Tune Tuesday – Lord, Mr. Ford

Today is the 161st birthday of Henry Ford. He was the founder of Ford Motor Company who developed the assembly-line process for mass production.

In 1891, he became an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. He he received a promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his experiments on engines that would run on gasoline. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle, which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He first test-drove it on June 4. After various test drives, Be began to brainstorm ways to improve the Quadricycle.

Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives that would change his life and eventually lead to a lifelong friendship. At the meeting he was introduced to Thomas Edison, who approved of Ford’s automobile experimentation. Encouraged by Edison, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898.

He founded the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899. Sadly, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901. He never stopped trying and on June 16, 1903 (thanks to some new investors) The Ford Motor Company was born. The Model T debuted 5 years later in 1908.

So just how does Henry Ford fit into Tune Tuesday? Well, the great Jerry Reed had a number one country hit with his ditty, Lord, Mr. Ford in 1973. The lyrics bemoan the fact that a seemingly simple invention to assist mankind has instead brought nothing but grief, become increasingly more complex and added to the increasing fast-paced demands of society. Can you imagine what could be said about the cars we drive today??

Happy Birthday, Henry Ford!

Lord, Mr. Ford

Well, if you’re one of the millions who own one of them gas-drinking, piston-clinking, air-polluting, smoke-belching, four-wheeled buggies from Detroit City, then pay attention. I’m about to sing your song son.

Well, I’m not a man appointed judge
To bear ill-will and hold a grudge
But I think it’s time I said me a few choice words
All about that demon automobile
A metal box with the polyglass wheel
The end result to a dream of Henry Ford
Well I’ve got a car that’s mine alone
That me and the finance company own
A ready-made pile of manufactured grief
And if I ain’t out of gas in the pouring rain
I’m a-changin’ a flat in a hurricane
I once spent three days lost on a cloverleaf
Well it ain’t just the smoke and the traffic jam
That makes me the bitter fool I am
But this four-wheel buggy is
A-dollaring me to death
For gas and oils and fluids and grease
And wires and tires and anti freeze
And them accessories
Well honey, that’s something else
Well you can get a stereo tape and a color TV
Get a back-seat bar and reclining seats
And just pay once a month, like you do your rent
Well I figured it up and over a period of time
This four thousand dollar car of mine
Costs fourteen thousand dollars
And ninety-nine cents, well now

Lord Mr. Ford, I just wish that you could see
What your simple horseless carriage has become
Well it seems your contribution to man
To say the least, got a little out of hand
Well Lord Mr. Ford what have you done

Now the average American father and mother
Own one whole car and half another
And I bet that half a car is a
Trick to buy, don’t you
But the thing that amazes me, I guess
Is the way we measure a man’s success
By the kind of automobile he can afford to buy
Well now, red light, green light, traffic cop
Right turn, no turn, must turn, stop
Get out the credit card honey, we’re out of gas
Well now, all the cars placed end to end
Would reach to the moon and back again
And there’d probably be some
Fool pull out to pass
Well now, how I yearn for the good old days
Without that carbon monoxide haze
A-hanging over the roar of the interstate
Well if the Lord that made the moon and stars
Would have meant for me and you to have cars
He’d have seen that we was all born
With a parking space

Come away with me Lucille
In my smoking, choking automobile

The Music of My Life – 1977

Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year. May 15, 1977, I turned a whopping 7 years old. I have some really great memories of 1977 and I think you’ll get to read about them and how they tie into some of these songs.

I love stories where a radio DJ plays a significant role in the creation of a song. Released in January of ’77, I’m Your Boogie Man is one of those songs.

Written by KC & The Sunshine Band bassist-producer Richard Finch and frontman Harry Wayne Casey, The “boogie” of the title is in the sense of dancing, shaking your booty, and getting down, not with the scary kind of “boogie man.” Harry Wayne Casey tells the story:

“‘I’m Your Boogie Man,’ in the initial writing of it I called it ‘I’ll Be A Son Of A Gun’:

I’ll be a son of a gun
Look what you’ve done

Then I went back and ‘I’m Your Boogie Man’ came into my head because I was thinking about how disc jockeys were always there on the radio. Like it says:

Early morning
Late afternoon
Or at midnight
It’s never too soon
I’m your Boogie Man

It’s taking the theme of the disc jockey being the one that’s there for you all the time, no matter when. So it was as if I was a disc jockey, I’m the Boogie Man. Like if you call in and want to hear a certain song, or talk about what was going on in your life, I’m your Boogie Man. And of course I put in ‘turn me on,’ but that could also mean turned on the radio.”

A specific DJ who influenced this song was Robert W. Walker at Y-100 in Miami, Florida, who was the first to give the group’s hit single “Get Down Tonight” airplay. So Walker “was the Boogie Man that brought all the funk and the good feeling and the vibes to the people every morning,” according to Richard Finch.

I’m Your Boogie Man

Bob Seger had a couple big songs in 1977. Mainstreet was released in April of that year, while an anthem was released in June – Rock and Roll Never Forgets.

According to Seger, he wrote this song after attending a high school reunion. “I wanted to just write an honest appraisal of where I was at that moment in time,” he said. “I was 31 years old and I was damn glad to be here.” He goes on, “A song like “Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets” is just slammin’. When we play that song live people go nuts. At that point in my life I was 31 years old. And the first 10 or 11 years in my career I was making six, eight grand a year and just doin’ it because I loved the music. So I’m writing for Night Moves and I just felt grateful; here I am and I’m starting to make it. You know, rock ’n’ roll never forgets. You build up goodwill over 10 years and you set the stage. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets” is a grateful song. I’m grateful to all the people I played for in those small clubs, on the top of cafeteria tables, in gymnasiums and in hockey rinks. Suddenly all those people came out and bought my records and said: “I remember him. I saw him at the high school or hockey rink.”

The song is about aging and the ongoing power of rock music. The song advises the 31 year old listener to return to the rock ‘n’ roll she loved when he/she was 16. The line, “All Chuck’s children are out there playing his licks” is a reference (and tribute) to Chuck Berry, the rock pioneer whose sound is in the DNA of many musicians how followed.

