She sounded like Saturday night on a Sunday morning.

January 9, 2012 5:40 AM

"She sounded like Saturday night on a Sunday morning. Patsy on Jesus. Elvis without the pelvis." is how the liner notes for The Glory Road, the Numero Group's 2005 reissue of Fern Jones' classic album Singing a Happy Song start. When her album was recorded, the session musicians had just played Elvis's 1958 sessions. Later, Jimmie Davis and Johnny Cash both covered one of Fern's songs (I Was There When It Happened(YT)). Much of the information on the web, including this brief piece from The Oxford American about Fern, these images from her revival days, and other history comes from the website maintained by her daughter. Fern's daughter is interviewed about her mother here (mp3), with musical clips included. NPR reviewed the reissue in 2005 when it came out.

Youtube clips:

You Ain't Got Nothin'

Strange Things Are Happening [There's another video of this version of Fern's cover of this classic Sister Rosetta Tharpe song with a montage of Betty Page photos. Strange things, indeed.]

I Was There When It Happened

posted by OmieWise (9 comments total)

I'm at work so I can't listen right now, but thanks for the links, Omiewise. I hadn't heard of Fern Jones before.
posted by Currer Belfry at 5:59 AM on January 9, 2012

Are there any actual videos of her?

(And what ever happened to the name "Fern"?)
posted by pracowity at 6:28 AM on January 9, 2012

"She sounded like Saturday night on a Sunday morning" is the best sentence Raymond Chandler never wrote.
posted by feloniousmonk at 6:33 AM on January 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

"you're just as mean as... the boogerman"

Neat stuff.
posted by ericost at 6:44 AM on January 9, 2012

She sounded like Saturday night on a Sunday morning

I'm reminded...

She read romance magazines up in her room
And felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon

-John Prine, Donald and Lydia
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:54 AM on January 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

What I really love is how on You Ain't Got Nothin', you think the tune has ended, but after the briefest pause, Fern comes in, at 2:09, with that half-spoken "and furthermore..." and the tune is back in business! Great stuff!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:01 AM on January 9, 2012

Love the stuff Numero Group puts out. Thanks.
posted by Rykey at 3:36 PM on January 9, 2012

Totally digging this. And yes, Fern as a name should make a comeback soon...all the other old-lady-from-another-time names are (Agnes! Scarlet! Violet!).
posted by ifjuly at 5:01 AM on January 10, 2012

I just got her first LP, The Jonses Sing, in the mail. The cream is excerpted on that Número CD, but it's a great record on the other cuts too.
posted by OmieWise at 7:30 AM on January 17, 2012