And the Tucker Boys are cookin' down in Caroline

The South’s Gonna Do It, by Charlie Daniels Band:

Well, the train to Grinderswitch is runnin' right on time, And the Tucker Boys are cookin' down in Caroline

Following yesterday’s post on Grinderswitch, the second band mentioned in the song is Marshall Tucker Band (MTB). One of the more popular bands from the southern rock movement, with several radio hits in the 70’s, including Top 40 entries “Heard It In A Love Song” and “Fire on the Mountain" and the classic-rock classic "Can’t You See”. Typically, their best stuff isn't necessarily the hits... MTB is notable for not having anyone named Marshall Tucker in the Band. But that wasn’t too strange for a southern rock band, every Allman Brothers was offset by a Lynyrd Skynyrd, it seems. Anyway, MTB did feature another common southern rock thread, in brothers Toy and Tommy Caldwell. As far as Southern Rock credentials, they had the southern part down, coming from Spartanburg South Carolina...

Interesting note: Charlie Daniel’s album “Fire On The Mountain” (which includes "The South's Gonna Do It") was released in 1975… Marshal Tucker’s song “Fire On The Mountain” was released in 1975… coinincidence??? Regardless, the photo below was also taken in 1975, near Beckley, WV. That's Ned Rugeley, who, IIRC, pointed out that little bit of trivia to me around the time that photo was taken...

Unlike Grinderswitch, MTB is well represented in my music collection. And I saw them in concert several times, too. Most interesting was when they came to Duke during my college years. I worked Event Security and was lucky enough to be on the backstage crew. I’d like to tell you I got to meet the band and become best pals with them, but that would be a rather huge stretch. But hanging out backstage is always cool.

The train to Grinderswitch is running right on time….

As a kid, I was a huge “Southern Rock” fan. All the biggies, and some of the lesser known ones. And the definitive song about southern rock (though not the definitive southern rock song) was Charlie Daniels Band’s “The South’s Gonna Do It”. In deference to the song, and the sound, I plan to be listening to the bands mentioned in the song over the next couple of days. First up is probably the most obscure, Grinderswitch, from a bit south of Macon, GA. I expect their inclusion in the song is largely because they were part of the Capricorn Records stable, as was Charlie Daniels Band. I actually didn’t have a Grinderswitch album back in the late 70’s, and only knew them from their appearance on one of the Volunteer Jam albums. But through the joys of iTunes, I now have their album “Redwing”, which includes the only song of theirs I knew back then: “You And Me”. Not a bad group, but certainly second tier…
According to Wikipedia, Grinder's Switch is a real location just outside of Centerville, Tennessee, which consists of little more than the eponymous railroad switch. It was also the fictional hometown of Minnie Pearl. I don't know if there is a connection, but it seems like a heck of a coincidence.

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

Q: What did the deadhead say when the drugs wore off? A: Wow this music sucks!!

OK, I’m not much of a Grateful Dead fan, but I do have 5 of their songs on my iPod, and it struck me as a good selection for a cold rainy Tuesday morning. And it seemed to fit the moment reasonably well.

Aside: Many years ago, my brother was did some DJ work at his college radio station. He was into puk, new wave and all that great stuff, and I’m sure his radio show reflected that. I remember him telling me about people calling and requesting Grateful Dead songs, and him refusing to play them. A couple of years later, during my college days, I did DJ duties at a couple of my dorm’s parties. I had the same issue, with folks coming up and requesting me to play some Grateful Dead and such (Dixie Dregs, for instance), even offering to bring me their records. I figured that would’ve cleared the dance floor quicker than the B side of “They’re coming to Take Me Away, Ha Haaa”…. So, gently but firmly I learned to say no….

I'll Be Watching You....

Array of security cameras at one of the nearby Elementary Schools. I guess you can't be too careful these days, but it's a kind of sad statement... Check it out at Shutterstock.

Gather At The River (or Lake)

One of our friends was baptised recently. Not in the "splash" way I'm most familiar with, but by dunking an a lake. She was "dedicated" as a baby, but not baptised. My wife, son and I were honored to stand with the family for the special event. I managed a few photos before the ceremony, this is my favorite.

Spots

Raindrops on a car window....

