Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

Steve Earle: “Dublin Blues”

Steve Earle Guy

Steve Earle is releasing a new album as a tribute to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. The new album, Guy, will feature sixteen tracks, including the newly released single, “Dublin Blues.”

As a big fan of guy Clark, I am excited to hear that Earle is dedicating an album to his friend. But it will be difficult to surpass the wonderful 2011 multi-artist tribute to Clark, This One’s for Him. Still, Earle’s personal connection to Clark as well as his great talent make him the perfect person to spread the word about the underappreciated singer-songwriter. Earle did a similar feat for his other mentor Townes Van Zandt with the album Townes in 2009.

The new album will feature a number of Guy Clark’s classic songs, like “L.A. Freeway,” “The Randall Knife,” “Desperados Waiting For a Train,” and “She Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Earle recently released the first single, “Dublin Blues.” Check it out.

Interestingly, Clark’s song “Dublin Blues” is itself a tribute to another legend, Doc Watson. And the music for the song goes back much further than that. Check out our previous post on the story behind “Dublin Blues.”

What do you think of Earle’s cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Super Dave Osborne Was Really Super

    Bob Einstein

    Bob Einstein, known for his role as Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm, passed away on January 2, 2019.  Einstein also portrayed Larry Middleman on Arrested Development.  But to those of us who grew up watching television in the 1970s and 1980s, he will always be Super Dave Osborne.

    Einstein’s Super Dave character presented a refreshing and funny take on stunt performers like Evel Knievel.  Knievel was all the rage in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  And Super Dave’s costume even copied the white outfits with red and blue worn by Knievel during his motorcycle jumps.

    While Einstein made Super Dave a goofy character getting slapstick laughs, Einstein’s creation also commented on those of us entranced with watching Evel Knievel.  Yes, part of us watched with the hope that Knievel would succeed.  But part of us watched because we also hoped to see something go wrong. 

    For Super Dave, something always did go wrong.  His humor inspired other performers.  One may trace a short line from Super Dave’s stunts to shows like Jackass. But somehow Super Dave seemed much kinder and gentler, perhaps because he never hurt anyone else. And the “special effects” ensured that we were in on the joke. 

    After writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Einstein first appeared as Super Dave Osborne in the 1972 TV series, The John Byner Comedy Hour. Super Dave would later appear on other television shows, such as Bizarre (1979-86) and Late Night with David Letterman. And Super Dave would get his own television series in Canada in 1987-1991.  The character also starred in his own animated television show and a movie, The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave (2000).

    Einstein — who was born in Los Angeles as Stewart Robert Einstein on November 20, 1942 — is the brother of actor-director Albert Brooks.  He wrote for other shows and did other wonderful acting jobs throughout his career. But every time I would see him on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, I would always think of him as Super Dave Osborne, the stunt hero I hoped would never die. Rest in peace.

  • This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Nov. 5, 2011)
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    Good Ole Boys Like Me

    Good Old BoysWhile recently re-watching the movie Primary Colors (1998) for the umpteenth time, I noticed a song I had never really noticed before.  It occurs after John Travolta’s character Gov. Jack Stanton meets with Larry Hagman’s Gov. Fred Picker.  In a key scene near the end of the movie that was directed by Mike Nichols, Stanton walks away from Picker’s southern mansion singing a song.

    Stanton then says how he loves the song, in particular a line about the Williams boys, Hank and Tennessee.   He expounds, “The picture ain’t never complete without old Tennessee.”  The song is “Good Ole Boys Like Me.”

    I can still hear the soft southern winds in the live oak trees
    And those Williams boys, they still mean a lot to me
    Hank and Tennessee
    I guess we’re all gonna be what we’re gonna be
    So, what do you do with good ole boys like me?

    The song captures the charm of Travolta’s character, who is based upon Bill Clinton during his race for the presidency.  It also shows the politician’s embrace of Southern culture.

    The Song

    Bob McDill wrote “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” a song that stacks together images of Southern culture.  The images range from a Civil War general to great American novelists like Thomas Wolfe.

    McDill initially offered the song to Kenny Rogers, who found it too literary.  So, Don Williams recorded the song and created a classic.

    Other people mentioned in the song are DJ’s like Wolfman Jack and John R., the latter of whom McDill listened to as a kid on WLAC radio out of Nashville.  McDill found inspiration to write the song with images of Southern culture while reading the novel A Place to Come To, by Robert Penn Warren.

    McDill tells more about the story behind the song in the video below.  Check it out.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Buy from Amazon

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    Lou Reed Inducting Dion Into Rock Hall

    In early 1989, Lou Reed inducted Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a short poetic introduction, followed by Dion’s short funny recollections.

    Dion Rock Hall

    On January 18, 1989, one great singer-songwriter associated with New York inducted another great singer-songwriter also associated with the city into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Lou Reed, injecting poetic words as only he could do, inducted Dion DiMucci into the Rock Hall.

    In the video below, listen to Reed describing the influence of Dion and his music, “Bronx Soul.”  Reed does it with language only he would use, all while reading from a sheet of paper that those of us who were around in 1989 recognize as continuous computer paper with holes on the side, printed from a dot matrix printer.

    Then, a happy Dion takes the stage to accept with a short funny speech.

    The “Phil” that Dion mentions is legendary producer Phil Spector, including a reference to Spector’s production of Dion’s 1975 album Born to Be with You and the producer’s notorious reclusiveness.  Subsequently, Spector’s strange behavior would lead to him being convicted of murder in 2009 and going to prison where he died from complications due to Covid in January 2020. The “Bruce” he mentions is, of course, Bruce Springsteen. Check it out.

    The 1989 induction ceremony was one for the ages. Other performers inducted in addition to Dion included The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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