AI

Being a compleat transcript of Theme Time Radio Hour Season 1 Episode 12, "Cars," with commentary as appropriate.

First broadcast July 19, 2006

Special thanks to Viktor Hlon' for the original transcript.  Any errors are Dreamtime's.

***

[Rain and traffic]

The Lady in Red (Ellen Barkin): It’s night time in the big city. The wind picks up from over the bay. A delivery boy makes a wrong turn.

The Lady in Red: It’s Theme Time Radio Hour with your host Bob Dylan.

["Frantic Freeway" - Spike Jones (Background)]

Bob Dylan: It’s time, once again, for Theme Time Radio Hour. And today we’re gonna talk about the endless gray ribbons of asphalt that criss-cross this country. We’re talkin’ about where the rubber meets the road, on steel. We’re gonna climb aboard the four-wheeled horseless carriage.  Because today’s theme is cars, automobiles, coupes, racecars, the pick-up, the van, jalopies, jeeps, junkers, the station wagon, the roadster, the notchback, the convertible, hard-tops, classics, Pontiacs, Cadillacs, Buicks, low-riders, SUVs, and other assorted vehicles. So strap yourself in, put the pedal to the metal and listen.

Bob Dylan: Alright then. First up, "Rocket 88,” Jackie Brenston. A lot of people call this the first rock’n’roll song. Jackie Brenston played saxophone, but he has stepped up to the mike to sing this. “You may have heard of jalopies, You heard the noise they make, Let me introduce you to my Rocket '88. Yes it's great, just won't wait, Everybody likes my Rocket '88. ”

[Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats  – “Rocket '88”]

Bob Dylan: That was Jackie Brenston, and “Rocket '88.” On the label it says, "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats," but in reality it was Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm.

***

Commentary

As Mr. D. notes, "The Delta Cats" were a nom de label that Chess Records attached to the group to differentiate their single from another single Chess released at the same time, which featured Ike Turner's voice fronting the same line-up.

The release of "Rocket `88" had several interesting after-effects. The single's success prompted Sam Phillips to form Sun Records after realizing that the profits from the #1 with a bullet hit should have flowed into his pockets rather than Chess, the label he sold the track to.  "Rocket '88" ushered in a new era of a wilder, more frenetic style of rock-and-roll and has some claim to be the first "modern" rock-and-roll song.  And the song caused a parting of the ways between Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner, the bandleader being severely displeased that "Rocket '88" had soared to the top of the charts under Brenston's name.



"Rocket '88" was based on Jimmy Liggins' "Cadillac Boogie," a fact that Jackie Brenston freely admitted, once telling an interviewer, "if you listen to the two songs, you'll find out they're both basically the same. The words are just changed."

We couldn't motor down the road without taking note of one of the first uses of a fuzz guitar in "Rocket '88" and the legend surrounding that innovation.  Depending on who was telling the story, the guitarist's amplifier was either damaged from falling off a car or from rain seeping into the trunk where the amp was stored while the band was making its way to Memphis.  In either case, the semi-broken amplifier produced a distinctive distorted sound which Ike Turner dug.

And the road where this serendipitous moment in musical history took place?  Why, Highway 61, of course.

***

Bob Dylan: We’re talking about cars here on Theme Time Radio Hour. And just in a little bit we’ve got Bruce coming up, one of his rave-ups “Cadillac Ra-a-anch.”

[Commercial: “It’s the ultimate in elegance, Cadillac. The ultimate in dependability. You’d never guess how easy it is to own a Cadillac – come in and see.”]

Bob Dylan: Everybody loves a new Cadillac. Next up, we’re gonna visit the Cadillac Ranch. I caught up with artist Hudson Marquez.  Ol' Hudson put ten Cadillacs in the ground, I don’t know if Bruce ever knew him, but I did. Hudson, what made you ever think to put ten cars in the ground?

Hudson Marquez: Well, Cadillac Ranch is an art piece outside Amarillo, Texas, on old Route 66.  And it’s ten Cadillacs buried nose-down, fins up. And it represents the rise and the fall of the tail fin. The Cadillac Ranch came about because, all my life I was in love with Cadillacs, all my heroes drove Cadillacs. My heroes were Fats Domino, and Ray Charles, and Ernie K. Doe.

Hudson Marquez: I went to a Bruce Springsteen show, here in Los Angeles, and it was packed, I don’t know, 10,000 people? I was sitting right in the front, you know, few, rows from the stage. And when he sung “Cadillac Runch”, I kinda turned around and looked at the audience and they all knew the words. And I’ve got kinda—what should be creepy feeling, but it was kind of like— if i didn’t know Fats Domino drove a Cadillac, he wouldn’t be singing this song.]

[Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – “Cadillac Ranch” starts playing]

Bob Dylan: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I think Bruce is from New Jerse.

[Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – “Cadillac Ranch”]

Bob Dylan: That was the Boss, talking about the Cadillac Ranch. “Cadillac, cadillac, Long and dark, and shiny and black, Open up your engines and let `em roar, Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur.” First time I heard this song I thought it was “Tearing up the highway like Dina Shore!”

[Theme song from NBC's "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" (1957 - 1962): “See the USA in your Chevrolet
America is asking you to call
So make a date today to see the USA
And see it in your Chevrolet”]

Bob Dylan: From “Vee-Jay” records, Billy “The Kid” Emmerson. He’s just standing there with rubber heels, trying to ease up on a pedal, with the song called “Every Woman I Know.”

[Billy “The Kid” Emmerson – “Every Woman I Know”]

Bob Dylan: That was Billy “The Kid” Emmerson talking about automobiles. They don’t make cars like they used to – a lot of things they don’t even make anymore. And remember, there’s a lot of things tomorrow that they’re not making today, so get used to it.

[page turns]

Bob Dylan: “Me and My Chauffeur Blues,” one of the great blues songs of all time, one of the great car songs of all time, one of the great chauffeur songs of all time, sung by one of the great old ladies of all time. Memphis Minnie knows all about chauffeurs. Her real name was Lizzie Douglas, as you may or may not know. Born in eighteen and ninety-seven in Algiers, Louisiana. Minnie began playing guitar in the late twenties, and in all cases she was more than any man’s equal. She performed with her husband, Kansas Joe McCoy.

Bob Dylan: They say a good husband should be deaf, and a good wife blind. Well, I don’t think either one of them people were either of those. “What I must buy him is a brand new V-8, a brand new V-8 Ford, and he won’t need no passengers — I will be his load.” “Me and My Chauffeur Blues,” by Memphis Minnie, on Theme Time Radio Hour.

[Memphis Minnie – “Me and My Chauffer Blues”]

Bob Dylan: Memphis Minnie. She moved to Chicago in the 1930’s. And had a bass and drums – she was before her time, anticipating the sound of the 1950’s Chicago Blues.

[Memphis Minnie – “Me and My Chauffer Blues” (version, excerpt)]

Bob Dylan: Memphis Minnie, you can drive me anywhere.

Bob Dylan: George Clinton wants to tell you about his automobile. He’s with his group Parliament, and he’s gonna take you out to the boonies. George Clinton was born in 1941 same year as I was born. In 1956 he formed a harmony group called the Parliaments. He has lost the rights to name “the Parliaments,” and took the S off it, and called it Parliament. He had a bunch of other bands, including, Funkadelic and the Brides of Funkenstein. Clinton is considered as one of the fathers of funk. Here’s George along with "Fuzzy" Haskins and the rest of Parliament telling the tale of the open road. “My Automobile.” From 19 and 70.

[George Clinton and Parliament – “My Automobile”]

Bob Dylan: “My Automobile” by Parliament. Most American car horns beep in the key of F – for “funk.” Free your mind, and your ass will follow.