Artsy

We made an excursion to the St. Louis art musuem yesterday. Just a coupel shots, didn't do much photographing, just looking....

Saint Louis himself, out front of the building...

- - - -

The fountain in the main entry area....

Lazing In The Grass

Pardon the pau, a feference to the 60's hits "Grazing In The Grass". I little ditty to hit the Top 40 twice, once as an instruental, and once w/ lyrics...

Never Forget

Reposted from 9/11/2006, with some minor tweaks:

7 Years ago today, 9/11/2001, terrorists struck a series of coordinated attacks against the United States. Between the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and Flight 93 (which crashed in SW Pennsylvania), around 3,000 people were killed. Much like Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (12/7), this day will go down in infamy. And much like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the attacks of 9/11 awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. The resulting War on Terror continues, time will test our resolve.

I was supposed to be on an airplane from St. Louis to Seattle that morning, should've been in the air at the same time as those planes. But a last minute glitch cancelled my trip. I was very thankful on that day that my wife didn't have to worry about "my flight" during all the confusion of that day. I remember the confusion that day, as we tried to determine which of my coworkers were travelling, and where they might be.

Meanwhile, I used to travel to NYC regularly, but was only in the World Trade Center once. I was blown away by fact that more people worked in that building than live in my town in the St. Louis suburbs. On 9-11, as we all watched the towers fall, I kept thinking about "all those people". It's a miracle that only 3,000 were killed.

No skateboarding, No rollerblading

Still more from Alton, IL…:

Jacoby's Furniture

Another image from Alton, behind the IL…:

Speed Limit 55

Just a snapshot, along the road to/from Pere Marquette State Park. From our Sunday bike ride last weekend. My son wore out, and he and I aborted, while mom went for the mini-van to retreive us. We found a spot alongthe bike trail with an arrow pointed down toward the road, and a sign which said "bike parking"... So he and I headed down to what we thought would be a nice little spot by the road to wait. This is where the trail dumped out, right along the 55mph road, with no sholders or anything.... At least there was a pull-out on the other side, where we could wait, once we dashed across the road....

One of these days I'll take an image like this that is "compelling". Maybe... Or more liekely not... But I'll still keep at it.

Lookin' At Some Backdoors

We stopped for a late lunch Monday, in Alton IL. I was struck by the back of this building, I presume they're apartments...

Buckets Of Rain

A wet day today, as we get the remnants of what was Hurricane Gustav. Thta's all riaght we can stand a little rain...

The wet grey day put me in a Dylan mood this morning, Blood On The Tracks for the morning commute. Starting out with Buckets Of Rain:

"Life is sad, Life is a bust

All ya can do is do what you must.

You do what you must do and ya do it well"

Where were you in '72

Been listening to Top-40 hits from 1972 today (on the iPod). Lot of great stuff, and it really takes me back. 1972 was the year I turned 12 (mid-year), finished 6th grade and started 7th. A very dynamic time in any young man's life. We lived not too far from CMU campus in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh. I could walk over to the Forbes & Murray area to buy comic books and Records (at the National Record Mart), or into Oakland to imagine what it would be like to be a student at Pitt.... It was a great time to be a young sports fan, too. From the Pirates defending their World Series Championship (they lost to the Reds 3 games to 2 in the Championship) to the Steelers' rise from mediocrity and Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception...

Anyway, here's 20 songs that recently played on the iPod, out of the 125 in my playlist...
Vincent – Don McLean : Papa Was A Rolling Stone – Temptations : Dialogue Pts 1 & 2 – Chicago : Get Back Honkey Cat – Elton John – No One To Depend On – Santa : Freddie’s Dead – Curtis Mayfield : Troglodyte (Cave Man) – Jimmy Castor Bunch : Walking In The Rain With The One I Love – Love Unlimited : Fire & Water – Wilson Pickett : I’ll Be Around – Spinners : Me & Mrs Jones – Billy Paul : Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings : Outa Space – Billy Preston : Easy Livin’ – Uriah Heep : From The Beginning – Emerson Lake & Palmer : Run To Me – Bee Gees : Sweet Seasons – Carole King : Ben – Michael Jackson : Rock & Roll Pt. 2 – Gary Glitter : Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook.