gts161 “stash”
Owsley Acid is the standard, but don’t mess with Owsley STP… that’ll put you in the psychward.
01-01 The Ink Spots – Decca 1789 – That Cat Is High (1938)
— a year later, the Ink Spots released “If I Didn’t Care” also on Decca, which sold an astounding 19 million copies. For perspective, the population of the US was only 130 million.
01-02 Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf 202 – The Pusher (1968)
— when first heard, thought it was Iron Butterfly. Later, one of the first tunes found off Napster back when it was a flowering.
01-03 David Holmes Presents The Free Association – Mercury 9809472 – Sugarman (Chilly Gonzales Mix) (2003)
— a Canadian now based in Germany, Chilly’s real name is Jason Beck. David Holmes produced The Free Associatiom, but unable to identify the vocalist here.
01-04 Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly OST 102 – Pusher Man (1972)
— soundtrack album to the foundational genre film, which also included the hit title track and Mayfield standard “Freddie’s Dead”.
02-01 The Rivingtons – Doin’ The Bird 102 – Love Pill (1963)
— track 101 before this on the album: “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” was turned into the gigantic hit “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen later in 1963. Less remembered, the lead track on side two (201) of this album is “Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow”.
02-02 Bozo Darnell – Ramco 1994 – What Kinda Pill Is This?? (1967)
— half country star half comedian, this Bozo tune is an ‘answer song’ to “What Kinda Deal Is This?” by genuine country star Bill Carlisle. This one written by Wayne Gilbreath, who is more famous (?) for the song “Divorce Court”.
02-03 Wade Holmes – “Mr. Lean” Sings Country Favorites Volume1 105 – Love Pills (1963)
— more a fireman than a country star, although he got play with his song “Fat, Forty And Frustrated”. Host of a Maryland radio morning show which ran six days a week (not on the Lord’s Day), called “Cornshucking Time”.
02-04 Ke$ha – Animal 01 – Your Love Is My Drug (2010)
— another great lead song off a debut album, this co-written with Ke$ha’s mother Rosemary “Pebe” Sebert, who also wrote “Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You” which was a #1 for Dolly Parton in 1980.
02-05 The Vincent Black Shadow – Fear’s In The Water 01- Metro (2006)
— yet again, a blistering lead-song off a debut album, this time from a Canadian band named for the cousin of a famous musically illustrated bike, the Vincent Black Lightning. Cassandra Ford on vocals, brothers Rob Kirkham (guitar), Anthony Kirkham (drums), Chris Kirkham (bass), all of whom’s father was a trumpet in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
02-06 Hollerado – Record In A Bag 04 – Fake Drugs (2010)
— yet more Canadians, this time from a suburb of Ottawa. Contains the line of the night: “Like new landlords, at first it’s so respectable.”
03-01 Buzzer – Buzzraiser 07 – J.G. Speech (2007)
— not from Canada! Israeli rock instead.
03-02 Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston – Jad Fair And Daniel Johnston 06 – I Did Acid With Caroline (1989)
— goofy hipster rock, Johnston unfortunately passed away in 2019. Jad’s brother David was the driving force behind the band Nine Lives Pussy.
03-03 Guerilla Toss – GT Ultra 08 – Dose Rate (2017)
— written and sung… err, intoned by Kassie Carlson.
03-04 Ship Of Fools – Close Your Eyes (Forget The World) 04 – L=SD² (1993)
— only put out 2 albums, bassist who goes by the name Sputnik was earlier a member of the band Hive.
03-05 The Fe-Fi-Four Plus Two – Lance Records 101 – I Wanna Come Back (From The World Of LSD) (1967)
— betcha didn’t think there was a psychedelic scene in New Mexico, didya?
04-01 Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra – Reprise 1011 – Life’s A Trippy Thing (1971)
— nepo-baby pop! Widely reviled B-side was written by Linda Laurie, who we heard in an earlier episode of this show doing “Ambrose (Part 5)” with which Linda (Gertz) Laurie hit #52 on Billboard with, when she was in high school.