[sounf of beep]

Bob Dylan: You know what that sound means. It means it’s an email time again. This one comes from Chuck Lorre of Davenport, Iowa. Chuck wants to know if I like movie “Bonny and Clyde?” Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do. And did you know that Clyde Barrow, whose middle name was Champion, of Bonny and Clyde fame, wrote a letter once to Hendy Ford in 19 and 34, one month before Clyde and the cigar-smoking gun-toting Bonnie were killed in the shootout with the police. Clyde stopped running from the federal authorities long enough to write would, quote: “Dandy car... Ford made... for sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned, and even if my business hasen’t been strickly legal it don’t hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got.” Thanks for your letter Chuck! Perhaps he and Bonny wouldn’t have gotten into that much trouble if, instead of a Ford, they had ridden in a ‘Christian Automobile.’

[Dixie Hummingbirds – “Christian's Automobile” starts playing]

Bob Dylan: Hare are the Dixie Hummingbirds on Theme Time Radio Hour.

[Dixie Hummingbirds – “Christian's Automobile”]

Bob Dylan: That was the Dixie Hummingbirds who got their star in Greenville, South Carolina. The relocated to Philadelphia in 1942 under the direction of Ira Tucker. They were well known for many songs, including, “Trouble in My Way,” “Let’s Go Out to the Programs,” “Christian’s Testimonial,” “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve seen,” and the one we’ve just heard where “Satan is trying to flag ‘em down. Check your tires, you got a rough road ahead; Check your brakes, stop your wicked ways; check on your generator, you’ll need more strength and power; Not worried about no parking place, I just want to see my Savior face to face.” Dixie Hummingbirds, “Christian Automobile,” with a rattle-free airflat construction and a jetfire engine, here on Theme Time Radio Hour, where we’re talking about cars. And a little bit about trucks and buses.

Bob Dylan: Next up the lovely and spectacular Joni Mitchell, from Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. She was born in 1943... had polio when she was in the age of nine – that’s a hell of a thing. And she recovered in the children’s hospital where she began her performing career by singing to the other patients there. Later she taught herself to play guitar with the aid of Pete Seeger instruction book. I might’ve seen that saaame book.

Bob Dylan: Here she is, waiting for a car, climbing up the hill, waiting for her sugar to show. Joni Mitchell, “Car on a Hill.”

[Joni Mitchell – “Car on a Hill”]

Bob Dylan: “Car on a Hill” was featured on Joni’s-f-uuum 19 and 74 album called “Court and Spark.” One of my favorite records. Joni and I go back a long ways. Not all the way back, but pretty far. I’ve been in a car with Joni. Joni was driving a Lincoln. Excellent driver — I felt safe.

[some music starts to play and abruptly stops]

Bob Dylan: We’re gonna pause here for a word from our sponsor: Pete Epstein Pontiac.

[Frank Sinatra – commercial jingle for “Peter Epstein’s Pontiac”]

Bob Dylan: Now that’s a good one, hmm.

Bob Dylan: Right now, here’s the great blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson, from Grendora, Mississipi. We’d like to remind you that the one who drives, when he's been drinking, depends on you, to do his thinking. Here’s Sonny Boy Williamson, “Pontiac Blues” on Theme Time Radio Hour.

[Sonny Boy Williamson II – “Pontiac Blues”]

Bob Dylan: Sonny Boy Williamson Two also known as Alec Miller. He was the more famous of the two Sonny Boys, recorded for “Chess Records,” and he also had a show down in Helena, Arkansas called “King Biscuit Flower Hour,” [which] he probably played songs just like this. “Pontiac Blues,” Sonny Boy Williamson, the man with the full size spare in the trunk.

[sound of car’s horn, possibly beginning of Jimmy Caroll – “Big Green Car”]

Bob Dylan: Here’s a rockabilly song by Jimmy Caroll, all about a Big Green Car, a masterpiece, of engineering and style.

[Jimmy Caroll – “Big Green Car”]

Bob Dylan: That was Jimmy Caroll, talking about his “Big Green Car,” probably chopped and channeled with Baby Moon hubcaps, maybe a 32 Grille Shell, maybe Hi-Boy Roadster with a ragtop, whatever it is, sounds like it ate up the road.

[Keb Mo: Hello, this is Keb Mo, and you’re listening to Theme Time Radio Hour, with your host Bob Dylan.]

Bob Dylan: Coming up next, “Get Out of the Car” by Richard Berry. A hungry young multi-talented man with an envelope pushing career vision from languid doo wop to feral R&B. There's consistent greatness in just about every groove, from Richard's youthful homage to the Fats Domino, right straight through to wild session that brought the world Yama Yama Pretty Mama and that uninhibited rocker Louie Louie. ( http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php ... lease=4472) So here it is, “Get Out of the Car” by Richard Berry.

[Richard Berry – Get Out Of The Car]

Bob Dylan: If Richard won't drive you home, I will. I got a car of my own.

Bob Dylan: Tail-lights on the freeway tonight. I don’t know where they been, where they’re going. They’re backed up all the way to the big bridge. Ohhh! If I had wings like a dove, ohhh! would I fly away. [laughs] I’d fly right out above all that traffic out there. All them cars. Look at ‘em all. So far off. So far so good. Over the hills, far away. Farewell!

Bob Dylan: Alright, I want everybody go out and paint their cars with red and white tonight, we want a Pink Car Nation.

[“Even the hot rod addict with his craving for speed is given a chance to release his youthful energies. Hot rod clubs, staged special races... Plenty of speed here.”]

[David Lindley and El Rayo-X – “Mercury Blues” starts playing]

Bob Dylan: Here we have David Lindley and El Rayo-Xm, crazy about a Mercury. Dave is a great instrumentalist, known as much for his great guitar playing as he is for his loud polyester shirts and mutton chop sideburns. He loves himself a Mercury. He’ll tell you what he’d do, if he had any money he’d go downtown and buy a Mercury or two. David Lindley on Theme Time Radio Hour.

[David Lindley and El Rayo-X – “Mercury Blues”]

Bob Dylan: David Lindley, often considered a musician’s musician, well known a session player working with Rod Stewart, Linda Rondstadt, Ry Cooder and Warren Zevon. Perhaps best known as working with Jackson Brown. He started his band “El Rayo-X” in 19 and 81 with Bernie Larsen, Jorge Calderón, Ian Wallace, Ras Pierre and Henry Kaiser. They travel around the county in the Mercury.

[“Luxury in the Mercury. Quality and beauty too. Then add economy, and there’s your Mercury. Your Mercury waits for you.]

Bob Dylan: Here come Smileyyy. Too many drivers at your wheel, Smiley Lewis. His given name is Overton Lemons – I oughta use that name! Smiley’s from New Orleans, he wrote and recored such songs as “Blue Monday,” the original of "I Hear You Knocking," (its immortal piano solo courtesy of – guess who – Huey Smith), and “One Night.” “Too Many Drivers,” Smiley Lewis, check your oil, baby.

[Smiley Lewis – “Too Many Drivers”]

Bob Dylan: Too many drivers at your wheel, Smiley Lewis. Strangely, Fats Domino fared better with some of Smiley Lewis' tunes, better than Lewis did ant a lot of people thought that they were Fat’s tunes. "Blue Monday" in particularly. Sssimilarly, Elvis Presley cleaned up the naughty "One Night" and hit big with it.

Bob Dylan: Smiley always said a lot of jokes in his act. One of the jokes was, “I know the guy that put a beard on a Ford and call him Lincoln.”

Bob Dylan: Up next, we’ve got Prince. And just like Judy Garland, he’s from Minnesota too.

[“And now the completely new Corvette Stingray, for 1963, the new Corvette Sportcoop(?), the most exciting hardtop model you ever laid eyes on. It’ll be a pacesetter for years to come.”]

Bob Dylan: Alright, “Little Red Corvette” is one of Prince’s most well-known songs. The song was his biggest hit at the time and his first reached top-10 status in the USA.

Bob Dylan: Prince is from the same, sorta, area of the country that I'm from so we have plenty in common. Anyway, here’s “Little Red Corvett.” Prince.

