Wally Deane: rockin' 'n' rollin' 'n' coppin' a cartoon riff.
December 8, 2007 1:40 AM Subscribe
Hey daddy-o, when you hear that big brash horn section pump out that oddly familiar riff, only to stop cold and make way for that that prescient single note from an electric guitar, followed straightaway by a twangy voice in perfect rockabilly delivery proclaiming "well, she's got a dress that looks like a sack!", then brother, you're listening to the hoppin' boppin' sound of Wally Deane's Drag On. Once you hear it, you'll wonder why Quentin Tarrantino never put it in a movie. Wally Deane: one of the greatest rockabilly acts you never heard of.
Thanks Mblue! That's exactly the link this thread needed! I reckon that might've been the first (1948) of many times that Carl Stalling incorporated Raymond Scott's melodic figure into a cartoon soundtrack.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:58 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:58 AM on December 8, 2007
What a riff! It's colossal!
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:23 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:23 AM on December 8, 2007
This is why I love metafilter. I have always wanted to know where that riff came from! Also, I miss all the great old WB cartoons. *sniffle* thanks flapjax!
posted by R_Nebblesworth at 6:15 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by R_Nebblesworth at 6:15 AM on December 8, 2007
flapjax:
Many thanks for spotlighting another great Florida musician. So many Florida rock n' rollers who contributed to The Music are now just obscure historical footnotes. That Wally Deane is one shows--if any more evidence is needed--that talent does not guarantee stardom. Gents like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran get to be legends, and Wally is a just a name in Florida musical history. Thanks to the Deane boys for putting up some of Dad's tunes for the Web to hear: "Drag On" is a killer tune by any standard.
posted by rdone at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2007
Many thanks for spotlighting another great Florida musician. So many Florida rock n' rollers who contributed to The Music are now just obscure historical footnotes. That Wally Deane is one shows--if any more evidence is needed--that talent does not guarantee stardom. Gents like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran get to be legends, and Wally is a just a name in Florida musical history. Thanks to the Deane boys for putting up some of Dad's tunes for the Web to hear: "Drag On" is a killer tune by any standard.
posted by rdone at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2007
I never would have thought of Scott's melody as a rockabilly riff, but now it's going to be hard to hear it and NOT think of it that way.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:01 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:01 AM on December 8, 2007
Okay, now explain the chicken song they always play in Bugs Bunny and Space Quest.
posted by furtive at 11:55 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by furtive at 11:55 AM on December 8, 2007
Ahhh, the Astro-Chicken song is actually Chicken Reel.
posted by furtive at 11:57 AM on December 8, 2007
posted by furtive at 11:57 AM on December 8, 2007
Oh, the Powerhouse riff also shows up in Rush's immortal La Villa Strangiato (fast forward to 3:00).
posted by furtive at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by furtive at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2007
I like the Tipton Saxophone Quartet version of Powerhouse which can be streamed here.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:34 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:34 PM on December 8, 2007
Holy crap!!!! I have had that chicken song (which I now know is called Chicken Reel) in my head for 30+ years and have not know what it's called, but have wanted to a copy of my own. The Les Paul version is great, but it's not on the boxset or an of the other Les Paul records I have. Time to shop again.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:13 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:13 PM on December 8, 2007
Powerhouse is also featured on the Don Byrum album Bug Music, which has a lot of other fun stuff in this vein.
posted by IndigoJones at 3:48 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by IndigoJones at 3:48 PM on December 8, 2007
Byron. And thanks for that link, IndigoJones.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:58 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:58 PM on December 8, 2007
rockabilly acts you never heard of. That's kinda scary or disconcerting considering the guy was such a talent. Wow, what a great find. Thanx Flapjax.
posted by snsranch at 5:04 PM on December 8, 2007
posted by snsranch at 5:04 PM on December 8, 2007
That's kinda scary or disconcerting considering the guy was such a talent.
Yeah, it's a drag how fame is so haphazard, so careless, so unjust. Wally Deane was damn good, and he should've hit it big, but... there's lots of folks throughout music history like him. Very talented people who for one reason or another didn't get the "break" they deserved. That's the way it goes, eh?
Fortunately, the internet is a great communicator, a great medium for discoveries like these: we can find folks like Wally Deane, dig their music, give it some new ears and appreciation, even if only years after the fact and after the people who made it have passed on. I've made a few posts here to MeFi by now with the express purpose of bringing some relatively obscure musicians to the attention of some people who might not otherwise have found them, and I expect I'll continue in this pursuit. It's a pleasure to do so.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:57 AM on December 9, 2007
Yeah, it's a drag how fame is so haphazard, so careless, so unjust. Wally Deane was damn good, and he should've hit it big, but... there's lots of folks throughout music history like him. Very talented people who for one reason or another didn't get the "break" they deserved. That's the way it goes, eh?
Fortunately, the internet is a great communicator, a great medium for discoveries like these: we can find folks like Wally Deane, dig their music, give it some new ears and appreciation, even if only years after the fact and after the people who made it have passed on. I've made a few posts here to MeFi by now with the express purpose of bringing some relatively obscure musicians to the attention of some people who might not otherwise have found them, and I expect I'll continue in this pursuit. It's a pleasure to do so.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:57 AM on December 9, 2007
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posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:00 AM on December 8, 2007