04-02 The Darelycks – Fine Records 111 – Bad Trip (1966)
— only record from this band based in Fairport, New York. Tom Pomponio and John Tiberio recorded it in Fine Studios in Rochester NY, who also issued “Playboy” by The Vel-Tones and “She Don’t Got The Right!” from The Young Tyrants and, of course, that classic: “Cat’s Squirrel” by Beethoven’s Dream Group.
04-03 The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico 102 – I’m Waiting For The Man (1967)
— in agreement here: less Nico, more Lou! Credited producer was Andy Warhol.
04-04 Billy Ray – Titan FF-1709 – The Story Of Suzie (1960)
— nearly nothing is known about Billy Ray.
04-05 Margie Singleton – Ashley 4175 – Jesus Is My Pusher (1974)
— Margaret Ebey, married at age 13 to Shelby Sumpter Singleton II who had a metal plate in his in head (that came later). Shelby produced Jerry Lee Lewis and did “Ahab The Arab” with Ray Stevens. Margie hit the Grand Ole Opry at age 28, recorded the original version of “Harper Valley PTA”, and is still alive today.
04-06 Blomman – Mercury 6062 039 – Heroin (1977)
— 1970s Swedish goofball, recorded as Bosse Blomman Blombergh, really named Bo Jörgen Johansson. This song credited to J.J. Cale, no credit to Eric Clapton.
05-01 Immortal Technique – Revolutionary Vol.2 03 – Peruvian Cocaine (2003)
— born Felipe Andres Coronel in Peru, moved to Harlem aged 2. While at the elite Hunter College High School in Manhattan, he stuffed Lin Manuel Miranda (of “Hamilton” fame) into a trashcan. Helped here by C-Rayz Walz, Diabolic, Loucipher, Poison Pen, Pumpkinhead and Tondeff.
05-02 Chuck Wagon And The Wheels – Red Hot Women And Ice Cold Beer 201 – Talking About Cocaine (1981)
— album title comes from a New Riders Of The Purple Sage tune, there is another Chuck Wagon & The Wheels today, with no relation to this band.
05-03 Weezer – Make Believe 06 – We Are All On Drugs (2005)
— a survivor of the mess about Weezer’s fifth album, where 28 potential tracks were stolen and leaked by some naughty person, leading the band to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. Luckily, they had several dozen other songs in the works but the fiasco significantly delayed this eventual album.
05-04 The Dead Milkmen – Beelzebubba 08 – Bleach Boys (1988)
— the big hit off this album was “Punk Rock Girl” but this tune is always one of my favorites.
05-05 The Wildhearts – Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before Vol1 15 – Carmelita (2008)
— tumultuos nearly 40-year run for a band known for fighting their own labels. More a rockband project for David Walls (aka Ginger Wildheart) who also recorded under the name Howling Willie Cunt.
06-01 Old Crow Medicine Show – Jubilee 202 – Shit Kicked In (2023)
— the ‘jubilee’ is the 25th anniversary of the band.
06-02 Steely Dan – The Royal Scam 101 – Kid Charlemagne (1976)
— despite only hitting #82 on Billboard, this is virtually the only song off the album which still gets airplay today. Based on the story of Owsley “Bear” Stanley who was the Grateful Dead’s soundie, and who produced 5 million doses of LSD in San Francisco from 1965 to 1967.
06-03 The Broken Family Band – 2005-06-01 Mark Radcliffe Show – John Belushi (2005)
— originally from Cambridgeshire in England, formed after the dissolution of the band Hofman (an allusion to the inventor of LSD). Later collabed with Samnatha Parton of the The Be Good Tanyas, here they are caught on radio for BBC Radio 2.
06-04 The Garnets – Ideal 523 – The Cellar Of Narcotics (1968)
— Belgian group never mustered an album, but peppered the lowlands with singles for 20 years. Played a 50th anniversary gig in 2017, now THAT’S a jubilee!
… and a bonus track…
07-01 Mike And The Moonpies – Lyin’ 07 – Betty Ford (2008)
— if you’ve heard of the new band Silverada from 2024, that’s this same band, who felt the name Moonpies “was holding them back.” Only released online, this album contains the song “Hell In Jubilee”, which wraps up a cute mini-theme for tonight’s show!