[Prince – “Little Red Corvette”]

Bob Dylan: That was the Purple One, with more than enough gas. [laughs] “Little Red Corvette,” driving way to fast, with a pocket full of Trojan horses, and some of them used. Our Little Red Corvette hot(hard, heart?)lifting car, much too fast, bolero red, with a body that oughta be in jail, on the verge of being obscene, we’re brought down to the ground, way below your expectations and exactly in line with your hoops. First Corvette was made by Chevrolet in year 19 and 53, I bet that was before Prince was even born! That was an instant success. And it cost three Grand – I know, I tried to buy one for no money down.

[Chuck Berry – “No Money Down” starts playing]

Bob Dylan: Go ahead Chuck… Let's get it goin'.

[Chuck Berry – “No Money Down”]

Bob Dylan: That was Chuck Berry, who needs no introduction; “No Money Down,” the song that talks about four carburetors, two straight exhausts; a car that burns aviation fuel no matter what it costs; Chuck wants railroad air horns, a yellow convertible, a four-door de Ville that challenges ‘em all; he wants you to give it to him for nothing, he wants to buy it free, no money down.

Bob Dylan: Interesting to note, Chuck told me his first musical appearances were in his high school of all places, like many of us get started. Chuck’s music always has that hidden thing about it where, y’know the cause is always hidden but the effect is known. “No Money Down.” Chuck Berry. Always one jump ahead.

Bob Dylan: Well, the little needle's pointin' on the E, which means we're out of gas for another week. Remember, the trick is to drive so that your license expires before you do. Buckle up for safety, we’ll see you next week on Theme Time Radio Hour, your home for dreams,
themes and schemes.

[“Top Cat (Underscore)"]

“Pierre Mancini”: You’ve been listening to Theme Time Radio Hour, with your host, Bob Dylan. Produced by Eddie Gorodetsky. Associate producer, Sonny Webster. Continuity by “Eeps” Martin. Edited by Damian Rodriguez. Supervising editor, Rob Macomber. The Theme Time research team: Diane Lapson and Bernie Bernstein, with additional research by Lynne Sheridan, Kimberly Williams, and Robert Bower. Production assistance by Jim McBean. Special thanks to Randy Ezratty, Debbie Sweeney, Coco Shinomiya, and Samson's Diner. For XM Radio, Lee Abrams. Recorded in Studio B, The Abernathy Building. This has been a Grey Water Park Production in Association with Big Red Tree.

“Pierre Mancini”: This is your announcer, Pierre Mancini, speaking.

“Pierre Mancini”: Join us again next week for Theme Time Radio Hour, when the subject is, “Rich Man, Poor Man.”

[“...one night off and give it to...Eddie..... Val--Valentin gets in the first thing in the morning”]

Mob of 5,000 Sinks Daddy Day Boat Ride

 

TTRH Whiskey episode now on 10 - count `em 10 - streaming platforms

https://bobdylan.lnk.to/ThemeTimeRadioHour

The link above will bring you to a page on bobdylan.com where you can listen to the "Whiskey" episode on your choice of 10 different streaming platforms, from Apple Music to Spotify. Enjoy!

Got Spotify? Now you've Got the "Whiskey" episode of TTRH

 

Whiskey - Theme Time Radio Hour

A curated video playlist of all the songs (except "Good Whiskey and a Bad Woman") on the new TTRH "Whiskey" episode...

"Whiskey" Episode Playlist

 "Whiskey" Episode 102 of Theme Radio Hour, first aired September 21, 2020

["Nighttime in the Big City”—Diana Krall]

[“Quiet Whiskey”—Wynonie Harris]

[“If the River Was Whiskey”—Charlie Poole]

[“Whiskey River” (excerpt)—Johnny Bush]

[“Whiskey River”–Willie Nelson]

["Bottleneck Blues" (excerpt)—Sylvester Weaver and Walter Beasley]

[“Whiskey Sununu Odia”—Edmund Tagoe and Frank Essien]

[“He’s Got All the Whiskey”—Bobby Charles]

[Good Whiskey (And a Bad Woman) – Timmie Rogers]

[“The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter”—Laura Cantrell]

[“Drinking Again”—Frank Sinatra]

[“I’ve Been Drinking” (excerpt)—Rod Stewart]

[“Corn Whiskey”—Jimmy Witherspoon]

[ “Ain’t That Whiskey Hot”—Billie Harbert]

[“One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer”—Alfred Brown]

[“Rye Whiskey”—Harry Choates]

[“Coming Through the Rye” (live on the telephone)—John C. Reilly]

[“Coming Through the Rye”—Julie London]

[“Mountain Dew”—The Stanley Brothers]

[“Moonshine Whiskey”—Van Morrison]

[“Bourbon from Heaven” excerpt—Dean Martin]

[“Mack the Knife” (excerpt)—Louis Armstrong]

["Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)”—Lotte Lenya]

[“Jockey Full of Bourbon”—Tom Waits]

[Poem “The Sweet Dreams of Drunks” ( aka "Mint Julep") (excerpt)—Joshua Smith]

[“Tennessee Whiskey”—George Jones]

[“Whiskey in the Jar”—Thin Lizzy]

[“The Parting Glass”—The Clancy Brothers]

[“Hangover Blues – Billye Williams]

[Poem "Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey"-- Hayden Carruth]

[“Tuff” (excerpt)—Ace Cannon]

[“Let’s Go to the Liquor Store”—Tuff Green]

[“Women” (book excerpt)—Charles Bukowski]

[“Top Cat” (underscore)—Hoyt Curtin]

Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour ~ Whiskey

An enterprising fan put up the "Whiskey" episode on YouTube for those who can't listen to it in any other of the zillion available ways (I count at least four as of today, Wednesday, with more coming on the 25th).  If you're in that position, I'd listen to it ASAP, as it's likely to be taken down at any time.

Theme Time Radio Hour Whiskey Previews

 Three new previews for the "Whiskey" episode, premiering, September 21st on SiriusXM's "Deep Tracks" channel at 12 PM ET.  Don't you dare miss it!

TTRH Whiskey 2020 trailer

Whiskey coming to Sirius/XM September 21

It was a morning of Confusionism, with yesterday's TTRH "Whiskey" announcement disappearing from the Radio Eins site, and their Twitter account replying "Wir haben es wieder runtergenommen. Mehr dazu bald" (We took it back down. More on that soon") to inquiries. 

A media report then had TTRH returning to Sirius/XM for a "limited run."

Things finally cleared up with Sirius/XM's official announcement. You can read it in full there, but in brief:

It's one new show, "Whiskey," airing on Sirius XM on the 21st. "Whiskey" will later be a river flowing on streaming services everywhere, including Radio Eins presumably, as well as the "Heaven's Door" website. For those who remember, this is very similar to the tie-in they did with Cadillac, which included the TTRH episode, a mini-website, and TV ads.

For one short week, September 21-28, the original TTRH will be back on the air with episodes from the show's earlier runs.

"The remainder of the week will feature ingenious playlists for the musically curious with Dylan at the helm. Until Monday, September 28 at 3am ET, hear a constant stream of past Theme Time Radio Hour episodes with songs dedicated to themes like Dogs, The Devil, Weather, and more."

So, a good news / bad news situation. The good news is we get a brand-new 2-hour episode running on Sirius/XM, which means we'll be able to capture a high-quality stream for our (cough) "legally-obtained copy." And for those who never got, but always wanted, recordings of the original shows, here's your chance, although God Knows, they ain't hard to find already.

The bad news is that's what we get. But, count your blessings.

New(!!) 2-hour Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio Hour episode ("Whiskey") coming September 24 2020

Our Host returns with his first TTRH broadcast since 2015!

Translated from the German. Original post at https://www.radioeins.de/musik/aktion/bob-dylan-s--theme-time-radio-hour-.html

***

Bob Dylan is always good for a surprise. Not only has he finally released new songs with "Rough & Rowdy Ways" , now he's also reviving his radio show.
 
The new episode of his "Theme Time Radio Hour", which was created during the lockdown, is even two hours long and its theme is "Whiskey" ...

Theme Time Radio Hour (Bob Dylan) | © Columbia

That Bob Dylan is back on the radio is a huge surprise, but that he takes us into the realm of "whiskey" for two hours is not surprising, because he has now launched his own bourbon brand, "Heaven's Door".

