10 SONGS: 10/10/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1356

DAVE COPE: Hit The Road

This week's extravaganza opened with "Hit The Road," a nice little slice of radio sunshine from Dave Cope's new album AM Silver. Dave is already familiar to our sovereign airwaves as the leader of Dave Cope and the Sass, whose "Julee" (from the album of the same name) is one of my favorite tracks of this decade in progress. The posted playlist commentary waxed rhapsodic about the pure magic of the era of AM Top 40 radio, and about Dave Cope's accomplishment in channeling that magic in the original songs he crafted for AM Silver. We're hittin' the road with it again on our next show. Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed. DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL! We're ready to move out.

RAY CHARLES: Hit The Road Jack

Couldn't resist.

GENE CHAMPAGNE: I'm Disconnected

We might be tempted to play Gene Champagne's new album Too Pop For Punk...Too Punk To Care just on the basis of our sudden urge to use its title on our business cards. But man, this would be worthy of a carpet-bombing programming approach even if the record were called Drek-O-Rama or Hotel California. "I'm Disconnected" is an in-yer-face glittery hookfest with intent to assail, exactly the sort of pugnacious pop music for which our little mutant radio gimmick was built. Connection achieved.

COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: Back Where You Belong

This irresistible track from Cocktail Slippers' fabulous current album Joyride has been one of my biggest and most delightful earworms of late, especially the part where the backing vocals proclaim WONDER-WONDER-WONDER WHY! Goosebumps, and I can't hear it enough. We'll all hear it again on our next show, and it seems very likely to score a well-deserved berth on our year-end countdown show.

Where it belongs!

THE CYNZ: Neighborhood Bully

During my recent guest appearance on The Spoon podcast, overhost Robbie Rist said he thinks it was TIRnRR that prompted him to buy music by the Cynz. See? We DO provide a public service! RADIO'S JOB IS TO SELL RECORDS!

Our latest Cynzation has been "Neighborhood Bully," their ass-kickin' contribution to Jem Records Celebrates Bob Dylan. While I'm holding on to an unlikely hope that Jem's annual series of songwriter celebrations will some day soon bring us a Jem Records Celebrates Michael Nesmith record, right now we're diggin' the Cynz as they police the hood. Bully for the Cynz.

CYNDI LAUPER: I Drove All Night

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SCRUFFS: She Say Yea

The Scruffs' 1977 album Wanna' Meet The Scruffs? is a true power pop gem, perhaps underappreciated by the world at large but cherished to this day by faithful fans like us. My initial Scruffs go-to was the Robert Christgau-approved "Revenge," but I soon settled on "She Say Yea" as my designated Scruffermost of the Uppermost. I was bummed to discover (well after the fact) that the Scruffs had played a Syracuse gig with my hometown heroes the Flashcubes, an event which I missed because I was away at school. The cost of higher education, I guess.

(My only quibble with the track is that while the Scruffs clearly sing She say yeah!, the title misspells it as "yea," which my higher education compels me to pronounce--correctly--as She say YAY! This is not a negotiable point, Great, great song nonetheless. Everybody say YEA!)

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING TOM KENNY: Got No Mind

In memory of Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, the surviving 'Cubes are releasing a new single and planning an epic memorial live show. Let's review my recent hype on behalf of each event:

Our friends at Big Stir Records are now accepting preorders for "Got No Mind," the new 45 by the Flashcubes featuring Tom Kenny. Offered as a memorial tribute to Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong (the song's author), the track has already been a TIRnRR fixture, and it will remain so for the foreseeable. And to sanctify the release of this 7" slab o' cantankerous wonder, the mighty Big Stir is also offering original copies of two previous Flashcubes 45s--1979's "Wait Til Next Week"/"Radio" and 2016's two-fer of Chris Spedding covers, "Boogie City"/"Hey Miss Betty"--both individually and in bundles with the new one. Visit The Flashcubes page at Big Stir for details.

On Saturday, November 7th, fans and participants representing the Syracuse power pop and new wave rock 'n' roll scene that the Flashcubes ignited in the late '70s will gather at Syracuse's original home of rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon to pay loud and heartfelt tribute to the late, great Paul Armstrong. 

In his brash capacity as a guitarist and general spark plug for the audacious energy of the Flashcubes, Paul Armstrong was a key figure in the history of Syracuse rock 'n' roll, and the impact he and his brother Flashcubes Gary Frenay, Arty Lenin, and Tommy Allen have had upon my life and work is damned near beyond measure. As we bid farewell to Paul Armstrong, you can be damned sure we're gonna put on a tribute show that would make PA proud.

And to do that, a bunch of performers who loved Paul and shared his passion for three chords and a cloud of dust will gather at the Lost for a full-volume celebration of his legacy. We'll have live sets by Amerikan Primitive, Perilous, Boston's Drivin' Sisters (with Sal Baglio, Mike Gent, and Anthony Kaczynski), 1.4.5. Survivors, The Johnny Thunders Orchestra, The Wax Museum host Ronnie Dark, Syracuse's favorite son Tom Kenny, and the Flashcubes featuring Mark Doyle. Your emcees will be Dana and Carl, and we promise the sort of bright-lights bonanza that Paul Armstrong would have dug the most.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW! It's possible there will still be tickets available at the door...but given the response so far, I would not recommend waiting. This one's for Paul Armstrong. And it's gonna be as loud as he was. YOU should join us. Got no mind? WE don't mind!

THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It?

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"The Jive Five's 'What Time Is It?' (a song much later covered by Marshall Crenshaw) is one of the most heavenly-sounding records ever made.  And it sums up the sweet anticipation of the big date tonight with greater joy and eloquence than any other record I've ever heard.

"It occurs to me that I've never really been on a first date, at least not in the sense of the first dates we see in pop culture, in movies, on TV, and in radio-ready 45s. I've been on dates with girlfriends, and still go on dates with my wife, but in each case me and she were already together prior to date night. Hands had already been held. Lips had already met. Eyes had already gazed admiringly into pretty eyes that returned the favor. I did things backwards. I got the girl first, and a date would follow some time thereafter.

"Tick tock, listen to the clock
Tick tock, listen to the clock

"The giddy wellspring of hope and promise, the potential redemptive power of a love story about to write its introductory chapter, are essential components in our collective concept of the first date as a rite of passage. And it is the irresistible tableau of the Jive Five's dreamy, delicious celebration 'What Time Is It?...."

APE HANGERS: Miss You Girl

I swear to Joey Ramone, our friends at Rum Bar Records are just killin' it. We received Ape Hangers' a-pumpin' and a-jumpin' new single "Miss You Girl" just in time to tack it on to the end of this week's show, supplementing earlier-in-the-playlist spins of a Rum Bar essential by Brijitte West and the Greenowskis and the Rum Bar-associated Gene Champagne winner we praised a few paragraphs north of here. Raisin' the Rum Bar! Ape Hangers return to TIRnRR on our next show, alongside another simply invigmoratin' new Rum Bar boppin' imperative by Tony Marsico and the Ugly Thingz.

RUM BAR! You keep makin' 'em, we'll keep breakin' our speakers with 'em. Hardware is expendable. Rock 'n' roll is immortal.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.  

My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book, its six-chapter novelette digest A Band Called GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!, and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

10 SONGS: 2/15/2025

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1272: THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO celebrates BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

ARTHUR CONLEY: Sweet Soul Music

As a confederacy of dunces seek to disavow the long-held tradition of recognizing February as Black History Month, I hereby declare this and every month from now on will be National Ridicule The Federal Confederacy Of Dunces Month. This will remain in effect until sanity returns and we consign the odious dunces to go bathing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio celebrates Black History Month right here, and for our opening theme we call on the services of Arthur Conley. Do you like good music? You're in the right place.

