.”

Patrice Holloway – Those DJ Shows

Van Morrison – Caravan
“Van Morrison has always had a love affair with the radio. A lot of his songs mention in, and this one is one of the best.” 

Luke Jones and His Orchestra – Disc Jockey Blues

Bonnie Owens – My Hi-Fi to Cry By

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks – Canned Music

LC Smith and His Southern Playboys – Radio Boogie

Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Radio, Radio

Other Songs

Old Rattler
Mountain Dew

The Places

Cincinnati, OH

The Poets

Bertolt Brecht –  Radio Poem
Charles Bukowski  – “The hard drinkin’ poet laureate of the lower class of Los Angeles” Radio With Guts
TS Eliot

The Record Labels

King Records  – plays clip from owner Sid Nathan
Chess

The Movies, Shows, Etc.

Josie and the Pussy Cats – voice of Valerie
Grand Ole Opry
Saturday Night Live  (references Elvis Costello getting banned from SNL after playing Radio Radio)

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Dr. John Brinkley – quack doctor
Wolfman Jack
The Ink Spots
Bob Gideons
Kelly Clarkson
Brenda Holloway
Pete “Mad Daddy” Meyers (DJ) – plays clip
Buck Owens
Merle Haggard
The Charlatans
Jango Reinhart
Stephane Grapelli
Albert Einstein
The Wizards
Tennessee Shorty and Little Tommy
The Tyler Country Boys
The Southern Playboys
The Smith Brothers
The Southern Mountain Boys
Steve Allen

Radio Shows

The Shadow – plays a clip
The Lives of Harry Lime
The Chase
Damon Runyon Theater
Boston Blackie
The Mercury Theater on the Air
Rocky Fortune
The Green Hornet
Dangerous Assignment
Escape
Jack Benny Program
The Fred Allen Show
Amos and Andy Show
Easy Aces
Fibber McGee and Molly

The Guests

Peter Wolf
“I always enjoy talking to Peter Wolf. He’s well-read and well-spoken; luckily the tape was running!”
Elvis Costello (Bob was playing Blackjack with him)

Types of radios

Fillmore
RCA
Olympic
Motorola
Filcro
Bakerlight
Hallicrafter TR-88

“Some radio programs play just one type of thing. But here we’re like new England weather–if you don’t like what you’re hearing stick around, it’ll change in a minute.”

The Bible

It's night time in the Big City
a girl goes through the medicine cabinet of the man who brought her home
a ringing phone goes unanswered

“For the next hour we’re gonna be playin’ music about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, The Wisdom of Solomon, First Maccabees and Second Maccabees, First Samuel and Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings. We’re gonna be playing stuff that comes out of the Psalms and the Proverbs. You know all of these. Jonah and Malachi – how come nobody’s named Malachi any more? We’re gonna be playing music that has something to do with Nehemia, Esther, Job, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And of course, The Book of Revelations. So gather the family around the radio and hear the good news. Seek and you shall find.”

The Singers and the Songs

Rev. J.M. Gates – Are You Bound for Heaven or Hell

The Yayhoos — Bottle and a Bible
(Terry Anderson, Chris Baird, Eric Ambel)
“If you have to choose between the bottle and a bible, you might be needing a 12 Step Program, which was started by Bill Wilson, who helped spread the idea that drinking was a disease. If you feel 12 steps aren’t enough for ya, may I recommend the Alfred Hitchcock Classic, The 39 Steps. If you have to go higher than 39 steps just remember, one might be too many, and a hundred might not be enough.”

Rev. Gary Davis – Samson and Delilah
“Like a lot of other street performers, he always put gospel songs in among his blues to make it harder for the police to interrupt him.”

Kitty Wells – He Will Set Your Fields on Fire

Wynonie Harris – Adam Come And Get Your Rib

AA Gray and Seven Foot Dilly – The Old Ark’s A-Moving

Washington Phillips – Denomination Blues
“He was a pioneering gospel performer of the 20’s. Recorded only 18 songs but, boy, what songs!”

The Four Interenes – I’m Using My Bible For A Road Map

Ollabelle (lead singer Amy Helm) – Elijah Rock

The Melodians – The Rivers Of Babylon

Blind Willie Johnson – The Revelator

Jess Willard – Boogie Woogie Preaching Man

The Swan Silvertones – Oh Mary Don’t You Weep
“If you listened closely to that song you might have heard Claude Jeter say, ‘I’ll be your bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name’ – a phrase that inspired Paul Simon, a few years later, to write some song.”

The Robins – That’s What The Good Book Says
“Biblical in scope, rhythm and blues in nature. This is the kind of bible study you don’t get in Sunday school…And what’s a rhythm and blues gospel song without a vibraphone solo, that one probably played by Johnny Otis”

Other singers, players, etc.

The Georgia Satellites
Steve Earle
Bill Wilson
The Philistines
Johnny Wright (of Johnny and Jack)
Moses
Sir Thomas Brown
Michelangelo
Rafael
Lowell Stokes ? (fiddle player)
Harry Geiger ? (fiddle player)
Joe Brown ? (fiddle player)
Sir Nathan
Hank Penny
Reno and Smiley – (clip from their version of “I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map”)
Levon Helm
T-Bone Burnett “He’s always been a man of great taste.”
Roger McGuinn
Jess Willard
Jack Johnson
Jack Guthrie
Johnny Horton
Jimmy Bryant
Speedy West
Al Green
The Coasters

Other Songs and Albums

Fear Not The Obvious
Bloodshot Eyes
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor

The Places

Gaza
The Brook of Sorec
Nashville
Israel
Simsboro, TX
Babylon
Jamaica
Euphrates River
Chebar River
Baghdad

The Movies

The 39 Steps
The Ten Commandments
The Night of the Hunter
Life of Brian

The Record Labels

King Records
Veejay Records

Guest

Keb Mo

“Well, it’s time for me to say goodbye and turn the other cheek and head out of the Abernathy Building, down the street, past the church, and down to Sampson’s Diner. And in the meantime, eat, drink, and be merry and forgive them, for they know not what they do. We’ll see you next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Amen.“Remember, blessed are the peacemakers.”

Musical Map

It's night time in the Big City
a cab driver curses under his breath
roasted chickens hang in the window of a Chinese restaurant

The Singers and the Songs

Hank Snow – I’ve Been Everywhere
“This is one o f those songs that starts off with a prelude; so don’t be concerned, the body of the song will start in just a moment.”

Professor Longhair and the Shuffling Hungarians – Mardi Gras in New Orleans
 “Sometimes when you’re in the basement, looking at a box of records to buy, you come across a name on a label and you just have to own it. That’s the way I felt when I first saw this one…Here’s a song that should be the state song for Louisiana” 

Marty Robbins – El Paso
“A vivid western saga laden with drama, violence, and romance…a song of rare beauty and elegance…Talkin’ about a woman who is as different from other women as cognac is from corn liquor. But as Marty Robbins would no you get the same kind of headache from either one.”

Wilbert Harrison – Kansas City
“You all know this song, and it always sounds good.”

Sol K. Bright and his Hollywaiians – Hawaiian Cowboy

Jack Teagarden – Stars Fell on Alabama
“One of the top pre-Bop trombonists.”

Tom Waits – Jersey Girl

The Louvin Brothers – Knoxville Girl
“Hillbilly music had no shortage of lust, murder, and mayhem…of course it didn’t have as many samples from Herbie Hancock records…but I think if you listen to this you’ll be surprised how violent it is” 

(Bob’s response to email questioning a comparison between ‘Hillbilly music’ and ‘Gangsta Rap.’)

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazleweed – Jackson

Percy Mayfield – Louisiana
“Had one of the most distinctive voices in R & B, and he was shockingly handsome…Percy’s records have never been equaled.”

Tin Ear Tanner – I Used to Work in Chicago

Charlie Poole – Baltimore Fire

ZZ Top – My Head’s in Mississippi
“I’m all outta breath just listening to that!”

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys – Take Me Back To Tulsa
“Here on Theme Time Radio Hour we believe you can never play too much Bob Wills. We’re gonna prove it by playin’ another one of his records.”

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Little Jimmie Dickens
Elvis Presley
Colonel Tom Parker
“A man who would put live chickens on a hot plate and tell people there were dancing…A man as hard as his arteries or, as Cleopatra would have said, ‘I’d like two sons by that man.”
Sullivan Rock
Kid Stormy Weather
Toots Washington
Jelly Roll Morton
Mitch Miller
Grady Martin
Vikki Carr
Sandra Day O’Conner
Sam Donaldson
Debbie Reynolds
Irene Ryan
Wilbert Harrison
Bobby Robinson
Wild Jimmie Sprewell
Sol Hoopii
Don Helms
Hank Williams
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars – “I recommend you search out those records”
Kathleen Brennan
Thomas Alva Edison
Jack Nicholson – “He does more acting with one eyebrow than anybody else does with their entire body.”
Otis Span
Papa Charlie McCoy
Leanne Rimes
Eudora Welty
Cassandra Wilson
Walter Payton
Fritz Moot (?)
Johnny Cash
June Carter
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stokely Carmichael
Medgar Evers
Byron de la Beckwith
Alec Baldwin
Ray Charles
Marlon Brando
Carl Sandburg
Tex Atchison
Gene Autry
Cliffy Stone
Rock Wensel
Merle Travis
Albert G. Spaulding
Hugh Hefner
Mayor Robert McCain
Ella Fitzgerald
Thurgood Marshall
Edgar Allen Poe
Johhny Unitas
Mayor Robert McCain
Creek Indians
Garth Brooks
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Blake Edwards
Paul Harvey
Leon Russell

The Places

Reno
Chicago
Fargo
Buffalo
Winslow
Wichita
Bourbon Street
Tulsa
Ottawa
Grand Ole Opry
Texas
Arizona
Mexico
Honolulu
Mobile, AL
Westfield, AL
Huntsville, AL (The Rocket Capital of the World)
New Jersey
“Has the highest population density in the United States, and the most car thefts. But on the plus side, it has the most diners…I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but it has the most shopping malls in one area.”
Menlo Park
LaFleur’s Bluff
Louisiana (and the Napoleonic Code)
Chicago
Baltimore – “Lotta drama happens in Baltimore, you can see it on ‘Homicide’ or ‘The Wire.’”
Oklahoma
Arkansas River

The Movies

Blue Hawaii
As Good As It Gets
Ghosts of Mississippi
Streetcar Named Desire

Guests

Billy Gibbons (ran into him at a taco wagon)

Record Labels

Star Talent Records
Beltone Records

Other Songs

Polynesian Love Song
Please Send Me Someone to Love
Two Years of Torture
At The Club
Hit The Road Jack
Herbie Hancock sample
“Well we got to go again, here on Theme Time Radio Hour. I’m gonna gas up the car, throw my bags in the trunk, get my Trip-Tic from AAA, and head out and visit a few more of these fine cities. We’ll be back again next week with more Them Time Radio Hour. I’ll see ya on the highway!”

School

(school room noises)
It's night time in the Big City
a writer stares at a blank sheet of paper
a pet poodle scratches at a window

“Your school for dreams, schemes and themes. Your university of perversity”
“School’s now in session”

The Singers and The Songs

Graham Parker-Back to School Days (part of the Pub Rock movement from the 1976 album Howlin’ Wind)

Tommy Facenda-High School USA (Minneapolis/St Paul version)
“He did like 40 versions of it, recorded them all in like 2 days. Imagine what the last version must have sounded like! I get tired just doin’ this radio show!”

James Brown-Don’t Be a Dropout

Ricky Nelson-Lincoln and 46

Otis Rush-Homework

Harry Reser and his 6 Jumping Jacks-I Love the College Girls

The Marquee’s-Hey, Little School Girl

Brenda Holloway with The Supremes-Play it Cool, Stay in School

Babs Gonzalez-Professor Bop

Sam Cooke-Wonderful World

Gene Summers-School of Rock n’ Roll
“Listen to the piano playing on this record, it just pushes the thing along. Without the piano the guitar player might as well drop out.”

NRBQ-Still In School

Lulu-To Sir with Love

Jerry Lee Lewis-High School Confidential “the Killer’

Vincent Fornier (Alice Cooper)-School’s Out
“Guillotine and golf officianto”

Other Singers, People and Songs

Brisbee Schwartz
Martin Belmont
Gene Vincent and the Bluecaps
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson
James Burton
Elvis
Gene Vincent
Carl Perkins
“I Can’t Quit You, Baby”
“My Love Will Never Die”
“3 Times a Fool”
“All Your Love”
Don Roby
Jazz Pilots
Campus Boys
The Rounders
The Park Lane Orchestra
The Clicquot Club
Bill Ridges and His Orchestra
Bob Wills
Horris Man
Bo Diddley
Marvin Gaye
Chester Simmons
Peece Palmer
James Nolan
Mark “no ding dong” Twain “I never let my schooling interfere with my education”
Victor Hugo
The Beatles
“You Make Me So Very Happy”
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Sonny Rollins
JJ Johnson
Whitten Kelly
Roy Haynes
Lou Adler
Herb Albert
Terry Adams
Everly Brothers
“All Hopped Up” (album)
Sidney Pottier
Michael Stipe
Natalie Merchant
Bill Clinton “Definitely a man who could take you from crayons to perfume.”
Mimi Vandorn
JW Brown
Myra Gayle

Guest

Carla Thomas (speaking on why you should stay in school)

Cheerleaders

Ann-Margaret
Paula Abdul
Halley Berry
Katie Couric
George W Bush
Dwight D Eisenhower
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Steve Martin
Trent Lott
Samuel L Jackson
Madonna
FDR (also 32nd president)
“The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize.”

