gts142 “roarshak”
Don’t want lions coming in? Shut the front door!
01-01 Julia Lee – Kansas City Star 410 – It Comes On Like A Lion (1949)
— Columbia declined to release this song. Figured it wouldn’t sell 11 months out of the year?
01-02 Duke Mitchell – Crystalette 743 – The Lion (1961)
— his lion is lyin’.
01-03 Bruce Cockburn – SNL S05E18 – Wondering Where the Lions Are (1980)
— Bob Newhart hosted the show that evening.
01-04 Lillie Knox & Thelma Knox – Daniel In De Lion Den (1937-07-12)
— field recording collected by John Lomax in South Carolina.
01-05 Candye Kane – Whole Lotta Love 06 – A Lion In My House (2003)
— Candye doesn’t mind the carnivores.
01-06 Carolina Buddies – Columbia 15663D – He Went In Like A Lion (But Came Out Like A Lamb) (1931)
— “coco” is short for coconut, which means he’s getting hit over the head. Repeatedly.
02-01 Solomon Linda’s Original Evening Birds – Singer Bantu Records G.E.829 – Mbube (1939)
— the title means “lion” in the Zulu language, later used by Ladysmith Black Mambazo to describe the genre of music they espouse. Linda’s estate sued Disney for $1,600,000 for using the song on stage and film in “The Lion King”. Settled the lawsuit in 2006, fifty-four years after Pete Seeger up and mailed Linda a check on his own for $1,000. This song is now in the public domain.
02-02 Ted Ross & Nipsey Russell & Diana Ross & Michael Jackson – The Wiz OST 206 – I’m A Mean Ole Lion (1978)
— a Motown production based on the 1975 Broadway show, currently playing at the local Aud theater, last performance tomorrow!
02-03 Miriam Makeba – Miriam Makeba 107 – Mbube (1960)
— The Tokens likely never heard the original played earlier here, this is the version on which they based their 1961 hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.
02-04 They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18 08 – The Guitar (1992)
— ssshhhh, the lion’s on the phone!
02-05 Stanley Holloway – Columbia DX353 – The Lion And Albert (1932)
— I don’t know, maybe lion cages weren’t invented in 1932?
03-01 Spike Milligan – Unspun Socks From A Chicken’s Laundry 207 – The ‘Veggy’ Lion
— Spike was a member of comedy troupe The Goons, with Peter Sellers.
03-02 Adam & The Ants – Kings Of The Wild Frontier 104 – Feed Me To The Lions (1980)
— not the big hit off the album, but fits here.
03-03 Flexitones – Joyrider 13 – Roaring Lion (2004)
— reggae + punk = ska, but don’t know what reggae + prog is called.
03-04 Bee Gees – Trafalgar 201 – Lion In Winter (1971)
— ripped off from the award-festooned 1968 Hepburn/O’Toole movie. Wanted to play the theme suite from that film, it’s great, but it’s… over 12 minutes.
03-05 Homer & Jethro – Ooh, That’s Corny 201 – Don’t Go In The Lion’s Cage Tonight (1963)
— whatta bunch of weirdos, just the way I like it.
04-01 Leo Parker – Leo Parker 1947-1950 07 – Lion Roars (1947-12-19)
— recorded in 1947, but never issued on 78rpm.
04-02 Sammy & The Five Notes – Lucky Four 1019 – The Lion Is Awake (1962)
— no wimoweh-ing in this reply to The Tokens.
04-03 C. W. Stoneking – Jungle Blues 102 – Talkin’ Lion Blues (2013)
— Aussie yodeling!
04-04 The Fumes – Guns Of Gold 14 – Johnny The Lion Slayer (2006)
— had to trim the last 2:22 off this track, of which, 30 full seconds are dead silence before a “reprise”.
04-05 Christine Shipp & Katherine Shipp – Herbert Halpert field recording – See-Lye Woman (Sea Lion) (1939-05-13)
— field recording of two daughters of a minister, all of whom were apparently unaware, in 1939, that “sea lion woman” was a term for a prostitute who works the harborfront. Nina Simone’s version “See Line Woman” makes this clearer.
04-06 Patricia Carli – Riviera 507 – Le Lion (1967)
— early attempt at disco from Quebec.
05-01 Björk – Vulnicura 02 – Lionsong (2015)
— much love for her, more Björk coming here in a few weeks!
05-02 Willie (The Lion) Smith & Jess Stacy & Joe Bushkin – Commodore 520 – The Lion And The Lamb (1939)
— Willie’s nickname here in parentheses as it appears on the B-side of the 78rpm disc. The A-side of the same record uses square brackets.
05-03 Mushroom – Cream Of Mushroom 05 – What Do You Say To A Man Who’s Killed A Lion With His Bare Hands And Is Now Making Love To Your Wife? (1998)
— German band recorded in San Francisco, a “jam” tune long enough to befit a title like that.
05-04 Frederick McQueen & Shelton Swain & Stanley Thompson – The Real Bahamas: In Music And Song 203 – God Locked The Lions Jaw (1966)
— the female vocal is thought to be Louise Spence, the wife of nutso vocalist Joseph Spence.
06-01 Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood 09 – Lion’s Jaws (2006)
— only way to make this tune better would be tripling its length!
06-02 North Carolina Cooper Boys – Okeh 45174 – Daniel In The Den Of Lions (1928)
— from the stools out front the general store, to your Victrola.
06-03 Bert Lahr & Judy Garland – Wizard Of OZ OST 16 – If I Only Had The Nerve (1939)
— Bert Lahr was originally cast as the Tin Man, but the metallic paint was murder on his skin.
06-04 Sam Collins – Gennett 6181 – Devil In The Lion’s Den (1927)
— perfect delta blues, this song later became a hit, reworked by Canned Heat as “Going Up The Country”.
06-05 Jackie Lomax – Lost Soul 105 – The Golden Lion (196?)
— a lost artist, conflicting contractual obligations to Apple Records limited his ability to get wide distribution, despite George Harrison handing him songs. This one went unreleased, recorded in 1966 or 1967.
06-06 Karl Larsson – Pale As Milk 07 – Lion’s Escape (2005)
— right on the edge of emo.
06-07 Willie “The Lion” Smith – Blue Circle 500 – The Lion Steps Out (1953)
— and on this 45rpm disc, his nickname is in quotation marks!