Between 2006 and 2009 Bob Dylan produced 100 radio shows for the American broadcaster Sirius XM. Each show had a special topic and Bob Dylan turned out to be not only an excellent music connoisseur, with an exquisite record collection, but above all a great storyteller. Otherwise, Bob Dylan is rather taciturn, rarely gives interviews and at his concerts he has not spoken to the audience for a long time.

But as a radio DJ, Bob Dylan shows a completely different facet of his personality. His "Never Ending World Tour" was interrupted by Corona and for the first time in many years he can not be found on the stages of the world.

Then the "Nobel Prize Winner" will be doing the radio again and doubling his airtime. So the program title "Theme Time Radio Hour" is no longer quite right and Dylan is not sure who still listens to classic radio at all, but these two hours on the topic of "Whiskey" are a real radio highlight.

radioeins proudly presents "Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour" in the original and exclusive, on September 24th between 11pm and 1am.

Kimberly Mayo with Guy Capecelatro and Joel Glenn Wixson live on WSCA Radio

The talented Kimberly Mayo with Guy Capecelatro and Joel Glenn Wixson live on WSCA Radio, Portsmouth NH, January 7, 2019. Play online or to download the file, click on the three dots on the right of the player.

Dreamtime Episode 63 - Beneath the Underdog

Direct link to mp3.

Back in 2017, my brother/sister-in-law gave me one of the greatest Christmas gifts I've ever received, an hour deejaying my own radio show on WMVY Radio in Martha's Vineyard.  Called the "Hot Seat," you pick the music and you host the show at the MVY studio in Edgartown, a funky little Cape dominated by a broadcast antenna.

It took awhile, but Jailbait and I finally arrived at the MVY studio in October 2018 and did our gig with our great producer, Amy Vanneman. It was broadcast the day before my 66th birthday, December 17th, and the recorded show is above.

It's not really a Dreamtime podcast, at least in relation to the 60-odd shows I did from 2006-9. But after an eight-year break, I was in the mood for doing something a bit different.

Bob Dylan made a extraordinary speech during the 2015 MusiCares Person of The Year ceremonies, as extraordinary for the fact that Dylan spoke for a half-hour as for its subject matter, where he detailed influences, praised early supporters of his work and even took a few pot-shots at unlikely foes, including Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall.

It's a great speech, and it's too bad more people can't hear it, but as you listen to the excerpts in my show you can understand why Dylan's offices never allowed an official release except in written form.  Too hard on the ol' mystique, I'd reckon.

But here's a taste with musical commentary, as well as guest appearances from the Jones clan, including Jailbait, Joyride, and cousin Junebug.  Dreamtime has really turned into a family affair, and in answer to those who have kindly asked whether they'll be more shows, the answer is "Yes!" although we're still working on scheduling, but stay tuned.

Enjoy the show!

The Return of Dreamtime Coming December 17, 2018 on MVY Radio

The Dreamtime Underdog, Lily Rose

Missed Dreamtime?  We've missed you too, and we're pleased to announce that after an eight-year absence we're returning with Episode 63 - Beneath the Underdog airing on MVY Radio (88.7 FM, serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Newport RI) on Monday, December 17th at 9 PM ET, with a rebroadcast the following Sunday at 10 PM.

Not in the area? You can listen live online at the MVY website or through TuneIn Radio, and of course we'll eventually have the show up here too.

Listen to excerpts from Mr. D.'s 2015 MusiCares speech with musical commentary!

Guest appearances from the Jones clan, including Jailbait, Joyride, and cousin Junebug!

Very little logorrhea from Your Host, Fred Bals!

All this and more in an hour of theme-packed Dreamtime!  Don't you dare miss it!

Bob Dylan covers . "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"

#bobdylan covers #jamesbrown
"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
Bell Auditorium
Augusta, GA pic.twitter.com/rHVtqARkTB

— mleonardtyson (@mleonardtyson) November 8, 2018

"One of the Ancients" - The Muddy Waters and Alexander Pope Connection

Although unrelated musically, no one can hear the title of the first song aired on Theme Time, Muddy Waters "Blow Wind Blow" without thinking of Dylan’s own "Blowin’ in the Wind." Before playing the song, Dylan makes a cryptic remark about Waters calling him, "one of the ancients by now, whom all moderns prize."

I’ve had days while writing “Dreams, Schemes, and Themes” where I become convinced that Bob Dylan had nothing at all to do with Theme Time past lending his name to it, even to the point where I would get so bull-goose crazy that I would start wondering whether the TTRH team had hired an impressionist to mimic Dylan’s voice on the air, ala Rich Little doing Stacy Keach’s “Mike Hammer” voiceovers while the actor was in jail.

Why not? Who could guess the difference? I mean, how many people actually know Bob Dylan’s speaking voice well enough to tell? Maybe the entire scheme had been put together as a carny act by Dylan, Eddie Gorodetsky, Penn Jillette and Ricky Jay just to see once and for all how much they could get away with. Maybe it was a bet. “Hey we’ll have Bob do a radio show and Bob won’t even be there.”

Maybe that’s why Dylan’s peeps had been so damned adamant about not giving me any info or access to any of the TTRH crew. IT WAS ALL A HOAX! A SCANDLE! QUEL DOMMAGE! Yes! I would uncover the whole damn pitiful scheme and win a Pulitzer, or at least get into the Daily News. I’d find the voice impressionist, probably living in a flophouse on a Skid Row somewhere by now, money from Theme Time gone, hands trembling, in need of a quick fix, eager to tell me the true story for a couple of bucks.

Then I’d come back to reality.

Dylan's "one of the ancients" line is the first salvo fired in the great “did Bob Dylan contribute anything to TTRH?” debate, and a definite point for the “Yes” side. The line is a paraphrase taken from Alexander Pope’s 1711 poem, “An Essay on Criticism,” an unlikely reference for Theme Time producer/writer Eddie Gorodetsky to be making in relation to Muddy Waters, no matter how literate the ex-radio jock and comedy writer may be. On the other hand, if we had the opportunity to browse a certain deejay's bookshelf, I suspect we'd find "An Essay on Criticism" sharing space with Sax Rohmer's "The Hand of Fu-Manchu," and Joan Didion's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem."

The Ancients only, or the Moderns prize:
Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Criticism" (Line 394)

There’s much for Bob Dylan to like in “An Essay on Criticism,” including Pope’s argument that all good writing stems from “the imitation of the ancients,” and his contention that bad criticism is much more tiresome for the reader than bad writing. Dylan may have adapted the “one of the ancients…” line to acknowledge one of the primary tenets of his career: all artists owe a debt to their predecessors, a thread that would run through many of his Theme Time commentaries.

Although little-remembered in these modern times, “An Essay on Criticism” has made several contributions to the popular lexicon including, “a little learning is a dangerous thing,” and “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” both dictums worth remembering as I continue on with my book.

The Theme Time Radio Hour team seem to have a certain nostalgic fondness for "Blow Wind Blow," perhaps because it was the song that launched a 100 Theme Times. I received an email from one of the show's many associate producers after I posted a video of Waters performing the song, who thanked me but noted that the TTRH team favored another version; a November 28, 19 and 70 performance at/on The Beat-Club music show broadcast from Bremen, Germany. It's posted above. Enjoy one of the ancients, who all moderns prize.

Theme Time Radio Hour - The Annotated "Kiss" Show Transcript -- Episode 101

Introduction

The 101st episode of Theme Time Radio Hour, “Kiss” also known as “The Kiss Show” and “Kissing,” was originally released on February 11, 2015 by Berlin radio station Radio Eins as a special episode of its “Friendly Takeover” series.  Like TTRH, the “Friendly Takeover” show features musicians acting as deejay and playing cuts that they’ve selected.

Advertised by Radio Eins as previously “unknown” and “never broadcasted,” “Kiss” seems to have been recorded during TTRH’s third season, which ran from late 2008 to April 2009. Why "Kiss" never aired until six or seven years later is unknown.  Perhaps the TTRH team was unhappy with the sound quality. Much of Our Host’s commentary sounds as if it was recorded in a cavern, especially in the early half of the show. Maybe the grim stories about Connie Francis and J. Frank Wilson gave the producers second thoughts about airing a dark show with the light-hearted theme of “Kiss.”

If either of those are right, it leaves open the question as to why the producers didn’t go back and re-record or re-edit “Kiss” and then release it.

So, maybe the producers recorded back-up episodes in case of emergency and the need to replace a scheduled show? Maybe Season 3 was originally going to run longer than the 25 episodes that were aired? Maybe they were planning a fourth season?

We’ll probably never know.

How the show ended up with Radio Eins in 2015 is another question.  Possibly “Friendly Takeover” solicited Mr. D.’s office to have him do a show a la the old TTRH and in due course the answer came back, “No, but we do have this unaired episode of the original TTRH that you can use. Interested?”

"Don't Ask Me How Many Times We Kissed"

Shortly after Radio Eins aired “Kiss” the show was broadcast on Sirius XM and later on the BBC, which leads into the curious problem of the different “Kisses.” 

There are at least two versions of “Kiss” online: the Radio Eins “original,” and a version broadcast by the BBC.  The most glaring differences are that the Radio Eins version drops a full segment – Billy Boy Arnold and “Kissing at Midnight” – while the BBC version drastically edits Our Host’s commentary on Connie Francis and drops the closing credits. There are several other differences between the two which I note in the transcription.

Both versions were probably edited for time reasons. “Friendly Takeover” is normally a 55-minute show, and the producers needed to make cuts to fit the show within the time they had. The BBC “Kiss” episode includes a news segment, as well as an ID and promo, all of which eat into the show’s allotted time.

The BBC editor appears to have been more of a fan of TTRH than his Radio Eins counterpart, making the Solomonic choice to keep “Kissing at Midnight” while losing most of the overly long and very depressing Connie Francis commentary as well as editing out Our Host’s “see you next week.” Sadly, there has been no “next week,” at least not yet.

Of the two, the BBC version is probably the “better” version, including intros and outros for Prince’s “Kiss” and Huelyn Duvall’s “Pucker Paint” as well as a segment on mistletoe missing in the Radio Eins version. Yet, completists will want both, of course, if for no other reason than for Our Host’s full commentary on Connie Francis, as bleak as it is. 

An enterprising TTRH fan has created a composite show using both versions. As the BBC show had better sound quality, it forms the foundation of the composite show, with missing segments added from the Radio Eins version. Links to the aiff files of the composite show can be found here. Links to an mp3 version of the composite show can be found here.

~ Fred Bals

Being a (Presumably) “Compleat” Transcript (with Occasional Commentary) of the 101st episode of Theme Time Radio Hour, first airing on February 11, 2015

Prelude To A Kiss – Ben Webster (excerpt)

THE LADY IN RED: It’s nighttime in the Big City.  Someone in the building is making popcorn. A waitress returns home, happy to take her shoes off…

… I wish people would curb their dogs.

This is Theme Time Radio Hour with your host, Bob Dylan.

***

Commentary

“A waitress returns home, happy to take her shoes off.”  Ellen Barkin, Theme Time’s Lady in Red, says this line in another TTRH intro,  episode 40, “Laughter.”  It appears that the Lady in Red’s intros are compilations, as there are several examples during the show’s run of one of her lines being re-used.

While the Lady in Red’s intros sometimes had something to do with the show’s theme, there are many intros that don’t, and even one or two shows where there’s no intro at all.

***

A Little Love, A Little Kiss – Eddie Lang (excerpt)

OUR HOST: Welcome to Theme Time Radio Hour. Today we’re going to take a musical look at one of my favorite pastimes. It’s an act of intimacy, the thing that Mae West called a man’s signature.  And I’m guessing she knows what she was talking about.

You can call it a lip lock, or, as our friends across the pond call it,  “snogging.”  I call it good old-fashioned kissing.  You can kiss up, kiss off,  kiss the Blarney Stone, or kiss my ass.   So, for the next hour, we’re going to play a little musical game of “spin the bottle.” This is your kissing bandit welcoming you to the osculatory edition of Theme Time Radio Hour.

Clip from the film Casablanca (1942)

OUR HOST:  Here’s a little lady from Chicago way, though she was actually born in Mississippi.  She made her name in Chicago, recording for local labels like Vee-Jay, Cobra, and Wonderful.  Wasn’t till she went to Vee-Jay that she made her mark. Here’s Betty Everett and the Shoop Shoop Song, “It’s in His Kiss.”

It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song) – Betty Everett (1964)

OUR HOST:  That was Betty Everett, The Shoop Shoop Song.

Smooching – Mark Knopfler (excerpt)

If it’s in his kiss, perhaps it’s mononucleosis, commonly known as the “kissing disease.” It’s a viral infection, most often the Epstein-Barr virus. It’s carried in saliva and is usually spread by kissing. But you can get it from sneezes and coughs also. Personally, I’d prefer to get it from kissing.

Doctor Joyce Brothers reports that before marriage the average American woman has kissed 79 men, which means that 79 men have kissed Doctor Joyce Brothers.

***

Commentary

A well-known personality of the `60s and `70s, so well-known that she played herself in a variety of television shows ranging from “Happy Days” to “The Simpsons,” Doctor Joyce Brothers was sometimes known as the “mother of mass-media psychology,” a forerunner of Drs. Ruth and Phil.  While Brothers’ “report” is cited in many books and websites, where she first said or wrote it is harder to discover, possibly on her radio show, or in one of her many publications.

The crack TTRH research team missed an opportunity to have Mr. D. talk about Brothers’ expertise in boxing knowledge, which probably would have tickled his fancy.

 According to Brothers’ New York Times obituary,  “The demure-looking, scholarly Dr. Brothers had first come to wide attention as a contestant on ‘The $64,000 Question,’ where she triumphed as an improbable authority on boxing… She made her first appearance on the show in late 1955, returning week after week until she had won the top prize, $64,000 — only the second person, and the first woman, to do so. She later won the same amount, also for boxing knowledge, on a spinoff show, ‘The $64,000 Challenge.”’

At the height of the quiz show scandals, Dr. Brothers would appear before a congressional committee to prove that she hadn't been fed the answers. She passed the test easily, and would move on to her first television show, “Sports Showcase.”

And the rest is history. Dr. Joyce Brothers, academic psychologist, counselor to millions, game show panelist, and student of the sweet science.

***

OUR HOST:  Blackie Crawford had a band called the Western Cherokees.  His singer in that band became much more famous.  His name was Lefty Frizzell and he’s a big favorite here around the Abernathy Building.  Blackie and Lefty wrote this song together and it spent 12 weeks at #1 on the country charts. Here’s the always punctual Lefty Frizzell, “Always Late with Your Kisses.”

Always Late With Your Kisses – Lefty Frizzell (1951)

OUR HOST:  That was Lefty Frizzell, “Always Late with Your Kisses.” 

I Will Survive – The Texas Gypsies (excerpt)

OUR HOST:  There’s being late with your kisses and there’s even the worse experience of being left at the altar. That’s what happened to Nicole Contos.  In 19 and 97 she was due to marry a shipping broker by the name of Tasos Michael.  She was in a packed church in Manhattan and he left her. He didn’t even show up. But she went on with the wedding by herself.  The wedding cost $65,000 and she wasn’t going to waste it.  Her friends rallied around her, enjoyed the $175-a-plate dinner and afterwards cheered her on when she danced to the disco hit, “I Will Survive.” Nicole Contos,  a resilient woman.

***

Commentary

The New York Times printed a report that Contos and Michael had married in their Weddings section on November 23^rd 19 and 97, and two days later issued a retraction:

Correction: November 25, 1997, Tuesday A report in the Sunday Styles section this week about the marriage of Nicole Contos and Tasos Michael was published in error. The ceremony, scheduled for late Saturday afternoon, was canceled after the section went to press.

Because the Gray Lady always admits her mistakes, you can still read the announcement of the wedding that wasn't on the Times website.  

***

Sombra Que Besa – Trío Matamoros y Los Guaracheros De Oriente (excerpt)

OUR HOST: This is Theme Time Radio Hour. We’re talking about kissing, which means we’re centering on cupidity and not stupidity.  Lucinda Williams wrote a song all about passionate kisses. Lucinda’s father was a poet, and a literature professor, and they traveled extensively when she was a child through Mexico and Chile as well as the American South.   All that travel was good for her,  ‘cause she soaked up a lot of culture.  A lot of people know this song because it was a big hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter.  A #5 smash.  It got Lucinda her first of three Grammy awards.  So, let’s listen to Lucinda’s version from her 1988 album, here’s “Passionate Kisses.”

Passionate Kisses – Lucinda Williams (1988)

OUR HOST:  That was Lucinda Williams, “Passionate Kisses” here on Theme Time Radio Hour, where we’re reminding you that a one-minute kiss burns about 26 calories.  Deep, passionate kissing burns up to 600 calories per hour. If anyone listening needs a workout, I’m available.

[BBC version – OUR HOST:  Billy Boy Arnold was born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois. And like Betty Everett, he recorded for the Vee-Jay  record label. But he had his start playing harmonica with Bo Diddley.  After a couple of records, though, he struck out on his own.  You probably know his song, “I Wish You Would.”  But this one is all about kissing at a particular time. Here’s Billy Boy Arnold, “Kissing  at Midnight.”]

Billy Boy Arnold - Kissing at Midnight (1957)

***

Commentary

To complete the lostness of the "Kiss" Lost Theme Time Radio Hour episode, the Billy Boy Arnold segment is missing from the original Radio Eins broadcast and thus from the recordings posted online, including the Soundcloud version that Dreamtime linked to in an earlier post.  

The BBC rebroadcast includes the deleted cut but is missing other parts of the show broadcast on Radio Eins.

Accept no substitutes! If you don't have William "Billy Boy" Arnold or the full Connie Francis story as part of your legally obtained copy of "Kiss" you're being shortchanged.  Thanks to our friends at The Bob Dylan Fan Club and Expecting Rain for pointing this out.

***

[BBC version – OUR HOST: That was Billy Boy Arnold and “Kissing at Midnight.”]

Kissing Is A Crime – The Original Carter Family (excerpt)

If you’re kissing at midnight, better be careful and not do it where the blue laws are in effect. You can find blue laws in the United States and Canada and they’re meant to protect the Sabbath as a sacred day. These laws would prohibit breaches in family discipline, public drunkenness, public displays of affection and excesses in dress. They’re called “blue laws” because of the blue paper they were originally printed on.

***

Commentary

It’s a myth that "blue laws" were named after the blue paper on which they were printed. No one actually knows how the term originated, but the most likely theory, according to Snopes.com, is that it was probably derived “…from an eighteenth-century usage of the word "blue" as a disparaging reference to something perceived as "rigidly moral" (a "bluenose," for example, is one who advocates a rigorous moral code).”

OUR HOST: Let’s move from blue laws to a purple artist, Minneapolis native, Prince, or as I call him, “The Artist formerly known as the Artist formerly known as Prince.”

[BBC version – Here’s a song of his that was recorded by Tom Jones, The Art of Noise, and a whole bunch of other people. But I’ve always liked the original. It’s a funk record that doesn’t have any bass on it. Here’s Prince.]

Kiss – Prince (1986)

OUR HOST: That was Prince, and “Kiss.”  I always thought KISS should have recorded a song called,  “Prince.”  I’ll have to call Gene Simmons and ask him about that. 

***

Commentary

As with “When Doves Cry,” there’s no bass track on “Kiss” as Our Host mentions. Prince decided to mute the bass on both tracks during mix-down.

Prince is mentioned twice before on TTRH, in one of the few examples of the producers re-cycling the same narrative clip on different episodes. Dylan would re-use the same line, “… just like Prince, she’s from Minnesota” when introducing Judy Garland’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” on the premiere “Weather” show as well as for Judy’s other appearance on TTRH, performing “Smile” in the Season 3 “Happiness” episode.

***

[BBC version – OUR HOST: One place a lot of people kiss is under the mistletoe. Well, it's an interesting legend. According to Scandinavian myth, the Norse god Baldur was the best loved of all the gods. Frigga was his mother, the goddess of love and beauty. She wanted to make sure no harm would ever come to her beloved son. She went through the entire world getting promises from everything that sprang from the four elements that they would not harm her beloved Baldur.

The evil trickster Loki was able to find the one thing that could harm Baldur, and that was mistletoe. He made an arrow from the wood of the mistletoe. To be even crueler, he took the arrow to Baldur’s blind brother Hodor. Loki guided Hodor’s hand and shot the arrow at Baldur’s heart. He fell dead, and Frigga's tears changed the red mistletoe berries to white. But the gods gave mercy on Frigga and Baldur was restored to life. Frigga was so grateful that she showed no hatred for the offending mistletoe plant, making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passed beneath it.

OUR HOST: [BBC version –  I'm sure some of those kisses happened in the dark.] Here’s Memphis Minnie, one of the great guitarist and singers, “Kissing in the Dark”

Kissing In The Dark – Memphis Minnie (1953)

OUR HOST: That was Memphis Minnie, “Kissing in the Dark,” written by her husband at the time, Ernest Lawlars, who was known as “Little Son Joe.”

Sealed With A Kiss – Artist Unknown (excerpt)

OUR HOST: The average person spends 336 hours of their life kissing.  It doesn’t seem like enough.

Another popular “Kiss” was made by Milton Hershey,  a candy maker in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  In 1894 he started the Hershey Company, and they produce chocolates to this day.  In 1907 they produced a flat-bottomed, cone-shaped candy.  They gave it  the name, “Kiss,” because of the sound the machine nozzle made as it squirted out a drop of chocolate. [kiss sound]

Somehow I wish I didn’t know that.

Clip from the film Naked Kiss (1964)

OUR HOST:  One kind of kiss you definitely want more of is a French Kiss. A lot of people think that the French Kiss originated in France.  Actually, the term became slang in 19 and 23 as a slur to the French.  People thought that the French were overly infatuated with sexual matters as anyone who knows the complete version of the poem that begins….

“The French, they are a funny race”

… can tell you.

***

Commentary

We’re going to get a bit blue here, so kindly cover your children’s ears and ladies and sensitive souls may want to leave the room.

I suspect that somewhere on the shelves of Studio B’s musicology library is the 1992 book,  Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore: Roll me in your arms, Volume 1, which includes the lyrics to an unexpurgated version of Mademoiselle from Armentières…

Oh! the French, they are a funny race

Parlay-voo?

The French they are a funny race

Parlay-voo?

The French they are a funny race

The fight with their feet—

And fuck with their face—

Hinky-dinky parlay-voo?!

The author of “Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore..” goes on to note that the tune, sung to the melody of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” was the most popular song among the British and American troops of World War I and apparently had its origins in a German drinking song of the early 19^th century, “The Landlord’s Daughter,” later known as “Three German Officers Crossed the Rhine.”

***

April Kisses – Eddie Lang (excerpt)

OUR HOST:  In France, there’s no such thing as a “French Kiss.” They probably just call it a “kiss,” just like they call French Fries “fries.” In French what it’s called “embrasser avec la langue,” which means literally, “to kiss the tongue.” Or as some prefer to say, “rouler un pelle,” which means, “to roll the blade.”

Here’s a song out of New Orleans, kind of a local hit, but didn’t make a lot of noise anywhere else. I always enjoyed it though, and I thought this would be an opportunity to share it with you. It’s by a singer named Danny White, this is the closest he ever had to a hit, and it was in 19 and 63. “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye – Danny White (1962)

OUR HOST: That was Danny White, “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”

[BBC version – OUR HOST: The closest thing he had to another hit was the next year with a cover version of Earl King’s ballad, “Loan Me a Handkerchief,” an admonitory song to say the least.]