Commercials and Publics Service announcements

Robert Hall (back to school)
Les Paul and Mary Ford
The Big “O” Otis Redding

Places

Barnwell, SC
Welsey, MA
Dallas, TX
Atwater Village
Glasgow, Scotland
LA
Ann Arbor

TV and Movies

MTV
Rock Around the Clock
Ed Sullivan Show
3 Stooges
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Rock n’ Roll High School
High School Confidential

Record Labels

Cobra
Duke
Okay
Motown
Red Rooster

Women’s Colleges

Barnard
Smith
Holyoke
St. Benedict
Wellesley

Colleges

University of Michigan-Behavioral Neuroscience
Princeton-Experimental Psychology
Harvard-Historical Sociology

Poems

Gwendolyn Brooks-We Real Cool

Schools

Global School of Private Investigation
ABC School of Bartending
Dave’s Accordion School
Cook St. School of Fine Cooking
Second Nature School of Taxidermy
The Superior Fashion Institute of Montreal
Eastern School of Musical Instrument Repair

School Mascots

Florida Gators-Albert
Dunker the Inflatable Horse
Sammy the Slug- UC Santa Cruz
WooShock-Wichita State
Zippy the Kangaroo “He’s all he’s cracked up to be”

Kinds of Teachers

Shop
Latin
Profs of Law
Profs of Medicine

Subjects Covered

History-The Battle of Hastings
Biology-The Cerebrum
Science-Potential and Kinetic Energy “Let me hip ya”
Math-Slide Rule

Valedictorians

Johnny Bench
Cindy Crawford
WC Handy
William Renquist
Emmylou Harris
Alicia Keyes
Conan O’Brien
Weird Al
W.E.B DuBois
“I wonder if William Renquist gave the same type of speech as Weird Al? Somehow I doubt it.”

“I went to a tough high school, even the debating team was on steroids”

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Telephone

It’s night time in the Big City
The air is thick with a chemical
a woman takes a shower before going home to her husband

Singers and Songs

Elmore James-Talk to Me Baby (Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson)

Spirit of Memphis Quartet–Atomic Telephone

Glenn Miller Orchestra-Pennsylvania 6-5000
(who disappeared mysteriously during W
WII)

Etta James (Miss Peaches)-Call Me

Eddy Gorman and His Group-Telephone Blues

Lattie Moore-The Jukebox and the Phone

George Jones “The Possum”-Wrong Number

The Kinks-Party Line

Eddie“Cleanhead” Vinson-Party Line
“He was called ‘Cleanhead’ cause he burned all his hair off with hair straightened. The first time I heard this song it knocked my socks off!”

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn-As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone” (Recommended by Pete Wolf)
“Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat You don’t hear records like that anymore!”

Muddy Waters-Long Distance Operator

Pigmeat (Dewey) Markham-your Wire’s Been Tapped

Blondie-Hanging on a Telephone

Little Milton and Olive Sain’s Orchestra-Long Distance Operator

Hank Penny-Hold the Phone

Graciela With Machito Orchestra -La Bochinchera

Aaron Neville-Wrong Humber Again
“The distinctive voice of Aaron Neville, a lot of people think we sing the same.”

Pee Wee (Connie) Crayton-Telephone is Ringing

Lucky Blondo-Le Jeu Du Telephone

Other Singer, Song and People

Alexander Graham Bell– Invented the telephone in 1876 made his first telephone call to his assistant saying “Mr. Watson , come here I want you.” He thought you should say ‘Ahoy, Ahoy’ when you answered.
Johnny Otis
“Out of Control”
“Sweet Papa Pigmeat”
“Here Come the Judge”
President Lincoln
Sylvester Stallone
Sam Phillips
Albert King
Fontella Bass
“We’re Gonna Make It”
“If Walls Could Talk”
“Grits Ain’t Groceries”
Don Foster
Bob Wills
Spade Cooley (who killed his wife)
“Blues Afterhours”
“Papa Stoppa”
T-Bone Walker
“Texas Hop”

Ads

Add-a-phone

Random Phone Stuff

Dial-a-Prayer for Atheists-Nobody Answers
God-Pod-iPod with scriptures
Party Lines

Bob’s helpful Hints

Hero Rymes with Zero

Hotels

Hotel Pennsylvania (Hotel Statler)

Places

France
Hollywood
Juke Joints (Juke Boxes)
Scottsville, KY
Durham, NC
Semoodio Itnl. Airport
E. St. Louis
Birmingham, AL
Texas
LA
Fresno

Companies

Automatic Music Instrument Company
Wurlitzer
Seabird
Rockola
VeeJay

Movies and TV

Rowan and Martin
Copland

Guest

Art Linkerletter (Public Service Announcement on Not using the phone after atomic bombing)
Peter Wolf
Gina Gershon (talking about a mambo song by Graciella)

Record Labels

Sun
Bobbin
“If you’ll excuse me I’m gonna make a few phone calls”

Water

It's night time in the Big City
A night watchman rinses out his thermos
clouds cover the top of the Abernathy building

“A giraffe can go a very long time without water. But he wants to see a menu right away.”

The Singer and The Songs

Danny Kaye – Mommy, Give Me a Drink of Water

Ramsey Lewis – Wade in the Water

The Sons of The Pioneers – Cool Water

William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water

Charley Patton – High Water Everywhere Part 1
“It’s called Part 1 because back in the days of 78’s if you had a song longer than three minutes you had to split it up on side one and side two, because the records only were three minutes long. So you only did a long song when you had something important to say, like this song about the most destructive river flood in United States history.”

Effie Smith – Water, Water

Booker T & The MG’s – You Left the Water Running

James Carr – Pouring Water on a Drowning Man

Porter Wagoner – Cold Dark Waters
“We heard about cool, clear water before, but the water Porter Wagoner sings about is colder and darker.”

The Cats and the Fiddle – I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water

Randy Newman – Louisiana 1927

Tommy Johnson – Cool Drink of Water Blues
“Along with Son House and Charley Patton, no one was more important to the development of Delta Blues than Tommy Johnson. And long before the stories about Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, those same stories were being told about Tommy Johnson. His live performances where he would play guitar behind his neck, while hollerin’ the blues at full volume, were legendary…Tommy only recorded until 1930, but he was still performing as late as 1956..seems a shame we never got to hear some of them later performances.”

Howlin’ Wolf – I Asked For Water, She Brought Me Gasoline
“Holy Moly that’s good!”

The Standells – Dirty Water

The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Jesus Gave Me Water

Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang – Have to Change Keys

Lonnie Johnson – Backwater Blues
“Lonnie’s a real interesting character. He recorded solo blues numbers, he also recorded jazz guitar, as early as 19 and 27…but time passes on, and even as great a talent as Lonnie Johnson can be forgotten. By the late 50’s, he was toiling as a hotel janitor when he was rediscovered and had a major comeback on the folk blues festival trail.”

Myra Taylor with Jimmie King’s Orchestra – Still Blue Water
“One of the last authentic swing singers in the Kansas City tradition.”

Glenn Barber – Ice Water
“At the age of 6 he got in trouble for touching a neighbors guitar (Spinal Tap clip). His dad saw how much he loved it and worked day and night so that he could buy him a 3 dollar and 50 cent guitar. Turns out it was a good investment. That guitar became his best friend and he made some rockin’ music on it.”

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot – Grand Coulee Dam

Singers, players, etc.

Leonard Sly
The Rocky Mountaineers
Bob Nolan
Gene Autry
Roy Rogers (The Singin’ Cowboy)
Thomas Fuller – “We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
Rufus Thomas
The Del Rios
Bessie Smith
Kansas Joe McCoy
Memphis Minnie
Randy Newman
Don Sugarcane Harris
Dewey Terry
The Harmony Echoes
The Blue Ridge Boys
Phil Walden
Austin Powell
Jimmie Henderson
Ernie Price
Chuck Barksdale
The Mills Brothers
Stick McGee
Huey Long
President Coolidge
Dick Dodd
Larry Tamblyn
Russ Tamblyn
Mousketeers
The Cotton Blossom Singers
The Jackson Harmoneers
Don Robey
Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five
Duke Ellington Jungle Band
Clarence Love
Roy Eldridge
Harlan Leonard
Eubie Blake

People Who Had Burials At Sea

Steve McQueen
Ingrid Bergman
Dennis Wilson
Rock Hudson
Vincent Price
Robert Mitchum
John F. Kennedy
Jerry Garcia

The Songs, Albums and Poems

Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King
“Which we’ll probably hear on our Halloween show”
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
You Got My Mind Messed Up – James Carr
I’m Daydreamin’ Tonight
Blues Mixture
Drinkin’ Wine Spodee Odee
Good Old Boys – Randy Newman
John, Chapter 4, Verses 3-15 – read by Johnny Cash
He’s a Jelly Roll Baker
Tomorrow Night
The Spider and The Fly
Take It Easy, Greasy
I’m In My Sins This Morning

The Places

Cincinnati
California
Mississippi
Memphis
Arkansas
Illinois
Kentucky
Tennessee
The Piney Wood School
Jackson, Mississippi another good 1927 Mississippi River Flood link
Hollis, OK
Louisiana Flood 1927

The Record Labels

Stax
Cold Wax
Bluebird Records
Peacock Records

The Movies

Casablanca
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Monsters, Inc.
Chinatown
Spinal Tap clip (Don’t touch it. It can’t be played)
“I’ll see ya next week, come hell or high water!”

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Time

(As Time Goes By)
It's night time in the Big City
a student faces down a deadline
a man with gin on his breath is pulled over

Singers and Songs
Irma Thomas “A snow leopard ready to pounce“ -Time is on My Side

Dr. John-Right Place, Wrong Time

Arthur “Dooley” Wilson-As Time Goes By

Derek Morgan-Time Marches On

Sleepy LaBeef-All the Time

Etta James-Only Time Will Tell

Eddy Boyd-24 hours

Tyrone “Tyrone the Wonder Boy” Davis-The Hands of Time

Bobby Milano-Life Begins at 4 O’clock

Billy Ward and The Dominos-60 Minute Man

Cab Calloway-15 Minute Intermission
“That time of the evening when you just want to take a break, visit your old friends alcohol and nicotine.”

Willie Nelson-Funny How Time Slips Away

Lou Reed-September Song

Ray Charles-2 Years of Torture

Patsy Cline-Walking after Midnight

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown-The Witching Hour “the boogie rambler”

Eugene Pitt and the Jive 5-What Time Is It?

Willi Williams-Armigedion Times

The Chambers Bros.-Time

Other Singers, People and Songs

Kay Wending
The Rolling Stones “I’ve always been partial to Irma’s version”
Benny Goodman
JJ Johnson
Jerry Ragavoy
Didi Warwick
Sissy Houston
Shakespeare “It’s better 3 hours too soon, than 1 minute too late.”
Boarman Porter
Hal Wilner
“Mr. Dooley”
Humphrey Bogart (with real Casablanca quote)
Prince Buster
Gordon Lightfoot (“I had a very similar thing with Gordon Lightfoot.”)
Pablo Nesbitt
Thomas Halsely LeBeth
Poppy Daley
“Whatever music you love, it didn’t come from nowhere!  It’s always good to know what went down before you, because if you know the past, you can control the future.”

Louis Gordon
“Rockabilly is a poor man’s big band”
Minnesota Fats
Sir Sanford Fleming-Time Zones
William Faulkner 
“The past is never dead, it’s not even past.”
Macbeth “Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow…”
George A. Custer 
“General overconfidence, not to be confused with General Custer.”
Henry Ford
Edsel Ford
The Crooning Crybaby
Vincent Domina
Milano Crime Family
Keely Smith
Louis Prima
Sting (who practices tantric sex)“You go Sting”
Bill Brown
Billy Walker
Sammy Davis JR.
Al Green
Joe Hinton
BB King
Stevie Wonder
Johnny Cash
Wanda Jackson
Ray Price
Hal Wilner
Walt Disney
Tom Waits
“Mac the Knife”
Bobby Darin
“Alabama Song”
Percy Mayfield
“Hit the Road Jack”
Heathcliff and Catherine
Pip and Stella
Rick and Ilsa
Tex Carbone
Washington Irving
Mary Shelley
Bob Feldman
Jerry Goldstein
Richard Gotterer
“My Boyfriend’s Back”
The Strangeloves
“I Want Candy”
Bow Wow Wow
The McCoys
“Hang on Sloopy”
Blondie
The Gogos
Joan Armatrading
“How Much Time Do We Have?”
The Soul Vendors
Papa Michigan and Smiley
“Nice Up The Dance”
Percy Shelly

Places

Denmark
Pecan Theatre
Europe
America
Chicago
Jamaica
Aspen, CO
Helsinki, Finland
Little Big Horn
LA
Germany
Gore, VA
Armstrong, AU

Movies, Theatre and TV

60 Minutes
Casablanca
The Exotic Ones
Ted Mack Amateur Hour
Days of Our Lives
3 Penny Opera
Mahogany
Arthur Godfrey TV Show
The Beat

Literature

Macbeth
The Sound and The Fury
Madame Butterfly
Wuthering Heights
Great Expectations
Frankenstein

Organizations

The Mile High Club
AFM

Other Topics Covered

The history of clock setting

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Guns

It's night time in the Big City
an elderly man looks at his wife's empty pillow
a nervous thief stands in a doorway

“Welcome to Theme Time Radio Hour. Leave your iron at the door, ‘cause tonight we’re gonna be playing music of the highest caliber. We’re gonna shoot from the hip and put another notch on our barrel.”