BIG MAMA THORNTON: Hound Dog

We open the show proper with a long-distance dedication, going out to a not-so-special someone. No names are necessary. Big Mama Thornton knows who you are...and she knows what you are.

DERRICK ANDERSON: Send Me Down A Sign

I think Derrick Anderson is best known as bassist for the Bangles, but he first entered this little mutant radio show's airspace with TIRnRR Fave Raves the Andersons! Yeah, we were playing the Andersons! from the get-go, and that's an absolutely hilarious in-joke. Trust me! It is!

We've also been big fans of Derrick's 2017 solo album A World Of My Own, and its breakout track "When I Was Your Man" accrued significant Dana & Carl spinnage. This week, we figured we'd dig a little deeper into the album for "Send Me Down A Sign," a track I don't think we've ever played previously. I tell ya, this world of Derrick Anderson's own sounds like a mighty fine place to be.

JOAN ARMATRADING: Eating The Bear

From a previous post:

Some days the bear will eat you. Some days you eat the bear. All due respect to the incredible Ms. Joan Armatrading, but there are days when I believe this even-handed ratio to be overly optimistic regarding our collective and individual odds of surviving wholesale consumption by ravenous ursines. I don't think the Ranger's gonna like this, Yogi. 

"Eating The Bear" was (I think) the first Joan Armatrading track I knew, a cut from her 1981 album Walk Under Ladders. It's not the best-known track on that record; both "I'm Lucky" and "When I Get It Right" wound up on her Greatest Hits collection, while "Eating The Bear" remained native to the original album only. I was exposed to all three of those tracks in the same time frame, so I can't say for sure which one I heard first. But, whichever one was first to cross into my sovereign airspace, "Eating The Bear" was the one that had impact. Its impact came via the radio. Of course.

In 1981, I was a recent college graduate (State University College at Brockport Class of 1980), living in an apartment with my girlfriend (who was still completing her undergrad studies at Brockport), working at McDonald's, drinking beer, listening to my music. Brockport is a small village on the Erie Canal. It's located in Western New York, about 19 miles west of Rochester, and the city of Buffalo sprawls another 64 miles or so farther away. We could usually get radio stations from Buffalo and even from Toronto. Buffalo had a generic album-rock station called 97 Rock, a bland AOR outlet that usually wasn't of much interest to me. Sunday nights were the exception. That's when this cookie-cutter rock station transformed itself temporarily into something greater: A weekly showcase called 97 Power Rock.

97 Power Rock claimed a more adventurous format, programming new wave rock and other fare that was presumably edgier than the station's prerequisite diet of Loverboy and Journey. 97 Power Rock played the likes of The Teardrop Explodes, U2, Psychedelic Furs, Viva Beat, Joy Division, Spandau Ballet, the Vibrators, Mission of Burma, old school rock by Andy Fairweather Low, even reggae by Dillinger. It was sufficiently eclectic and vibrant to secure my loyalty.

Joan Armatrading's music was part of that. Walk Under Ladders had a little bit of a post-punk vibe, partially attributable to Steve Lillywhite's production plus Thomas Dolby's synthesizer work on the album. That perceived level of cool opened 97 Power Rock's playlist for entry, and Armatrading's own songs, singing, playing, and pure presence did the rest. Man, this sounded fantastic on the radio. It didn't quite move me to buy the album--I was still a few years away from grasping Armatrading's brilliance--but it got my attention. I heard the songs, and a radio ad for the album, all of which prompted me to scrawl Walk Under Ladders in my spiral notebook, on the long, long list of LPs I wanted to buy once I'd accumulated enough burger-flippin' cash to buy all of the albums I wanted.

"Eating The Bear" was the Armatrading track for me. In 1981, I'd never heard the phrase Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you, so I had no idea whatsoever of the song's subject matter, no proper understanding of its stubborn fatalism, its determined swig from a half-empty glass that we'll refill if we survive, and smash in the face of any critter that says we won't. I just thought it sounded great, and it still sounds great. 

For years, Armatrading's Greatest Hits was her sole representation in my music collection, and "Me Myself I" is discussed in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). "Eating The Bear" subsequently popped into my head again, and I snagged a CD of Walk Under Ladders, a wonderful album that I wish had made the transition from my notebook list to my record shelf forty-odd years ago. 

Better late than never. Sometimes it takes a while, but radio gets the job done eventually. Bear necessities. Mind your manners there, Yogi. I ain't a-gonna be in no pic-a-nic basket. I'll keep you off my menu if you keep me off yours.

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: Time Has Come Today

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

I remember hearing Rihanna's hit "Umbrella" in 2007, and not being especially taken with it. In 2008, the updated version of her Good Girl Gone Bad (Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) landed into my consciousness via my then-teen daughter, whose interest in "Take A Bow" and "Disturbia" brought those songs to my attention as well. I was a little surprised to discover I liked them (especially "Disturbia"), but I did indeed like them.

I missed out on the track "Shut Up And Drive." I've heard it, but I never noticed it until a random search for playlist ideas brought me to it earlier this month. It was like a brand new song to me, and I loved it.

(How did I know I loved it? The fact that I played it on obsessive repeat would be a pretty clear clue to that.)

Wikipedia describes "Shut Up And Drive" as a new wave song--no, really!--based on "Blue Monday" by New Order. No offense to the mopey British guys, but I prefer it the way Rihanna did it.

RAY CHARLES: Hit The Road Jack

Yep. I direct this sentiment at the precise dunces to whom you would think I'd direct it.

GRANDMASTER AND MELLE MEL: White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"...New Music Radio [WBNY-FM in Buffalo, a station to which I was religiously devoted in the '80s]  included hip hop. Like Herman's Hermits, rap was part of the atmosphere, part of the flavor of WBNY. WBNY was my introduction to Run DMC (with 'Rockbox'), and it was my introduction to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. 'The Message.' Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge. Music journalists told us 'The Message' was the first big hip-hop track to ignore party-time bragging to focus instead on social commentary, to chronicle inner-city living in disadvantaged black neighborhoods. It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under. We didn't need to be told how powerful it sounded on the radio.

"The importance and impact of 'The Message' notwithstanding, 'White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)' meant more to me, then and now. It's more pop than 'The Message,' with its seductive rang-dang-diggety-dang-de-dang melody, propulsive bass, and Melle Mel's cry of 'BASS!,' the latter sucker-punching you when you realize it's meant as a deceptive homophone for 'base,' as in freebase cocaine...

"...'White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)' is a Melle Mel record; former cohorts Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel had parted company prior to 'White Lines,' but the record was credited to Grandmaster and Melle Mel in an attempt to capitalize on the familiar name and the previous success of 'The Message.' It is often referred to as a Grandmaster Flash record, and that's what I thought it was when I heard it on WBNY. Whatever and whomever, I couldn't hear it enough...."

CEELO GREEN: Forget You

Maybe not the first specific "F YOU!" that comes to mind in these troubling times. Though, come to think of it, it wasn't the first "F YOU!" that came to CeeLo Green's mind either. One of the marks of how great this is as a pure pop song is that the original "Fuck You" is incidental; it works just as well in FCC-friendly format. "Forget You" is perfectly radio-ready without the potty mouth, and perfectly pissed-off in any incarnation.

JAMES BROWN: Say It Loud--I'm Black And I'm Proud [Pt. 1]

There is much reason for pride. We celebrate it throughout the year. And we circle it on our calendar every February for Black History Month. Say it loud.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. 

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 9/8/2023

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll High School # 1197: The 12th Annual DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT. This show is available as a podcast.

ERMA FRANKLIN: It's Over

"Over...?!" WE JUST STARTED!!

Erma Franklin is no stranger to the Soul Pit, nor a stranger to non-Soul Pit TIRnRR playlists, with her song "I Don't Want No Mama's Boy" and her Forgotten Original of "Piece Of My Heart" scoring the most attention. "It's Over" is my new favorite Erma Franklin work.

Yes, we know about Erma Franklin's little sister Carolyn Franklin; she's also scored some TIRnRR airplay. And everyone knows about their middle sister. But today: a little respect for Big Sister Erma. Respect is never over.

THE SUPREMES: Love, I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good

We've been playing the Supremes a lot this year, specifically music the Supremes did in the '70s after former lead singer whatsername moved on to her solo career. It's an amazing and largely unrecognized body of work, well worthy of obsession and repeat play. A love Supreme. I never knew it could feel so good.

MEL AND TIM: Backfield In Motion

I don't recall Mel and Tim's hit "Backfield In Motion" from its radio heyday in 1969, though I probably heard it. The song entered my collection in 1977 via a used record purchase at Mike's Sound Center in North Syracuse. 

The used record in question was Do It Now: 20 Giant Hits, a various-artists collection issued by cheap-o label Ronco Records in 1970. I had read about the album in one of Harlan Ellison's books of TV criticism, The Glass Teat or The Other Glass Teat. "Backfield In Motion" did not make any immediate impression on me; it was one of the tracks I often skipped en route to the Association and Jefferson Airplane. I like it a lot more now.

Nor was I much of (or any of) a football fan in '77--I like that a lot more now, too--but I did recognize "backfield in motion" as a gridiron term. I even knew gridiron. I tell ya, I was a Renaissance punk. But my primary image for the phrase in the '70s was from an otherwise-forgotten TV comedy sketch about football, with Bob Hope or Dean Martin or whomever referring to some shapely 'n' sporty starlets' curvy backfields being in motion.

Penalty declined.

DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love

Donna Summers' first hit "Love To Love You Bab," was basically an extended orgasm set to a disco beat (which is not necessarily a bad thing). But "I Feel Love" is more interesting; still shimmering and sexy--Donna Summer at that time could have covered the Singing Nun, and still been shimmering and sexy--but its European syncopation makes it even sexier, if not quite as sweaty. Or perhaps not as obviously sweaty.

In 1977, Brian Eno told Bowie that Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was the sound of the future. In that year of potential musical revolution, a year of important and transcendent releases by the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and Television, Eno was still probably right. An amazing single.

RICK JAMES: Super Freak

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE AD LIBS: The Boy From New York City

Various-artists compilations have played an enormous role in introducing me to a wider range of rockin' pop music. We mentioned Ronco's Do It Now a few metric parsecs north of here; from Heavy Metal and History Of British Rock through Nuggets and Yellow Pills, compilations have opened my ears to an endless array of singers, songs, and sounds. Variety. Context. Any record you ain't heard is a new record.

In the summer of '78, I snagged a copy of a 1976 oldies collection called 15 Original Rock N' Roll Biggies Vol. 2, a cheap set I acquired for the specific purpose of replacing my crappy-sounding 45 of the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law." For bonus value, this album introduced me to a couple of great Standells cuts ("Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" and "Why Pick On Me") I didn't know--any record you ain't heard, yadda yadda--and it introduced me to "The Boy From New York City" by the Ad Libs.

Unlike my previous experience of ignoring Mel and Tim on Do It Now, I did take a shine to "The Boy From New York City" and I played it nearly as often as I played its LP brethren Bobby Fuller and the Standells. Come ON, Kitty!

LARRY WILLIAMS: Slow Down

Last year's edition of Dana's Funky Soul Pit was a soul tribute to the Beatles, a fab 'n' funky soulabration of all things Fab. Most of that show consisted of soul and R & B covers of Beatles songs, but with a closing set of some of the classic soul originals--Arthur Alexander's "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues," Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music," the Cookies' "Chains," Richie Barrett's "Some Other Guy," et al.--that the savage young moptops themselves adored. The Beatles wanted to be a soul group. Lemme hear you say YEAH. THREE times!

