For those like me who are into trivial matters such as dates and events in music, this first week in June is a big one, always has been and always will be. Let me explain.
Let’s start off with the old Neil Diamond song “Desiree.” It opens with the lyrics “It was the third of June on that summer’s day when I became a man at the hands of a girl almost twice my age.” Yeah Neil’s tune tells us about a rookie who got some nookie that day. I love the line, “And it wasn’t so much her words as such, as the way they were sung.” That Desiree was a love machine folks!
And he goes on, “Then came the fourth of June on that sleepless night when I tossed and I turned while the thought of her burned up and down my mind.”
When I was in my teens and beyond I was attracted to older women and “Desiree” had something to do with that. Also you need to factor in the influence of films I saw like “The Graduate” and “Summer of 42.” Neil’s song’s story was a one and done/hit it and quit it deal and there are plenty of other great one night stand songs that I’ll have to list out another day.
But we’re not done with the “Third of June.” June third is my favorite day in music because of Bobbie Gentry’s classic “Ode to Billy Joe.” It is on that fateful day when we learn Billy Joe McCallister jumped to his death off the Tallahatchie Bridge. I have former radio co-workers who appreciate this song like I do; so much so that on the night of June 2nd I stay up until the clock strikes midnight and June third hits. Then I quickly post on their Facebook pages lyrics along with a photo of the infamous bridge in that song.
With that opening line “It was the third of June another sleepy dusty Delta day” we learn what went down that day. The song’s narrator goes on to share supper with her family and in between bites of food is told how Billy Joe McCallister took his own life.
“Ode to Billy Joe” was a monster radio hit on both the country and pop music charts and then inspired a movie by the same name. Still, unanswered questions remain. Why did Billy Joe off himself this way? Was it due to the shame of a homosexual relationship with a grown man? Did Billy Joe impregnate the song’s narrator who then got an abortion? And what was that young couple throwing off the bridge? Could it have been a keepsake from a gay affair? Or maybe it was a dead fetus?
Nobody knows for sure and the beautiful part of this mystery is Bobbie Gentry has never revealed definitive answers to these and other questions about that song. The most Ms. Gentry has ever said about “Ode To Billy Joe” is that she wrote it to illustrate the issue of “Unconscious cruelty & indifference” to such tragedies. During the song, Billy Joe’s death is talked about at dinner but that’s in between lines like “Pass the biscuits please” and how Brother Taylor would like to come over for dinner on Sunday.
I once read that this song is “Not heard but felt.” True enough!
There is a lot more to cover about Bobbie Gentry herself and I will do just that in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, click below and enjoy this southern tale of tragedy in the Mississippi Delta.
SONG LINK
3 DAYS LATER-
June 6th is another big day this week. First off, it was on June 6th 1940 when my radio mentor, former boss and longtime friend Larry Lujack was born. Sadly, Lar passed away in December of 2013 but he’s never forgotten by me and millions of radio fans who listened to him for years. If I ever finish my radio memoir “Raised on the Radio” I’ll share plenty more on Ole Uncle Lar and what he meant to me.
We’re not through with June 6th. Let’s see if these lyrics ring a bell for you. “Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June in a Kenworth pullin’ logs, cab-over Pete with a reefer on and a Jimmy haulin’ hogs.” Yes, we’re talking about the fun 1975 novelty pop/country hit song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall. That song went part and parcel with the CB radio craze at the time and even inspired a bad action movie by the same name. Thanks to some rogue truckers who didn’t want to pay any more highway tolls, we learned that ‘Bears’ were state troopers and caught up with plenty of other CB jargon.
I remember hearing “Convoy” playing on WLS AM at least once an hour and as goofy as it sounds, we couldn’t get enough of the story of truckers nearing tollbooths who “Crashed the gate doing ninety eight. So let them truckers roll 10-4.”
One last memory of “Convoy”– My old friend Willie C and I shared twisted humor and one night in the summer of ‘81 we put that humor to work at a college buddy’s party. The house was packed butts to guts both inside & out and a stereo was blasting rock from The Who, Stones, Journey and REO Speedwagon. That was until Willie and I perused this guy’s record collection, spotted the C.W. McCall album and played impromptu DJs. Next thing the whole crowd of beer guzzling, quarters playing kids heard was that hokey four minute song about Pig Pen, Rubber Duck and the truckers who didn’t want to pay no tolls. When that tune finished there was lots of moaning from the party guests and Willie and I slinked out of the party laughing our asses off.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- You Might Be A Lousy Father If: