Music In My Shoes
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Music In My Shoes
E45 Can I Kick It?
Discover the incredible legacy of Herbie Flowers, the legendary bass player, on this episode of "Music in My Shoes." We'll celebrate his unforgettable bass line in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" and its lasting impact, including its iconic sampling in tracks by A Tribe Called Quest and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. You’ll also hear about David Bowie's contributions to this classic song and Herbie's surprising versatility, such as his tuba performance on "Perfect Day." Join us as we commemorate his remarkable career, which includes collaborations with music giants like Elton John, Roger Daltrey, and three ex-Beatles.
Take a nostalgic trip back to the summer of 1979 when John Stewart's hit "Gold" was climbing the charts. We’ll uncover the magic behind his collaboration with Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. You'll get insight into often-misheard lyrics and Stewart’s rich musical history. We also reminisce about the cultural phenomena of that summer, like the Charlie Daniels Band’s "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," and the iconic TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard," sharing personal anecdotes, including Jimmy's memorable interaction with Sonny Schroyer, who played Deputy Enos.
In our lively mailbag segment, we respond to listener messages, delve into Woodstock 1969's logistical marvels, and reflect on the simplicity of the Beatles' Abbey Road cover. Tune in to keep the music alive until our next meeting!
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Please Like and Follow our Facebook page Music In My Shoes.
You can contact us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.com.
He's got the feeling in his toe-toe.
Speaker 2:He's got the feeling and it's out there growing. Hey everybody, this is Jim Boge and you're listening to Music In my Shoes. That was Vic Thrill kicking off episode 45. As always, I'm thrilled to be here with you. Let's learn something new, new or remember something old. This episode I'm coming to you from Levittown, new York, and Jimmy is at the Arcade. 160 Studios in Atlanta, georgia. Hello, jimmy.
Speaker 1:Hey Jim.
Speaker 2:How are you doing today? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm doing good, I'm doing good. Hey, Jimmy. On September 5th 2024, bass player Herbie Flowers passed away at age 86. I would say his most famous bass line would be for Lou Reed's 1972 song Walk on the Wild Side. Oh yeah, and his bass playing was like it really wasn't like anything I had heard up until that time, especially being on a rock record. Really simple but at the same time, to me, kind of masterful, and it was kind of like ascending and descending. He ended up using two different basses to get the sound, the sound, and I could listen to that bass line all day. If you just took that bass line, you got rid of the whole rest of the song.
Speaker 1:I could listen to it because it is so cool I really, really enjoy listening to that it was later used as a sample for like a rap song, right it was I'm.
Speaker 2:I'm surprised that you knew that um and actually it was used for two. Um, it was used for a tribe called quest. They released the song. Can I kick it in? 1990 yeah and it starts off with sample in the bass line and then some funky drum beats and some scratching follows up and a very you know very catchy song. Can I kick it?
Speaker 1:and apparently the person like he couldn't hear the other person because he kept asking can I kick it? And the guy's like yes, you can, and it's just kept going.
Speaker 2:That is true. I actually heard it in a commercial last night for something. I don't remember what it was, but I thought, wow, this is ironic. I'm going to talk about this on the episode, and it's in a new commercial. I think probably the one that you were thinking about is Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:All of his records, I bet that you do. Number 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song Wild Side and it mostly samples. You know the Lou Reed original in making this what I call a less than stellar song. You know, you know it's not the best. I know you own all of his records, but you know it's. You know it's not the best. But I got to be honest with you. When it did come out I listened to it a lot just because it was kind of cool to hear a Lou Reed song and they actually speeded up a little bit. So the whole bass, everything is just sped up a bit, but it's still cool to hear Herbie Flowers there. But it's still cool to hear Herbie Flowers there. I forgot to mention that David Bowie plays acoustic guitar on the Lou Reed song.
