Mr. Fine Wine Live

Our own Mr. Fine Wine has been entertaining patrons every Wednesday night at Botanica Bar in NYC for 16 years!!!  We will be celebrating this Wednesday night with a cavalcade of guest soul spinners.  Stop by in person to raise a glass or listen online on the Ichiban webstream.  Action starts at 10 PM EST and goes all night long.   Follow us on Twitter for an up to the minute account of the DJ schedule.  

Ikettes - Camel Walk

Happy Birthday, Country Charley Pride!

Almost forgot to observe the 74th birthday of veteran Negro League baseball player and Member of the Grand Ole Opry Charley Frank Pride, born this day in 1938 in Sledge, Mississippi.  His late '70s- early '80s "crossover" material didn't do much for me, but if I can forgive Charlie Rich and Dolly for their excesses of the period, I can certainly overlook Charley's. Here's to another 74 years!

Roger Miller - "Husbands and Wives"

So... once more, I got scooped by our Beloved Ringleader, who already posted the song in question while I was busy digitizing some upcoming surprises for you that haven't been heard by the public in 46 years (stay tuned for further details!), but I've still got more to offer on this particular subject: to wit, the document below.

I like this one a lot, but maybe not as much as Debbie. I do recall a conversation with Mr. William Orten Carlton in which he cited this as his favorite Miller lyric. In matters of a musical, Ort is rarely wrong (or succinct!)

Roger Miller - A Man Like Me

Roger Miller - A Man Like Me (2:28)

Here's a stellar Decca honky-tonker that Roger recorded in late 1958, featuring the great Johnny Paycheck on harmony vocals. The rest of the guys on the session were from Nashville's fabled A-team.

Roger Miller - Vocal
Owen Bradley - Leader
Hank Garland - Guitar
Donald Eugene Lytle (Johnny Paycheck) - Guitar, harmony vocals
Jack Evins - Steel guitar
Joe Zinkans - Bass
Buddy Harman - Drums
Tommy Jackson - Fiddle
Floyd Cramer - Piano

This track, the photo above and all the session details were borrowed from Bear Family's excellent A Man Like Me CD that compiles all of Miller's recordings from 1957 - 1960 and features Deke Dickerson's liner notes that provide insight into Miller's many talents.

Take It All Off

"Take It Off" mp3
by Groundhog, 1969.

more where this came from at the Boogie Woogie Flu

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just bought a stack of QSL cards this morning, and I figured it might be a good time to share this one with all you folks out there in Radioland. This one was sent to Mr. Donald Brown of 959 Cunningham Place, Atlanta, Ga., in October 1946.

Goober Talks About Roger

Saturday Matinee/Night at the Drive-In

Visit our snack bar...

Roger Miller Ichiban

My fave Roger Miller track Husbands And Wives (mp3)

Roger Miller Month: George Jones - Tall Tall Trees

Co-written by Roger Miller & George Jones

Mack The Knife

Generally speaking, I'm a firm believer in staying far, far away from square dance records. There are, however, a few exceptions. Joe Maphis, for instance, released a few square dance instrumentals that are worth hearing for Maphis completists.

Another exception is this oddly captivating version of Mack The Knife, by The Squarenaders, which is almost certainly one of the greatest band names in all the world.

Squarenaders - Mack The Knife (3:47!)

Keep On Dancing!

Yes, that Keep On Dancing