[BBC version – News @ the 30 minute mark] 

[BBC version – OUR HOST: “Let's continue our kissing show with a guy who didn't have a hit, but he had the last word on a hit. I'll explain it after I play the song. Here’s Huelyn Duvall, “Pucker Paint.”]

Pucker Paint – Huelyn Duvall (1960)

OUR HOST: That was Huelyn Duvall and "Pucker Paint".

[BBC version -- “Tequila” – The Champs [excerpt]

[BBC version – OUR HOST:   He never had a hit of his own, but back in 19 and 58 he was asked to sit in on a recording session. He didn't play guitar on that record, but he added some "oohs" and "aahs" to the A-side, a song called "Train to Nowhere". The B-side was an instrumental, and he didn't play on it at all. However, he did yell the title out on the end, and sometime every day you can hear Huelyn Duvall yell out "Tequila" at the end of the Champs record.”]

***

Commentary

It both amuses and worries me how easy it is to start acting like the TTRH research team. Below is my original commentary chiding the producers for their lack of information on Huelyn Duvall, and offering some trivia to fill in the gap.

Apparently Nina Fitzgerald-Washington and I think alike.

***

It’s rare indeed when Mr. D. simply intros and outros a song without any commentary, so Dreamtime will step in. "Pucker Paint" was released on Gene Autry's Challenge label in 19 and 60 b/w the B-side “Boom-Boom Baby.” Neither cut moved the success needle for Duvall, although “Boom-Boom Baby” would later become a  #1 hit for rockabilly Crash Craddock in Australia.

As he tells it, Huelyn Duvall’s closest brush with a hit was with the instrumental “Tequila,” by the Flores Trio (later renamed as “The Champs”) where he was one of the background voices on the original cut shouting out the title at the song’s end.

Released in 19 and 58 as the B-side for "Train to Nowhere" on the Challenge label, “Tequila” is another example of a B-side becoming the more memorable cut. After a Cleveland DJ started promoting  it on his show, "Tequila" skyrocketed up the charts, reaching #1 on the Billboard chart on March 28, 19 and 58.

***

Lipstick Sunset – John Hiatt (excerpt)

OUR HOST:  Connie Francis was a very popular artist who had a very sad life.

[BBC version – But that’s not how I choose to remember her. Let’s remember Connie Francis in happier times with a light-hearted look at marital infidelity.  Here she is: “Lipstick on Your Collar.”]

Her father tried to get her to make a living playing and teaching the accordion. She was on a competition at age 9 on Arthur Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts.” Even then, Arthur Godfrey could tell how beautiful her voice was and convinced her to give up the accordion. She recorded a series of singles that went nowhere. She was on her way to a pre-med scholarship at New York University. But first, one last recording session, which included a song that she hated, but that her father wanted her to record. She sang it quickly, only doing one take. America fell in love with it, and “Who’s Sorry Now” was the first of a long string of hits.  She knew a lot of different languages, and recorded her songs in Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. She starred in the movies in “Where the Boys Are,” “Looking for Love,” and “When the Boys Meet the Girls.”

She retired for awhile, but in 19 and 74 her third husband convinced her to go back on the stage. She had only done four performances when she checked into a motel on Long Island. The motel lock was faulty, and she was raped.  Her marriage fell apart. Shortly thereafter she was bouncing back, but in 19 and 81 her brother was brutally murdered. It was only during therapy for all these events that she discovered  that she was maniac-depressive and had been addicted to pills for maybe as long as 25 years. 

She sued the hotel she got raped in for negligence and received 2.5 million dollars, which at the time was the largest personal injury settlement in history. It doesn't seem enough for the amount of pain she went through. But that’s not how I choose to remember her. Let’s remember Connie Francis in happier times with a light-hearted look at marital infidelity.  Here she is: “Lipstick on Your Collar.”

Lipstick On Your Collar – Connie Francis (1959)

OUR HOST:  That was Connie Francis with a story of trouble told in color on the collar of your shirt. 

You know how people sign letters with “X”s , that mean little kisses? Well, here’s where that came from. Hundreds of years ago when clergy and priests wrote letters they would sign their name, and then they would add a cross.  That’s because a cross has many interpretations. One of the primary meanings is “love.” So it was nice to sign off a letter with that. ‘Bout three hundred years after that, people who were writing love letters started adopting the cross symbol as a shorthand for “love.” But they rotated it ‘bout 45 degrees, so when you take a cross and turn it 45 degrees you get an “X” and they say this rotation was to imitate the way you turn your head when giving a kiss. So the “X” at the end of a letter became the sign of a kiss. 

[Radio Eins version – Now, it seems like I know a lot about kissing.]  Here’s Don and Phil with a song written by Don.  It’s from 19 and 59 on the Cadence record label, and if you have to ask, “Don and Phil who?” you’re not a regular listener of this show. Here are the Everly Brothers,  “Til I Kissed You.”

('Til) I Kissed You – The Everly Brothers (1959)

OUR HOST: That was the Everly Brothers,  “Until I Kissed You.”

Lou Rossinhol – Geoffrey Mitchell Choir & Martin Best (excerpt)

OUR HOST:  The tradition of lifting the veil and kissing the bride is a combination of two old customs. Lifting the veil was a part of the ancient wedding ritual. See, marriages used to be arranged by family members. The newlyweds quite often had never met. These arranged marriages had large sums of money riding on them, and sometimes there was the fear that if the groom didn't like the bride’s looks he might refuse to marry her and her family would lose a great dowry. This is why the father of the bride gave the broad away at the wedding ceremony, only after they lifted her veil would he see her face for the first time.

***

Commentary

A pure Groucho Marx moment, Our Host distinctly says “broad” when referring to the blushing bride.

***

OUR HOST: In ancient Rome,  couples became betrothed by kissing passionately in front of a group of people and that’s why we have kissing at the end of the modern wedding ceremony.

Pepe Le Pew clip

Besame Mucho – Pérez Prado (excerpt)

OUR HOST: You’re listening to Theme Time Radio Hour, your home for themes, dreams, and smooching schemes. So pucker up and listen.

If you got to kiss, people do it different ways in different places. For example, in the Middle East, cheek kissing between a male and female is usually considered inappropriate, unless it’s within the same family. Some cultures in the Himalayas don’t kiss at all. They know that saliva has a lot of bacteria and I guess they’re afraid of mono. Some cultures in Africa don’t kiss on the mouth because they consider it a portal to the soul. So someone that kisses you could take your soul.

And in the South Pacific’s Trobriand Islands kissing is highly erotic and very aggressive. It begins with gentle hugging and kissing, then progresses until you’re biting each other’s lips and bleeding commences. It concludes with biting off each other’s eyelash tips.

I know it sounds weird, but it’s pretty good! Trust me.

OUR HOST: Some kisses can get you into trouble, but just as easily you can use them to make up. Here are The Falcons, with a very young Wilson Pickett. Right after he recorded this record with the Falcons,  he went off on a solo career. From 19 and 63, on the Atlantic label, “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” The Falcons.

Let's Kiss And Make Up – The Falcons (1963)

OUR HOST: That was The Falcons, here on Theme Time Radio Hour, “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” not to be confused with KISS and makeup. 

A second email, I got one here, that’s perfect for today’s show. Comes to us from Lawrence P. Boar from Sheepshead Bay, Long Island. Lawrence writes,

“Dear Theme Time Gang.  I heard through the grapevine that you’re doing a show about kissing. I could sure use your help. My girlfriend says I’m a bad kisser. We get along great, but I’m afraid this one problem is going to ruin the whole thing.  Please help!  Anxious in Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, Lawrence P. More.”

Smooch – Miles Davis (excerpt)

OUR HOST:  Well, Lawrence, kissing is an important part of a relationship, and  it’s one of those things that you have to be relaxed to do.  So the fact that you’re getting anxious about it isn’t helping you one bit.  However, I can give you a few tips.  Armed with this knowledge, you’ll feel a little more confident and be able to set things right.  First of all, make sure your lips are moist. Run your tongue over your lips once before you kiss her. No one likes to kiss sandpaper. Stand close to your partner, you don’t want her to have her reach too far. Tilt your head slightly to one side. Close your eyes just before your lips meet. Just close them!  Some people like to leave their eyes open during a kiss,  but until you understand your partner’s preference, better to play it safe and close your eyes. 