Rock and Roll Never Forgets

The very last single that Elvis ever released before his death was Way Down in June of 1977. It was recorded in the famous Jungle Room at Graceland. It was also a song that had a very interesting chart performance. The song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at the beginning of August, fell to number 52 by the end of August, and after his death, it climbed back up to number 18 before falling again.

Way Down

In July of 1977, Foreigner released Cold As Ice. It was one of the many songs I remember buying on 45 and spinning on my little record player. It was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones.

According to Wiki, “Cold as Ice” was a replacement for a song that was intended for Foreigner but which producer Gary Lyons didn’t feel fit the album. According to Mick Jones “I went home after Gary said this, sat down at my piano and out came the riff for Cold As Ice. And the rest of the song flowed from there.” Lyons said that “When I got back, they played me Cold As Ice and it worked for me. So we went into Atlantic Studios one night to cut it.” According to Ian McDonald, “Gary and I were in there all night working on the vocals. And when we got out of the studio we discovered that a blizzard had been raging. Everywhere was covered in snow, and we heard on the radio that it had been coldest night in New York on record! Somehow that seemed to be a good omen for the song.”

Cold As Ice

One of the biggest movies of 1977 was Star Wars. It comes as no surprise to me that the main title theme was a Top 10 hit!

What can you say about composer John Williams? He conducted this score with the London Symphony Orchestra, but his main orchestra was the Boston Pops Orchestra, with which he conducted other famous film themes. This theme won him a simultaneous Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Saturn, and Grammy award. THAT is amazing!!

Star Wars Main Title

The next song was released in August of 1977 and people STILL dance to it today! Brick House epitomizes the funky side of the Commodores, who could switch between uptempo R&B and easy listening by swapping singers. “Brick House” was sung by their drummer Walter Orange, with Lionel Richie on saxophone.

In a way, the Commodores recorded it as a “radio edit.” This disco classic is about a woman with a great body. She is “Built like a Brick House.” Lionel Richie says that this is a play on the original phrase, “She’s built like a brick s–thouse.” That’s the reason for the pause with the horn fill between the words “brick” and “house.”

Brick House

A few songs ago, I mentioned the last single Elvis released before his death. For those who have been following this blog a while, you know where I was the night Elvis died. My family was at a drive-in movie theater waiting for the sun to go down when the radio broke the news that he had passed away. The movie we were there to see? Smokey and the Bandit.

The song’s lyrics tell the basic plot of the movie (leaving out the runaway bride element) of making a 28-hour round-trip run from Atlanta, Georgia, to Texarkana, Texas and back to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer for an after-race celebration put on by Big and Little Enos.

Back when Max from the PowerPop Blog was hosting a song draft, East Bound and Down was my pick. Here is that blog if you would like to read it:

Song Draft – Pick #2 – East Bound and Down – Jerry Reed

East Bound and Down

In October of 1977, Johnny Paycheck released a David Allen Coe song that expressed what many a worker felt about their employer/employment. Take This Job and Shove It was a number one country hit for Paycheck and the phrase took on a life of its own in pop culture.

This was one of the songs that was on Paycheck’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 that my grandfather and dad always played up north.

Take This Job and Shove It

The next song makes the list because I became familiar with it not by Billy Joel, but by the wedding band my dad played in. I can’t tell you how many times my brother and I sat and watched TV while the band practiced new songs. Just The Way You Are was one of them.

According to Joel, some listeners missed the point and thought the song was misogynistic because he was telling a woman she wasn’t “allowed” to change. “No, no, no. Don’t go changing to try and please me,” he told SiriusXM in 2016. “People forget these things. If they don’t like what I do, they’ll go, ‘Oh yeah, he hates women. Look at this. Don’t change, stay the way you are, the same old someone that he knew. Wow, he really doesn’t like her. ‘Don’t change for me. You wanna change for yourself, fine. But you don’t have to change for me because I’m happy exactly the way you are. That’s why I love you in the first place.”

Billy wrote this song about his first wife, Elizabeth. A pure expression of unconditional love, he gave it to her as a birthday present. Sadly, after nine years of marriage, Joel and Elizabeth divorced in 1982. Joel’s next two marriages didn’t work out either: he was married to Christie Brinkley from 1985-1994, and to Katie Lee from 2004-2010. “Every time I wrote a song for a person I was in a relationship with, it didn’t last,” Joel said. “It was kind of like the curse. Here’s your song – we might as well say goodbye now.”

Just The Way You Are

The last song was bigger in 1978 because it was released in December of 1977. It is simply an amazing song. Lovely Day was written for Bill Withers’ Menagerie album.

Skip Scarborough was a songwriter and producer who worked with Earth, Wind & Fire, Patti Labelle, LTD, and many other R&B stars before his death in 2003. He wrote the music for this song, and was also the inspiration for the lyrics Withers came up with. In a Songfacts interview, Bill explained: “Skip was a very nice, gentle man. The way Skip was, every day was just a lovely day. He was an optimist. We’re all sponges in a sense. You put us around very nice people, and the nice things come out in us. You put us around some jerks, and we practice being jerks. We all adjust. Did you ever notice the difference in the way you speak to your grandmother or your best contemporary friend? If I had sat down with the same music and my collaborator had been somebody else with a different personality, it probably would have caused something else to cross my mind lyrically. It was a combination of the music and the person and the ambiance in the room.”

One of the highlights of the song is Bill holding a note for about 18 seconds at the end of the song! It may be one of the longest notes held by a singer on a pop song.

Lovely Day

So there you have it – 10 great songs from 1977. I’m sure there are plenty others I’ve missed. Can you name any? Next week, I will age another year and we’ll visit 1978. The sound of music will start to sound a bit different as we get closer and closer to the 1980’s.

See you then!

Movie Music Monday – To Be Your Man

Admittedly, today I present a song that is probably unfamiliar to you. It is a truly amazing love song by Don Williams, who was born on this day in 1939.

In 1980, Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason and Sally Field teamed up together again for the less than stellar “Smokey and the Bandit II.” While it was not anywhere near as good as the original, it did have a few funny scenes and some classic country songs.

Don Williams earned the nickname “The Gentle Giant because of his smooth baritone/bass voice and his height. Over his career he had seventeen number one records. His hits include Tulsa Time, Lord, I Hope This Day is Good, I Believe In You, It Must Be Love, and Some Broken Hearts Never Mend.

Don played himself in Smokey and the Bandit II. In the story, Don is playing at a club nearby and Bandit and his friends go to hear him. As they walk in to the club, he is playing his hit Tulsa Time. From the stage he introduces the Bandit and dedicates To Be Your Man to Bandit and Frog (Sally Field). For years, I looked for the song on Don Williams collections, but I could only find it on the soundtrack for the movie. (That’s not necessarily a bad thing as there are great songs from Tanya Tucker, Roy Rogers, The Statler Brothers, Mel Tillis, and of course, Jerry Reed on the album as well.)

I guess what I love about this song is (1) Don’s vocal (2) the simple, yet powerful lyrics, and (3) the fact that I could have easily written these words to my wife.

To Be Your Man

Be my love, be my friend
Help me grow, help me bend
Understand, now and then
When I do wrong

It’s for you that I try
I will live ’til the day I die
Givin’ all, all that I can
To be your man

High on a hill, standin’ alone
I’ll tell the world everythin’ I’ve done
Raise my hand, testify
My love is real

When I laugh, when I cry
I would never, never lie
I’ll do all, all that I can
To be your man

So, be my love, be my friend
Help me grow, help me bend
Understand, now and then
When I do wrong

Well, it’s for you that I try
I will live ’til the day I die
Givin’ all, all that I can
To be your man

When we’re old, old and gray
And the children have moved away
And it’s time, our time again
For being alone

Then you’ll look, look and see
Love’s been good to you and me
Understand, it’s my plan
To be your man

So, won’t you be my love, be my friend
Help me grow, help me bend
Understand, now and then
When I do wrong

Well, it’s for you that I try
I will live ’til the day I die
Givin’ all, all that I can
To be your man

Tune Tuesday: Hallelujah I Love Her So

Yesterday, my Turntable Talk was about the Blues Brothers Soundtrack. Ray Charles is featured on there with his version of Shake a Tailfeather. Also yesterday, my buddy Max from the Power Pop Blog (powerpop.blog) posted about Ray’s version of What’d I Say. That got me in a Ray Charles mood and I was surprised that I’d never posted this song before.

Hallelujah, I Love Her So was written and released by Ray Charles in 1956. I remember playing it on rare occasions when I worked at WHND, Honey Radio in Detroit. It was usually when we were featuring songs from 1956. It didn’t do much on the pop charts, but it was a Top 5 hit on the R&B charts.

As the title insinuates, it has a gospel feel to it. The opening piano lick sounds like something you’d hear before jumping into a happy hymn. One source says the song “is a testament to the joyous release of love, featuring a sophisticated horn arrangement and memorable tenor sax solo by Don Wilkerson.”

My buddy Randy from http://www.mostlymusiccovers.com no doubt knows that there have been plenty of covers of this song. Ray must have been thrilled to have his song covered by folks like Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Brenda Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Cochran, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Frank Sinatra! Oh, and a band called the Quarrymen (who went on to become the Beatles) also covered it!

To start with, here is the original by Ray:

Ella Fitzgerald’s version sounds a bit more church-like to start, but really swings.

From the Beatles Anthology, here are the Quarrymen

Eddie Cochran’s version was released in 1959

I had no idea that Jerry Reed covered it, but it’s neat to hear his take

Sinatra always makes a song his own and he does that with this one. Very bluesy

Hugh Laurie’s version was on the deluxe version of his debut album

Of all the covers, one of my favorite versions is by an Australian singer named Guy Sebastian. From his Memphis Album he a great version.

I hope you love this one as much as I do!

Hallelujah, I Love Her SO

Let me tell you ’bout a girl I know
She is my baby and she lives next door
Every mornin’ ‘fore the sun comes up
She brings me coffee in my favorite cup
That’s why I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

When I’m in trouble and I have no friend
I know she’ll go with me until the end
Everybody asks me how I know
I smile at them and say, “She told me so”
That’s why I know, oh, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

Now, if I call her on the telephone
And tell her that I’m all alone
By the time I count from one to four
I hear her (KNOCK) on my door
In the evening when the sun goes down
When there is nobody else around
She kisses me and she holds me tight

And tells me, “Ray Charles everything’s all right”
That’s why I know, whoa, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

Now, if I call her on the telephone
And tell her that I’m all alone
By the time I count from one to four
I hear her (KNOCK) on my door

In the evening when the sun goes down
When there is nobody else around
She kisses me and she holds me tight
And tells me, “Daddy, everything’s all right”
That’s why I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

Oh, hallelujah
Don’t you know, I just love her so
She’s my little woman, waitin’ all this time
Babe, I’m a little fool for you, little girl…

Song Draft – Pick #2 – East Bound and Down – Jerry Reed

Welcome to Round #2 of the 2021 Song Draft hosted by Hans and Slice the Life. Round #1 was full of great songs from different eras and genres. I have really enjoyed reading the posts from the other participants.

My first pick was kind of obscure, so for pick #2, I chose something that many will be familiar with. If I am being honest, it’s a guilty pleasure for me. It is one that always has me singing along with. My second pick is East Bound and Down from Jerry Reed.

Jerry Reed Hubbard

Jerry Reed Hubbard was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20, 1937. By the time he was in high school he was writing songs and singing them. At 18 years old, he was signed to a record deal at Capitol Records by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery. He was being promoted as a “teen sensation” after recording some rockabilly songs in 1956. His label mate, Gene Vincent helped him get some notoriety as a song writer when he recorded Jerry’s song “Crazy Legs” in 1958.

In 1967, he reached #57 on the country charts with “Guitar Man,” which Elvis Presley recorded (and I have blogged about here: https://nostalgicitalian.com/2019/09/10/tune-tuesday-guitar-man/ ). In the 70’s he had hits with “Amos Moses,” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot.” He continued to record throughout the 70’s and also began to act with his buddy, Burt Reynolds. Films included WW and the Dixie Dancekings, and Gator. Then came 1977 ….

