A May Treat - A Full Song-Poem Album, Courtesy of Iris Tipton

As I've alluded to, perhaps a bit too often, actually, I've not exactly been providing a song-poem record "a week", more like a song-poem record every ten days. As a bit of an apology for that, and a reward for sticking with me, today I have an entire song-poem album for you. This was produced by Iris Tipton, a prolific song-poet, using 12 song-poems she commissioned from two song-poem factories, and titled, most catchily, "Let's Go Country with Iris Tipton, et al" (or, "Country Style" if you prefer what's on the record label itself), released on her own Iris label. 

 

Iris Tipton wrote the all-time classic song-poems "I Spent My Last Three Dollars On an Irish Sweepstake Ticket, and "In God We Trust", both of them high up on my list of favorite records (song-poem or otherwise) and the latter of which was the song with which I kicked off the "song-poem of the week project, way back when. On this album, she co-wrote all the songs on side one with another prolific song-poet, John W. Stephenson (who also had his own label, Cowtown).

 

Sorry about the crappy sound in advance - it doesn't appear to be my turntable/needle, as I tried a few times on two of them to get it to play better. I think it's just the pressing, but if I can get it to play better, I will replace the files. 

As I have done before with full albums, I have not separated out the tracks, but rather, have side one and side two for you dining and dancing pleasure. The performers on side one are the rarely documented Johnny Gatlin (who I'm guessing, from the sound of him, was working with the Globe song-poem factory) and the quite well known Cara Stewart (with, of course, the Lee Hudson sound). One may discern a sameness about the melodies of some of the Johnny Gatlin songs. I don't know about you, but it is with great relief and great enjoyment that the final song, featuring the incomparable voice of Cara Stewart, breaks the tedium, even if "physique" is hardly a song that belongs in a sultry love song. The credits listed for the six short songs (the whole side is 13 minutes long) can be viewed from the label, below the links.

Download: Various Artists - Iris Tipton's Let's Go Country", Side One
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Side two continues with Cara Stewart, happily heard on four of the six, slightly longer tunes (this is a 16 minute side), and joined for the first two, by the previously unknown Gary Williams, who clearly was also from the Lee Hudson song-poem outfit. The subject matter and lyrics to "I Selected Your Picture" make that one a standout. Even with that, I can't help but smile, again, when Cara returns, although her first song on side two, "I Want To Lock You Up Inside My Heart", has some of the most insipid lyrics I've ever heard.

Download: Various Artists - Iris Tipton's Let's Go Country", Side Two
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Here's that back cover:

And here's the address on that back cover, 4709 Beethoven Street in Los Angeles

My Gifts to You, Part One

These last four days have been pretty wonderful, as I hoped and thought they would be. On Saturday, I saw one of my two oldest friends, and spent a nice amount of time with her - this was only the second time we'd been together in about 28 years, so that was really special. Then yesterday, the 21st, was my daughter Wendy's 21st Birthday! And today? Well, today, my wife and I celebrate our 24th Anniversary.

So to honor and reflect these happy times, I wanted to give a gift to all of you who like to look around in here from week to week or time to time. So I'm casting aside one of my rules for this site and throwing my collection wide open for the next two weeks, in a way I have usually avoided.

You see, I've deliberately made this site almost exclusively about records of which I physically own a copy. However, this has always meant that there is a large number of song-poems which I own only on tape or as files, which I've obtained in trade or otherwise, from other generous collectors, over the past 16 years of collecting and sharing. And a smaller number of those are truly great, and not generally known in the song-poem world. While it's likely that some of the tracks I'll be sharing this week and next do float around in collectors' circles, I'm guessing that many of you who visit here have never heard (or even heard of) most or all of them, and I want to rectify that, because these are really great records.

Due to the fact that these were all shared with me from other collectors, I have to go with the sound quality in which I received them, and I don't have scans of any record labels for these two weeks of posts.

