It has been well-documented on the Vinyl Vogue blog that Lou did not consider music a serious art form, like painting, literature, or film, before he began working at Second Story Books in 2001. He definitely did not have any physical forms of music before that point, such as vinyl, cassette, or CDs. At that point in musical terms, Lou was an old man.
Yet as a wee lad, there were a few records that Lou played over and over again. One was “Locomotion” by Little Eva. This was a 45 that was handed down by Lou’s mother from her collection as a teenager. And Lou just dug it. When Lou was a teenager himself, Kylie Minogue did a version of “Locomotion” and while Lou dug how Kylie looked, he did not really dig her sound. To Lou’s eyes, Kylie looked like Kelly from Dance Party U.S.A., an afterschool teen dance show out of Philadelphia that Lou would watch from time to time. Like Kylie, Kelly had the look. She was a star. And Lou turned out to be right as she was and became Kelly Ripa. Small world. As an older man, Lou now listens to Grand Funk’s version of “Locomotion” from time to time. But it all started with Little Eva.
The other record that Little Lou had time for was John Denver’s Greatest Hits. In particular, Lou like “Rocky Mountain High” and he would play it over and over again on vinyl. The other stylings of John Denver did not really hit, but “Rocky Mountain High” was the stuff. Not earth-shattering stuff but Lou liked what Lou liked. In high school, Lou also liked Sinclair Lewis quite a bit. That was American Literature to Lou. Until he went to college and discovered the Beats, Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, and a host of other writers. By that point, Hunter S. Thompson became Lou’s Rocky Mountain High.
Lou has outgrown John Denver but as a kid he enjoyed seeing Denver on The Muppet Show. Denver kinda had a Muppet look about him. Lou’s favorite musical guest on The Muppet Showwas Debbie Harry. Kermit had Ms. Piggy and Lou had Debbie Harry. Lou got the better end of the deal. Unlike John Denver, Debbie Harry has been Lou’s main squeeze for quite a while. Of all the CBGB bands, Blondie is probably Lou’s favorite. It is hard to pick the best Blondie song. Of the mega hits, Lou likes “Call Me” the best. “Dreaming”, “Hanging on the Telephone”, and “Atomic” are all great. For the most part, Lou likes them all, but he goes back again and again to “Union City Blue”. If forced to listen to just one Blondie song, Lou would probably pick that one.
Despite putting John Denver behind him, Lou kept bumping into him repeatedly when Lou was living in Baltimore. “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” plays during the seventh inning stretch at Orioles games and it has become the adopted song of Charm City. This tradition started in the 1970s when Orioles players would air guitar to the song during intermission. That is the short story, the long form is more interesting. See it below. Denver performed at Orioles games a few times in his life to support what had kind of become his home team.
But what really sticks with Lou about John Denver nowadays is the fact that he was a tremendous booze hound. It shocks Lou that John Denver with his look and persona hit the sauce so hard. Jim Morrison sure. Alice Cooper sure. Ozzy Osbourne sure. You name it. Lou can believe that many a rockstar lives with addictions. But John Denver was a surprise. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Maybe he had to drink to keep up the good boy persona. From the looks of it, John could have drank Lou under the table.
Which brings us to John Denver’s unfortunate demise. He crashed an experimental plane into the ocean. Lou remembers that well. It is not etched in Lou’s brain like 9-11 or The Challenger Explosion but it is in there somewhere. Turns out Denver should not have been in that plane at all since his drinking problem revoked his pilot’s license.
At Vinyl Vogue there are several John Denver albums available, Lou had to take home The Greatest Hits and give it one more listen. It slaps. Lou drank a beer while listening to it. Seemed right. A few summers ago, Lou’s neighbor had a single passenger seaplane that he offered to teach Lou how to use. Lou declined. Seemed right.
Suggested Sites and Sounds:
Denver and the O’s: How John Denver became an Orioles staple
The 7th Inning Stretch: Thank God I'm a Country Boy - Orioles 7th inning Stretch in ALCS
John on The Muppet Show: The Muppet Show - 401: John Denver - “Garden Song” (1979)
Debbie Harry on The Muppet Show: Muppet Songs: Debbie Harry - Call Me [HD] - YouTube
Union City Blue: Blondie - Union City Blue (Official Music Video)