Tim Rice’s American Pie series on BBC Radio 2 has finally reached home, here in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has Boston — the city and the 70’s supergroup — and Aerosmith, The Cars, and the J.Geils Band. On the softer side there’s James Taylor and Arlo Guthrie. Tim Rice covers all of them, but he makes no mention of Jonathan Richman, drivin’ past the Stop & Stop (a supermarket chain that’s still very much a presence here). This clip is from England’s Top of the Pops. That sounds like Steve Wright doing the voice over at the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_eLgvTDLIg
I’ve become something of a fan of the old Ames Brothers act, with Ed Ames singing lead. They’re from Mass., and Rice plays this fun 50’s tune by the bros.
The original lineup of Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers included Jerry Harrison, who was later in the Talking Heads. This is the version of “Roadrunner” with Harrison playing. The influence of the Velvet Underground is obvious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSTZkNVW5mY
One definition of supergroup is a bunch of already famous guys who get together, but the number of records that Boston sold qualifies them for some sort of super title.
I first knew of “r-a-g-g, m-o-p-p” from a 60’s Beany & Cecil TV cartoon.
Curiously, I don’t think I’d ever heard, or heard of, Mr. Richman and the tune you’ve included here. On the other hand, Rag Mop was in my dad’s singing-while-doing-housework repertoire. I wish I could have played it for him! And I had to look it up, but apparently this *is* the same Tim Rice of musical theater fame. Interesting! As to Boston, I don’t think they fit the “traditional” definition of a “supergroup.”