OK, John PRINE...the guy who's songs Jeffy sings. Right?

Day 3 of my celebration of the songs of John Prine.

The countdown to John's birthday is winding down, just 3 more days. Until then, here's my take on a couple more of his songs.

A song he wrote to one of his and our old friends while he was touring Europe, and the advice she doled out for all those decades. "Dear Abby":

Here's a good old fashioned broken-hearted-country love song. A wife's' indiscretion leaves the husband with no other recourse than to pledge violence and obsession...the next time around. "The Frying Pan":

I'll see you tomorrow and the rest of the week for more. I love this stuff!

I think I've heard of him...John Prime? No Prine!

Day two of my week long onslaught of John Prine goodness!

As I said yesterday, John Prine's birthday is this coming Saturday and my proper tribute post will come then. Until then, the best way to show my appreciation for this songwriter is to expose y'all to some of his music.

Here's a ballad which shows a different facet to the tribulations we went through during the Vietnam era. Not many songs delved into the conflict conscientious objectors went through. Choosing to move to Canada rather than help blow up Southeast Asia, these folks had to forsake the country they loved, supposedly to never see her again. John knew this wasn't a very popular stance and tells the story of a boy in love with a woman who makes bad decisions and the compromising position this puts him in.

"The Great Compromise":




And an odd little ditty about the girl a few doors down he had a crush on and a harrowing suburban drama she falls into.

"The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)":




I'll see you tomorrow for some more skewed yet lucid perspective from this tragic poet with a sense of humor.

Bye for now.

John Prine. John who?? I said John Prine!

Be warned. You are about to be overwhelmed, inundated, indoctrinated into the world of John Prine.

John Prine is singly my favorite singer-songwriter. His 63rd birthday is this coming Saturday and I'm afraid one day's blog posting just wouldn't be enough.

Don't worry though, I'll be gentle.

Today I bring you a couple songs off of John's first album from 1971.

First a Vietnam protest song that expresses a lot of John Prine's sensibilities. He's not in your grill about it...he kind of slips it to you sneakily.



Then a "green" song from long before "Green" was the "in" thing. This song is about a town in Kentucky called "Paradise" where John's grandparents lived, and what happened to it.



I'll tell you more about John during the coming week. But the best way to tell you about him is to let you hear some of his songs.

I love singing them, I hope you find some favorites.

See ya all tomorrow.

Taking Stock

In the Alchemy/Chemistry of Stooges...Ted Healy was the Catalyst

Ted Healy was born today in 1896. A leader of men, and a bringer-together of stooges!

I've discussed the history of The Three Stooges here already in the blog here, so the importance of Healy and his role of bringing Moe, Larry, Shemp and Curly to the stage and then screen has been stated.

But Healy was a really funny guy in his own right. More than just a footnote in Stooge history.


Above: From the film "Soup to Nuts" (1930), Ted Healy (standing) with (left to right) Moe, Shemp, Larry and a fourth-almost-stooge Fred Sanborn.

Left to right: Moe, Larry, Ted and Curly.

From their vaudeville days: Larry, Moe, Shemp and Ted.

Here's a great clip of Ted, Moe, Larry and Curly from the Clark Gable-Joan Crawford MGM musical "Dancing Lady". Great interaction between the 3 boys and their boss.

Great stuff.

Thanks for bringing our favorite boys to the screen Ted. Sorry you had to leave so soon.