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Movie Music

Jerry Reed played Burt Reynolds sidekick, Snowman, in the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit. I had the chance to interview Jerry a few years before he passed away. One of the things we talked about what the movie and, of course, the music for the movie. The story behind the song, as Jerry told me, goes like this:

Hal Needham, the director of Smokey & the Bandit, told Jerry “We need a song for the movie.” Jerry said he was driving home that night and thinking. He said he started singing, “East Bound and Down. Loaded up and trucking…” He said he had the entire chorus of the song in his head by the time he got home. He said he called Dick Feller, a producer at his publishing company and said “Here’s the chorus (and he sang it to him. Write me two quick verses to go with it.” Within two hours, Feller had them done.

Jerry grabbed his tape recorder and then made a demo of the song to play for Needham. He said Needham loved the song and wanted the tape so he could use it in the film. Jerry told him, “That’s just the demo! You can’t use that in the film. I gotta go into the studio and cut it.”

Jerry also cut “West Bound and Down” for the film. It is the song that plays as Snowman and Bandit begin their trek, and it basically the same song with a few lines/words changed.

The song was released on August 1, 1977 and spent 16 weeks on the charts. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Featured on background vocals is Gordon Stoker of Elvis’ back up group, The Jordanaires.

There have been many cover versions of the song including covers by Tonic, The Road Hammers, Supersuckers, Aaron Tippin, Dave Dudley, and Midland. None of them quite capture the “feel” of the original.

East Bound and Down

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’
We gonna do what they say can’t be done
We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run

Keep your foot hard on the pedal
Son, never mind them brakes
Let it all hang out ’cause we got a run to make
The boys are thirsty in Atlanta
And there’s beer in Texarkana
And we’ll bring it back no matter what it takes

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’
We gonna do what they say can’t be done
We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run

Ol’ Smokey’s got them ears on
He’s hot on your trail
And he ain’t gonna rest ’til you’re in jail
So you got to dodge ’em and you got to duck ’em
You got to keep that diesel truckin’
Just put that hammer down and give it hell

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’
We gonna do what they say can’t be done
We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run

For comparison, here is West Bound and Down. Note the different musical arrangement. I like the addition of the strings and brass to this version.

Favorite Films – The 90’s

This blog is a continuation of a series I started a week or so ago. Somebody had the idea to post a list was to consist of your favorite films from each year of your life. So, you start with your birth year and move ahead year by year and list all the films from each year. A post from the Avocado site came up in my “Reader” list of blogs that had the same principle, but with one exception – you can only pick one movie from each year. My last “movie” blog focused on my favorites from the 1980’s and this one will feature the 1990’s.

As I looked through the films for this decade and was actually surprised. I thought that the as I moved forward, I’d have less films to talk about. I was wrong. Picking one favorite from each year is going to be tough.

1990 had plenty of sequels, one of which will end up my pick for favorite. Eddie Murphy was back with Another 48 Hours. Bruce Willis offered up Die Hard II. Almost 20 years later, The Corleone family returned in Godfather III. The second installment of Young Guns was in theaters and Sylvester Stallone returned as Mr. Balboa in Rocky V. Johnny Depp was Edward Scissorhands, Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves, while Sean Connery was underwater with the Hunt for Red October. Julia Roberts was “hooking” in Pretty Woman, Harrison Ford was Presumed Innocent, and Macaulay Culkin was left Home Alone. Comedies included Nuns on the Run, Madhouse, and Kindergarten Cop. The film adaption of Stephen King’s Misery will have be forever fearing sledgehammers!

I am going to catch some flack for this not being my favorite of this year. Goodfellas is a great film! It is. “You’re Italian, Keith! How can Goodfellas NOT be your pick?” It doesn’t matter. It’s my list.

My pick for favorite of 1990 is the conclusion of the Back to the Future series – Back to the Future Part III.

What can I say, I love these characters. By the end of Part II, I was wondering just how things were going to wrap up. While the end is a bit contrived and falls a bit flat, everything else I enjoyed. I enjoyed how in the old west we see the beginnings of the town, the clock tower (which plays such a big role in the first film), and the earlier family members of the characters. The suspense of getting that train up to 88mph had me on the edge of my seat in the theater. Loved this trilogy and it remains one of my all time favorites!

In 1991, there were silly comedies (Naked Gun 2 1/2, Hot Shots, Soapdish, and What about Bob?), action films (Robin Hood, Hook, and Thelma and Louise), and thrillers (Backdraft and Silence of the Lambs).

It is hard to pick one favorite for this year. As someone who has been fascinated with the JFK assassination, I really enjoyed Oliver Stone’s JFK. I had read so many books about the various conspiracies. What a stellar cast! Robin Williams put on an amazing performance in The Fisher King. I admit, when I rented this film, I expected a comedy. It was a very powerful story. See it if you haven’t! Billy Crystal and Jack Palance are just great together in City Slickers. “I crap bigger than you” remains a favorite movie quote!

My pick for this year may come as a surprise to those who have read previous blogs. Why? Because I have complained so often about Hollywood running out of ideas! I have bitched about how they are remaking everything! This is one of those exceptions. YES – it is a remake of a TV show, but this is also an instance of a good remake. The Addams Family.

I think what makes this such a good movie is that the cast is true to the characters of the cartoon and the TV show. Raul Julia is brilliant as Gomez. Anjelica Huston is spot on as Morticia. Christopher Lloyd is great as Fester. Christina Ricci is the perfect Wednesday. The film is funny and fun. I wasn’t so keen on the sequel, but this one was a blast (and a film I have to watch every October!).

1992 brought the return of Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Returns, Whitney Houston was a superstar in The Bodyguard, and who can forget Sharon Stone in basic Instinct? Honeymoon in Vegas was ok, but had a great soundtrack! Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are just wonderful together in My Cousin Vinny while Tom Hanks coaches Geena Davis and Madonna in A League of Their Own. We are also introduced to Wayne Campbell and his friend Garth in the SNL based Wayne’s World.

This almost was my pick for favorite – A Few Good Men. Such a great story, with a great cast, and powerful performances! Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack, and Jack Nicholson are all superb in this film! My favorite, however, has to go to Disney’s Aladdin.

Why? Two words – Robin Williams! I have heard of the many hours of voice stuff he recorded for this film that was never used. I can only imagine the wonderful ad-libs he did in the studio! Friend Like Me is on my iPod and it gives me chills every time I listen to it.