Speaker 1:I didn't realize that he produced the record, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, and speaking of David Bowie, that's Herbie Flowers that's playing bass on the 1969 classic A Space Odyssey.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:You remember Ground Control, the Major Tom, of course. Yeah, the bass was a big part to the sound of this song. Herbie played on hundreds of songs, including the 1973 David Essex song Rock On. Hey, shout. Summertime blues jump up and down in your blue suede shoes. Hey, did you rock and roll? Rock on.
Speaker 1:Were those lyrics or were those a string of song titles? Because I couldn't tell.
Speaker 2:It's a combination. He tries to do a little bit of acknowledging some of that earlier rock and roll.
Speaker 1:Okay, so they were lyrics.
Speaker 2:Yes, they were lyrics that he just took some of these titles from other songs. That was a good catch there. I like that, Jimmy, Thank you. He was also on songs by Elton John, Roger Daltrey and get this. He played on solo albums of three ex-Beatles George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney and he actually played bass on the George Harrison song all those years ago that had Ringo playing drums and had Paul and Linda McCartney on background vocals and that was the song that was, you know, right after John Lennon's death and kind of talking about all those years ago. So that's a really cool one that he got to play with all of them. So it is, but you know what that's, not how amazing it gets. Herbie flowers also plays the tuba on lou reed's perfect day, which is the b-side of the walk on the wild side oh, you're kidding, oh, that's seriously that's one of my favorite albums of the Walk on the Wild Side 45.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're kidding. Oh, that's so cool. That's one of my favorite albums of all time.
Speaker 2:By the way, that is a great album. The one thing about that album is Vicious. Sounds like it was recorded years earlier on inferior equipment. Compared to the rest of the album. On inferior equipment compared to the rest of the album. Like it's a good song, but it just sounds like they didn't have the money for the equipment where perfect day is perfect, hey, what next?
Speaker 1:time you listen to vicious, like next time you listen to vicious. Uh, think about more cowbell. That song the cowbell will not quit. It is, uh, it's like twice as loud as the lead vocal.
Speaker 2:Now that you say that, I am thinking about that and you are right. And next time you listen to Perfect Day, think about Herbie Flowers on the tuba there.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, and he played on other songs. Let's see like we're Coming Out. There's a tuba on there. I'm sure it's him.
Speaker 2:I would say so because he is the masterful tuba player for the stars, so I like talking about people that many might not know, but behind the scenes, you know, herbie Flowers made a great impact on music. You know it's going to continue to last even though he's passed. I think that's cool and hopefully some people will take a listen to some of the songs that we just mentioned. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now a cool story I don't know if we ever mentioned it about his playing on Walk on the Wild Side, but he played two parts and part of the reason, he confessed, was because you get paid double if you play two distinct different bass parts, and he played it on two different basses and everything. So he actually was getting like union scale and he got double for doing that and it made the song what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's a session musician and they are not part of the band. They just come in and they play a certain part of it and, like you said you're right he did the bass line twice, so he ended up getting double what he would have received. So that was smart on his part, but ultimately it makes the song what it is.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I'm reading that he got a 12 pound fee for playing it.
Speaker 2:How much is 12 pounds? Doesn't sound like a lot to me.
Speaker 2:Maybe 20 bucks yeah yeah, wow, that's crazy, that really is, hey. So august 4th 1979, john stewart has a song titled gold that peaks at number five on the billboard hot 100. When the lights go down in the californ California town, people are in for the evening. It has Fleetwood Mac members, lindsey Buckingham on guitar and Stevie Nicks singing backing vocals with John. Her voice is unmistakable and when you hear the song his voice is good, but adding hers just brings it up a notch. It's really good.
Speaker 2:A song about the dream of making a gold record, and a gold record up until 1976 was the highest achievement that you could get for record sales. In 76, platinum became the highest standard. So gold was roughly 500,000 in sales of albums and a million for single sales and that's what all these people were trying to achieve. Song talks about a guy working at a gas station. He sings rock and roll in the shower. It talks about all the girls in California that they're just waiting for a song to be written about them and it's just about the dream and trying to get that dream of, of getting that gold record.
Speaker 2:So there is a road, it's called Cannon and that connects Ogara Hills to Malibu. Out in California the chorus of the song is driving over Cannon singing to my soul. There's people out there turning music into gold and you know that's the way you would head to go, so that you could get your music made and you get on the radio and be singing and make it to number one or, in this case, number five. But sometimes the words have been misheard. Okay, so driving over cannon singing to my soul some think it's diving on my cannon, saving for my soul, or driving novicated singing to my soul, like he could be singing that, there's no question about it. Just had me laughing, I think. Another one that I read was someone had something like Diane in the Canon. Do you remember the actress Diane?
Speaker 1:Cannon oh right, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so someone had it, as you know, diane, in the Canon saving to my soul. But anyway, out there, people did turn music into gold. And Jimmy, did you know John was in the Kingston Trio from 1961 to 1967? No, yeah, it was after their heyday. Their heyday was the middle to late 50s to about 1961. And he was in there from 61 to 67. And then they had some other members that came afterwards, but he got out when that type of folk music was really starting to die out. Rock and roll was taking over. It was a whole different world and he wrote the song Daydream Believer. That became a number one song for the Monkees in 1967. Ann Murray did a cover of that also 1967. Ann Murray did a cover of that also, sticking with 1979, summer of 79, I was 12, and the song the Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band seemed to be on the radio a lot, peaking at number three on September 15th.
Speaker 1:I mean you were hearing that in Long Island and in Georgia it was an even bigger deal. It was like all the time.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what to make of the song. It's a country song with fiddle solos, yet had a rock and roll touch. And as a kid, like you said here on Long Island, my teaching is about Georgia. Came mostly from the movie Smokey and the Bandit is about georgia. Came mostly from the movie smoky and the bandit and at the time it was the first season of the dukes of hazard on tv with bo and luke duke. That's really what I knew about georgia.
Speaker 1:That was the way I grew up, basically like one of the dukes of hazard jumping in the window of my car, you know evading the police running moonshine.
Speaker 2:So let me ask you this did people actually do that like jump in the side of the car, like that?
Speaker 1:no, apparently that was because their car was like a stock car and stock cars, you know, nascar or whatever. I guess that's that's what they do. They seal the doors shut oh, did they do that?
Speaker 2:to kind of guess, shore it up so, as they did these stunts, the car wouldn't fall apart, or so?
Speaker 1:Yeah, they were, you know, and they were athletic guys. They liked to jump in the car. I'm surprised they never hit the stick shift. That would have hurt. True, true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what was it? Just some good old boys, never meaning, no harm something like that.
Speaker 1:Well, you know who sang that right.
Speaker 2:Waylon Jennings.
Speaker 1:Waylon Jennings yeah, just good old boys, never meaning, no harm Beats. All you ever saw been in trouble with the law since the day they were born.
Speaker 2:Wow, somebody really knows this song.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you it was a big deal. It was a big night on TV too, because I was a little bit younger and so I was like Friday nights for me were watching TV and it was Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas were on like boom, boom.
Speaker 2:I did not watch Dallas, I know that for sure.
Speaker 1:I was a kid. You watched TV. It was all that was on. There were three channels.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I watched the Dukes of Hazzard and I loved watching them in the car and doing all those stunts and just running away from Boss Hogg. And what was the sheriff's name? Sheriff?
Speaker 1:Roscoe P Coltrane.
Speaker 2:That's it Roscoe P Coltrane. That's it Roscoe P Coltrane and his deputy Enos.
Speaker 1:I actually recorded Enos for a Dukes of Hazzard reunion show, like 25 years ago, and he was a hoot because, gosh, what was his name? Sonny Schroyer. And he came in he had to replace some lines that he'd done they call it ADR and I asked him I was like so you know, what have you been up to since the Dukes of Hazzard, you know? And he said well, I've been trying to get Daisy to marry me. I'm like dude, I'm not asking what your character, he just lived to be Enos. Yeah, it was weird.
Speaker 2:It sounds like it, I have to say it does. It definitely does. So I moved to Georgia in 1990 and you know, been in Georgia ever since, definitely loved living there. I've had great experiences. You know, never could have imagined any of the things that you know would come to me moving to the great state of Georgia, especially being that 12-year-old in eighth grade listening to the Devil Went Down to Georgia. So sticking with 1979, I think it's time for a minute with Jimmy. It's time for a minute with Jimmy. Minute with Jimmy. Minute with Jimmy. It's time for a minute with Jimmy minute with Jimmy.
Speaker 1:Minute with Jimmy. Today I'm talking about the Buzzcocks. In 1979, this seminal punk band from Manchester, england, put out two records. Well, one was the re-release of their album Singles Going Steady in the US and the other was the first release of their album A Different Kind of Tension in the UK. Those both came out in September 1979. And I got to see the Buzzcocks just the other night at the Variety Playhouse here in Atlanta. They were unbelievable, so great, and Pete Shelley, the original singer, passed away back in 2018. But the guitar player and second singer, steve Diggle, has taken over as the singer and he can handle it all. The crowd sings along. He's got infinite energy. He's like 68 years old. He runs all around the stage, gets everybody involved. It was awesome.
Speaker 2:I had the Singles Goin' Steady record. I still have it on vinyl and what a record that was. It just was so cool. I like a sense of punk but a sense of pop at the same time, with words that you can relate to. Very, very, very cool record there. And you know, I know you were going to the show and it sounds like it was definitely a good time. What would you say was the? You know, the median age of people at the show?
Speaker 1:Well, it's kind of funny because of course it skewed older and it skewed more male, so the average fan there was probably 60 and male. But at one point near the end these girls right next to us we were kind of down front started slam dancing and it was like these 21-year-old girls were slam dancing next to us, so that was really fun to see.
Speaker 2:Was that during Ever Fallen in Love with Someone you Shouldn't have Fallen in Love With?
Speaker 1:Oh, it might have been. It was a big one they were playing at the time. I don't think it was Orgasm Addict. I think it was Ever Fallen. I think it was ever fallen in love, yeah, and my wife got some video of it and one of the girls fell down during the slam dance. It was like a Mary Catherine Gallagher moment where she got upended and it was hilarious.
Speaker 2:Referencing Saturday Night Live.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, everybody gets that reference Saturday Night Live from 20 years ago. Of course, of course, my name is.
Speaker 2:Jimmy. Hey, you know what, jimmy, what? You know what time it is.
Speaker 1:Well, you keep asking me what time it is. I'm thinking maybe mailbag.
Speaker 2:It is music in my shoes. Mailbag time.
Speaker 1:Music in my shoes mailbag.
Speaker 2:Yes, music in my Shoes. Mailbag time we received quite a few messages about episode 40, titled 10 Days in August 1969. And these are just a few of them. We talked about the Beatles, charles Manson and Woodstock. Scott says what gets me is how they got all those people to Woodstock without any internet or media as we know it today. Thank you, scott and Jimmy. That's pretty incredible how they did that, because he's right, I mean there wasn't the internet that you could just send things out social media where you put it out on TikTok or Facebook or Instagram or whatever. I know radio stations were talking about it and that you know different parts of the country. People would hear about it and for the most part, people were traveling in packs like groups of people would say, hey, well, let's go, let's do it. But it's pretty amazing when you think about you know four to 500,000 people that showed up from all over the US without that type of advertising that you're able to do today.
Speaker 1:I know people had to actually talk to each other. My brother Bob family lived in Greenwich, connecticut at that time. I had just been born, actually, when Woodstock happened and my brother Bob would sneak. He would skip school and sneak down to New York City and go to Chinatown and buy fireworks and go to rock shows and all this stuff. My parents had no idea any of this was going on and he had a friend that said, oh, are you going to Woodstock? And he said I never heard of him and that's why he missed.
Speaker 1:Woodstock. He thought it was a band.
Speaker 2:There you go, there you go. I mean, did your parents ever find out?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he told them years later and, yeah, they were chagrined to hear exactly what he'd been up to.
Speaker 2:Bob does what Bob wants.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, he met.
Speaker 2:Janis.
Speaker 1:Joplin. I mean, I don't know if I'm really.
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, he was actually. I think you talked about that. Uh, she was at the Capitol theater.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it was like the bar next door or something. Again, he's like 14, 15 years old or something, and uh walks in and she's sitting by herself, so he just sits down next to her and starts up a conversation.
Speaker 2:Yep, very cool. Well, speaking of Bob, your brother, we're going to go switch to Bobby, from Fort Lauderdale in Florida. He writes instead of a posed picture, the Beatles said let's just cross the street, just like the rooftop gig. Why fly anywhere when we could go play on the roof? Thank you, bobby. And he's talking about that same episode where we're talking about the Beatles taking the photographs for the cover of Abbey Road where they're just kind of walking across the street and he just kind of likes the idea that they said let's just walk across the street, nothing posed, just boom, take that picture and it's iconic. You know, we've talked about that. I mean just such a simple picture. Again, you know, a lot of the things I think we talk about are simple, but they're masterful. As I mentioned before, they become iconic and there's something that just lasts forever. So, you know, hats off to the Beatles for doing that.
Speaker 2:Andrea's wish I would have loved to have gone to Woodstock. Thank you, andrea, and I'm with you on that. Unlike Bob who did not go because he didn't know who the band was, I think going to Woodstock would have been unbelievable. You know, the one thing is, you know bands play throughout the night. We talked about that on that episode. I think it would be really easy to miss a lot of it, because you can't stay up for that many days in a row. There were all types of you know adult beverages and whatever else going around. I think that you would have to miss a lot of it. What do you think about that, jimmy?
Speaker 1:I think you would have to miss a lot of it. I think you you think about that, Jimmy. I think you would have to miss a lot of it. I think you're right. And going back to Bob, I think that it would have been tough to pull off. It's one thing to say you're spending the night at a friend's house and go to a show in New York or whatever, but to go to a four-day music festival, you're probably going to get caught.
Speaker 2:I agree with you on that, definitely. David comments after episode 41, dream a Little Dream of Me, nice, I've been curious about the behind-the-scenes stuff with the PIL album for a while. Thank you, david. And he's referencing the Public Image Limited album. This Is what you Want, this Is what you Get, get from 1984. And we talked about that album being recorded and then Keith Levine taking the tapes and stealing it and then releasing it and, you know, john Lydon deciding to rerecord the whole entire album and so forth. So thank you for that, david.
Speaker 2:And then Kareem from Uniondale, new York, says after episode 42, high Hopes, hello. Music in my shoes. Whenever I listen to them, I can put wonderful moments in my mind and my heart. Thank you, corrine. Music brings back wonderful memories for me also. And then we'll finish off with Joe from Texas, who wrote in after episode 43, hey, hey, my, my rock and roll can never die. This was my favorite episode so far, thank you. Well, joe, thank you for thanking us. You don't need to thank us. We're thanking you for listening and for sending something into the mailbag. My only recommendation at this point Jimmy deserves more than a minute for his professionalism, with an added smiley face that he put on here and yes, thank you for reaching out joe jimmy fan mail messages.
Speaker 2:That is awesome and I know we already did a minute with jimmy. But listen, jimmy, I believe you also saw the Hoodoo Gurus last week, so why don't we give you another minute with Jimmy? Why don't you talk a little bit about the Hoodoo Guru?
Speaker 1:show.
Speaker 2:It's time for a minute with Jimmy, minute with Jimmy. Minute with Jimmy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the Hoodoo Gurus were amazing. They are a band from the 80s college rock. They're from Australia. If you weren't a teenager or didn't go to college in the 80s, you might have never heard of them. They had some songs that were on MTV back then, but they have this really cool combination of kind of like tribal, kind of primitiveness and garage music and and power pop and just fantastic songs. Uh, everybody there, you know, knew every song and and we're singing along it was, it was awesome, but everybody was, you know, between 52 and 65, because they went to college in the eighties and my son went with me Uh, he's 22, had a blast, thought they were amazing and uh, yeah, uh, yeah, it was. It was a really good time. They they were supposed to come in 2020. The pandemic delayed it a year, the pandemic delayed it another year and then they finally came last year and came again this year so they do, uh, bittersweet, which I think is a fantastic song.
Speaker 2:Love that song. Uh, what do they do? What's my Scene?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's kind of. Their biggest song is what's my Scene, and then Bittersweet. Another great song Like Wow Wipeout, death Defying. I Want you Back the Right Time's. Another great song Really killer guitar in that one. They got a million of them and every one of their albums is great. Check them out.
Speaker 2:My name is Jimmy. Well, good, I'm glad we got a listener to make it two minutes with Jimmy. That was pretty awesome. And you can contact us at musicinmyshoes at gmailcom, or click on the send us a text link located above the episode notes for each individual show, and this is a one-way text. We can't message you back, but we can acknowledge you on the show, like we just did with Joe. Please like and follow the Music in my Shoes Facebook page.
Speaker 2:So, speaking of shows, Jimmy, five years ago I went to see the who at State Farm Arena in Atlanta and that was September 18th of 2019. And I wanted to go, but I really didn't want to pay a lot for the show. And I remember I got home from work that night and I said, let me just look at the ticket prices and that will talk me out of going. And I'll be like, yeah, that's too much money, that's why I'm not going. Well, I look it up and I think it was StubHub, it was $20 a ticket plus fees. And I'm saying to myself I've got to go. There's no way I can't go for that. I called up a mutual friend of ours, Robert, and I said hey, I'm jumping in the shower. I'll meet you down at State Farm, Buy the tickets. I'll give you the money once I get there. But I lived much further away so I really needed to get moving and we got these tickets and we were first you know, the first level, you know across from the stage. It was awesome.
Speaker 2:They played with the I believe it was the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that played with them. They opened up with like five or six songs from Tommy. Then they went into a few songs with, you know, with the orchestra. They came out and they did the band only, and again I think it was probably another five songs. You know like orchestra. They came out and they did the band only and again I think it was probably another five songs. You know, like the kids are all right, um, you better you bet. I remember doing an acoustic version of won't get fooled again, and then they did behind blue eyes, but then they added I think it was violin and cello, and then kind of ended the show, brought the orchestra back out, did five songs from what was it? Quadrophenia? And ended the show with Bob O'Reilly. And it was a fantastic show and not just because of the price of the tickets. They did a really good job and I think uh adding the orchestra to it uh was a pretty cool touch and, uh, I believe, simon townsend.
Speaker 1:Uh, pete's son plays with them too, right?
Speaker 2:he does. Actually he does play with them, so I don't know if they're going to be back. You know, p Pete Townsend always has these conflicting stories One day we'll never tour again. And then when he thinks people are like, oh, that's not going to happen, then he's like, oh well, I would like to tour again. And then he just keeps changing his mind, and sometimes I think Roger Daltrey might be a little tired of the whole thing. So we'll see if anything happens with that.
Speaker 1:Well, they said their last tour was like 1980 or something, so I wouldn't hold my breath that they're done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 1982 was the final tour the Clash opened up for them, and here we are in 2024. So who knows, who knows? Well, that's it for episode 45 of Music in my Shoes. I'd like to thank Jimmy Guthrie, show producer and owner of Arcade 160 Studios located in Atlanta, georgia, and Vic Thrill for our podcast music. This is Jim Boge broadcasting from Levittown, new York, and I hope you learned something new or remembered something old. We'll meet again on our next episode. Until then, live life and keep the music playing.
