gts150 “shhh”
Keep it down up there.
01-01 Ella Mae Morse – Capitol 151 – Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet (1944)
— she also sang on the very first record Capitol produced.
01-02 The Charms – DeLuxe 6050 – Quiet Please (1954)
— in 1954, still Ohio doo-wop with Otis Williams, though the next year the group’s success was poisoned by their label, owned by Henry Stone. Before that, they toured in support of Big Joe Turner.
01-03 Negativland – Escape From Noise 102 – Quiet Please (1987)
— the 4th cut plyed off this album on this show, and at plans to play at least 2 more. Thus, all-time great disc.
01-04 Bo Diddley – The Chess Years 1955-1974 1006 – I Said Shutup Woman
— track six on disc 10, female vocals are by Cookie Vee, additional guitar from Al Kooper.
01-05 Bjork – Post 04 – Its Oh So Quiet (1995)
— one of “those” albums without a single bad tune, and this one is only her 2nd-best album, so says Me. This is a cover of “Blow A Fuse”, a 1951 hit for Betty Hutton fronting Peter Rugalo’s Orchestra, which has “Murder He Says” on the flipside, which we have heard on this show!
01-06 Weezer – Hurley 04 – Unspoken (2010)
— just what you want out of Weezer, nice and melodic until it gets angry and loud.
02-01 Porter Wagoner – Porter Wagoner Country 101 – Out Of The Silence (Came A Song) (1971)
— written by Dolly Parton.
02-02 Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds Of Silence 101 – Sounds Of Silence (1966)
— second album, first big hit.
02-03 M – The Official Secrets Act 08 – Keep It To Yourself (1980)
— new wave but with a surprise solo a couple minutes in.
02-04 The Wild Tones – Madison Records 102 – Shut-Ups (1958)
— first single (of three total!), flipside is “The Martian Band”.
02-05 Linda Laurie – Glory 290 – Ambrose (Part Five) (1959)
— Linda Gertz, actually, who wrote “Leave Me Alone” for Helen Reddy.
02-06 unknown – Silent George
— origin unknown, but surreptitiously released by Heirloom Records, date unknown.
03-01 Bobby Patterson – It’s Just A Matter Of Time 201 – Quiet! Do Not Disturb (1972)
— analagous to “if the van’s a-rockin don’t come a-knockin”.
03-02 Buck’s Stove And Range Company – North On The Highway 107 – Silence In The Morning (1979)
— the namesake company got the Supreme Court to throw labor-rights pioneer Samuel Gompers in jail.
03-03 Paul Robeson – Songs Of Free Men 102 – Oh, How Proud Our Quiet Don (1942)
— speaking of tyranny and dictators, which we weren’t, the “Don” here isn’t who you think, it’s the Russian Don River, between the Volga and the Dnieper. He recorded a whole album of songs praising communist Russia, who were our Allies in 1942, but still prompted J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI to open a case file on Paul Robeson.
03-04 Marion Hutton & Tex Beneke & The Modernaires & Glenn Miller Orchestra -Bluebird 11493 – Shhh, It’s A Military Secret (1942)
— Marion was 2 years older than her more successful sister Betty. Their father was a bum and mother was a bootlegger, so Glenn Miller actually adopted the girls, so Marion could legally sing on stage at age 17.
03-05 Dr. John – Television 06 – Shut D Fonk Up (1996)
— the rapper is Anthony Kiedis.
03-06 Joe B. & Charlie Davis – TNT 9033 – Shut Your Big Fat Mouth (1960)
— the 9000-series discs at TNT Records were “commission” discs, meaning that these cats had to pay for the pressing themselves.
04-01 Betty Hutton – Capitol 155 – His Rocking Horse Ran Away (1944)
— six years later, she was the star of the movie “Annie Get You Gun”, after Judy Garland was fired (after recording half the songs, which Betty had to then re-record). She won a Golden Globe for it.
04-02 Joe Dolce – MCA 51053 – Shaddap You Face (1980)
— actually from Ohio, moved to Australia at age 31. This single peaked only at 53 on Billboard, but hit #1 in numerous countries, selling several million copies, over 450,000 in Australia alone.
04-03 Elvis Costello – Look Now 07 – Mr. & Mrs. Hush (2018)
— he’s still got it: “a voice that caresses and heels like spurs”.
04-04 Waylon Jennings – Too Dumb For New York City Too Ugly For L.A. 02 – Silent Partners (1992)
— reminds me a lot of “Third Rate Romance”
04-05 Danny & The Juniors – Swan 4072 – Mister Whisper (1961)
— label-mates of Dicky Doo And The Dont’s, whose album I saw and would’ve bought last week if I’d had more money.
04-06 Robert Mitchum – Calypso – Is Like So! 203 – Mama, Looka Boo Boo (1957)
— peak cultural appropriation. Check this album cover for an iconic sneer/smirk.
05-01 Bull Moose Jackson – MGM 10318 – Keep Your Big Mouth Shut (1948)
— good advice, before he whips out his Big Ten Inch (record of the blues).
05-02 Honky Tonk Angels – Hush Hush (2015)
— no, not Dolly, Tammy and Loretta, these are some other Honky Tonk Angels.
05-03 Hermans Hermits – There’s A Kind Of Hush All Over The World 101 – There’s A Kind Of Hush All Over The World (1967)
— 5th album in the States, but only their third in native UK.
05-04 Shelley Hirsch – O Little Town Of East New York 33 – Hush My Darling (1995)
— called a “documusical” and this is not even the oddest tune on the album.
05-05 Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly 101 – Killing Me Softly With His Song (1973)
— Grammy for Song Of The Year in 1974, people still arguing over who wrote it and why by 2020. Reportedly inspired by Don McLean of “American Pie” fame.
05-06 Ernie Barton – Sun Records (unissued matrix #P348) – Shut Your Mouth (1959)
— the female vocals were Regina Reese, a secretary at Sun.
05-07 Ting Tings – We Started Nothing 05 – Shut Up And Let Me Go (2008)
— the giant hit off the album was “That’s Not My Name”.
06-01 Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman & Billy May – Music For Peace Of Mind 101 – This Room Is My Castle Of Quiet (1950)
— always room for some theremin.
06-02 Eighteen Visions – The Killer In You: A Tribute To Smashing Pumpkins 11 – Quiet (2006)
— original found on SP’s 1993 album “Siamese Dream”
06-03 Denny Dennis & The Whisperers & Roy Fox And His Orchestra – His Master’s Voice B.D.391 – Whispering (1936)
— recorded in concert, this song spans both sides of the 78rpm disc.
06-04 06-04 “Groovey” Joe Poovey – Rollin’ Rock 30 – Silence Baby (1956)
— just a little domestic violence, not uncommon for rockabilly in ’56.
06-05 Voice Of The Beehive – Let It Bee 09 – I Say Nothing (1988)
— another album with zero bad songs.
…and a bonus track…
07-01 Johnny “Guitar” Watson – Ain’t Gonna Hush (1960)