1993 comedies included Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Wayne’s World II, Loaded Weapon, Groundhog Day, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Another comedy that is a must watch (especially for the bloopers at the end) is Grumpy Old Men. Drama/Thrillers included John Grisham’s The Firm, Jurassic Park, and In The Line of Fire.

1993 brought two films that are considered classics that I have never seen. One of them, I have a reason, the other, I don’t. Schindler’s List and the Sandlot. Schindler’s list is one that I will watch – but I have the book and I want to read it first. The Sandlot I have heard quoted 100 times, I just have never had the chance to sit and watch it. I will – eventually.

Twice in the same decade, I am picking a remake – a remake of a TV show again. My pick for 1993 is The Fugitive.

Harrison Ford does a great job playing Richard Kimball. I loved the original series. Tommy Lee Jones is just hilarious in this. It truly is a great film and one I can watch over and over again.

Jim Carrey dominated the year with three films – The Mask, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Dumb and Dumber. Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, was a wonderful film! It had a great soundtrack and it was cool to see how they put his character into scenes from history. I could watch Jamie Lee Curtis over and over in True Lies. Dennis Leary is so funny in The Ref. It is one of those forgotten Holiday movies that I just love. Another forgotten film from this year is The Shadow. It is based on the old radio show, which was based on a comic book. Alec Baldwin stars in it and I thought it was very well done.

My favorite film from the year, hands down, is The Shawshank Redemption.

Based on a Stephen King short story, it remains one of my favorite films. Prior to seeing it, I knew King had wrote it. I had always associated him with horror films, so I never saw it. I am so glad that I was convinced to watch it. If you have never seen it – you should! It is a masterpiece!

1995 comedies featured SNL stars Chris Farley (in Tommy Boy) and Adam Sandler (in Billy Madison). Mel Gibson starred as William Wallace in Braveheart. Tom Hanks first uttered “Houston, we have a problem” in Apollo 13. He also starred as Sheriff Woody in the first installment of Toy Story. Robin Williams is stuck in a board game in Jumanji. There was a remake with a twist – The Brady Bunch Movie. What made this work, was that the cast is still stuck in the past, while living in the present day. It wasn’t hilarious, but it worked.

Again, here is a film that you would think should be THE pick for this year. Casino with Robert Deniro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci. It truly is a great film, but my pick is The Usual Suspects.

I remember my grandmother used to watch Perry Mason and guess who the killer was all the time. Some movies, you can guess the ending, but this one caught me completely off guard. I never saw it coming. That is the reason I picked this one. Watching it the second time, I noticed all the things I missed throughout the first viewing. It is such s good film.

Comedies from 1996 include Leslie Nielsen in Spy Hard, Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore, and Jim Carrey as The Cable Guy. Drama/Thrillers included Ghosts of Mississippi, A Time To Kill, and Primal Fear. Tom Cruise appeared in Mission: Impossible (which I hated, because it was really all about his character while the TV show was more of a team effort). We first saw that stupid ghost mask in the first Scream movie, and Sean Connery starred in The Rock.

Before naming my pick for 1996, I will mention in passing a movie that was loaded with big name stars, but was just awful – Mars Attacks. Urgh!

My pick for 1996 is again, a remake. The Nutty Professor.

I want to say first of all that I LOVE the Jerry Lewis version of this movie. It is my all time favorite Jerry film. When I heard that he gave his blessing to this film, I gave it a chance and I am glad I did. While Jerry’s version takes a nerd and makes him a cool jerk, Eddie’s version takes an overweight, shy man and makes him a thin pompous jerk. Kudos to Eddie Murphy, who plays his entire family!

My list of 1997 films is a short one. I’m not sure why. There were some films that stood out, though. Two presidential movies this year – Absolute Power with Gene Hackman and Harrison Ford in Air Force One. Nicolas Cage was a con in Con Air and starred with John Travolta in Face/Off. Jim Carrey is very funny in Liar Liar and Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star in the first Men In Black.

Almost nabbing the pick for the year is Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. It’s a funny and silly spy spoof and while many of the jokes are childish, the character is one that I found very funny. My pick for the year, however, is Titanic.

Let me say this – I hated the whole Jack/Rose love story BS in this film! It doesn’t make it a bad film, I understand why it was done. I think they thought no one would go see the story of the sinking ship without something “new” in it. At any rate, as someone who has been intrigued by the story of Titanic since I was in elementary school, I was amazed at the details of the ship. After the film came out they had a magazine that compared the shots from the movie with pictures from the real ship – it was neat to see just how close the set was to the real ship.

I had read the story of the Titanic many times. We read Walter Lord’s A Night To Remember in high school. The minute by minute account was so accurate. When I saw Titanic, I was left speechless. There were all the people I had read about. I will never forget watching it and seeing a passenger falls and hit the propeller on their way into the water – wow. I left the theater in complete silence. I got in the car and wept.

1998 saw Stephen King’s Apt Pupil come to the big screen, Robin Williams was wonderful as Patch Adams, and Pixar showed us A Bug’s Life. SNL and SNL actors were prominent in comedies. Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan starred in A Night at the Roxbury, while Adam Sandler was The Wedding Singer (with Drew Barrymore) and The Waterboy (with Henry Winkler and Jerry Reed). Norm MacDonald and Artie Lang star in one of my favorite comedies (though many people found it NOT funny) – Dirty Work. Finally, Antonio Banderas is excellent in The Mask of Zorro with Catherine Zeta Jones!

My pick for 1998 is the powerful D-Day film – Saving Private Ryan.

This movie is about as real as it gets. D-Day was a bloodbath. This is such a powerful movie. It leaves me in awe every time I see it.

As we reach the end of the 90’s, there are plenty of great movies in this final year of the decade. Comedies included the return of Austin Powers in The Spy Who Shagged Me, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Big Daddy, Analyze This, and Office Space. Adventure films included The Mummy, True Crime (the book was better), Sleepy Hollow, and Deep Blue Sea (Love the scene where Samuel L. Jackson gets it!). For kids (and adults) Woody and Buzz are back in Toy Story 2 and Episode 1 of Star Wars (The Phantom Menace) graced the screen (and left adults wanting to kill Jar Jar Binks!).

My pick for favorite is based on the Stephen King novel – The Green Mile.

This remains one of my favorite films. I cry like a baby at the end every time! What an amazing story! This is one of those rare instances where I have seen the movie and never read the book. I am not sure how different the film is from the book, but the book remains on a shelf at home in the “to be read” stack. Writing about it for this blog has just moved it up to the top of my list to read.

In closing

I have a feeling it will become easier to pick films in the decade ahead. As I move into the 2000’s, I know for a fact that I have seen less movies. I got to the point where I didn’t want to go to the movies to pay $10 to see a crappy movie. It was happening was too often so I started watching less movies.

19 more years to go …. See you next time!

Favorite Film – The 70’s

I guess I saw this on Facebook some time ago. Somebody had the idea to post a list of your favorite films. The list was to consist of your favorites from each year of your life. So, you start with your birth year and move ahead year by year and list all the films from each year. I am SURE I have this idea written down in my notebook of “blog ideas”. A post from the Avocado site came up in my “Reader” list of blogs that had the same principle, but with one exception – you can only pick one movie from each year. You can read that blog here:

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/73828787/posts/2442817483

I am going to say that narrowing down just one film from each year will be next to impossible for me. I am going to attempt to do it. I have a feeling that I will go back in a day, a month, or year from now and think, “No, I should have picked _____ instead!” At any rate, some of these will be easy to pick, and some I will have to “eenie meanie miney moe” to pick just one. Maybe this is a topic I revisit each year? I don’t know.

I am going to break it down by “decade”, so each post will include 10 films. Deep breath. Here we go – back to the year I was born:

Of the 1970 films that made my personal favorite list, many have “war” themes: M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes, and Tora! Tora! Tora! Other films include Dean Martin in Airport! and the Mel Brooks comedy The 12 Chairs. Of all of the films from the year of my birth, if I had to pick my absolute favorite, it would be the classic biopic, Patton.

George C. Scott is brilliant as Patton! He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role. The film won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. It’s an amazing film.

1971 was the year that George Lucas would release his film THX 1138, Gene Wilder starred in the classic Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Clint Eastwood starred in the film that scares all radio DJs – Play Misty for Me. But it is another Clint Eastwood film that gets my vote for my favorite film of 1971, Dirty Harry.

There are so many good Clint Eastwood films! It doesn’t take long for Eastwood to establish what kind of character Dirty Harry is! Come on, you know the quote:

“I know what you’re thinking: “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you, punk?”

1972 was the year we saw Burt Reynolds in Deliverance, Charles Bronson in The Mechanic, and the all star cast of the Poseiden Adventure that included Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons and others! It was also the year that introduced many to two of the best known adult films, Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat. 1972 is probably the easiest year to pick a hands down favorite for me – no doubt about it – Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.

The novel is amazing. The movie is just as powerful! The cast (many unknown at the time) is just perfect! It is hard to imagine anyone else as these characters. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Richard Conte, Alex Rocco, and so many others star in this superb film about family and power. I don’t think a week goes by without me quoting this film! The film won the Best Picture Oscar and Brando won (and refused) the Oscar for Best Actor.

While 1973 had some good films, in going through my list, they all are just “ok” to me. In other words, there is no real “WOW” movie for me. Charlton Heston is good in Soylent Green, Al Pacino is good in Serpico, The Sting had Paul Newman and Robert Redford (and the tune The Entertainer), Clint Eastwood is back for a Dirty Harry sequel called Magnum Force, and then there was the Exorcist. I guess if I HAD to pick a favorite, it would be American Graffiti – because of two things (1) the music and (2) Wolfman Jack!

1974 was a bit more difficult to narrow down to just one film. The reason for this is that I have some classic favorites that were released in ’74 and “how do I just pick one?” Two of my favorite Charles Bronson films, Mr. Majestyk and Death Wish, came out this year. Also, two of my favorite Mel Brooks films were also released – Young Frankenstein (“That’s Frahn-kun-steen”) and Blazing Saddles! It did, however, become clear that the one film that had to be at the top for 1974 was The Godfather Part II.

The first time I saw it, I hated it! I can’t lie about that. I was confused by the shifts from past to present. However, it became very clear with a second and third watch that the shifting from past to present is what makes this movie SO amazing. If you really must see it all in order, you can rent the Godfather DVD and watch it chronologically. This movie is where you really see the genius of Francis Ford Coppola. Robert Deniro is just amazing as Vito and Al Pacino’s portrayal of Michael is about as perfect as it can get.

1975 was the year that had us doing the Time Warp, thanks to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Sunshine Boys was supposed to star Walter Matthau and Jack Benny (there are clips of screen test shots on YouTube somewhere), but when Benny died, George Burns stepped in. Jack Nicholson is “crazy” good in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Dean Martin starred in a forgotten favorite, Mr. Ricco. The one movie that really stands out for me from 1975 is based on the Peter Benchley novel – Jaws!

Like many, I couldn’t swim at the beach for some time after seeing it! Now, they actually show it on a screen while people float in rafts and tubes on a lake in the summer time! And who can forget the Jaws theme?

In 1976, America celebrated it’s bicentennial year. It was a very patriotic year and there were some good films in theaters. The Watergate Scandal was the focus of All The President’s Men. Clint Eastwood returned in another Dirty Harry sequel, The Enforcer and the western The Outlaw Josey Wales. The wonderful Barbara Harris was featured in both Freaky Friday and Hitchcock’s Family Plot (two very opposite roles!). Mel Brooks offered up Silent Movie, while an all-star cast (Charlton Heston, Robert Mitchum, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, and Cliff Robertson) appeared in the war film, Midway. We were first introduced to Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in Rocky and Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were first teamed together in Silver Streak. There are many reasons I could pick any one of these as a favorite, but I am going to go with one I already featured as my favorite – Murder By Death. You can read that blog here:

https://wordpress.com/post/nostalgicitalian.com/856

It’s such a fun film and I revisit it often.

