The first time I ever heard Chuck’s name was probably in Rickie Lee Jones’s hit "Chuck E.’s In Love", but I had no idea who she was singing about… Much later when I got into Tom Waits and had read about the connections between these three, I started paying more attention to Chuck. Apparently, he had written a few songs with Tom and featured in the title of another, "Jitterbug Boy (Sharing a Curbstone with Chuck E. Weiss, Robert Marchese, Paul Body and The Mug and Artie)" …
In the pre-digital days, I had no idea of his first album The Other Side of Town, which was released in 1981. I wasn’t the only one, as it didn’t make much of an impact. However, 1999’s Extremely Cool was a different story, as it featured Tom Waits prominently and had some great (weird) songs on it, e.g. "Do You Know What I Idi Amin"! I did manage to get some digital tracks from it, courtesy of Napster…
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| John E. Depp (left) and Chuck E. Weiss (right) |
Old Souls & Wolf Tickets appeared on the scene in 2001, without Waits and more in a Delta blues style. As a curiosity, it had a great collaboration with Willie Dixon from 1970 on it, with Chuck covering the old Don Raye classic "Down The Road A Piece" from the 1940s!
In 2006 he released 23rd & Stout, featuring an exploration of many blues and rumba styles with more than a nod towards Tom Waits. His last album Red Beans and Weiss appeared in 2014, again a very decent collection of songs. He often performed live with his band the Goddamn Liars in and around Los Angeles and was at times joined by Johnny Depp on guitar.
However, the Willie Dixon collaboration (Willie on bass & vocals, Sunnyland Slim on piano, Shakey Horton on harmonica, Buster Benton on guitar) triggered a memory, something from my pre-travelling days when I was still working in Holland and a rabid 50s rock & roll/rockabilly fan, believe it or not…
In the mid-1970s, I started ordering albums and singles from Ronny Weiser, an American rockabilly fanatic who revived the careers of forgotten artists such as Ray Campi and Mac Curtis by bringing them back into his recording studio. In 1976 Weiser started recording new artists, and I vaguely recalled his two Rollin’ The Rock compilation albums (with dreadful artwork/lay-out, done by himself…)
As I had sold off my record collection years ago, I did some digital digging and sure enough I found those two albums, both featuring a certain Chuck Weiss! On Vol. 1 there’s a great version of Big Joe Turner’s "Boogie Woogie County Girl", again with Dixon & co.! Vol. 2 has a more rockabilly-sounding track, "Callin’ Loud", unfortunately without any information about who’s playing on it, but still pretty cool. As far as I know, neither track has ever been released on CD, so a worthwhile addition to this compilation!
Sneaky Anthems for Old Souls: https://tinyurl.com/ChuckEWeiss
ReplyDeleteKoen's compilation includes 23 songs, liner notes, and a bonus NPR interview with Chuck E.!
Thank you, Koen! Although I've known ABOUT Chuck E. Weiss for decades, I'm really not familiar with the work that's made him famous in his own right. What's all the more embarrassing is that, although I'm another rockabilly enthusiast who used to buy records from Ronny Weiser, read his magazine, and go to see the acts on his label, I never once -- not until you pointed it out -- made the connection between THAT Chuck Weiss and THIS one. In any case, I appreciate your putting together this package for the benefit of those as slow on the uptake as myself.
ReplyDeleteNow, speaking of the types of folks who would seem to deserve some Jonderblogging, does there happen to be anyone around these parts who's stumped for another project (and, come to think of it, another Los Angeles-oriented project) to undertake? Would it be presumptuous of me to sneak the name "Paul Lacques" into the suggestion box?
Crab Devil! I thought of you as soon as I saw Ronny Weiser's name, and I'm glad you saw this. Rockabilly is something that you, Stinky and Koen have in common! I bet there are a lot of fans who didn't know that Chuck E. was once a Rollin' Rock artist. I read that Rickie Lee, Tom Waits and Chuck all lived at the Tropicana at the same time as members of LA punk bands.
DeleteAs for Paul Lacques, I have only one album by I See Hawks In LA, and nothing by the other bands he's been involved in. Which is not to say that I wouldn't find it interesting! But maybe Koen or Stinky will be more familiar.
I must admit being unfamiliar with Paul Lacques...
DeleteAlways happy to discover music styles and artists I'm not particularly familiar with, especially if they're thoroughly annotated as has become the norm with your albums. Thanks, Koen!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I never bothered wondering about who "Chuck E" in Rikki Lee Jones song was either...I thought it was maybe some weird pun/inside joke on Chuck E Cheese or something...
I seem to picked up 23rd & Stout along the way but I never knew anything about Chuck E either, including his starring role in RLJ's hit. Thanks for the primer!
ReplyDeleteThanks to both of you for this and the Willie Dixon comp.
ReplyDelete