A few weeks ago a Carnival Saloon reader from Utah called Nora Flood left a lovely comment that pointed out it's been a while since my last poultry post and suggested some chicken songs from her own collection that might be to my taste. I duly bought all eight and have since enjoyed learning more about the artists who performed them.
Since today would be the 119th birthday of Colonel Sanders, the man who did more to popularise fried chicken around the world than any other, it seems fitting to share them with you. These are the first four recommendation from Nora's list; I will post the others at a later date.
MP3: Pink Anderson - Chicken
Despite having a career that spanned five decades bluesman Pink Anderson's place in musical history is likely to be cemented for inspiring Syd Barrett to name his band after him. Syd noticed Pink's name alongside Floyd Council's on the sleeve of a Blind Boy Fuller album and thought the two went rather well together.
Buy: Amazon
MP3: Blind Pete - Banty Rooster
Charley Patton wrote Banty Rooster in 1910 at age 19. 24 years later Leadbelly discovered Arkansas fiddler player Blind Pete while working as chauffeur/talent scout for John Lomax. They recorded this track in Little Rock on 27 September 1934.
Buy: Mississippi Blues & Gospel 1934 - 1942
MP3: Richard Johnston w/ Jessie Mae Hemphill - Chicken and Gravy
This might sound like it was recorded many moons ago but Richard Johnston is a contemporary bluesman who's supported The Killers. I've not seen it but apparently the documentary about Johnston, Hill Country Troubadour, is really great.
Buy: Amazon
MP3: Louisiana Red - Chicken Licken
I can't help but warm to a song that's dedicated to a girl "who liked to eat a lot of chicken". Louisiana Red, aka Iverson Minter, first recorded for Chess Records in the 40s but if you are in Belgium over the weekend you can catch him at Blue Moon Festival of rock 'n' Roll, Blues and Boogie in Visé.
Buy: Amazon
Many thanks to Carnival Saloon correspondent Nora Flood for pointing me in the direction of these great songs. If you like them you should check out her radio show, Shootin' Creek, on Fridays 3-6 pm MST on UtahFM (archives available online). As usual do let me know what you think and suggest others in the comments below.
More Chicken Songs at Carnival Saloon
Chicken Songs For The Soul
Chicken: Anyone For Seconds?
Clucking Brilliant
Thighs, Wings, Legs & Breasts
3 comments:
There's a couple of Chicken songs on the Ronnie Lane/Ron Wood album/Soundtracj Mahoney's Last Stand - that are worth a wallop
@Mondo - Thanks for tip. I'll check 'em out when I get from my holiday in a couple of weeks.
Appropriately enough, Colonel Sanders awarded the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise to Pete Harman of Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1952.
Thanks for the post!
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