Friday Night Videos

I've shared before that while growing up I listened to both kinds of music (that's be country and western) and of late I've been revisiting some of those sounds. One singer I've rediscovered is Kitty Wells, who blazed a trail for Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and pretty much every woman who sang a country note since. One of her biggest hits was "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," recorded in response to Hank Thompson's "Wild Side of Life." THe lyrics are pretty blunt and unapologetic for the time and are no less relevant today.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Sugarland.

Now Playing: Paul Page Pacific Paradise
Chicken Ranch Central

Dick Fagan & the Hi-Scores

I've intended to write this blog post for more than a year now but have put it off simply because it's awkward. Awkward to present in a way that doesn't imply meaning that isn't there, awkward to present in a way that preserves others' privacy. And this is more personal sharing than I normally engage in, so that's a factor as well. So please understand I share this because I think it is interesting (though perhaps not particularly meaningful) and others may find it interesting as well.

I'm adopted. That's not something I walk around shouting to the world but it's nothing I've ever hidden, either. I don't remember ever not knowing so in that light I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say that I'm as well-adjusted as any other Gen-Xer to *gestures broadly to the dumpster fire that is the world today* this. When I was in college I jumped through a bunch of hoops and met my birthmother. One never knows what to expect with these things, but things went well and we had a friendly, cordial relationship until her death last year. I did not seek out my birthfather at that time because I'd learned he'd died more than a decade prior, so what was the point? A little over a year ago, quite by accident, I happened to encounter a paternal half-sibling online, which lead to my learning a great deal more about my birthfather than I'd known before. That baby-faced guy above? That's Dick Fagan, my birthfather. He died from a heart attack in 1978, when I was 7 years old. He had three other children. He lived in the Houston area most of his life. Others have claimed a striking resemblence between his facial features and mine. Personally, I don't see it.

Here's where it gets interesting: he was a musician all his life, although he never had any great success. His biggest claim to fame is recording six songs for three singles with Sarg Records out of Luling, Texas, in 1958. This is the same record lable that gave Willie Nelson his start. Most of his recordings have been reissued on various compilations through Bear Family Records, including a pricey Sarg Records boxed set. He performed at the time alternately as Dick Fagan and the Scores and Dick Fagan and the Hi-Scores. Here's the Bear Family Records bio on him:

DICK FAGAN was another singer from Houston to join Sarg in 1956. Fagan's debut recording for the label was a nondescript country outing, but by the next year he was experimenting with rock 'n' roll. He cut the Eddie Cochran-esque lament "I Got A Ticket" twice for Sarg: the previously unissued demo version (probably dating from 1957) is less frantic but better recorded than the released version, which was cut at Don Robey's studio sometime in 1958. Both are heard here. The equally rocking "I Gotta Learn" also dates from the Robey session.

On all of these songs, Fagan is accompanied by a white vocal group known as the Scores. Their identities, as well as the names of Fagan's backing musicians, remain unknown, save for lead guitarist Dickie Blevins. Blevins would go on to extensively record under his own name and as Dick Allen; Fagan would only record once more, for Dan Mechura's Nu-Star label in Houston, before his death in 1978.

Fagan's early recordings leaned heavily into rockabilly, but as he got older his sound gravitated more to mainstream country and western. By the 1970s he was playing regular gigs in the Houston area as Dick Fagan and the Country Pros, with his brother, guitarist Ron Fagan, in the band. It's unclear if he ever made additional studio recordings--I've not been able to find any information on the Nu-Star lable mentioned by Bear Family. I know live recordings exist and these give the impression of a tight, experienced group performing mostly popular covers during various gigs. It's all interesting as a piece of Texas music history. The fact that I have a connection to it--tenuous though it may be--is just a bonus. In an idealized world I'd be a huge rockabilly fan and this would explain much about my musical tastes. Alas, although I respect rockabilly as a genre I'm largely indifferent to it. For anyone curious about Dick Fagan's early flirtations with musical stardom, the available singles are linked below for your listening pleasure.

Now Playing: Mike Simpson Jungle Odyssey
Chicken Ranch Central

Friday Night Videos

So we've got a massive Arctic front barreling down on Texas expected to push temperatures down into the teens by Sunday, so I'll be spending this evening and Saturday covering banana and citrus plants and hauling other frost-sensitive tropicals into the garage and other places of warmth so they're not killed by the unnatural cold. Needless to say, I'm not terribly thrilled by all this because I intensely dislike the cold. So this week's installment of Friday Night Videos has me dreaming of warmer climes and sunny weather with Sugar Land's "All I Want To Do." Man, summer cannot get here fast enough!

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Styx.

Now Playing: Lalo Schifrin Music from Mission: Impossible
Chicken Ranch Central

A Moment of Tiki: Nathanael Ross Smith

Happy 2024! In the first episode of A MOMENT OF TIKI for the new year, Jayme sits down with Nathanael Ross Smith, an artist probably best known for his illustration work done for the tiki bar Pagan Idol in San Francisco. During our conversation, Nathanael discusses his love for Universal monsters, film noir, tiki culture, the mid century design aesthetic, bad Roger Corman movies and touring as a professional bassist for the folk rock group The Oh Hellos. Nathanael mentioned he'd designed a custom mai tai glass for a home tiki bar and I said I would share it during the episode. Well, that didn't happen, but the glass design may be viewed above for those who are curious. The episode itself may be watched at the link below:

I also realize now that I've been lax in sharing recent episodes here, so let me catch up real quick. In episode 62, I carved a tiki based on the logo/mascot from the late 1950s television series "Hawaiian Eye":

In episode 61, I acquired a replica whaling harpoon from an estate sale and took viewers on a step-by-step restoration of the piece:

In episode 60, I construct way too many tiki light covers for a soon-to-be open new tiki bar in downtown New Braunfels:

And finally, in episode 59, I show how I power carved two Tiki Bobs--one an outdoor sculpture and the other an indoor side table. These were a lot of fun to put together and I hope you find them equally entertaining:

Now Playing: Martin Denny Hynotique
Chicken Ranch Central

Friday Night Videos

Styx had largely faded from the radio by the time I got into pop/rock music, but there's no denying they put together a greatest hits collection of catchy tunes. "Too Much Time on My Hands" is a prime example of that. And the video that accompanies it is a convincing argument that Spinal Tap was based (at least visually) a great deal on Styx. Change my mind.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... The Kinks.

Now Playing: Gene Rains Rains in the Tropics
Chicken Ranch Central