The Singers And The Songs

Junior Walker and the All Stars – Shotgun
“We’re gonna start things off with a record that starts out like a gun shot…one of the funkiest records ever to come out on Motown.”

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Shotgun Boogie
“..known as the “Old Pea Picker” because he always use to say ‘Bless your pea-pickin’ heart.’”

Albert King – The Hunter
“The least known of the three Kings of the blues: B.B., Freddie, and Albert.”

The Valentines – Guns Fever

The Clash – Tommy Gun
“A song written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Joe explained that he got the idea to write Tommy Gun when it occurred to him that terrorists, like rock stars and movie stars, probably enjoy reading in the press about their so-called triumphs.”

Wanda Jackson – This Gun Don’t Care Who it Shoots“The Atomic Fireball”

Robert Jefferson – I Got My Equalizer
“Well usually I have a story about the people we play, but I know nothin’ about this fella, except that he’s a little bit dangerous.”

Johnny Cash – Don’t Take Your Guns To Town

Los Lobos – La Pistola Y El Corazon

Al Dexter And His Troopers – Piston Packin Mama

Hurricanes – Pistol Packin Mama
“(Sid Nathan) was called Little Caesar because he was short, fat, and ruled his label like a dictator…but nonetheless he knew what people wanted to buy and he knew there wasn’t that much distance between the white audience and the black audience. He took Al Dexter’s song and handed it over to the hurricanes and it came out something like this. Actually, it came out exactly like this!”

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – The Big Guns

Jerry Irby And His Texas Rangers – Great Long Pistol
“Here’s an old friend of Theme Time Radio Hour. It’s that practical joker, Jerry Irby…Shoot ‘em up!”

Vernon Green and the Medallions – Don’t Shoot, Baby
“Be careful, you don’t want to get hit in the Pompatus.”

Richard and Linda Thompson – Shoot Out The Lights
“You ever heard Rumble, Richard?”

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Jimmy Reed
Steve Copper
Duck Dunn
Al Jackson
Booker T. Jones
Rude Boys
Trenchtown
Annie Oakley
Billy The Kid
Wyatt Earp
Bat Masterson
Johnny Ringo
Sid Nathan“Listen to a little bit of Sid addressing the troops…any of you record company employees? Might wanna take some notes.”
Samuel Colt
Link Wray
Britney Spears

The Record Labels

King Records

The Places

Kingston
Ezekiel’s Gun Shop

Other Songs and Albums

Rabbit Fur Coat
The Letter
Rumble
1000 Years of Popular Music
Oops, I Did It Again

The Movies, Etc.

Shane
The Big Combo
Dirty Harry
The Bugs Bunny Show

Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code
“And I’m not ashamed to say that I live my life according to that code. Quite a man, that Gene Autry!”

Guests

David Hidalgo“I caught up with David Hidalgo at the Amoeba Record Store Haight Ashbury…or as I call it “Hashbury.”
Jenny Lewis
Penn Jillette

“We just want to remind you that we here at Theme Time Radio Hour do not condone violence. Nor do we encourage it.”

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Halloween

Enter death's waiting room if you dare
below the crypt lies
Bob: Theme Time Radio Hour
(Male voice speaking)
a female announcer dresses like me
a skeleton puts on a fat suit
I gotta put some gas in my car but I don't wanna put it in the tank
I don't want to conform to what everyone else is doing
I know I won't smoke that night though

“Below the crypt lies ‘theme time radio hour.’ “

The Singers and the Songs

Albert King-Born Under a Bad Sign
“He was born on May 25th which makes him a Gemini. Gemini’s are curious, good multi-taskers and in Albert King’s case, they play guitar left handed.”

Tommy Collins-Black Cat

Johnny Otis, Marie Adams and the 3 Tons of Joy-Casting My Spell on You

Denzil Lang-Beware of the Vampire

Screaming Jay Hawkins-I Put a Spell on You

Nat Gonella and His Georgians-Skeletons in the Closet

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band-Look Out There’s a Monster Coming

Eugene Fox “Sly Fox“-Hoo Doo Say

Stevie Wonder-Superstition

Dr. John- Morgus the Magnificent
“A fellow you want to hear every Halloween.”

Louis Prima and Keely Smith-That Old Black Magic

Zeke Manners and His Swingbillies-Mr. Ghost Goes to Town

The Charmer (Louis Eugene Walcott a.k.a Louis Farrakhan)-Zombie Jamboree

Bobby Boris Pickett-Monster Mash

The Poets-Dead

June Christy-Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

Other Singers, People and Songs

Buck Owens 
“I bet you heard of him”

“Willie and the Hand Jive”
Lee Scratch Perry
The Heptones
Jimmy Cliff
Toots and The Maytals
Louis Armstrong
Louis Prima
“I’m the Urban Spaceman”
Paul McCartney
Neil Inis
The Rutles
Ike Turner
Jeff Beck
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Maila Nurmi (Vampira)
James Dean
Bela Lugosi
Mort Johnson
Morgan Broman
Sam Butera
“Pennsylvania Polka”
Buddy Epson
Albert Brooks
Mickey Rourke
Boris Karloff
Leonard Kapetsey
Humphrey Bogart
Ronnie Lewis
“She Blew Good Thing”
Juggy Murray
Yip Harbond
Harold Arlen
Ozzie Smith

Literature

The Raven-Poe “Master of the macabre”
Julius Caesar-Shakespeare
Macbeth-Shakespeare “Poet of Deftness”

Halloween stuff

Witch Hunts
Black Cats-In Brittan and Japan it is good luck to have a black cat cross your path. “They drive on the other side of the road there too!”
18th century Vampire scare “Our politicians today don’t hunt for vampires, they’re too busy sucking blood.”
Mummy Tombs (with Poison Mold Spores)
Werewolf
Frankenstein
Vampires
Zombies

Record Labels

Capital
Sue

TV, Theatre and Movies

Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon
Dracula
Curse of the Mummy
Monty Python
Morgus the Magnificent (and Chopsley)
Plan 9 from Outer Space
The Beverly Hillbillies
Barfly
Dawn of the Dead
Exorcist

“Calypso Follies”

Magic Words

Abracadabra
Hocus Pocus
Presto
Open Sesame
Alakazam
“But to me the magical words are Please and Thank You.”

Places

London
New Orleans
Alexandria, VA
Chicago

Popular Costumes

Spiderman
Princess
Witch
Vampire
Monster
Spongebob
Ninja
Athlete “that’s not much of a costume”
Ghost
“Boo!”

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Dancing

The Singers and the Songs

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – Dancing in the Street
“Only one song we could start with.”

Roy Hogsed and his Rainbow Riders Trio– Let’s Go Dancing
“Here’s a song make you feel like you were born in a barn…sing us a song, Roy!”

The Ramones – Do You Wanna Dance 
“Joey Ramone, along with Johnny, Tommy and Deedee, all brothers from different mothers, they were an influential early punk band and some people say they invented the form of pop-punk.”

“Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.”-HP Lovecraft

Bobby Fuller Four – Let Her Dance
“One heavy cat.”

Anita O’Day – Ten Cents a Dance
“This next song can eat your heart out.”

Junior Brown – My Baby Don’t Dance to Nothin’ But Ernest Tubb
“I only wish I knew a girl like that! Junior remembers watching et on TV when he was young and always being a big fan of his later on he met Ernest Tubb and Ernest Tubb gave him some good advice: ‘keep it country, son.’ That’s what ET said to him.”

7-11 – Dance the Slurp 
“this next record’s called Dance The Slurp, and it was put out by 7-11 to promote their Slurpees. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist use it as the basic rhythm track for their dance mix called Brain Freeze. People talk about the obscurity of my songs…oh, yeah? Give a listen to this!”

The Lebron Brothers – Dance, Dance, Dance
“Pablo, Jose, Angel, Frankie, and Carlos. Urban and funky with a little bit of R&B.”

The Turbans – When You Dance
“This is Theme Time Radio Dance Program, and we have had a lot of requests to play a good kazatzka, and for those of you who don’t know, the kazatzka is a Slavic folk dance performed by a couple…This record is one of the first Doo-Wop records to play a good kazatzka.”

Delroy Wilson – Dancing Mood
“I’m in a dancing mood, I’m in a dancing mood…three times he’s in a dancing mood!”

Bunker Hill – The Girl Can’t Dance
“Calming music is a good thing…unless you don’t want to be calm!”

Fred Astaire – I Won’t Dance
“The smoothest dancer known to man.”

Roy Newman – I Can’t Dance (I’ve Got Ants In My Pants) 
“Roy was a western swing band leader, he was making records even before Bob Wills. He was about the least countrified of the western swing band artists. He used a lot of clarinet, giving his band a Dixieland flavor.”

Chris Montez – Let’s Dance

Eddie Seacrest & The Rolling Rockets – Dancing To The Rhythm
“Here’s a song that’s gonna drive Christopher Walken nuts!”

Bill Parsons – Dance Dance Dance
“He was roommates with Willie Nelson? That must have been quite an apartment!”

Archie Bell and the Drells – I Can’t Stop Dancing
“A great example of that Philly soul sound.”

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos – Save The Last Dance For Me

Types of Dances

The Pony
The Watusi
The Jerk
Mashed Potato
Electric Slide
Line Dancing
Break Dancing
Slam Dancing
Lambada
Macarena
Chicken Dance
The Crumble
Round
The Rondell
Bolero
Cakewalk
“When you’re prancing with a backward tilt”
Cha Cha
Conga
The Faruka“Spanish gypsy dance with sudden tempo and mood changes”
The Hora
The Hula
Jitterbug
Mambo
Rumba
Twist
Stomp

Other Singers, Players, Etc.

Keith Richards

Bobby Freeman

Albert Einstein – Dancers are the athletes of God “Who am I to argue with Albert Einstein?”

Leroy Kirkland

Bob’s barber, Carl – Bob promised him he would play a Kazatzka

Alexander Pope

Audrey Hepburn

Ginger Rogers

Bob Wills

Ollie Horton (?)

Cecil Brower

Walter Kirks

Ish Irwin

Christopher Walken – I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!

Lloyd Price

Willie Nelson

The Drifters

Gamblin’ Huff

Red Skelton

Lord Buckley (Black Cross)

Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word-Mata Hari

Performers who wore turbans

Eddie Bowl

Chuck Willis

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Professor Longhair

Sam the Sham

Other Songs and Albums

Satisfaction
Rocket to Russia
I Fought The Law
Twelve Shades of Brown
Mississippi Queen – Mountain (clip)
Shakin’ With The Flavor
Lawdie Miss Claudie
Tighten Up

Email

Tonight’s email:
I find your show very entertaining. I only wish it could be more educational.

“Thank you Mary, for your enthusiastic letter. Let me enlighten you about something. Alexander Pope, the English poet, said that a little learning can be a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring. The Perian Spring, Mary is on Mt. Olympus, a sacred place to the muses, the 9 sister goddesses who inspire song and poetry, all the arts and sciences, and dances too. A little dancing is also a dangerous thing, so let’s embrace the danger here tonight, on Theme Time Radio Hour.”

Record Labels

Motown
Delphi
Herald

The Places

Forest Hills, Queens
Baytown, TX
Brooklyn, NY
Philadelphia
Kingston, Jamaica
Mount Olympus
Los Angeles, CA
England
Charleston, WV

Guest 

Twyla Tharp

Movies, Etc.

Libby’s Sloppy Joe Commercial
Flying Down To Rio
Top Hat
The Gay Divorcee
The Barclays of Broadway
Holiday Inn
Funny Face
Easter Parade
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
“More cowbell” clip from SNL
Saturday Night Fever (clip) – John Travolta

The Poets

The Red Dance – Anne Sexton “Def Bostonian Poet”
Alexander Pope
“I’d be a great dancer except for two things: my feet.”

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Sleep

(Santo and Johnny-sleepwalk)
It's night time in the Big City
A man regrets using a gas station restroom
birds are still a couple hours away from getting the worm

“Your queen size home for themes, dreams and schemes. Please do not remove tag under penalty of law.”

The Singers and The Songs

Santo and Johnny – Sleep Walk (played in background during intro) 
 “an instrumental duo from Brooklyn”

Louis Jordan And His Tympany 5 – A Man’s Best Friend Is a Bed

Sammy Myers – Sleeping in the Ground
“You know, every shut-eye ain’t sleep. Sometimes you’re sleeping in the ground, taking a dirt nap, saying the big good bye.”

100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – Somebody’s Been Sleeping

Berna-Dean – I Walk In My Sleep
“Here’s a woman who sure doesn’t sound like she sleeps alone.”

Hoagy Charmichael  – Two Sleepy People
“This song is featured in the Bob Hope movie, Thanks For The Memories l and also this week on Theme Time Radio Hour.”

George Jones – I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep
“I was looking through my records the other night. Ya know, I have ever 70 George Jones Records?! If you look at them all, it gives you a great history of men’s haircuts. Here’s George in a period of time when he had just grown out his brush cut and had a bit of a mutton chop sideburn look going.”

Peter Wolf — Sleepless
“I ran into Pete at an all night drugstore, and he told me about this song.”

Belton Richard — Another Sleepless Night
“…one of the original members of the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame, which was established in 1997, not a moment too soon.”

