More than one-hundred years ago this May 26, Marion Michael Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa. Marion’s family moved to Glendale California when he was six, and he grew up to get a football scholarship at the University of Southern California after he was rejected at the U.S. Naval Academy. But it was his work as an assistant prop man on a film directed by John Ford, who saw something in the man, that helped launch the career you know him for. You might know him by another name, “The Duke.” Or maybe you know him by his other name, John Wayne.
Few actors rise to such iconic status as John Wayne, who stands besides the likes of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean as film stars who became something more, for better or worse. Because of their fame, we often forget that they were great actors too. It is true that John Wayne usually played a certain kind of character and that he became associated with certain political beliefs in his time, but those factors should not distract from the legacy he left with his onscreen performances.
After Ford discovered Wayne as a prop man, Wayne went on to play in B movies for the next decade before he finally got his big break when Ford put him in Stagecoach (1939). Watch a clip of Wayne in Stagecoach here:
After Stagecoach, Wayne’s career took off and he starred in many classic films, ending with The Shootist in 1976, three years before Wayne died of cancer.
What is your favorite John Wayne movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Last night on American Idol, the finalists Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips made the case for taking home the crown. This season of American Idol had a number of strong contestants, but these two are certainly great talents, with Sanchez having a great singing voice and Phillips having a unique style. Phillips showed off that style on the final song of the night, “Home.”
Often, the new song that American Idolists sing is the weakest of the songs, because it is hard for an unfamiliar song to compete with classics familiar to the audience. For example, Sanchez received a tepid reaction to her new song, “Change Nothing.” But last night, Phillips’ rendition of “Home” was the highlight of the show.
I thought the song might go over the top when the drummers came on stage, but Phillips kept it restrained throughout, leaving the audience wanting more. Randy Jackson noted that the song reminded him of Mumford & Sons, and I can see the connection too. It is not surprising that the writer of “Home,” Drew Pearson, is a fan of Mumford & Sons. Pearson originally wrote the song for British singer Greg Holden, but Pearson’s publisher submitted it to American Idol for consideration, and Jimmy Iovine loved the song.
Recently, Pearson participated in Phillips’ recording of “Home.” Win or lose tonight, it looks like we will be hearing a lot more of Phillip Phillips.
Woody Guthrie’s song about the outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd begins with a story of Floyd getting into a fight. Floyd gets upset that a deputy used vulgar language in front of Floyd’s wife. After Floyd “laid that deputy down,” he fled to the country where every crime was blamed on him. But Guthrie did not write the song to sing about an unfortunate event. He wrote it as a critique of society, not of a man.
The Underlying Subject of “Pretty Boy Floyd”
The key part of the song regarding Guthrie’s message is near the end. Guthrie tells how Floyd helped strangers and gave money to struggling farmers.
The final verses are the most cutting and still relevant today in light of the worldwide financial problems and concerns raised by people such as within Occupy Wall Street. And the song’s final verse sums up much of Guthrie’s philosophy and his work.
But as through your life you travel, Yes, as through your life you roam, You won’t never see an outlaw Drive a family from their home.
As Woody’s son Arlo Guthrie sings in this performance of his father’s song, “Some will rob you with a six gun / And some with a fountain pen.”
At another time, Woody Guthrie explained, “[Y]ou know — a policeman will jest stand there an let a banker rob a farmer, or a finance man rob a workin’ man. But if a farmer robs a banker — you would have a hole dern army of cops out a shooting at him. Robbery is a chapter in etiquette.” (Joe Klein, Woody Guthrie: A Life, p. 128)
Guthrie wrote “Pretty Boy Floyd” in March 1939, and many consider it among his finest songs. While it is not covered as often as some of Guthrie’s other songs, “Pretty Boy Floyd” has been played by Roger McGuinn, Kinky Friedman, Melanie (Safka), and others.
The Real Pretty Boy Floyd
When Guthrie wrote “Pretty Boy Floyd,” only five years had passed since Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd had died. The real Floyd was born on February 3, 1904. And he was first arrested at the age of 18 for stealing money from a post office.
FLoyd later graduated to bigger crimes in several states. He earned his nickname from the way a bank robbery witness described him. Although Floyd committed a number of crimes, Guthrie’s song correctly notes that Floyd probably was blamed for more than he did, including killings during a 1933 gunfight that became known as the “Kansas City Massacre.”
On October 22, 1934, as law enforcement officers pursued Floyd, he was killed in an apple orchard near East Liverpool, Ohio. Approximately 20,000 to 40,000 people attended Floyd’s funeral in Oklahoma.
Like all great folk songs, “Pretty Boy Floyd” has lived on as more than just a story about one person. And that is why we are celebrating Woody Guthrie.
{Woody at 100 is our continuing series celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie in 1912. Check out our other posts on Guthrie too. }
What do you think of “Pretty Boy Floyd”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Another giant of the disco era has passed away. Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees died today of colorectal cancer at the age of 62. Barry is the only surviving Bee Gee, as their brother Maurice died in 2003.
A standout Bee Gees track is “I Started a Joke,” which was mainly written by Robin, who also sings lead on the song. The song was released in September 1968 on the album Idea. According to Wikipedia, some think the song is about the devil, but the more common interpretation is that the song is sung by someone who did something wrong and regrets it. In the video below of a performance at Festival Hall, a young Robin sings the song. RIP.
What is your favorite Bee Gees song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Although there had been speculation that Kristen Wiig would be leaving Saturday Night Live at the end of this season, up until last night’s season finale, there had been no official announcement. Watching the episode, one might have noticed that there were a number of sketches where Wiig performed some of her regular characters. But it was not until the very end, when host Mick Jagger addressed a graduating class and noted one very special person was going off to be a nun, where viewers slowly began to realize that the payoff was not a big laugh but an emotional goodbye to a beloved cast member. Check it out. [Update May 2015: Unfortunately, the official NBC video that was posted here is no longer available, so below is a video about the Wiig farewell.]
Especially when Lorne Michaels came on for a brief dance, we knew it was a goodbye. There are rumors that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis may be leaving the show too, but those are just rumors at this point (although perhaps Samberg’s goodbye was a sequel to “Lazy Sunday”).
As for Wiig, the music of “She’s a Rainbow” and “Ruby Tuesday” were quite appropriate. How cool is it to get sent off with Rolling Stones songs with Mick Jagger right there? The show has big shoes to fill now that we no longer will see Wiig every Saturday night like we have for the last seven years. But considering Wiig’s big hit with Bridesmaids and that she has a number of projects in the works, we still will be seeing a lot of her. So, it is not goodbye, it is “see you later.” What was your favorite Kristen Wiig Saturday Night Live character? Leave your two cents in the comments.
More than one-hundred years ago this May 26, Marion Michael Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa. Marion’s family moved to Glendale California when he was six, and he grew up to get a football scholarship at the University of Southern California after he was rejected at the U.S. Naval Academy. But it was his work as an assistant prop man on a film directed by John Ford, who saw something in the man, that helped launch the career you know him for. You might know him by another name, “The Duke.” Or maybe you know him by his other name, John Wayne.
