Today's record is called "The Spoiled Millionaire" and it's by the great Gene Marshall. I'm sure that when I got this record, and looked at the title - that is, if I gave it a second thought at all - I thought it was some screed, an indictment (probably fairly vague) of some generalized, very likely fictional "millionaire".
That is most definitely not the case. This is, instead, a story song about Mary Jo Kopechne and her July, 1969 death in a car driven by Ted Kennedy. I found the lyrics hard to understand at times, given how Gene's vocal is buried in the mix. This is even though the chirpy backup singers repeat some of what he sings, a choice which strikes me as aggressively inappropriate for the story being told. However, the song-poet clearly thinks the other person in the car should have died.
Beyond that, I'll let the song tell the story.
Download: Gene Marshall - The Spoiled Millionaire
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The flip side is a tribute to the credited author of the last book of the New Testament, The Revelation to John, and is therefore most logically titled "John the Revelator". I was hoping for something more interesting, because if there's one thing that book is not, it's boring. But this IS boring. There are a couple of references to what is written in the book, but nothing very interesting. Where are the Eyes of Fire? Where are the Four Horsemen? Where is the Defeat of Satan?
No, most of this is about the writer, not what he wrote. Like I said, boring.
Download: Gene Marshall - John the Revelator
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