The Andrews Sisters w/ Bing Crosby: Pistol Packin‘ Mama
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I don’t like crooners. That whole style of music just leaves me cold. So I feel very strange posting Bing Crosby. But man, does this swing!
You might say that Crosby and The Andrews Sisters formed a supergroup during the swing era. They cut enough sides together to see release in these days as a full-length CD. They released Pistol Packin’ Mama in September of 1943. The original version had been a hit on the country charts for Al Dexter earlier that year.
Since then, the song has been covered in almost as many ways as there have been musical styles. Frank Sinatra did it. Gene Vincent recorded an ill-advised rockabilly version. There is an instrumental jazz version by Albert Ammons. But almost nothing compares with this version. So the last thing I would ever have expected was a killer version by John Prine. Mac Wiseman is Prine’s partner in this, and also deserves credit.
John Prine and Mac Wiseman: Pistol Packin‘ Mama
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Oh, Mama: Pistol Packin’ Mama
Monday, March 9, 2009
Drinkin' Songs: Rum and Coca-Cola
The Andrews Sisters: Rum and Coca-Cola
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I think it would be hard to enjoy a rum and coke and not want to start singing this song to yourself, especially if you've already had a few drinks. This song is a classic, quite literally. It was a #1 hit in 1945 for The Andrews Sisters, but this calypso song has earlier versions, just none quite as popular as this one.
It is a WWII era song about American troops on leave in Trinidad. When the song originally hit the air-waves in the 1940s it was controversial (and later banned) because of it's prominent mention of alcohol, but also because of it's lyrical content. At the time, The Andrews Sisters, as well as most of the listeners, did not pay much attention to what the song was actually about, which was the Trinidad harems the American troops were visiting on their leave. All the same, the song remains well-loved and is a lot of fun to sing along with and takes the situations as pleasant and not sinful or dangerous.