1977 was a year of great films! There was Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. Then George Burns first took on the role of God in Oh, God. John Travolta danced to the Bee Gees in Saturday Night Fever. We were introduced to the comedy of the Zucker brothers with Kentucky Fried Movie. Mel Brooks saluted Alfred Hitchcock in High Anxiety. The “other” space movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, hit theaters, too. From here, I was able to narrow things down to two faves, but as I said, I can only pick one for the year. While Star Wars could easily be the top pick for 1977, I am going with Smokey and the Bandit.

Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, Sally Field, and Jackie Gleason took us on a wild ride and this remains my favorite for a number of reasons. First, it’s just funny. Second, there are some very cool stunts. Third, “East Bound and Down”. Last, there are so many great quotes!

Smokey JUST beats out Star Wars, probably because it’s a comedy. Don’t get me wrong, Star Wars is a CLASSIC, and at some point I really need to blog about the influence of that film on me as a 7 year old kid!

In 1978, we first meet Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s Halloween. Peter Falk appears in the “sorta” sequel to Murder By Death in The Cheap Detective. Robert Deniro and Christopher Walken star in The Deer Hunter. Cheech and Chong go Up in Smoke. Christopher Reeve first donned the cape in Superman. Burt Reynolds starred as a stuntman in Hooper and tried to kill himself in The End. We got chills that multiplied as we sang along with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in Grease. I’m honored to have Eddie Deezen (who plays Eugene in the film) as a friend on Facebook and he often shares cool stories about the film. Time to pick my favorite from 1978. It is yet another very quotable movie – a comedy – National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Kent Dorfman. Flounder. Pinto. Bluto. D-Day. Otter. Animal House remains as funny to me today, as the first time I saw it. John Belushi is just awesome in this film. I have said before that Belushi can emote more with just his eyebrows than any other actor. I also love John Vernon as Dean Wormer – he is such a great actor! It’s amazing that “Shout” from Otis Day and the Knights is still requested at weddings 40+ years later. One of my most quoted movies!

“Zero. Point. Zero.”

Closing out the decade, I see my list of favorites for each year growing more and more. In 1979, Sigourney Weaver appeared in the first (of many) Alien films. George Hamilton’s comedic take on Dracula was in Love at First Bite. Sylvester Stallone appeared for his second “round” as Rocky in Rocky II. Star Trek became relevant again, as it appeared on the big screen for the first time (with the original cast members) with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Steve Martin brought The Jerk to life. Alan Arkin and Peter Falk are great together in The In-Laws. Robert Stack, Eddie Deezen, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and so many others appeared in 1941 (It didn’t do all that well at the box office, but I still love this silly film). To me, my favorite of 1979 goes to the genius of Jim Henson – The Muppet Movie. I STILL marvel at this one!

This was such a breakthrough film. For the first time we saw Muppets walking! We saw them riding bikes! The technological stuff that was achieved in this movie is still awesome to me. This movie had tons of big cameos (including Edgar Bergan’s last film role) and just wonderful music. I blogged about the music previously and you can read that here:

https://wordpress.com/post/nostalgicitalian.com/1218

What a “groovy” and “far out” list, huh? I will have to move on into the 80’s next time. I can tell you, it will be much more difficult to pick just one for every year in THAT decade!

Tune Tuesday – Guitar Man

It was 52 years ago today, on September 10, 1967, that Elvis Presley recorded the song “Guitar Man” in the RCA studios in Nashville. The song was written and originally recorded by Jerry Reed (who went on to act in Smokey and the Bandit and other films). Jerry’s version reached only #53 on the country chart that year, and Elvis would see much greater success with it. Jerry enjoyed that success, too, because he was playing on the Elvis version.

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One of my favorite interviews I ever did was with Jerry Reed, shortly before he passed away. I asked him about his connection with Elvis. He told me that Elvis was in the studio trying to record the song. He was unhappy with the way the guitar part sounded. He kept telling the guitar player “That don’t sound like Reed’s record.” Jerry’s version of the story is that the guitar player told Elvis, “If you want it to sound like Reed’s record – you better get Reed in here!” (Another version of the story says that Elvis said, “Get me that redneck picker who’s on the original tune!”)

Jerry told me that he was out fishing or something and someone from his office was finally able to reach him by phone and said that Elvis wanted him in the studio. Jerry said that he hadn’t shaved in days and walked into the studio looking a bit shaggy. He said Elvis looked at him and said, “Lord, have mercy! What is that?!” Jerry went on to tell me, That he never thought of himself as a Nashville recording musician. He called himself a stylist. He said he had his own way of tuning. He said “they were trying to record Guitar Man, and they couldn’t make it feel like my record.” He said that those players use picks, and he uses his fingers. He said that once he “wound up his guitar” and got it all set he told me that “as soon as we hit the intro, you could see Elvis’ eyes light up he knew we had it”. (Jerry also played on other songs in that session including Big Boss Man) It was so cool to hear Jerry tell this story!

In 1981, the song was re-recorded with Elvis’ vocal left intact. That version went to #1 on the country charts.

Here is the song from 52 years ago:

Here is Jerry Reed’s original version:

Guitar Man

Guitar Man”

Well I quit my job down at the carwash I left my mama a goodbye note
By sundown I’d left Kingston with my guitar up under my coat
I hitchhiked all the way down to Memphis got a room at the YMCA
For the next three weeks I went a hauntin’ them night clubs
Lookin’ for a place to play
Well I thought my pickin’ would set ’em on fire
But nobody wanted to hire a guitar man

Well I nearly bout starved to death down in Memphis
I run out of money and luck
So I bummed me a ride down to Macon Georgia
On a overloaded poultry truck
I thumbed on down to Panama City
Started checkin’ out some of them all night bars
Hopin’ I can make myself a dollar makin’ music on my guitar
Got the same old story at them all night piers
There ain’t no room around here for a guitar man
We don’t need a guitar man son

So I slept in hobo jungles bummed a thousand miles of track
Till I found myself in Mobile Alabama at a club they call Big Jack’s
A little four piece band was jammin’ so I took my guitar and I sat in
I showed ’em what a band would sound like with a swingin’ little guitar man
Show ’em son

So if you ever take a trip down to the ocean find yourself down round Mobile
Well make it on out to the club called Jack’s if you got a little time to kill
Just follow that crowd of people you’ll wind up out on his dance floor
Diggin’ the finest little five piece group up and down the Gulf of Mexico
And guess who’s leadin’ that five piece band
Why wouldn’t you know it’s that swingin’ little guitar man yeah

Pork and beans and a Diablo Sandwich

articles_fartsinmovies

Recently, a few of my Facebook friends began posting their top 10 funniest movies. One of those friends, actor Eddie Deezen (yes, THE Eddie Deezen from Grease, 1941, and other films), posted an article that he wrote about the classic film Airplane! which has led me to write this blog entry.

