The indisputable leader of the gang

Reader/listener Carol passed on this exhaustive article from the priceless WFMU's Beware of the Blog on Arnold Stang, who among many other things in his comedic career voiced the lead character of the cartoon Top Cat, whose TTRH connection we talked about way back in August of 2ooo and 6.

As the article notes, Stang had a weird and wacky career, with turns in everything from the straight drama The Man With the Golden Arm (playing opposite Frank Sinatra), to roles on Bonanza and Wagon Train, to a wonderful battle (aided by the equally funny Marvin Kaplan) with Jonathan Winters in that hommage to slapstick and vehicle for nearly every comic working before or during 1963, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

As a piece of useless trivia for IaMMMMW fans, I lived at the Palos Verdes compound where the Big W was located, although it was seven years after the filming. The Big W had been damaged in a wind storm before my tenure, and more resembled a Big Lopsided V than W by that time.

More, More Louie, Louie

Reader/listener Geoff passed on this link to a BBC Music Club documentary on Louie, Louie, Louie and the G-Men, which kinda made me wish Dreamtime had the resources of the Beeb at our call, too.

The show is hosted by "Little Steven" Van Zandt, who seemingly like every other rocker in the world, has his own radio show too, although none are as good, or as quirky, as TTRH. Little Steven's Underground Garage (warning: link will take you to an audio Flash site which - while work-safe - could be embarrassing) is a pretty good show, with a nice mixture of new and old music. A nice representative example is Episode 268 (scroll down a bit):

It is May in America. Do you know what that means? That’s right, it’s Bob Dylan’s birthday, and helping us celebrate in the Underground Garage this weekend is Gary U.S. Bonds, the Beatles, the Turtles, the Faces, Jason & the Scorchers, and of course, the Byrds. We’ve got the newest, coolest music being made on the planet from Peachfuzz, the Len Price 3, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Contrast, Mary Weiss, the Woggles, and the White Stripes. Find out about Bob Dylan’s garage band in high school. Find out who his favorite bands where when he was a juvenile delinquent. And find out what Al Kooper, Steven Stills, and Mike Bloomfield have in common. It’s Bob Dylan’s million dollar bash and rock and roll dance party, this weekend in the Underground Garage.

Ollabelle - Ain't No More Cane

Dylan played Ollabelle's Elijah Rock on the Bible episode of TTRH. Ollabelle is comprised of Byron Isaacs, Tony Leone, Fiona McBain, Glenn Patscha and, Amy Helm, daughter of The Band's Levon Helm. More info on Ollabelle and their roots can found in Episode 18- High on a Mountain.

Tiny Tim w/Eleanor Barooshian - I Got You Babe Plus The Cake - You Can Have Him

Regular readers/listeners know of my fondness for Tiny Tim. I share Dylan's opinion that when Tim passed away we lost a treasure house of musical knowledge.

Here's Tim in a rare clip from Peter Yarrow’s You Are What You Eat performing a duet of the Sonny and Cher classic with Tim taking the female lead and Eleanor Barooshian the male part. Although unseen, the backing band is The Band.

On his album, God Bless Tiny Tim, Tim would perform both the male and female vocals. The YouTube description notes that Ms. Barooshian (now working under the name "Chelsea Lee") was a member of `60s girl group The Cake. According to their Wikipedia entry their two Decca Records albums are set to be re-released on CD in 2007 by Rev-Ola Records. The surviving two members of The Cake also have a MySpace Page here.

And here is just a wonderful video of The Cake performing You Can Have Him on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in August of 19 and 67...