This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And my legends today are hungry and there's only one thing they can think of, and that's food. It's surprising how many songs have made about a good eat and I took some of them to compile a delicious buffet of the best food songs around. And I'm getting hungry too so let's just start our all-you-can-eat with some pork chops. Here are the Dorsets.
01 - Dorsets - Pork Chops
02 - Don & Juan - Chicken Necks
And so we started in the early sixties to satisfy our appetite, that were Don and Juan with Chicken Necks from 1961 on the Big Top label. So let's make a jump to the late forties with Joe Swift. Backed up by the Johnny Otis orchestra straight from a pretty clean 78 of the Exclusive label from 1948. Listen and take a bite from the Alligator Meat.
03 - Joe Swift - Alligator Meat
04 - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends - I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)
Well we gotta eat some veggies too - straigt from a Capitol 78 that was Julia Lee with her Boyfriends with the Spinach song or I Didn't Like It The First Time. Now Julia Lee was known for her double entendre songs and with this one it's clear that this wasn't just about spinach.
And with all that healty spinach it's time for a little greasy stuff. Fried Chicken from Maryland! This little group is from Baltimore, MD and they're gonna eat fried chicken till the day I die. Listen to the Marylanders with Fried Chicken, from 1953 on the Jubilee label.
05 - Marylanders - Fried Chicken
06 - Amos Milburn - French Fried Potatoes and Ketchup
French Fried Potatoes and Ketchup, well of course they go well with the Maryland Fried Chicken. Amos Milburn was that and he recorded this in 1956 for the Alladin label.
Our next couse will be peas and rice, a great taste and cheaper than kidney stew. Listen to Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson who recorded Peas and Rice in 1950 for the King label. More simple food after that - pork chops and mustard greens sung by Ernie Andrews backed up by Maxwell Davis and his orchestra, from 1951 on Imperial.
07 - Eddie Vinson - Peas And Rice
07 - Ernie Andrews & the Maxwell Davis Orchestra - Pork Chops & Mustard Greens
(rocking dutchman jingle)
09 - Champion Jack Dupree - Cabbage Greens Nr. 1
10 - Champion Jack Dupree - Cabbage Greens Nr. 2
Champion Jack Dupree Cabbage Greens #1 and #2, both from 1940, from the same session on June 13, 1940, but not paired on the a and b side of one single as Pt.1 and Pt.2, neither were they two takes of the same song. Cabbage Greens #1 was released as the flip of the Black Woman Swing on OKeh 5769, while #2 was somewhat later on Okeh 5823. Both were recorded when Dupree just had traded his succesful boxing career for the blues.
More poor man's food with Milt Trenier eating Day old bread and canned beans after his gal deprived him from his money. Milt Trenier is backed up by the Gene Gilbeaux quartet - this is from 1954 on the Groove label.
11 - Milt Trenier - Day Old Bread
12 - Andre Williams - Pass The Biscuits Please
From the Fortune label in 1957 that was Andre Williams with Pass the biscuits please. Well I'll take a dive back into the forties with Count Basie and his orchestra. Free eats is from 1947 and it was on the RCA victor label.
13 - Count Basie & His Orchestra - Free Eats
14 - Louis Jordan - Salt Pork West Virginia
Salt Port West Virginia from 1945 on Decca, you heard Louis Jordan on vocals and of course on the alto saxophone. More Louis Jordan with perhaps his most well-known food song. Beans and Cornbread go hand in hand.
15 - Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five - Beans and Cornbread
16 - Harold Burrage - You Eat Too Much
You eat too much - Harold Burrage from 1956 on Cobra. The same subject is on the next song That's what makes my baby fat from 1952. On the Atlantic label here is Joe Morris and his orchestra with Faye Adams on lead.
17 - Faye Adams - That's What Makes My Baby Fat
18 - Eddy Ware - Lima Beans
19 - Danny Cobb - Hey Mr. Warden
And with the Danny Cobb's last meal wish consisting of dinosaur eggs and mousquito legs, we end another episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. Without the - well let's say exotic - wishes for his last meal before he'd go to the electric chair he tried to avoid his execution. That was Hey Mr. Warden.
Before that you got some more usual food and a favourite dish for me - lima beans. You heard Eddie Ware on the Chess label from 1952 and it's a strong rock 'n roll precursor with a vocal delivery that sounds pretty much like later songs of Little Richard.
Well you got a show with a whole lot of calories today. So I hope you enjoyed all that great food and if so or if not, you can send me some menu suggestions or other comments by email to rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. Or find me on the web, where you can review today's playlist and see what's on the menu for next time. Just do a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and my site will show up first.
As for now, byebye and have a nutricious and rocking day. See you next time on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!