First up, my choice for the quintessential Cara Stewart record. While I'd give a close second to the marvelous "Song of the Burmese Land", for my money, Cara and her svengali Lee Hudson never topped Iris Tipton's "I Spent My Last Three Dollars on an Irish Sweepstake Ticket". It's got everything I want in a Cara record: clever lyrics, Lee's masterful arranging - the string section and accordion flourishes are particularly nice - the fun, bouncy feel, and the inviting, warm smile in Cara's voice. Plus, there's a really amazing instrumental section - it's been suggested that what sounds like insanely closely miked pizzicato strings is actually a Chamberlin - if so, this might be the best work I've ever heard from that magical instrument. Barring anyone who can tell me that a Chamberlin could have produced that wondrous sound, I'm going to assume there really was a violin section on this record. Regardless, this whole record - from the Iris label - is pure magic, and certainly among my top 25 song-poem records:

Download: Cara Stewart I Spent My Last Three Dollars on an Irish Sweepstake Ticket
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Next up is a record from an otherwise unknown artist, working within the Film City family, in this case on the Endeavor label. The song is "My Point of View", and it opens with a flourish which may well be my favorite 8 second blast of Chamberlin work ever. It doesn't quite live up to that insanely forceful opening, but how could it? The singer, Guy Hewstan (with the ever present Film City Orchestra) has a perfect amount of smarm for the pleading lyrics, and he really sells them (I LOVE the way he sings "one that's been both'rin' me"), even when it's hard to tell exactly what they mean (is that "there's romance on my hands"?). The Chamberlin track is hotter than most of those I've heard, with a hellishly busy (and wonderful) rhythm track. This is another one I'd probably put in that top 25.

Download: Guy Hewstan with the Film City Orchestra - My Point of View
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And finally, here are both sides of a single that appeared on the Cowtown label back in 1960, credited to Anne and Bill Calhoun. The AS/PMA website is non-committal as to whether this particular record is a song-poem, while saying that the label itself released song-poems and vanity pressings. The quality of the song writing and performing here could lend itself to either conclusion - the A-side sounding to me more like a vanity release and the b-side sounding more song-poemy, but what do I know. I enjoy both of these songs quite a bit, if admittedly not nearly as much as the first two offerings, above, and I think they both deserve a wider audience.

On the A-side, Anne and Bill perform the song "Navajo". This was probably meant as sincere tribute at the time, but comes across today as more than a bit condescending. I do love the typical late '50's pop song chord changes that make up the chorus of this song:

Download: Anne and Bill Calhoun: Navajo
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And the flip side, which is called "Apple Dumpling", and which has a sound I associate with the Globe song-poem factory:

Download: Anne and Bill Calhoun: Apple Dumpling
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Special thanks to Michael and Phil for this week's offerings!

Announcing! Song Poem of the Week Project

Happy New Year! In the spirit of starting new things, I'm going to do something here, and I'm hoping I can hold myself to this....

Someone commenting on my recent post to the WFMU blog asked if there were any song-poem sites which are currently active, since the AS/PMA site has been present, but without updates, for several years now. 

In answer to this, and hopefully for the interest of many others, I'm going to try and post at least one song-poem, from my rather large stash of same, per week. 

To start, a record from one of the most obscure of labels, Iris. This label, from the Lee Hudson production machine, was named after songwriter Iris Tipton, who wrote the words for all of the records released on the label, including the extremely memorable "I Spent My Last Three Dollars On an Irish Sweepstakes Ticket", sung by Cara Stewart. 

Cara's unique vocals will be the first thing you hear here, as well, but the lead singer for this tune is Jeff Reynolds, who I'm sure you'll agree does a stellar job on this patriotic number, "In God We Trust". 

I love everything about this one - the snare drums, the back and forth between the Cara backing vocals and the manly men on loan from "The Ballad of the Green Berets", and the rather simplified, glossed over view of both the American War of Independence and the religious views of its leaders, all in less than 90 seconds. 

Stirring. 

Download: Jeff Reynolds - In God We Trust

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