Little Miss Cornshucks (“the former Miss Mildred Cummings”) – Rock Me To Sleep

The Monkees – Love Is Only Sleeping
“Another finely crafted pop classic”

Little Willie John  – Sleep
“Hmmm, sounds like me playin’ the organ!”

Jody Reynolds and the Storms – Endless Sleep
“This next song is not for the faint of heart. Death rock was a phenomenon that happened in the late 50s and early 60s – maybe it was because of people’s fear of the atomic bomb during the Cold War…This record is one of the most atmospheric of the bunch.”

The Band – Sleeping
“Here’s a distinctive voice with an unquiet heart, Richard Manuel, singin with The Band, a voice of dreams…”

Louis Armstrong – When It’s Sleepy Time Down South 
“This is how Louis used to close his shows; we’ll use it to close ours.”

Other Singers, Players, and Stars

Elmore James
General Johnson“…is an interesting guy. First of all, his name is General Johnson, and that’s interesting right there. Second of all, he had two hit records, and you never heard his name before.”
Dave Bartholomew –“…who wrote and arranged a log of Fats Domino’s big hits. He’s still down in New Orleans playin. He would show up at Preservation Hall on a regular basis to play just for the love of the music, despite his millionaire status. You gotta respect that.”
J. Geils Band
Neil Sedaka
Otis Redding
Humphrey Bogart
Lauren Bacall
Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
Eydie Gorme

Writers, Poets and Painters

Ben Franklin
Charlotte Bronte – A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow

James Joyce – from Chamber Music
Sleep now, O sleep now,
O you unquiet heart!
A voice crying “Sleep now”
Is heard in my heart.

The voice of the winter
Is heard at the door.
O sleep, for the winter
Is crying “Sleep no more.”
My kiss will give peace now
And quiet to your heart–
Sleep on in peace now,
O you unquiet heart!

Shakespeare – Hamlet
“We quote a lot of this guy, but who can blame us? He’s one of the best. The kid’s real good.”

To die, to sleep…To sleep, perchance to dream.
Ay, there’s the rub
For in that sleep what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil —
“Don’t shuffle off too soon we got a lot more music to play ya!”

Anthony Burgess
Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone”

1st Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 30: For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep (Paul) –

“And by sleep, he means dead.”

Edward Hopper – Nighthawks (often mistakenly called Nighthawks at the Diner)
“If you look carefully you’ll see that there is no door. There is no way in, and there is no way out. I think I know that diner. Sounds like Sampson’s.”

Rainer Rilke – To Say Before Going To Sleep

Famous Nightowls

Fran Leibowitz
Ludwig the 2nd of Bavaria
Winston Churchill
Marcel Proust
Ann Coulter

Bob’s rap about Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco:
“The difference between Cajun, Creole and Zydeco might be hard to pin down, if you don’t listen to a lot of em. But here’s a couple of handy hints. Cajun tends to sound more like early country. It’s typically a waltz or a two step. Creole, very similar, but the rhythms tend to be more pronounced and the vocals are a bit more blues influences Zydeco on the other hand sounds more like gospel or r and b with accordion and rug board washboard. A lot of people who play one kind wont’ play with peopele who play another kind, but me personally, I never understood any kind of border patrol when it comes to music.”

The Places

New Orleans
Preservation Hall
Boston
New York
Greenwich Village
Cullendale, AR
Washington State Prison
Walla Walla, WA
Pearl Harbor

Fairy Tales, Movies, TV Shows, Etc.

Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Honeymooners — clip played of Ed Norton sleepwalking and calling for his lost dog, Lulu
Sominex commercial
To Have And Have Not

Other Songs and Albums

It Will Stand (clip played) – The Showmen
Give Me Just a Little More Time (clip played) – The Chairmen of the Board
Rockin’ Chair
Georgia On My Mind
Stardust
Stage Fright
Try a Little Tenderness
He’s Sure the Boy I Love
Uptown
Blame It On The Bossa Nova
On Broadway
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
Teen Angel
Running Bear
Tell Laura I Love Her

Guest

Peter Wolf“You can call him at five in the morning and he’s still up playing records – I know because I’ve done it.”

“Well, it’s sleepy time everywhere right now, so it’s time for me to hang up my headphones, get out of the Abernathy Building, and slip into a dry martini. See ya next week. Pleasant dreams, schemes and themes.”

Food

(ewww, we're gonna have fun....OOOO Yes!)
It's night time in the Big City
A woman steps carefully over a broken wine bottle
the television is still on
(it's a cozy table isn't it
I like it too, yes I do like it
mmmmmm....delicious.

“Welcome once again to Theme Time Radio Hour, and I hope you brought an appetite. Because tonight we're gonna peruse the musical menu. We got a bill of fare that is truly appetizing. So I hope you're eager to dig in.”

The Singers and The Songs

Jim Backus and Friends – Delicious (background during intro)

Cab Calloway – Everybody Eats When They Come To My House
“A man who can be seen in animated form in a number of Betty Boop Cartoons ”” During a concert, a band member shot spitballs at Cab’s back when he faced the audience. Cab accused Dizzy of being the culprit and upon Dizzy’s vehement denial, the two began to fight. Dizzy grabbed a knife and actually cut Cab. Although the two made up after Jonah Jones and Milt Hinton came forward as the perpetrators, Dizzy was fired.” 

Rolling Stones – Rice Krispies (Wake Up In The Morning) 

Wendy Rene – Bar-B-Q 

Lincoln Chase – Hot Biscuits and Sweet Marie
“Tryin’ to decide between biscuits and lovin’ – wow, that’s a hard choice!” 

Charles Mingus – Eat That Chicken 
“He led groups noted for their collective improvisations, loose rhythms, and high energy. He was a serious musician with a strong sense of humor.” 

Johnny Hicks and his Troubadours – Hamburger Hop
“A man who sounds like he’s got a smile in his voice”

The Melodians – Swing and Dine
“Down in Jamaica they cook a dish called jerk chicken. It’s sweet, it’s peppery and it’s delicious. I wonder if that’s the meal that the Melodians were singing about in this song?” 

Thurston Harris – Purple Stew 
“You heard of the Purple Rain and you’ve heard of the Purple Haze. But have you heard about the purple stew? As the old saying goes, some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you. Here’s a song about a guy who finds himself about to be served up as the main course.” 

Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds – Shortnin’ Bread 
“Far as I know, they only made one record – what else did they need to make? America first fell in love with the song Shortnin’ Bread when Lawrence Tibbett, who was the principal with the Metropolitan Opera, made a recording of it. Nelson Eddy sang it in the movie Maytime in 1937. But I bet neither of those versions rock as successfully as Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds.”

Slim Gaillard – Matzoh Balls 
“America is certainly the great melting pot. Where else could someone like Slim Gaillard sing a tribute to matzoh balls and gefilte fish? It’s the kind of thing that makes me proud to be an American. Sing it, Slim.”

Jim Jackson – I Heard The Voice of a Pork Chop
“A songster from the medicine shows of Memphis…Jim Jackson’s popularity was surprisingly phenomenal. He waxed 50 titles in less than three years.” 

Dizzy Gillespie – Hey Pete, Let’s Eat More Meat
“The Beat Poets were all big fans of Bebop, and here’s the king of Bebop, the spitball king, playing some of his Chinese music, Dizzy Gillespie, on the Atkins Diet…Crazy daddy-o!” Dizz doin’ his thang for the meat marketing board!”

Louis Jordan and his Tympany 5 – Hungry Man
“The consummate entertainer, not just singing but also playing that wild alto saxophone, and he’s got quite an appetite.” 

The Blue Dots – Saturday Night Fish Fry
“Sounds like a wild affair” 

Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces – The Hamburger Song
“A song that sorta sounds like a nursery rhyme”

The Detroit Cobras – Hot Dog 

Four Clefs – I Like Pie, I Like Cake
“Hmmm! Don’t we all?”

Places

Battle Creek, MI

Memphis

NYC

The Bar-B-Q Shop Restaurant “Tell ‘em Theme Time Radio Hour sent you!”

New Zealand

Australian

Polynesia

Hawaii

Sandwich islands

Jupiter Beach, FL

Memphis Auditorium

Hernando, MS

Los Angeles

Pinks

Nagano, Japan

Coney island

Chicago

Nathan’s Famous

Other People and Players

Dizzy Gillespie “…was in Cab Calloway’s Band. Cab didn’t like the early Bebop that dizzy was developing. He used to call it Chinese music. Dizzy got fired by Cab after an incident in 1941. Cab was singing on stage so of course he had his back to the rest of the band. He was hit by spitballs; he accused Dizzy of being the culprit. Dizzy denied it and the two began to fight. Dizzy grabbed a knife and actually cut Cab. Even after Jonah Jones and Milt Hinton admitted that they were the villains, Dizzy was still fired. He later went on to become one of the founders of Bebop.”

Rufus Thomas
LaVerne Baker
Shirley Ellis
Lawrence Tibbett
Nelson Eddy
John Montague, the 4th Earle of Sandwich
Captain James Cook
Wimpy
Burt Reynolds
Pierre Mancini
The Lamplighters
King Vidor
Julie London
Bobby Troup
Takeru Kobayashi 

Movies, Commercials, and other entertainment

Rolling Stones: Rice Krispies (Wake Up In The Morning) watch here
Dinner Theater
Metropolitan Opera
Maytime
Hallelujah
Alka Seltzer commercial

Food Featured in Jingles

Hard salami
Chicken parts  “every one of ‘em’s good!”
Stew meat
Pork chop
Chuck roast
Hot dogs
Dill pickles

Other Songs

Jim Dandy
The Nitty Gritty
The Name Game
Bebop Wino
Little Bitty Pretty One
Route 66

Books and Poems

Beneath The Underdog “Riveting reading.”
Allen Ginsberg – A Supermarket in California

Popular Sandwiches 

Earl of Sandwich
Grilled cheese
Cubano “That’s a Cuban sandwich said with an accent”
The French Dip
Ham and cheese
Peanut butter and jelly
Muffuletta
Philly Cheese Steak
Grinder
Hoagie
Dagwood
Reuben
Hamburger

Record Labels

Victor
Bluebird
Stax Records
Ace Records

Food Quotes

The bravest man in the world was the first man who swallowed an oyster.
Moliere – One must eat to live, not live to eat.
Orson Wells – My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people there.
George Bernard Shaw – There is no sincerer love than the love of food.
Cervantes – Hunger is the best sauce in the world.
“I’ll see ya next week on Theme Time Radio Hour, the home of dreams, schemes and themes, and a hot steaming meal – you don’t mind picking up the check do you?”

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Leftovers

It's night time in the big city
Uncle Jim dozes in front of the television
A woman puts extra stuffing into a zip-lock bag


“I'll let you in on a little secret. We plan the shows pretty carefully, but sometimes I get to yappin' and we don't have room for all the records I pick out.”

The Singers and The Songs

Turkey_in_the_Straw

Harry “Mac” McClintock – Hallelujah I’m a Bum
“He was a sheepherder, a railroader, a union organizer, a cowboy, a hobo, a muleskinner, and a musician.” 

Tampa Red & Big Maceo – Let Me Play With Your Poodle
“On the Dog show I must have brought in like 50 records. We didn’t get a chance to play em all, so let me share a couple of ‘em with ya today on our Leftovers show. Tampa Red & Big Maceo wanna play with your poodle. They’re saying it’s your poodle dog, but I have my doubts. This was recorded for the Bluebird record label, and it’s a good example of what was known as the Bluebird Beat.”

Al Ferrier – Yard Dog Al 

The Robins – The Turkey Hop
“Even though we’re mostly having leftovers, it seems appropriate that we should have one fresh dish.” 

Fats Waller – Honeysuckle Rose 

Betty Harris – Twelve Red Roses 

Skeets McDonald – Don’t Let the Starts Get in Your Eyes
“His real first name was Enos, but he earned his nickname after an incident involving a swarm of mosquitoes.” 

Billie Holiday – Them There Eyes
“With her soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright as sunlight on a stream.” 

Jesse Belvin – Angel Eyes 

Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) – Gunslingers
“We’ve told you before how Calypso is kind of like a musical commentary on the daily goings on. This song is no exception.”

Billy Wright – Let’s Be Friends
“Our next singer is a real character, and was a close friend of Little Richard. As a matter of fact, Richard credits him as being one of his biggest influences.” 

The Bailes Brothers – Whiskey Is The Devil (In Liquid Form)
“Another show that had a lot of extra songs was about the Devil. So we’re gonna give the Devil his due again for a moment.” 

Dinah Washington – Teach Me Tonight
“Dinah was one of the greatest of the jazz singers, and her throaty sass, soulful vocal dips, and end of the lyric growls make this version…an invitation that’s almost impossible to resist.” 

Rockpile – Teacher Teacher 

Muddy Waters – Iodine In My Coffee
“Whoah. No matter how many times you hear it, it sends a chill up your spine.” 

Harold Burrage – You Eat Too Much 

Cisco Houston – Pie In The Sky 
“The phrase ‘pie in the sky’ comes from the Wobblies , the labor organization formed in the United States in 1905 . They concentrated on organizing migrant and casual workers, and one of the ways they brought such fragmented groups together was by song. Every member got a little book that contained parodies of popular songs or hymns…This song, Pie In The Sky, from 1911, was aimed directly at the Salvation Army, an organization anxious to save the Wobblies’ souls, while the Wobblies were more interested in putting food on the table. The song was a parody of the Salvation Army hymn, In The Sweet Bye and Bye.”

Other Singers, Players, etc.