To have to pick out just 10 favorites would be next to impossible for me, I have to admit. Maybe if we broke the list up into subcategories like Slapstick Comedy, Screwball Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Vulgar Comedy, etc… I might be able to narrow it down to 10 in each of them, but probably I don’t necessarily want to do that.

A radio program director once told me to be careful with comedy. He said, “Comedy is subjective. What you find funny may not be funny to me and vice versa”. Perhaps this is why some comedies do better at the box office than others. Think about it, how many times has someone come up to you and said, “Oh man! You have got to see (insert movie here)! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen!” ? So you take their advice and about 30 minutes in you are ready to walk out or turn it off. Comedy is subjective.

I am sure there will be more blogs about this topic, but for today, here is a look at two of my favorite ’70’s comedies….

Blazing Saddles

I was 4 years old when Blazing Saddles came out. It was 1974. Times were MUCH different that today. There were things in this movie that you simply could not do today! However, at the time, they were accepted. I don’t know how old I was when I first watched it. I do know that it had a great cast: Harvey Korman, Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Khan, David Huddleston, Slim Pickens, and director Mel Brooks, just to name a few.

One of the reasons this movie is funny to be is the absurdity of so many of the situations. The black sheriff who takes himself hostage, the townspeople who believe it, the grown adult who bathes with his squeaky toy frog, a phony toll booth in the middle of the desert, and of course, the characters crossing the bridge from movie to movie set, and eventually watching their own movie. “Extremes are funny” claimed, Manny Balos, one of my high school teachers. That is exemplified in this movie. How does a pie fight break out in a Western? Are Raisinets really the candy of choice for bad guys?

The one scene that is often talked about most when this film comes is is the campfire scene. Here, a bunch of cowboys are sitting around the fire, eating pork and beans. What follows is a bunch of them breaking wind in a symphony of flatulence. While this is not the first fart joke in a movie, it was certainly the first instance of audible flatulence to hit theaters. The conclusion of this scene contains one of my favorite lines in the film. Upon exiting his tent, Slim Pickens’ character begins to smell the results of the beans and starts waving his hat around to fan the odor away. He is asked if he wants some more beans, and he simply replies “I’d say you had enough!”

Smokey and the Bandit

I will always remember when I saw Smokey and the Bandit. August 16, 1977 – the day Elvis died. I saw it at the drive in and while we waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start, we were listening to AM 560 Honey Radio (where I would eventually work) and they broke the news and began playing all Elvis songs.

The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Snowman (Jerry Reed) are hired by Big and Little Enos to get 400 cases of Coors beer from Texas and bring it back to Atlanta in 28 hours for some big money. In the 1970s, Coors used to be unavailable east of the Mississippi (something to do with the fact that it wasn’t pasteurized and thus needed constant refrigeration).

Smokey is funnier to me now, than when I was 7. As a kid watching this movie, it was about fast cars, a hero trying to get away from the law, and numerous car crashes. Why is it funny to me now? Two words: Jackie Gleason. He plays Sheriff Buford T. Justice of Texas.

I had the chance to interview Jerry Reed shortly before he passed away and I asked him about this film. He said that without Jackie, there probably would not have been a Smokey and the Bandit. He told me how he was given free reign to stray from the “script” and ad-libbed almost everything. As a matter of fact, the word is that there really wasn’t much of a script anyway. Hal Needham showed Burt Reynolds the script on legal pads and most of the cast’s lines were ad-libs.

With mixing ad-libs with profanity, Jackie Gleason spouts off many of the films funniest lines. One such line that is often quoted by fans is when he is talking to his adult son, Junior (played by Mike Henry) – “There’s no way, no way, that you came from my loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I’m gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!” Another line is when (after the roof of their patrol car is ripped off by driving under a truck) Junior is asked to hold Buford’s hat on his head. By removing his hand from his hat to hold Buford’s, his is blown away. “My hat blew off Daddy” to which Buford replies, “I hope your &^% #$% head was in it!”

What also makes this movie memorable is the soundtrack from Jerry Reed. Who doesn’t know “East Bound and Down”?! The song went to #2 on the charts and has been covered by many bands over the years. Many of today’s country singers will do it in their live sets today. The Legend, which is the song that opens the movie, gives you the back story on the Bandit and just how he became the legend he is today. “How would you like to be the dude who handcuffs a legend?” Snowman asks Bandit when he tells him he is unsure why Buford is chasing him. The Legend is one of those songs that is overlooked in my opinion.

There is one scene in particular that is my favorite, and that is the scene where Buford and Bandit meet face to face. What makes it great is that Buford has no idea that he is talking to the Bandit. Buford quickly walks in and says, “Lemme have a Diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper and make it fast, I’m in a %$# #$%^ hurry!” The exchange between the two characters is hilarious. How Burt Reynolds is able to keep a straight face while Jackie Gleason rants with food in his mouth is beyond me!

What is a Diablo Sandwich? Well it depends. Some say is a a pulled pork sandwich while others say it is ground beef. Personally, I have never had the pulled pork version of the sandwich, and have yet to find a recipe for that. I have however had it with beef. To wrap up the blog today – here is the recipe I found online for the Diablo Sandwich. It’s great to eat whether you’re in a hurry or not …

Diablo Sandwich Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
3/4 cup of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of canned corn
3/4 cup of water
taco seasoning to taste
lettuce
sour cream
hamburger buns

Diablo Sandwich Recipe Directions:
Brown the ground beef. Add remaining ingredients except for lettuce, sour cream and hamburger buns. Let the mixture stew anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour. The longer the better. I cooked it for 40 minutes covered, and then uncovered for the remaining 20 minutes to thicken it up a bit as the liquid burns off. Place the lettuce on a bun, top with the El Diablo beef mixture, and then add a dollop of sour cream.

sherriff kicking butt