BOBBY TAYLOR AND THE VANCOUVERS - "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (1968)

 

Here's a Saturday Night Special for you if there ever was one!

Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers were a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hence the name The Vancouvers, but they weren't always called The Vancouvers, and here's where the story gets fun.

 

 

Probably the most interesting thing about this band is that one of the two guitarists was none other than the very suave Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

In the beginning, one of their names was Little Daddy and the Bachelors, and then, according to Wikipedia, they were doing pretty good until Tommy Chong suggested that they change their name to something akin to Four Black Guys and One Chinese Fellow, which I'm sure he thought was hilarious, but nobody else did, so they changed it again to an abbreviated form, this time to Four N's and a C.

That still wasn't working so they went with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, Bobby Taylor being the lead singer, who went on to produce The Jackson 5's first record.

Their song "Does Your Mama Know About Me" made it to 29 on the charts in 1968 on the Gordy label, and was co-written by Tommy Chong.

Considering all the great music that there was on the Motown and subsidiary labels in 1968, it's no wonder this group got left behind, as most of the music sounds like Philly soul or early disco.

 

I much prefer this piece of insanity from 1974.

"Earache My Eye" was written by Tommy Chong and world class guitarist Gaye Delorme, who also played that killer riff.

The drums were played by the world's best percussionist, Airto Moreira.

CHEECH AND CHONG - "Earache My Eye" 

BIS - "Tell It To The Kids" (1997)

 

Bis (rhymes with this) are from Scotland, and they came out with "The New Transistor Heroes" in 1997.

I don't know where they got all their energy from but Sci-Fi Steven, Manda Rin, and John Disco really put the power in the term power pop.

 

 

Bis broke up in 2003, and reformed in 2009, and have been playing off and on ever since, and have gigs coming up this year. In October they'll be playing at "The Royal Hotel, Whitby."

 

In November you can catch them at the "Shiiine On Weekender" festival.

BIS - "Tell It To The Kids" 

STEWART COPELAND & STAN RIDGWAY - "Don't Box Me In" (1983)

 

Rich here. Those of a certain age may remember the classic Young Adult novel from 1975, "Rumblefish," by S.E. Hinton, the author that seemed to authentically express the feelings of post-Sixties alientated youth. You may also remember the noirish film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983.

 

Coppola's film featured up-and-coming young stars like Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, and Diane Lane, and was filmed in a sleek-looking black and white that recalled the classic film noir movies of the 1940's. 

 

And in a genius move for the soundtrack, Coppola enlisted the talents of Stewart Copeland, the drummer from the Police, and Stan Ridgway, the lead singer & songwriter for the quirky new wave band Wall of Voodoo. The film and the soundtrack were edgy, with the duo of Copeland & Ridgway capturing a catchy early '80s post-punk theme song for the movie, "Don't Box Me In." The song featured an angular guitar hook and Ridgway's spooky harmonica and quirky voice -- a combination that helped emphasize the film's theme of youthful alienation.

STEWART COPELAND & STAN RIDGWAY - "Don't Box Me In" 

AGONY COLUMN - "Love In The Head" (1980)

 

Agony Column isn't a band name I would have expected there to be more than one of, and actually it's not really a name I would have ever expected to be used once. Shows you how much I know.

The Agony Column I'm talking about was a New Wave/Post-Punk band from Leeds, West Yorkshire in the UK. They formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. 

This song, and I think it's a pretty good one, was released in 1980.

AGONY COLUMN - "Love In The Head" 

 

What you really need to know so that you don't get them mixed up is that in the late 1980's there was a hillbilly death metal band from Austin, Texas who also called themselves Agony Column.

The members were named Crow, Red Wing Viper, Bat Lord, and Devil Chicken.

 

And if that ain't enough, there is currently yet another The Agony Column band which is a gothic doom/dark metal band from Belarus.   

THE DARTELLS - "Hot Pastrami" (1962)

 

The Dartells hailed from Oxnard, California. Their single titled "Hot Pastrami!" made it to #11 on the charts in 1962. After the single gained so much popularity, they were able to come out with this album of the same name.

Simplicity personified! 

THE DARTELLS - "Hot Pastrami!" 

 

The "Dartell Stomp" didn't have any success, but was just as cool as "Hot Pastrami!" I always thought.

The band didn't last long and broke up soon after the record was released. 

THE DARTELLS - "Dartell Stomp"

JACO PASTORIUS - "Come On, Come Over" (1976)

 

There are two words that describe world class bassist Jaco Pastorius to a T, and those two words are talented and troubled. It was his talent that took him to the top of his game, and it was trouble that ended his career and life at the age of thirty-five.

It's sinful enough that this song wasn't a number one hit, and it's completely ludicrous that it never even made the charts.

Enjoy one of the funkiest bass lines you'll ever hear, and great vocals by Same & Dave.

JACO PASTORIUS - "Come On, Come Over" 

DANGERMAN - "Let's Make A Deal" (1999)

 

Dangerman is one of those kinds of groups that makes you wonder what's wrong with the world.

Dangerman was a duo from New York comprised of Chris Scianni, vocals and guitar, and Dave Borla playing the drums.

This self-titled album from 1999 was their only release. They had a couple of singles the same year, but that's about it. It does look they went on to do some other things as individuals with other people, but not a whole lot.

Here's a great song from them for you! 

 DANGERMAN - "Let's Make A Deal"