The Beatles certainly adored Larry Williams, and most of us know Williams more from the Beatles' covers of "Slow Down," "Bad Boy," and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" than we know Williams' versions. These songs became well-known classics because the Beatles did them.

But, even before Liverpool's Finest grabbed these songs and took 'em along on that left turn at Greenland, they were already GREAT songs. The Beatles had impeccable taste. 

Among all songs covered by the Beatles, their take on "Slow Down" edges out their well-known workout of the Isley Brothers' "Twist And Shout" as my favorite. The original's cool, too. The original's fantastic. I want that love to last.

MAJOR LANCE: It's The Beat

It's the BEAT, man, the BEAT! Like '70s Supremes, the mighty Major Lance has also established a presence on TIRnRR playlists. One of my older siblings had the 45 of Lance's 1963 smash "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um," and I'm delighted to say I typed the correct number of titular Ums without checking first. I'm a SUCCESS! 

I liked that record when I was a kid, and i still do. But man, it is so cool to hear deeper tracks from the Major Lance catalogue o' wonder; whenever Dana programs a Major Lance song I don't know, my inner self executes an enthusiastic li'l fist bump. Can't beat that. Keep 'em comin', Dana!

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: All Strung Out Over You

From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

"The Chambers Brothers are one-hit wonders, but man, what a hit that was. Their 1968 smash 'Time Has Come Today' is a freakin' wall of rock and soul, and I'm probably going to add it to my ever-forthcoming book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I haven't listened to the full eleven-minute version in far too long, but I owe myself that pleasure in the near future. Even the single version is a bit lengthy at nearly five minutes, but it's five minutes well spent. TIME!! The Ramones did an incredible cover of the song in the early '80s; even they couldn't improve on the original.

"As is often the case with one-hit wonders, the Chambers Brothers cut more good stuff beyond the solitary Chosen One everyone knows. I've begun a casual dive into some of that recently, picking up both a CD best-of set and an expanded CD reissue of the group's The Time Has Come album. "All Strung Out Over You" was on that LP, a great track that only charted regionally. It deserved better."

To the above, I will add a supplemental Oh YEAH! on behalf of "All Strung Out Over You," and assure all 'n' sundry that, since writing that entry in 2021, I am now fully in the thrall of the longer cut of "Time Has Come Today." My soul has been psychedelicized.

RAY CHARLES: Let's Go Get Stoned

As always, it's important to have goals. Our goal is to hang tight, hang tough, and meet you back here next year for The 13th Annual Dana's Funky Soul Pit. Let's GO!

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: Hit The Road Jack

Based on an entry in my 10 Songs series, this (unfinished) piece was intended to be a part of an earlier draft of my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), but was removed in subsequent plans.

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

RAY CHARLES AND HIS ORCHESTRA: Hit The Road Jack
Written by Percy Mayfield
Supervised by Sid Feller 
Single, ABC-Paramount Records, 1961

While I'm pleased that my concert-goin' resumé includes that one time I got to see Ray Charles perform live, I've gotta admit I wish his set had included my single favorite Ray Charles tune, "Hit The Road Jack."

Yeah. I was surprised he didn't play it either.

But he did play "What'd I Say" and "Georgia On My Mind," among many others, and it was Ray friggin' Charles, so you won't hear a peep of a complaint from me. It was an outdoor show at the New York State Fair, either late '80s or early '90s, the same free-with-Fair-admission concert series that gave me opportunities to see Brian Wilson, the Everly Brothers, Don McLean, Gene Pitney, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Chicago, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, various oldies package shows (featuring performers from Bo Diddley to Cub Koda to Alex Chilton), and Earth, Wind and Fire over a span of decades. This is not a complete list. 

I'm not sure, but I think--I think--my one Ray Charles show occurred prior to the early '90s Diet Pepsi commercials that earned Charles another notch on his pop culture c.v. You've got the right one, baby. Ray friggin' Charles. I'm okay with him skipping "Hit The Road Jack."

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl