The Fredösphere

I have faint memories of the very first stereo my parents bought, back sometime in the 1960s. It was second-hand, but we were mightily impressed by this exotic purchase, not just because it had two (count 'em: two!) speakers, but especially because of the collection of vinyl LPs that came free with it. These records boasted their "Stereo" status, sometimes upgraded to "Stereophonic", "Living Stereo" or even "Super Stereo", and defined a musical taste far, far, far removed from that of my famiy. They gave me a peephole (I believe "peep" is the best word here) into a world I knew little of.

There was the soundtrack to Goldfinger (my sister declared it to be a "dirty" movie and then foolishly pointed out the half-naked girl on the back cover, which I had not, until then, even noticed) and one of the Firestone Christmas albums (James Lileks has that topic covered, exhaustively) and a album from the Cha-Cha-Cha craze (not this one exactly, but it gives you the idea) and the Woody the Woodchuck Christmas Album (and you thought Alvin and the Chipmunks were un-knock-off-able!). But by far, the album that made a lasting impression on my was Dave Dudley: Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun.

Here's Dudley performing the song live. Note how his height, large head, and talent overwhelms the announcer. Dudley is all blue-collar simplicity in his presentation; he doesn't quite know what to do during the musical interludes and the camera mercifully cuts away from his silly bouncing around, but when it comes to the drama of the line "but not her figure!" (transliterated, "figger") his timing and control of his eyes are perfect. He works the song in an understated way, refusing to coast on the prodigious talent of his vocal instrument. The song itself seems to revel in its vulgarity, daring us to disapprove. Enjoy.



Finally, let me commend to your attention the blog Schadenfreudian Therapy, an excellent source for cover art and commentary of the popular music albums of the 1960s.

Labels: Culture, Memory Lane, VideoClip, vocal