Open your lips slightly, not like you’re going to swallow her whole head, just a little bit and hold your breath, breathe through your nose. Press your partner’s lips gently, move your lips in a slow, circular motion.  Be gentle but firm. And finally, and I can’t stress this enough, have a pocketful of mints.  There’s no underestimating the attractiveness of good breath. 

Good luck and happy kissing.  I hope it won’t be until long that your hear your girl say, “Baby, let me kiss you just one more time.”

***

Commentary

“How to Kiss” joins such other memorable TTRH advice from Mr. D. as “Household Cleaning Tips” and “How to Grow Flowers.” Keen-eared listeners will hear a couple of mistakes in this excerpt:  Our Host refers to the letter as a second email, even though it’s the one and only email read on “Kiss.” The writer’s last name also changes during Mr. D.’s reading, from “Boar” to “More.” Nonetheless, it’s one of the best advice segments Our Host has read over TTRH’s run.

***

OUR HOST:  Hey, that sounds like a song cue! Why, golly, it is. Here’s Roy Head and The Traits.

Baby Let Me Kiss You One More Time – Roy Head & The Traits (1958)

OUR HOST:  That was Roy Head and The Traits and “Baby Let Me Kiss You Just One More Time.” Everybody talks about how great cow bells sound on records, but they forget how good a tambourine can sound. That record will remind you. Roy was only 16 years old when he recorded that. It was his first record and was in the Top Ten locally, and by “locally” I mean Three Rivers, Texas, which is where Roy is from. 

You all know Roy from his big hit “Treat Her Right,” and he’s still out there performing. I saw him two years ago at the Ponderosa Stomp and they tore the place up.

***

Commentary

According to a Dreamtime correspondent, Roy Head has played at the Ponderosa Stomp Festival over various years, including 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010, leaving Mr. D.’s statement on seeing him “two years ago” as unreliable evidence on when the “Kiss” episode was recorded. We’ll come back to the subject in later commentary.

***

OUR HOST:  We’re getting up near the end of the show, and almost time for a kiss goodnight.

Clip from the film Junior Prom (1946)

OUR HOST:  Well, we’ve got time for a couple more songs. Here’s a song written by a guy whose got the best hair in show business.  If you don’t believe me , Google him right now. The writer’s name was Wayne Cochran. We’ll tell you about him on the other side of the song. But first I want to tell you about the guy who sang it.

The Kiss – Nicholas Hooper (excerpt)

J. Frank Wilson had only one hit. He was the vocalist with a band called “The Cavaliers,” who played around local Texas clubs. This record came out and became a huge hit.  Unfortunately J. Frank Wilson didn’t know how to deal with it. He thought he was a superstar. He filled himself up with sex and booze and stayed up night and day. It was so bad that the band left him behind after just a few shows. He never had another hit.  He died before his 50^th birthday, an alcoholic, alone in a nursing home.

OUR HOST:  The song, however, had a longer life. Pearl Jam recorded it in 1999, and it became their biggest chart hit, going all the way up to #2.  One of the saddest songs in pop history.

Last Kiss – J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers (1964)

OUR HOST:   That was J. Frank Wilson, “Last Kiss,”  written by the man with the platinum pompadour, Wayne Cochran. 

Let me tell you how the song was written.  On December 22^nd, 19 and 62 16-year-old Janet Clark was out on a date. She was with a group of friends in a Chevrolet on Highway 341.  The car collided with a trailer truck. Janet, the driver, and another teenager were killed.  Two other kids in the car had serious injuries. It was a terribly gory accident. So bad, in fact, that a local gas station attendant who helped in recovery of the bodies did not recognize his own daughter. Fifteen miles away, Wayne Cochran was paying $20 a month rent for an old shack. He saw many accidents on that stretch of highway, so many that he started writing a song about them. But he could never finish it. The death of Janet Clark was a horrible inspiration for him to finish that song. He called it “Last Kiss.”

Kissing A Wolf – Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil (excerpt)

OUR HOST:    Wayne went on to have a career as a dynamic rhythm and blues performer, but eventually he left it all behind to join the clergy, preaching in Miami.

OUR HOST:   Well, we can’t end the show with such a sad kiss, so let’s listen to one of the masters, the fountainhead from which all music flows. Louie Armstrong and a song that was a signature piece of his live performances in the later period of his life. This is a version he recorded in 19 and 51 with “A Kiss to Build a Dream On.”

A Kiss To Build A Dream On – Louis Armstrong (1951)

 OUR HOST:   That was Louie Armstrong, from the movie, “The Strip,” “A Kiss to Build a Dream On.”  If that song sounds familiar, maybe you recognize it from the movie “Sleepless in Seattle.”

OUR HOST:   Before we go, I want to share some words with you written by Robert Burns.  It’s called “[Ode] to a Kiss”

Romance de los Pinos – Andrés Segovia (excerpt)]

Humid seal of soft affections,

Tend'rest pledge of future bliss,

Dearest tie of young connections,

Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss.

Speaking silence, dumb confession,

Passion's birth, and infants' play,

Dove-like fondness, chaste concession,

Glowing dawn of brighter day.

Sorrowing joy, adieu's last action,

Ling'ring lips, -- no more to join!

What words can ever speak affection

Thrilling and sincere as thine!

OUR HOST:  Robert Burns, kissable poet.

[Radio Eins version –Kiss Urass Goodbye – Redd Foxx (excerpt)]

OUR HOST:   Thanks for listening and I’m going to leave you with the words of Albert Einstein. Albert said, “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” I agree with him totally. [Radio Eins version – We’ll see you next week.] Go kiss someone you love.  

***

Commentary

Apparently coming up with the Theory of Relativity, E=MC² and being a founding member of KISS isn't enough for some people. There are dozens of quotes attributed to Albert Einstein, including the one on “kissing,” where there’s no evidence that he said it. 

There’s a great thread on snopes.com on the “driving … kissing” quote with a writer tracing its origins to as early as 1924, with the line being used by everyone from car companies, gag writers, and even Tennessee Ernie Ford over the years.

***

[RadioEins version includes the following credits]

 [Top Cat Underscore]

PIERRE MANCINI:  Thanks for listening to Theme Time Radio Hour, with your host, Bob Dylan.

Produced by Eddie Gorodetsky and the associate producer is Nina Fitzgerald.

Continuity is by Eeps Martin and the editor is Damian Rodriguiz. The supervising editor is Rob Macomber.

The research team is Diane Lapson and Bernie Bernstein with additional research courtesy of Lynne Sheridan, April Hayes, Callie Gladman, Terrence Michaels, Sean Patrick and Matthew Belcher.

Robert Bower was the li-burn and production coordinator was Debbie Sweeney.

Special thanks go out to Randy Ezratty, Coco Shinomiya, Samson's Diner and Lee Abrams.

Tex Carbone was our Director of Studio Operations. Recorded in Studio B of the historic Abernathy Building, built in 1848.

It’s a Graywater Park production in association with Big Red Tree.  This is your announcer, Pierre Mancini, speaking.

***

Commentary

And we’ll close with other questions that Dreamtime has been asked several times since the “Kiss” episode was first announced: “What is this?” “Is it an unaired show or a new TTRH?”  “Why did it suddenly appear?” “Why did it take until 2009 for Wanda Jackson to get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?”

And my answer is, “Damned if I know.”   Me, I like to think of it as an unexpected Valentine’s Day gift from Mr. D. and the Theme Time Radio Hour gang.  And, maybe, if we’re lucky, there are more shows locked away in the Studio B vault of the historic Abernathy Building and, sooner or later, we’ll get to hear those too.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

~ Emily Dickinson, hopeful poet.

It’s been fun.  We’ll see you next week. In the immortal words of Albert Einstein, “Go kiss someone you love.”