State Songs #9: District of Columbia

Photo © Grufnik @ Flickr

Yes, I know that the District of Columbia is not a state but these songs are so great that omitting Washington, DC from our musical tour around America would be unforgivable. Unsurprisingly the majority of tracks have a political edge but don't let that put you off.

MP3: Magnetic Fields - Washington, DC

"It's the only place to be" sings Claudia Gonson on the Magnetic Fields' humorous tribute to the Nation's Capital. According to the excellent 69 Love Songs wiki Stephin Merritt has claimed the Bay City Rollers' Saturday Night as the influence on the song's brilliant cheerleader opening.
More Magnetic Fields: official site | Amazon| 7digital

MP3: The Staple Singers - Long Walk to DC

I love the Staples and their 1968 Stax debut, Soul Folk in Action, is a classic. This song has added resonance when you think that it was recorded just a few months after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.
More Staple Singers: Wikipedia | Amazon | 7digital

MP3: Leadbelly - Bourgeois Blues

Leadbelly recorded this in 1938 after Alan Lomax invited him to Washington to make recordings for the Library of Congress. It's inspired by an evening that Leadbelly and his wife spent with the Lomaxes out on the town when they were kicked out of various establishments for being an interracial group. Billy Bragg laster used the song as the basis for his Bush War Blues.
More Leadbelly: Wikipedia | Amazon | 7digital

MP3: Parliament - Chocolate City

This is George Clinton relishing the fact that America's capital city has a majority black population and looking forward to when Aretha Franklin is First Lady and Richard Pryor's the Secretary for Education. Wikipedia has a good entry about the album that explores other "cultural references" to the idea of the chocolate city.
More Parliament: official site | Amazon | 7digital

By the way, if you're ever in Washingon, DC and don't know which Smithsonian museum to visit my favourite is the National Museum of American History - home to the M*A*S*H signpost, Einstein's brier pipe and Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet.

Next time we'll be slapping on the Copppertone and heading straight down I-95 to the Sunshine State - Florida.

Related Posts
State Songs - links to every post on this musical road trip

Chicken: Anyone For Seconds?

Carnival Saloon regulars will know that my first post of the new year was about chicken songs and the second was the start of my musical tour of every American state which began in Alabama. So, imagine how I felt yesterday when I discovered I actually own a song called Alabama Chicken and didn't mention it in either post!

I believe there's always room for more chicken so here's that song plus some more premium poultry.

MP3: Sean Hayes - Alabama Chicken

I found this on one of the wonderful Crowd Around The Mic compilations my favourite American radio station WNCW sends out to its supporters each year. On his MySpace Sean Hayes says, "I like the sound of claw hammer banjo". Amen to that.
More Sean Hayes: official site | Amazon

MP3: Charles Mingus - Eat That Chicken

Pete Marsh (a vegetarian) recommended this after my previous chicken post. I'm a jazz novice and know next to nothing about Mingus. This is from his 1961 album Oh Yeah which after two listens I rate as both "excellent" and "bonkers in places".
More Mingus: official site |Amazon | 7digital

MP3: The Magnetic Fields - A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off

One of the 69 Love Songs Stephin Merritt and co released in 1999. In the accompanying booklet Merritt writes, "There's not that many clichés left to be used as titles of country songs. So I was jokingly scraping the bottom of the barrel".
More Magnetic Fields: MySpace | Amazon | 7digital

MP3: Howlin' Wolf - The Red Rooster

I don't know how I could have omitted this from my first chicken post. The Rolling Stones had a number one hit with this in 1964 but the Howlin' Wolf original is still preferable in my mind.
More Howlin' Wolf: Unofficial site | Amazon | 7digital

More Chicken Song Posts
Chicken Songs For The Soul - Joe Ely, Hayes Carll, Hellwood, McGee Bros, Bill Thomas
Clucking Brilliant - The Meters, Rufus Thomas, Uncle Dave Macon, Link Wray
Thighs, Wings, Legs & Breasts - Big Joe Turner, The Hillbillies, Dr Alimantado, Cab Calloway

Other Related Posts
State Songs #1: Alabama Cat Power, Billie Holiday, Jim White, Joan Baez, Shelby Lynne and, of course, Lynryd Skynyrd