Not long ago, I got an email from a record store in Hampden mentioning that they were now selling a King Records repress, Bull Moose Jackson sings his all-time hits.
I remember meeting the man, one time, at the radio station. He must've been a guest on someone's show. He was sitting on a couch, saying hello to folks passing by. His career had just been resurrected. (I can't remember if I'd already read the article on him in the Washington Post.)
He'd been working in a cafeteria at Howard University, when a dj who knew his whereabouts, hooked him up with a Pittsburgh band that'd been playing a few of his hits.
Bull Moose had had some big-selling ballads in the latter 40s (and early 50s?). I think he was one of the first r&B singers to sell a million records.
Can't remember the titles of those songs. Rather, I remember the striking names of his uptempo bawdy hits:
"I want a bow legged woman"
"Big ten inch record"
...and his comeback single,
"Get off the table, Mabel (The two dollars is for the beer)"
These days I'm reading a couple books.
Finishing up Long Way Round.
It's about a 20,000 mile motorcycle ride (London to Magadan, then Alaska to NY) by Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman. (Quite gripping, yet the griping makes me wonder how many British are wimps.)
Reading passages in Can't Stop, Wont' Stop. Jeff Chang's history of hip hop. It doesn't cover everything, but what it does cover is fascinating, because he tries to contextualize as much as possible. (Lotta research and interviews... Writing style is too terse, at times.)
Been reading 42 Up (no website), the slim book based on the movie. Quite profound. Makes you wonder what life is all about, and how your life compares.
Will there be a sequel, "49 Up"?