#3 The Cadets Stranded In The Jungle (1956) In the first batch of records I had, my moms old 45s, was this song. I LOVED IT! I would listen to it over and over. Obviously the funny story within the song tickled me. But it was the second part, the back at Lovers Lane part, the rock n roll part that hypnotized me. I dont know what you call it, a shuffle? a stroll? All I knew was it WAS rock n roll. It wasnt long before I was consuming music at a rapid pace and moved on from the song. Eventually I forgot it completely. That is until I was 18 and I heard the New York Dolls version. Oh yeah, I remember this song. But I couldnt remember who did it. For a long time I thought it might have been The Coasters, but no. Fast forward to the age of 32, and I heard Matt Murillo play it when he guest-hosted Stronger Than Dirt, a groovy little garage/punk/new wave show on Austins KOOP. It was this version by The Cadets. I bought a reissued 45 and thought that I had finally found this wonderful record from my childhood. And I would continue to think it for another decade. About five years ago my mom pulled a box full of records out of storage and asked me to look and see if I wanted them. It turned out they were all my first records, hand-me-downs from her and my dad. So many cool records: Fingertips by Stevie Wonder, Little Egypt by The Coasters, The Wanderer by Dion. And records that were definitely my dads, like The Cream Spoonfull (that I posted the other day), Wild Thing by The Troggs, Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf, See Emily Play by Pink Floyd and stuff I dont even remember like Gloria 69 by Shadows of Knight and one each by Hank Ballard and Wynnonie Harris. Most of them were in horrible, unplayable shape and now hang in my hallway. Then I finally found it. Stranded in the Jungle by....The Gadabouts? WTF? Who the hell were the Gadabouts? It was in really bad shape, but I had to hear it. Well, had it been in perfect shape it still would had made my skin crawl. The Gadabouts were a white doo-wop group and they were doing a ultra-lame, parody of it. Even Pat Boone would have said Man, that record is square! Both the Cadets and the Gadabouts versions, as well as the original by The Jay Hawks were released in 56, but the Cadets had the biggest hit. Their harmonies kill me: baby baby, that man is no good, ohhh baby baby, you should have understood. Once I heard their version it was like being reunited with my first love. Its a silly song and you really cant compare it to the works of Chuck Berry, Little Richard or even the mighty Coasters, but its special to me because it takes me back to an innocent and magical time. youtu.be/WD-9yN3yKkU
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 13:32:45 +0000
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