The Wobblies
Carl Perkins
Elvis Presley
The Boppin’ Billies
Brian Ferrier
Alan Toussaint
Perry Como
John Hammond
Bennie Goodman
Count Basie
Barry White
Sammy Kahn
Roy Akoff
Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams
The Creation
Nanny Doss
Willie Dixon
Wayne Bennett
Richard Simmons
Joe Hill
The Salvation Army

Other Songs and Albums

Goodnight, My Love
Sparrow in Hi-Fi
Dust On The Bible
The Drunkard’s Grave
In the Sweet Bye and Bye

The Places

Montgomery, LA
Philadelphia
Atlanta, GA
New York

Movies and other entertainment

Louisiana Hayride
A Day of Thanksgiving, 1951

Food jingles

Sweet Potatoes
Avocados….mmmmmmm good
Delicious zucchini
Pie

Record Labels

Bluebird
Capital records
Cobra Records
“I gotta go somewhere, loosen my belt, and sit down for a while. If you wanna to make up a tin foil swan and fill it with stuffin’, maybe I’ll take it with me.”
“Thanks!”

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Tennessee

The Singers and The Songs

Shorty Long – Good Night Cincinnati, Good Morning Tennessee
“whose real name was Emidio Vagnoni”

Chuck Berry – Memphis

John Hiatt – Memphis in the Meantime

David Allen Coe – Tennessee Whiskey
“Here’s my man, the great David Allen Coe. A dangerous man, in and out of reform schools, correction centers and prisons since the age of 9. He supposedly spent time on death row for killing a fellow inmate who made advances to him. A Rolling Stone magazine reporter questioned Coe about this. His musical response was the song, ‘I’d Like To Kick The Shit Out Of You.’”

Memphis Slim – Memphis Slim USA

Sam Cooke – Tennessee Waltz

Lovin’ Spoonful – Nashville Cats 
“This is a song about the great session players in Music City, USA, one of the only places where a banjo player can make a six figure income.”

Hank Williams – Tennessee Border 
“Here’s one for music lovers everywhere, make ya drop your teeth.”

Arrested Development – Tennessee 
“They kind of updated the Sly and The Family Stone sound for the hip-hop generation”

Rufus Thomas – The Memphis Train

Jerry Lee Lewis – Night Train to Memphis 
“You can’t stop off in Tennessee without paying a visit to the Killer”

LaVerne Baker – Hey Memphis 
“One of the great singers of the rock and roll era, or any era”

Link Davis – Trucker From Tennessee
“It’s probably a good time for us to give a shout out to all our truck drivin’ friends. We know you truckers were the first ones to get satellite radio. So whether you’re in the Dirty, The Rubber, The Gateway, The Cow Town, the Bikini, Moonpie City, Beantown, The Hanging Gardens, The Panama Canal, The Bermuda Triangle – remember, don’t have a lead foot, the smokies might be watchin’!”

Mott The Hoople – All The Way From Memphis

King Curtis – Memphis Soul Stew 
“Here’s a song that’ll beat your eggs!”

Carl Perkins – Tennessee
“(A song) about some folks who like to cock-a-doodle-doo about where they come from.”

Other Singers, Players, and Peeps

Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Williams
Andrew Jackson
Nick Lowe
Ry Cooder
Jim Keltner
Johnny Paycheck
William Strickland
Santa Claus
Pee Wee King
Miss Patti Page
Davy Crockett
Sly and The Family Stone
Burl Ives
Sam Phillips
Rabbit’s Foot Minstrels
Billie Holiday
Sarah Vaughn
Dinah Washington
Ella Fitzgerald
Memphis Minnie
Little Miss Sharecropper
Elvis Presley
Ian Hunter
Cliff Bruner and the Texas Wanderers
Red Foley
Ernest Tubb
William Porter Lawrence

Some of the great studio musicians in Nashville include:

Chet Atkins
Buddy Emmonds
David Byrne
Charlie McCoy
Pete Drake
Robert Louis Stevenson
Jackson Pollock
Allen Arkin

Tennessee State Songs

My Homeland Tennessee
When It’s Iris Time in Tennessee
My Tennessee
Tennessee Waltz
Rocky Top

Train Lines

Dixie Flyer
Super Chief
Santa Fe
The B & O
The Chesapeake
Humming Bird

Places

Kentucky
Lexington
Richmond
Memphis
Sun Studio
Paris
Nashville
Knoxville
Chattanooga
Clarksville
Jackson
Alabama
Georgia
Arkansas
Mississippi
Missouri
North Carolina
Virginia
Ripley, TN
Ferriday, LA
Tipton, TN
Texas
The Rendezvous
Beale Street

Barbeque Recipe
“There’s a lot of good barbecue in Memphis. Here’s a recipe I gave the guys over at the Rendezvous “

1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup vinegar
5 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 T butter
½ small onion
a dash of black pepper
some cayenne pepper
1 ½ t salt
½ cup water
mix it all together in large pan
bring to a quick boil
reduce the heat and let simmer 10 minutes
“You can also figure out your own secret ingredients and dump it into the mix. I like about 3 fingers of Tennessee sippin’ whiskey.”

Songs and Albums

I’d Like to Kick The Shit Out Of You
Take This Job And Shove It
Jack Daniels, If You Please
Now I lay Me Down to Cheat
Every Day I Have the Blues
Divers Do It Deeper
Davy Crockett theme song (clip played)
3 years, 5 months and 2 days In The Life Of …
Mott

Record Labels

Vee-Jay Records
Stax Records
OK Records
Atlantic
Sun Records

Guest

Billy Vera

Plays, Poems and Movies

Tennessee State Poem
Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
Mystery Train

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Moon

(Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata )

It's night time in the big city
A pet poodle scratches at a window
The last piece of pie is gone

“This is your man in the moon welcoming you to 60 minutes of lunar melodies. In the background, Charlie Parker playing Ornithology. Based on the chord structure of How High The Moon, which tells ya that the moon is far away and love is far away too…Wow, that one sure knocked some heads together!”

The Singers and The Songs

Les Paul and Mary Ford – How High The Moon 
“Based on the chord structure of Ornithology.”

Chuck Berry – Havana Moon
“Showing the influence of Calypso records…Chuck didn’t turn a deaf ear to anything.”

Los Lobos – Kiko and the Lavender Moon

Fats Waller – By The Light of the Silvery Moon

Bill Monroe – Blue Moon of Kentucky

Piano Red – Mister Moonlight

Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald – Moonlight in Vermont

Big Dee Irwin – It’s Only A Paper Moon “the folk rock version”

Red Le Blance and His Crescent Boys – Blue Moon on the Bayou

Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon

Cliffie Stone – When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
“He brought country music to Hollywood”

Dinah Washington – Destination Moon
“It’s a ¼ of a million miles from the earth to the moon, and there’s no one I’d rather go with than Dinah Washington.”

The Capris – There’s a Moon Out Tonight

Bobby Womack – Fly Me To The Moon
“Here’s a kind of an unorthodox version”

Slim Gaillard – How High The Moon?
“One of my favorite crazy people…he invented his own crazy jive language called ‘Vout’”

Movies, clips and other entertainment

Radar Men From The Moon
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Wizard of Oz
Paper Moon
Hometown Jamboree
The Wolf Man
“Lucky Stars” radio show
The Honeymooners
Audio from 1969 Moon landing 
“The eagle has landed.”

Songs, Albums, and Books

Maybellene
Confessin’ The Blues
Kiko
Will The Wolf Survive?
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Honeysuckle Rose
Jitterbug Waltz
The Loco-Motion
Looking For a Love
It’s All Over Now
I’m A Midnight Mover
Harry Hippy
Flat Foot Floogie
Cement Mixer (Putty Putty)
Stars And Stripes Forever
Rhapsody in Blue

On The Road (Bob reads this passage ):
“…One night we suddenly went mad together again; we went to see Slim Gaillard in a little Frisco nightclub. Slim Gaillard is a tall, thin Negro with big sad eyes who’s always saying ‘Right-orooni’ and ‘How ’bout a little bourbon-arooni.’”

(Books by Cliffie Stone)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Songwriting But Didn’t Know Who To Ask
You gotta be BAD before you can be GOOD

Record Labels

Chess Records
Groove Records
Goldband Records
Capital

Other Players and People

Muddy Waters
Leonard Chess
Commando Cody
The Blasters
X
President James Monroe
Waylon Jennings
Rufus Perryman
The Beatles
Oscar Peterson
Buddy Rich
Little Eva
Tatum O’Neal
Harold Arlen
Daniel Lanois
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Merle Travis
Speedy West
Molly Bee
Jimmy Bryant
Herman The Hermit
Merle Haggard
Buck Owens
Jack Kerouac
Eddie Shuler
Buddha 
 “There are three things that cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.”
Jay McShann
Sam Cooke
George Bernard Shaw
Stuart Hamblen

“A lot of the early doo-wop groups were named after birds”

The Orioles
The Cardinals
The Blue Jays
The Robins
The Sparrows
The Bald Eagles (Bob mighta made this one up)
The Penguins“A bird you would not want to fly you to the moon”

Places

East LA
Rosine, KY
Vermont
New York
Burbank
Hollywood
Queens, NY
Detroit, MI

( Moon River )
“Remember to shoot for the moon because if you miss you will still be among the stars”

Countdown

It's night time in the big city.
A bus driver talks to his only passenger.
A sailor on shore leave plays Egyptian Ratscrew with a fallen priest…

“It's our first annual Theme Time Radio countdown show. Where we count down the top ten songs as determined by you, the listener.”

The Singers and the Songs

Prince Buster (Cecil Campbell) – The Ten Commandments (From Man to Woman) 
“This song was a huge hit in Jamaica and also had some chart action in the United States. Prince Buster was the first Jamaican to have a Top 20 hit.”

Sonny Boy Williamson – Nine Below Zero

O.V. Wright – Eight Men, Four Women

The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
“A two person rhythm dynamo, Jack and Meg White”

Moon Mullican – Seven Nights to Rock

Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys – Six Pack To Go
“One of the great beer drinking songs of all time”

Eddie Boyd – Five Long Years
“This song is a classic, been recorded by a number of artists, but originally done by the man who wrote it.”

Maddox Brothers and Rose — I Got Four Big Brothers (To Look After Me)
“They’re a country music band from California, recorded from the 40s to the 50s, here they are, Fred, Cal, Henry and Don…and sister Rose.”

Jewel King – 3 x 7 = 21

The Ink Spots – We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)

Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston – It Takes Two

Joe Mooney – Tea For Two

Van Morrison – One Irish Rover“The great Irish poet, the Bard of Belfast”

(“The immortal”)Bob Marley and The Wailers – One Love

Irma Thomas – Zero Willpower
“The Queen of New Orleans”

Seven other things with white stripes

Skunk
Highway
Memphis Slim’s hair
Prison uniform
Candy cane
Barber pole
Zebra

Seven largest armies in the world

China
India
North Korea
South Korea
Pakistan
USA
Vietnam

Other significant 7s

Seven Deadly Sins
Seven Seas
Human’s Day in China – the seventh day of the first moon of the lunar year, celebrated as a universal birthday of all human beings

Beers

Michelob Lite
Rolling Rock
Beck’s
Dos Equis
Irish Red
Murphy’s Stout
Newcastle
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Stella Artois
Corona

Other songs

Revolution Number 9 (clip)
That’s How Strong My Love Is “Otis Redding heard it and covered it, stealing any change O.V. had of having a hit with it.”
Three Is The Magic Number (clip)
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Nothing Like the Real Thing
You’re All I Need To Get By

Record Labels

Chess
Gold Wax Records
Back Beat Records
Capital
Deluxe Records
Motown

The Places

Jamaica
Detroit, MI
California
Stovall, MS
New Orleans
Helsinki, Finland“a big blues town”
Florida

People and Players

The Sunset Travelers
Otis Redding
Don Robey
Henry Fonda
Lee J. Cobb
Ed Begley
E.G. Marshall
Martin Balsam
Jack Klugman
Jack Warden
Pythagoreans
Benjamin Franklin“Beer is proof that god loves us”
Jerry Lee Lewis
Boyd Bennett and the Rockets
Bob Wills
Dave Bartholomew
Nelson Cogane
Sammy Mysels
Dick Robertson
Mary Wells
Tammy Turrell
Vincent Youman
Irving Caesar
The Riff Brothers
The Percolating Puppies
Leonard and Phillip Chess
Dan Penn
Spooner Oldham

Movies and other entertainment

Twelve Angry Men “Consistently ranked in the top 30 movies of all time”

Adventures of Superman / Mr. Zero

The Poets

Ted Hughes – The Seven Sorrows
Rainer Rilke– Loneliness
(Other Irish poets)
Samuel Beckett
James Joyce
C.S. Lewis
Oscar Wilde
Jonathan Swift
William butler Yeats — A Drinking Song

Types of tea / “T”

Green
Black
Oolong
Loraine Brocco Tea
Kim Basinger Tea
Mr. T
T for Texas
T for Tennessee
Liberty
Fidelity
Equality
“Well the old clock on the wall has counted down another hour which means we got to hit the road. But don’t worry, we’ll be counting down the days till we see you next week, right here on the Theme Time Radio Hour Christmas show. So long! 10-4, Eleanor.”

Christmas

(Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – instrumental in background)

It's nightime in the Big City

A department store Santa sneaks a sip of gin
Mistletoe makes an old man sad
Eight reindeer land on the roof of the Abernathy building

The Singers and the Songs

Tom Archia and Gene Ammons – Swinging for Christmas (Boppin’ for Santa)

Leadbelly – Christmas is A-Comin’
“One of the few ex-cons who recorded a popular children’s album”

Lord Nelson – A Party for Santa
“The uncrowned king of Soca ”

Bob Seger & The Last Heard – Sock it to Me Santa
“Some people call Bob the poor man’s Bruce Springsteen, but personally, I always thought Bruce was the rich man’s Bob Seger…love ‘em both though.”

The Staple Singers – Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas
“God’s greatest hit makers…Managed to mix a serious message with a soulful dancing beat”

Charles Brown – Please Come Home For Christmas 
“ I think it’s actually against the law to do a Christmas program and not play one of his songs…this is one of the best.”

Johnny Paycheck – Jingle Bells
“He made a few Christmas singles, and sings the heck out of them”

Gerry Mulligan & Judy Holiday – It Must Be Christmas

Titus Turner – Christmas Morning

The Bellrays – Poor Old Rudolph
“You’re thinkin’ ‘How come I never heard that?’ That’s cause it’s a new record, but it sounds like an old record…this group is still recording, trying out different sounds. They kinda mix soul music with a punk rock sound…check ‘em out…Google ‘em!”

Bob Dorough & Miles Davis – Blue Xmas

Little Esther & Johnny Otis Orchestra – Far Away Christmas

Patsy Raye and the Beatniks – Beatnik’s Wish
“Hey Patsy, that was great! I learned that in the coffee houses.”

The Sonics– Don’t Believe in Christmas 
“But they do believe in the power of the B-3 organ. A lot of people think it’s a Farfisa but you listen to that solo, and that’s a B-3.”

King Stitt – Christmas Tree 
“He was a toaster, and I don’t mean you could put bread in him…That was so good we might play it twice!”

Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns – Silent Night
“Featuring Jessie Thomas on vocals, kind of an unorthodox Crescent City version.”

Brave Combo also here – Must Be Santa
“They say their mission is to expand the musical taste of their listeners. We have the same mission here on TTRH” 

The Enchanters – Mambo Santa Mambo

Celia Cruz & La Senora Matancera – Fiesta De Navidad 

Hop Wilson & His Buddies – Merry Christmas Darling

Alton Ellis and The Lipsticks – Merry Merry Christmas
“Here’s one of the prime movers and shakers in ‘ rocksteady ,’ the music that kinda came between ska and reggae.”

June Christy – The Merriest
“Here’s a song by one of the dreamiest about the merriest”

Red Simpson – Truckin’ Trees For Christmas
“One of the architects of the Bakersfield sound.”

The Youngsters – Christmas in Jail 
“To all of our friends listening in behind bars, we know you made mistakes, we’re sorry you have to be there, but Merry Christmas to all of you, from all of us here, at Theme Time Radio Hour.”

Kay Martin & Her Body Guards – I Want A Casting Couch For Christmas
“One of the most popular features on Theme Time Radio Hour is the double entendre – the song that says one thing and maybe means another. This one skates dangerously close to being a single entendre…Kay Martin played in a lot of hotel lounges; our paths crossed more than once when I was on the road. She’s a fine performer, always put on a good show.”

Sonny Boy Williamson – Santa Claus
“I don’t need to tell you anything more about Sonny Boy Williamson, we’ve played him a lot on TTRH. Here’s Sonny Boy with his hands in his baby’s dresser drawer, and you wouldn’t believe what he’s trying to find!”

The Cool Breezers – Hello Mr. New Year

Mabel Mafuya – Happy Christmas, Happy New Year
“She sings a style known as jive. Not the kind of jive like Slim Galliard, but more of a Morabi style, sort of like South African ragtime. It’s heavily influenced by American jazz, but originally Morabi was played on pianos with accompaniment from pebble filled cans. By the 30’s, it incorporated new instruments, like guitars, concertinas, and banjos. New kinds of Morabi sprang up, including a Morabi / swing fusion, called African Jazz and Jive. Here’s a great example of it.”

The Larks – Christmas to New Years
“Allen Bunn, Tarheel Slim”

Nancy Wilson – What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
“By the mid-60’s Nancy Wilson was the second biggest seller on Capital Records. You know who number one was? That’s right, Glen Campbell. Nah, I’m just kidding. It was the Beatles.”

The Places

Chicago
Louisiana
Tobago
Detroit
Ann Arbor, MI
Hillsboro, OH
Russia
New York
Riverside, CA
Tacoma, WA
Jamaica
New Jersey
Grapeland, TX
Trenchtown
Kingston, Jamaica “If you’re spending Christmas in Jamaica, you might see Santa riding a cart and a donkey”
Bakersfield, CA
Manual Arts High School
Soweto, South Africa

People and Players

Bruce Springsteen
Charles Dickens
Oliver Cromwell – abolished Christmas in 1649
George Jones
James Pierpont – wrote Jingle Bells in 1857 “…originally wrote it to be a Thanksgiving song, but it was so popular at his church during Thanksgiving season that it was repeated at Christmas time and caught on, and forever more was known as a Christmas song. It was also the first song broadcast from space.”
Tom Stafford
Wally Schirra “Who do you think gave them the harmonica?”
Orson Wells
Mel Torme – The Velvet Fog
Irving Berlin
Tony Fate
Robert May
Gill Evans
De La Soul
Mel Walker
Frank Zappa
“Once told me that Johnny Otis was the inspiration for his distinctive facial hair. He thought it looked good on Johnny so he decided to grow one just like it.”
Clement Clarke Moore
Dexter Quinn 
“He’s an atheist…You know what his favorite movie is? Coincidence on 34th St.”

The Three Wise Men – Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior
“Three names you don’t hear much any more…well, except for Balthazar.”
Count Machuki
Carol Poles
Jack the Ripper
Machito
Tito Rodriguez
Tito Puente
Erroll Garner
Charlie Parker
Sonny Rollins
Sonny Stitt
Pope John Paul II
Fidel Castro “Right now we’d like to say Feliz Navidad to all of our Cuban Friends”
Ken Nelson
Merle Haggard
Ross Bagdasarian / David Seville
Rosemary Clooney
William Saroyan
The Chipmunk s
Alvin Bennett
Simon Waronker
Theodore Keep
Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart
Slim Galliard
Dr. Phil
Tony Robbins
The Babylonians“According to research, the most popular resolution in early Babylonia was to return borrowed farm equipment…I wish Harold would bring back my lawn mower.”
Glen Campbell
The Beatles
Robert Burns
Allen Bunn (Tarheel Slim)

Other Songs, Poems and Albums

Leadbelly Sings For Children
Respect Yourself
I’ll Take You There
Take this Job and Shove it
Sticks and Stones
All Around the World
Leave My Kitten Alone
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) – played in background
White Christmas  “Irving Berlin struggled with writing a Christmas song. He stayed up all night writing it. The next day he told his secretary, ‘Grab your pen, and take down this song, I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written. Hell, I just wrote the best song anybody’s ever written.’ That’s pretty confident.”

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in background)
So What
3 is the Magic Number
Too Much Monkey Business
Silent Night
Roll Truck Roll
Joy To The World
Christmas Bells
Longfellow
Come On-A My House
The Witch Doctor
Auld Lang Syne – Bob recites

Record Labels

Chess Records
Cameo Parkway Label
Stax
Etiquette Records
Okay Records
Coral Records
Capital
Liberty Records
Troubadour Label

Books, Movies, and Other Entertainment

A Christmas Carol
The Pickwick Papers
The Mercury Theater
School House Rock
A Visit From St. Nicholas (‘Twas The Night Before Christmas) – Bob recites
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
People Magazine
The Simpsons
The Honeymooners (clip)
Rear Window

Christmas toasts

A Merry Christmas this December to a lot of folks I don’t remember.

May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.

Be merry all, be merry all.
With holly dress the festive hall,
Prepare the song, the feast, the ball
Welcome, Merry Christmas!

Guests

Matt Groening
Steven Wright
Barry White
Ellen Barkin
David Hidalgo

Bob’s Figgy Pudding recipe

4 oz of plain flour
a pinch of salt – just a pinch!
4 oz bread crumbs
4 oz shredded suet
1 t mixed spice
1 t baking powder
3 oz dark soft brown sugar
8 oz chopped dried figs
finely grated rind & the juice of 1 lemon
2 T milk
2 beaten eggs

Sift salt and flour together, then mix with the remaining dry ingredients. Add the figs, lemon rind and juice, milk, and beaten eggs. Beat well. Mixture should have a soft dropping consistency. Put into a greased 2 pint pudding basin, cover securely and steam for 3 hours.
“I like it served with heated golden syrup topping, and a generous pour of custard – makes me hungry just talking about it. My engineer Tex Carbone likes vanilla ice cream on it; I don’t understand that at all.”

“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, a pocket full of money and a cellar full of beer.”

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Women’s Names

It's nightime in the Big City
Foghorns bellow in the gloom along the wharf
A crying woman in a nightgown can't flag down a cab.

"Tonight we're gonna talk about a subject close to my heart, women's names. That which we call are nearest and dearest, those who we love and want to love. Let me quote William Shakespeare to ya: 'What's in a name that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet' .”

The Singers and The Songs

Arthur Alexander -Anna

Buddy Holly and the Crickets -Peggy Sue
“Originally called Cindy-Lou”

The Kinks-Lola

Calvin Boze and His All-stars-Safronia B
“If you’re gonna crank something up, crank this up.”

Howlin’ Wolf and Hubert Sumlin- Louise

The Jaynetts -Sally Go Round the Roses

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys-Corrina, Corrina

Billie Holiday-Mandy is Two

Ralph and Carter Stanley -Little Maggie

Alexandra Elene MacClean“Sandy” Denny -Pretty Polly (Broadside Ballads)

The Chimes-Zindy Lou

Roy Orbison-Claudette

Frank Sinatra-Nancy

Bo Diddley-Mona

Gene Allens-Sweet Jennie Lou

Other People, Singers and Songs

Dan Penn
Spooner Oldham
Billy Shile
Rick Hall
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
“You Better Move On”
Edgar Allan Poe“Fender-Bender Poet”
Jerry Allison
Dave Berry
Louis Jordan
James Cotton
Zell Sanders
Leslie Valentine
Abraham
Isaac
Bo Chapman and the Mississippi Sheiks
Ashley and Abernathy
Big Joe Turner
Johnny Mercer
Georgia Amanda Mercer
Collie Kipper
“Darling Corey”
Tony Allen
“Night Owl”
The Everly Bros.
Phil Silvers (Sgt. Bilko)
Jimmy Van Heusen
Nancy Sinatra
“Sugar Town”
“Summer Wine”
“Lightning’s Girl”
“Some Velvet Morning”
“These Boots are Made for Walking”
“Something Stupid”
Carl Sandberg

Literature

AnnabellLee -Edgar Allen Poe

Places

Muscle Shoals
Texas
Chile
Japan
Spain
Denmark
Scotland
Norway
Sweden
West Memphis
Chicago
Davenport, Iowa

Women’s Names

Peg
Meg
Margaret
Pearl
Maria
Masake
Luchia
Emma
Eloise
Lois
Louisa
Louella
Louisiana
Lulu
Lola
Lolita
Annetta
Oprah“Her name backwards is Harpo”
Sarah
Amanda

Spelling Songs

BABY-Carla Thomas
CHICKEN-The McGee Brothers
Rock in the USA -John Mellencamp
DIVORCE-Tammy Wynette
Gloria
“Dave Berry once said that if you drop a guitar down the stairs it’ll play Gloria on it‘s way to the bottom. Let’s see if that’s true.”

Guest

Billy Vera
Jenny Lewis

Record Labels

Aladdin
Chess
Jay and S
Atlantic

Movie

John Garfield Movie?
Taxi Driver
Lolita

Jump Rope Songs
“Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”

Women’s Name Alphabet

Abigail
Beth
Carly
Diane
Eve
Francine
Gloria
Hillary
Isabelle
Julie
Katherine
Laura
Melissa
Natalie
Olivia
Penelope
Quincy
Rachel
Stacy
Tracy
Ursula
Viviane
Wendy
Xenia
Yvonne
Zelda

“And with that we take our leave. We’ll see ya next week on theme time radio hour, themes, dreams and schemes and things of that nature.”

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Hair

It's Nightime in the Big City
A fat man spits cherry pits into a cuspidor
Freshly fallen snow turns gray in the gutter

“We got quite a show for you tonight. it's about a subject that everyone's familiar with, and I can talk about it off the top of my head…Gonna be playin songs about hairdos and hair don'ts.”

The Singers and The Songs

Bill Carlisle – Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down “The Voltaire of Hillbilly music”

They Might Be Giants – Bangs

Eddie Noack – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Piano Red – Baldheaded Lena

Sonny Burgess – Red Headed Woman
“You hear a record like that and you wish more rockabilly bands had trumpets”

J.B. Leniour – Don’t Touch My Head

Ray Price – Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women

Roy Bird and His Blues Jumpers – Bald Head
(Professor Longhair)

Hank Ballard – How You Gonna Get Respect
“A political statement that you can dance to”

Joe Clay – Don’t Mess With My Ducktail
“He may not have made it big, but that doesn’t mean his records weren’t any good.”

Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five – Chartreuse

Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Baby’s Got a Brand New Hairdo

Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson – Cleanhead Blues

Johnny Cash – You’re My Baby (demo)

Other People and Players

Cliff Carlisle
George C. Scott
Dolly Parton  “I’m not offended by all those dumb blonde jokes, because I know I’m not dumb. I also know I’m not blonde. A wise woman that Dolly Parton.”
Paul Gaughin
Kurt Schwitters
Beck
Dr. Feelgood and the Interns
Basil Wolverton – cartoonist who drew Lena the Hyena
Al Capp – Lil’ Abner
Salvador Dali
Frank Sinatra
Boris Karloff
Matt Groening
Lucille Ball
Muddy Waters
Jack Benny
Carl Reiner
Alan Brady
Nikolai Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
James Brown
Joe Cirello – barber from Philly who claimed to have invented the duck’s ass in 1940
Egyptians
Coco Chanel
Clara Bow – grew a bob
“Maybe someone should write a song for these women called ‘Almost Grew My Hair’”
Billy Boy Arnold
Bo Diddley
Larry Chess
The Brothers Grimm
Rapunzel
P.G. Wodehouse

Famous Bald People

Yule Brenner
Sean Connery
Larry David
Mister Clean
Ron Howard
Samuel L Jackson
Howard Mandel
Charlie Brown
Charles Barkley
Andre Aggassi
Lex Luther
“I gave a bald-headed friend a comb. You know what he said? I’ll never part with it.”

Kings Who Wore Wigs

Louis the eighth
Edward the first
Louis the twelfth
King Phillip
King George The Second

Places

Massachusetts
Tahiti
Lower Slobovia
Prairieville, TX
Louisiana
Bourbon Street
Jersey City, NJ
Chicago
England

Famous People Who Wore Bangs

The Beatles
Marlo Thomas
Prince Valiant
Moe  “Arguably the smartest of the Three Stooges, but I’m more of a Shep man myself”

Andy Warhol

Famous Redheads

Red Buttons
Malcolm X
Alexander The Great
Billy the Kid
Wilma Flintstone
Galileo
Sinclair Lewis
Yosemite Sam
Bette Midler
Molly Ringwald
Little Orphan Annie

Famous Blondes

Grace Kelly
Marilyn Monroe
Britney Spears
Lisa Kudrow
Goldie Hawn
Paris Hilton
Gorgeous George (The Human Orchid)

Other Songs and Albums

Devil’s Haircut
Electric Mud
Pomp and Circumstance
Almost Cut My Hair – Bob quotes a few lines in an email from D. Crosby
I’m a Man
I Wish You Would

Record Labels

Sun
Cool Records
Chess
Vee-Jay

Movies, Magazines, Books, TV Shows and other Entertainment

Life Magazine
Mad Magazine
Matt Groening
Lucille Ball
Children’s and Household Tales
The Dick Van Dyke Show (clip)

Hairstyles

Afro
Bangs
Beehives
Big Hair
The Bun
The Horseshoe Flat top
The Duck’s Ass (a.k.a The Ducktail)
Layered Hair
Low and tight
The Beatle Haircut
The Mop-Top
The Permanent Wave
The High Top Fade“I’ve had a number of these haircuts. Some are more flattering than others.”
Conch (The Process)
The Elephant Trunk

Famous Hairstylists

Jose Hibert
Christoff
Allen Edwards
JC Berton
Vidal Sassoon

Hair Product Jingles

Dippity-Do
Royal Crown
Brill Cream (a little dab’ll do ya)
Hair Club For Men

Blonde jokes“I don’t condone these jokes, I just repeat them in the public interest”

Hair Quotes

Shakespeare “There’s many a man who has more hair than wit.”
Samuel Goodman Hoffenstein“Babies haven’t any hair old men’s head are just as bare from the cradle to the grave lies a haircut and a shave.”
Albert Einstein “Long hair minimizes the need for barbers, socks can be done without, one leather jacket solves the coat problem for many years, suspenders are superfluous.”“I always knew I liked that guy”-Bob

Guest

Billy Vera
Ricky Gervais (talking about his hairstyles)

Hair Care Tips

Brush your hair before going to bed each night
Avoid brushing wet hair (it stretches and eventually breaks)
Trim you hair once every 7 weeks to avoid spilt ends
Never wash you hair with very hot or very cold water
Learn to relax, hair loss can be caused by stress
If you hair is oily cut down on fried food and fat
Drink plenty of Water

“There’s only one cure for gray hair; It was invented by a Frenchman. It’s called the Guillotine. You may not like getting gray hair, but consider the alternative”
-PG Wodehouse

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Musical Instruments

It's night time in the big city
A writer stares at a blank sheet of paper
A writer stares at a blank sheet paper

The Singers and Songs

Bonzo Dog Band-The Intro and The Outro


Roy Montrell-Everytime I Hear That Mellow Saxophone

Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys-Uncle Pen

Bill Watkins-Big Guitar

Nehemiah-Reid-The Fiddler

Henry Allen-Someone Stole Gabriel’s Horn

Johnnhy Mercer-When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba Down in Cuba

The Fresh Young Fellows-Hillbilly Drummer Girl

The Davis Sisters-Fiddle

Dinah Washington-Big Long Slidin’ Thing “You know what she’s talkin’ about with “That Big Long Slidin’ Thing”

Stevie Wonder-Hey Mr. Harmonica Man

The Stones PoneysDiffernet Drum

Don Rich and the Buckaroos-Round Hole Guitar

Bessie Smith and Her Blue Boys-Trombone Cholly

Tom Waits-The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)

Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra-Crazy Bout A Saxophone

Other Singer, Songs and People

Fats Domino
Lee Allen
Nero
Angel Gabriel
Herman Hatfield
“As Time Goes By”
R.E.M
Victor Borge
“The End of the World”
Mike Nesbit
The Monkees
Buck Owens
Andre Segobia
”A guitar is a small orchestra. It’s polyphonic, every string is a different color, a different voice.”
Wayne Newton
Charlie Greene
Fletcher Henderson
Benny Carter
Chick Web
Don Redmond
Kaiser Marshall
Madison’s Lively Stones
George Holland and The Happyland Band
Norvis Miller and The Kings of Harmony
John Carlond Holmes
Jack Kerouac
Eddie “lockjaw” Davis
Sam Taylor

Female Drummers

Meg White
Tennessee Thomas
Gina Shock
Miriam Linna
Karen Carpenter

Drummer Jokes

Anyone know the difference between a drummer and a savings bond? Eventually, a savings bond will mature.

Places

The Netherland
New Orleans
Cincinnati
Tennessee
Korea
Germany
Rome
Troy
Cuba
Seattle
Kentucky
Syosset, NY
Belgium

Record Labels

Lee

Instruments

Kettle Drumn
Rattle
Jew’s Harp
Talking Drum
Tambourine
Turango
Guitar
Harp
Hooked Harp
Lute
The Musical Bowl
Dulcimer
Ukulele
Violin
Buzoki
The Moscophone

French Horn
Harmonica
Duck Flute
Traverse Flue
Organ
Recorder
Reed Pipe
Mandolin
Banjo
Bagpipe
Accordion
The Whistle
Theremin
Tenor Sax
Oboe
Fiddle“The violin sings, the fiddle dances or as some bluegrass musicians say, the fiddle is a violin with attitude”

Cello
Guitar Roane
Lyre
Trombone
Harmonica “The harmonica is America’s #1 selling instrument. You’re Welcome.”

Electric Organ
Piano

Lit

The Horn

Guest

Rickey J
Penn Gillette-Talking about Eddie Eddy The Cello Player
Pete Wolfe
Keb Mo’

Movies and TV

Rusty in Orchestraville
Tubby the Tubba
Sweet and Lowdown

“Don’t be sharp, don’t be flat, be natural”

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Luck

It's night time in the big city
Foghorns bellow in the gloom along the wharf
Milk in the coffee only turns it gray.

“As Albert Einstein once said: I will never believe that God plays dice with the universe. Well, I'm not usually one to disagree with someone as smart as Albert Einstein, but today going to look at the idea of playing dice with the universe, as we examine the world of luck. Good luck and bad luck. Luck of the draw. Dumb luck. The luck of the lady and the luck of the Irish. Lucky ducky and pressin' your luck. We're talking about being lucky in love and tough luck. We're gonna be talking about hard luck and down on your luck. And as luck would have it we're gonna be talkin' about shit outta luck.”

The Singers and The Songs

Paul Evans – Happy Go Lucky Me

B. B. King – Bad Luck Soul “Lemon called it ‘Bad Luck Blues.’ A few years later in 1961 B.B. recorded this.”

Eddie Dugosh and The Ah-Ha Playboys – Bad Luck Come My Way
“Sometimes you just play a record because you like the name of the band. I love the name of this band, but I also love the record…They later switched to a more rock and roll sound.”

Buddy and Ella Johnson – Alright, Okay, You Win
“We play Buddy Johnson a lot of Theme Time Radio Hour, and for good reason – he’s a forgotten guy who made a whole lot of great records. What we haven’t done is played his sister, who was the singer with the band. So here’s brother and sister…”

Lazy Lester – The Same Thing Could Happen To You
“Talking about various things that could bring bad mojo upon ya.”

Annie Ross and Zoot Sims – I’m Just A Lucky So And So

Roosevelt Sykes – You Can’t Be Lucky All The Time

Eddie Noack – Take It Away, Lucky
“He wanted to be a journalist. We got enough journalists, but not enough people who can sing and write like Eddie Noack”

Guitar Slim – Bad Luck Blues
“Here’s another guy named Eddie, Eddie Jones. But he recorded under the name Guitar Slim. He’s one of them wild blues guitar players. He wore brightly colored suits and he would dye his hair blue or green or orange to match the suit. He traveled with a 350 foot guitar chord, so he could wander way out of a club while he was playing…I think he plays pretty good.”

Kay Starr – Wheel Of Fortune
“She had so many pop hits, that people forget that she got her start as a solid jazz singer. No matter what you call it, it’s just great singing.”

The Stanley Brothers – If I Lose

The Orbits – Mr. Hard Luck

Little Johnny Taylor – You Win, I Lose

Wynn Stewart – Three Cheers For The Loser
“The Bakersfield sound is well represented by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, but there’s one other guy who sometimes gets ignored…and we want to shine the Theme Time spotlight on him right now” (applause)

Frank Sinatra – Here’s To The Losers

Other Songs and Albums

Roses Are Red My Love
Bad Luck Blues (clip)
Lucky Seven (The Skatalites) (clip)
Twisted (clip)
Psycho
The Things I Used To Do (clip)
I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
(in background)

Movies, TV Shows, Etc .

Pecker

The Cooler

Let’s Make A Deal

Lucky Charms commercial

Drugstore Cowboys

Phil Silvers Show (watch here)

Record Labels

Sarge
Excello
Imperial
Starday
King
Chess
Galaxy
Challenge
Reprise

Other People and Players

Albert Einstein
Bobby Vinton
Elvis Presley
Jackie Wilson
Reba McIntire
John Waters
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Willie Nelson
Doug Salm
Johnny Olenn
Rudy “Tutti” Grayzell
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emily Dickinson
Lightnin’ Slim
Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross “They took jazz songs and wrote lyrics for the solos”
Wardell Gray
Joni Mitchell
Bette Midler
Duke Ellington
Monty Hall
Roy Crock
Henry Ward Beecher
Hammurabi
Judas
Lee Allen
Jean Cocteau
Leon Payne
Buddy Guy
B. B. King
Earl King
– had to perform as Guitar Slim when Guitar Slim was too drunk to play
Ray Charles
Charlie Poole
Earl Scruggs
Robert Burns (unlucky poet)
The Quails
Cosmo Mattassas
Earl Palmer
The Druids
Sir John Milton
Johnny Taylor
The Mighty Clouds of Joy
Buck Owens
Merle Haggard
William F. Bennett (President Bush’s Drug Czar)

The Places

San Antonio
Mesopotamia
New Orleans
Houston
Dougherty, OK
New Orleans
Los Angeles
Las Vegas
Bakersfield

Guest

Penn Gillette

Tears

It’s night time in the big city
Three homeless men share a bottle around a trash can inferno
A rock goes through a window on 12th St.

The Singers and Songs

? and The Mysterians – 96 Tears
“Not all songs about crying are necessarily sad. This one at least sounds happy…Led by Rudy Martinez, who actually changed his name to ? …(he) never appears in public without his sunglasses; I gotta admit, they did make him look pretty cool.”

Anita O’Day – And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine

Bobby Charles – Big Boys Cry
“He was more successful as a songwriter than as a singer, and that’s a sin ‘cause he’s a hell of a singer. He’s got one of the most melodious voices ever transferred to a piece of vinyl… The boy could sing like a bird, he still does as a matter of fact.”

Solomon Burke – Cry To Me
“Here’s a mighty, mighty man, a mammoth talent…He’s the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons…He has 64 grandchildren, and 8 great-grand children. No wonder he’s singing this song!”

Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Julie London – Cry Me A River
“Here’s one of the sexiest, most sultry records ever recorded. A deserved smash.”

Jimmy Nelson – I Sat And Cried

The Marvelettes – No More Tear Stained Makeup
“Maybe the most pop-oriented of Motown’s major female acts.”

Charlie Rich – Tears A Go-Go

J. Geils Band – Cry One More Time For You

Roy Brown – Laughing But Crying
“Part of the great tradition of rhythm and blues songs where the singer breaks down in tears.”

Billy Ward & His Dominoes – The Bells

Alton Ellis and The Flames – Cry Tough In 2006
“Alton was deservedly inducted into the international reggae and world music hall of fame. Congratulations to all concerned.”

Lula Reed – Drown In My Own Tears“Here she is, a heavenly singer with a voice like Gabriel’s trumpet…Oh, if trumpet players could only play like she sings!”

Mose Allison – Everybody’s Crying Mercy

Other Players and People

Prince
Gene Krupa Big Band
Stan Kenton Band
Bill Haley
Bert Russell
Thomas Fuller “We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.”
Audrey Shepherd
Tom Ewell
Maxwell Davis
Smokey Robinson
Lester Young
Lee Young
Gladys Horton
Wanda Young
Jerry Lee Lewis
Graham Parsons
Peter Wolf
“Pete got his start as a disc jockey on WCBN in Boston on the Late Night Soul Show, playin’ all the platters that matter, from swing to sweet, bop to ballad, and blues to boogie…see Pete, I can do it too!”
Billy Tipton
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Ray Charles
Dylan Thomas
B.B. King
Woodrow Wilson

Other Songs and Albums

See Ya Later, Alligator
T-99 Blues
Married Men Like Sport
Unlock the Lock
Second Hand Fool
Meet Me With Your Black Dress On
Tears of A Clown (Elvis Costello mentions this one)
Tracks of My Tears (Elvis Costello mentions this one)
Who Will The Next Fool Be
Sitting And Thinking
No Headstone On My Grave
Lonely Weekends
GP
Good Rockin’ Tonight
Willow Weep For Me (clip)
Dance Crasher
(Songs by Mose Allison)
Your Molecular Structure
Your Mind Is On Vacation And Your Mouth Is Working Overtime
Hello There, Universe
How Does It Feel To Be Good Looking
Ever Since the World Ended
Thank God For Self Love

Other Songs Where the Singer Breaks Out In Tears

Valerie (Jackie and the Starlights)
Weeping and Crying (Tommy Brown)
No One to Love Me (The Sha-Weez)
The Bells (Clyde McFadder)

Guests

Elvis Costello

Movies and Books

The Mysterians
Hard Times, Hard Times (Anita O’Day)
The Girl Can’t Help It
A League Of Their Own (clip)
The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Aesop)
Suits Me
The Player (clip)

Places

Kingston, Jamaica
Tippo, MS
Beale Street
New York

“Well, the old clock on the wall says it’s time to go, and it’s a good thing, ‘cause I’m out of Kleenex anyway. So I’m gonna hop in my car, and head down the Robinson Freeway, and get myself a beer I can cry into.”

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Laughter

It's nightime in the Big City
Freshly fallen slow turns grey in the gutter
A waitress returns home, happy to take her shoes off

The Singers and The Songs

Slim Gaylord-Laughing and rhythm

Ernie Caffin-Laughing and Joking.“the rockabilly artist performer with a mile wide country streak.”

Clyde Mcphatter-Everyone’s laughing

The Louvin Bros.-Don’t Laugh

Big Joe Turner-After my Laughter Came Tears

Jimmy Revard and the Oklahoma Playboys-Lose your Blues and Laugh at Life

Mark Knopfler and Van Morrison-The Last Laugh
“You know these guys! I don’t need to tell you about ’em.”

Gene Chandler-After the Laughter
“One thing that’s no laughing matter is pigeon-holing. Sometimes people just wanna think you can do one thing and they trap you there. They don’t let you grow. Case in point Gene Chandler.”

Sonny Bono-Laugh at me

Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding
“We’re talking and laughter. Chortle, Guffaws, tee-hees, giggles, hoops, hollers, snickers, ha-has, and other explosive ejaculations of mirth.”(Bob laughs)

The Gardenias-I’m laughing at you“I’m not actually laughing at you, that’s just the name of the song.”

Toots and the Maytalls-When I Laugh

Roy Brown-I Got the Last Laugh 
“Vengence is a dish best served cold.”

Kris Conner-They All Laughed

The Spinners-Laugh Everyone at the Clown

Places

Northern Mississippi
Oklahoma
Texas
San Antonio
Chicago
Boston
Detroit
Sedona, AZ “Hey! That rhymes!”
Philly

Record Labels

Sun
Specialty
Fortune
Studio One
Atlantic

Operas, Movies, TV and other media

Pagliacci

The Untouchables
The Hank McCewon
Sybil
Grace under Fire
Two and a Half men
Woody Woodpecker
Mad Magazine
A Day at the Races
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
The Thin Man
Arsenic and Old Lace
Bully
Born Yesterday
Some Like it Hot
Zoolander“I hear they’re making a sequel”
Lucy and Desi roast

Guests

Chuck Lorie
Rickey Gervais

Other people

Jeriko Rosario
Robert Deniro
Henry Lord Beecher
Douglas Corrigan “Wrongway Corrigan”-Who flew to Ireland when I was supposed to be flying to California
Leonardo DiVinci
Billie Holiday
“Back then, Songwriters used to write songs and let the artist interpret ’em. Nowadays, People just write songs for themselves. They put themselves in boxes, ticky-tacky boxes. We’ve lost out on the whole art form on interpretive singing.”

“Seriousness is an accident of time. In consists in putting too high a value on time. Eternity is a mere moment. Just long enough for a joke. ” Hermann Hesse

Walter and Gracie Lance“Walter Lance was on his honeymoon with his wife Gracie. They kept hearing a woodpecker pecking on their roof. The difference between me and him is that it didn’t drive him crazy.”

Mel Blanc
“One thing that’s no laughing matter is pigeon-holing. Sometimes people just wanna think you can do one thing and they trap you there. They don’t let you grow. Case in point Gene Chandler.”
Curtis Mayfield
Art Rupp
Cher
Kurt Vonnegut
David Letterman
Joseph Hiller
The Marx Bros.
William Powell
Myrna Loy
Broderick Crawford
Julie Holliday
Billy Wilder
Ben Stiller
WC Fields
Laurel and Hardy
Leslie Kahn
Harry Einstein ( Parkyakarkus)
Albert Brooks (Einstein)
Claude Thornhill
Christopher Columbus
Wilber and Orville Wright
Guglielmo Marconi (Nobel Laureate for radio)
Richard Pryor
Tom Bell

Other Songs

Duke of Earl
Pressure Drop
Monkey Man
54-46 Was My Number

Other Singers

Julie London
June Christy
Helen O’Connell
Stan Kenton

Ways to Laugh

Behind someone’s back
At somebody’s expense
Up your Sleeve (16th century)

“Well, it ain’t easy to say goodbye either, but I gotta do it. I don’t want to go, but I got to go. Time is up. Let me just leave you with the words of one of the wisest men I know; Uncle Miltie. Milton Berle. He said, and he knows what he’s talking about, ‘Laughter is an instant vacation.’ You got it uncle Miltie. I’m gonna go have myself a vacation.”

Heart

It’s night time in the big city
The last train from Overbrook pulls into the station
A man runs out of excuses.

“Here we are smack-dab in the middle of February, so we’re gonna talk about that fist sized muscle that lies in your chest, right behind and slightly to the left of the breast bone. Just sittin there between your lungs. It’s a remarkable organ; it works hard for you 24 hours a day.”

The Singers and The Songs

Solomon Burke – Home In Your Heart

The 101’ers – Keys To Your Heart

Billie Holiday – Good Morning Heartache

Jerry Butler – He Will Break Your Heart“Not just a nice man, but also a Chicago city alderman. Musically aware, politically aware.”

The Everly Brothers – Brand New Heartache

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – Melts With You

(The Million Dollar Quartet – That’s When Your Heartaches Begin) December 4, 1956
Billy Bunn and His Buddies – That’s When Your Heartaches Begin

Ron Sexsmith – Secret Heart

Little Richard – Directly From My Heart“It’s difficult to carry a secret love, and the ramifications can affect your entire life. I prefer just to sing about love; Little Richard agrees with me. Here’s one of his greatest songs. The Quasar of Rock and Roll, Little Richard…”

Irma Thomas – Ruler of My Heart. “When Otis redid it he called it ‘Pain In My Heart,” and he took a writing credit. Toussaint successfully sued, and the song went back to being written by Naomi Neville.”

Van Morrison – Straight To Your Heart, Like A Cannon Ball

The Jewels – Hearts of Stone

Erma Franklin – Piece of My Heart

The Yardbirds – Heart Full Of Soul“Or as I call em, the Chickens”

The Coasters – Zing! Went the Strings Of My Heart

Other People and Players

St. Valentine
Joe Strummer
The Clash
Mick Jones
The Sex Pistols
Antony and Cleopatra
William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar
Ptolemy XIV
Rufi
Curtis Mayfield
The Impressions
Paul Winchell
Henry Heimlich “…who invented the maneuver.”
Dr. Robert Jarvik
Barney Clark
Knucklehead Smith
Judy Garland
Doug Jones
Chet Atkins
The Ink Spots
Elvis Presley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Carl Perkins
Johnny Cash
Mitchell Froom
Jeannette McDonald
Nelson Eddy
Louis B. Mayer
Tammy Wynette
“You know, it’s funny, I got an email recently from a listener, and they said they’d been listening to a lot of Tammy Wynette, and they thought that she sounded a lot like Little Richard. Well I thought they were crazy, but hearin that song I got an idea what they were talking about!”
Andrew Thomas
Alan Toussaint
Naomi Neville
Otis Redding
The Rolling Stones
Plato
Rudy Jackson
Johnny Torrence
Rev. C. L. Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Carolyn Franklin
The Cleopatrettes
Bert Berns
Jerry Ragovoy
Janis Joplin
Charlie Parker
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Jimmy Page
Judy Garland

Places

Sunflower, MS
Chicago
Ponchatoula, LA
Shelby, MS

Record Labels

Cadence Record Label
MGM
Shout Records

Movies, TV Shows, and other Entertainment

The Telltale Heart
Lady Sings The Blues (excerpt)
Rose Marie
Penny Postcards / Penny Dreadfuls
Listen, Darling

Other Songs and Albums

Rabbit Fur Coat
Pain in My Heart
For Your Love

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Shoes

It’s night time in the big city
Bananas ripen on the dock
A number 5 bus breaks down.

“Get out your shoe horns, because today we’re going to trumpet those things at the end of your legs.”

The Singers and The Songs

Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes“Let’s start things off with one of the most famous pairs of shoes in rock and roll.”

Tommy Tucker – High Heeled Sneakers

The Bobby Fuller Four – Gallenkamp Shoes commercial

Joe South – Walk A Mile In My Shoes

Dinah Washington – Take Your Shoes Off Baby
“Her voice could make you cry or make you dance. One of the greatest singers in all of jazz, in all of music.”

Billy Walker – Charlie’s Shoes“You ever buy those used vintage shoes? You ever wondered who walked in em before? Maybe it was Charlie.”

The Drifters – I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes

Louis Armstrong – Shine
“I don’t think you could do a show about music without playing Louis Armstrong every couple of weeks…Louis was such a personality, you forget what a great musician he was. His singing totally inspired Louis Prima, and on the trumpet he was completely aware that sometimes playing less is more.”

Red Foley – Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy

NRBQ – Get Rhythm

Boozoo Chavis – Paper In My Shoes“He was an energetic performer, always wore a plastic butcher’s apron so his sweat would not ruin his accordion.”

Juke Boy Bonner – Running Shoes
“He got his name because as a child he sang in local bars accompanied by the jukebox. He became a one man band, playing the blues hits of the day in neighborhood taverns, beatin the drum, strumming the guitar, playing the harmonica, and singing all at once. You’d think something like that would be really popular, but he still had trouble making ends meet.”

Run D.M.C. – My Adidas
“I remember buying this next record when it came out, down at St. Mark’s Records in New York. Actually I bought the twelve inch single, and it blew my mind. It was a powerful, exciting piece of music. Now when people listen to it, they think it’s quaint and old fashioned. They’re already condescending to it and turning it into an ‘oldie’. That’s the problem – people don’t always realize how powerful the innovators are. Take someone like Chuck Berry. When his records came out they were dangerous. There was nothing like them on the radio, they were like a stampede. Now all these bands just play it louder and faster and don’t really add anything to it. And so Chuck Berry, the creator, sounds ‘quaint’ and ‘old fashioned.’ They’re doing the same thing to Run DMC. Rap records have gotten louder, more camouflaged, faster and dirtier, with a thousand samples. Those records are colorful but it doesn’t mean that Run DMC should just be considered ‘oldies.’ They’re important pieces of art, and art isn’t looked at as something old or new, it’s looked at as something that moves ya. And here’s a record that moves me.”

Chuck Willis – Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes
“As often as possible on Theme Time Radio Hour we try to feature artists who perform wearing turbans. Here’s one of my favorites.”

Robert Parker – Barefootin’
“The man who wrote the national anthem of shoelessness”

Other People and Players

W.S. Holland “Makin’ the quick sound that just about drives that thing.”
Elvis Presley
Paul McCartney
Stevie Wonder
Colonel Sanders
Robert Higginbotham
Picasso
Buddy Holly
The Crickets
Sonny Curtis
Billy Connolly – Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares: he’s a mile away, and you got his shoes.
Lionel Hampton
Gene Austin “Crooner, songwriter, piano player, and gubernatorial candidate”
Grant Sawyer
Hawkshaw Hawkins
Patsy Cline
Cowboy Copas
Randy Hughes
Clyde McFadder
Stu Bernstein, foot doctor
King Zulu
Louis Prima
Ford Dabney
Fred Rose
Hank Williams
Johnny Cash
Big Al Anderson
Chuck Berry
Derek and the Dominoes
Jam Master Jay
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Professor Longhair’s Shuffling Hungarians
Oprah Winfrey
Carl Cross (?) – There’s no unhappier creature on the face of the earth than a fetishist who yearns for a woman’s shoes and has to embrace the entire woman.

The Places