And also to The Incomparable Eddie©....
...without whom obviously.
And now, with no further ado -- BEST OR WORST POP/ROCK/SOUL SONGS REFERENCING OUR DOMESTICATED FRIENDS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, I.E. PETS!!!
No arbitrary rules whatsoever, except if anybody nominates that "Mr. Bojangles" crap I'm gonna take a hostage.
And my totally top of my head Top Seven is ---
7. Patti Page -- How Much is That Doggie in the Window?
It is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that this song is so odious that it single-handedly made rock-and-roll a historical imperative.
6. The Kinks -- Phenomenal Cat
Is there any subject Ray Davies hasn't written a terrific song about?
5.The Byrds -- Old Blue
He was a good dog, too.
4. The Byrds -- Bugler
I think this is actually my favorite thing Clarence White ever did. Seriously.
3. The Youngbloods-- Grizzly Bear
Okay, I'm cheating with this one, but those bears are pretty cute. And terrific dancers.
2. Saigon Kick -- My Dog
He's dead, he's dead
My dog was walking down the street
Minding his own business
And this fuckin' car came
And ran him over
Have you seen my dog
Playing 'round and 'round
And he was looking at me
With those big brown eyes
And he started shaking and shaking
In other words I didn't know what to do
And the blood was just pouring
Out of his mouth into a puddle
Oh, God, he's dead, no
Have you seen my dog
Playing 'round and 'round
Words fail me.
And the Number One song about a furry companion is obviously, it's not even cloise --
1. Henry Gross -- Shannon
Have I mentioned that dead dog songs are actually a genre? In any case, this one is pretty much the best of all of them. That may be Carl Wilson singing backup on this, BTW, but I'm too lazy to look it up.
Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?
Have a great weekend, everybody!!!
26 comments:
I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges
Martha My Dear - The Beatles
Rocky Raccoon - The Beatles
And one that I'm sure the proprietor will appreciate:
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo - LOBO
I’m guessing Eddie doesn’t agree with your number one pick, but I sure do. That IS Carl Wilson on Shannon.
Two other picks:
Martha My Dear — Beatles
Walking the Dog — Rufus Thomas
Dave F
OMG, how could you leave out this lugubrious classic -- Ol' Shep by The King!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUp-_pGZYVA
Well, I'm going to get flamed for this one: "Under My Thumb"
A Siamese cat of a girl, she's the sweetest pet in the world.
JUST KIDDING, FOLKS. But I think Mick was, too.
Other than that, this category is a tough one ...
Pink Floyd - Seamus The Dog
Live, with dog:
https://youtu.be/BdFOgLyk6Qs
The Lolas — "I've Got Plenty of Dogs" (hands down winner! This is a PowerPop blog, innit?)
The Cramps — "Can Your Pussy Do the Dog"
The Mice — "Bye Bye Kitty Cat"
Alec Bathgate — "Pet Hates" (not quite, but still worth a listen)
Clinic — "Pet Eunuch"
A fairly obvious choice but... "Hound Dog": Big Mama Thornton's version AND Elvis Presley's. Also, Cat Stevens has a nice song from early in his career called "I Love My Dog."
BTW, "Shannon" is actually about the death of Carl Wilson's dog, an Irish setter.
Chris E.
Avoiding the obvious dog or cat songs:
Rabbit Valley -- The Four Postmen
Elephant Talk -- King Crimson (ok, that's a stretch)
Porpoise Song -- The Monkees
Shock The Monkey -- Peter Gabriel
Godzilla -- BOC. :-)
Off the top of my head, of course...
But *not* "Don't Kill The Whale" by Yes.
The ULTIMATE dog song is surely ...
"Everything Reminds Me of My Dog" Jane Siberry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfZIaPSv4W0
Also ...
Chuck Prophet "That's how much I need your love" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbOZgBfx13o
(pussycat reference at 1:15)
Tinpot
These Cold Fingers -- Bill Morrisey (Well, just the last verse, but if you've ever loved a dog and you can get through that last verse without blubbering, then you're a better man (or woman) than I.)
Gimme Back My Dog -- Slobberbone
Like Dogs -- The Rainmakers (Admittedly, only the chorus is about dogs, but it's a great song and the last line is worth the price of admission.)
I'm pretty sure you did this one years ago because I remember the audible groan when I submitted:
Kitty's Back - Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band.
The Band's "The Weight":
Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog
He said, "I will fix your rack if you'll take Jack, my dog"
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man"
He said, "That's okay, boy, won't you feed him when you can"
The Monkees - Gonna Buy Me A Dog
If you can include a grizzly bear as a pet then I shall include a cow!
In semi-historical order, Milk Cow Blues by:
Kokomo Arnold
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Elvis Presley
Maddox Brothers & Rose
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Eddie Cochran
Ricky Nelson
Tom Rush
The Kinks
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Also, the photo of Eddie was clearly taken at a wild party as he was wearing a lampshade!!!
Captain Al
Just to annoy you, the Who, “Squeeze Box” - “The kids won’t eat / and the dog can’t sleep / no escape from the music in the whole damn street” (but I continue to recommend Townshend’s demo from Scoop) :-)
Some band called the Beatles, “Hey Bulldog”
Nazz, “Rain Rider” - “Ride my chariot, baby, my steed's on the run” - Yes it’s a reach, but such a great song
Warren Zevon, “Porcelain Monkey” - still the only song I know of to rhyme “gold lamé” with “sobriquet”
Big Star, “Mod Lang” - “I was a barking dog” (just incredible guitar tone on this song)
The Ramones — Pet Sematary
Actually, since you mentioned Warren Zevon, let's thrown in "Gorilla, You're A Desperado."
Chris E.
McCartney...JET
Byrds - Chestnut Mare
rob
Zoo Blues, Robin Williamson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jqDHcNQ66A
3 minutes of bad animal puns from the ex-incredible string band guy.
Thanks for a great site, I love you an ocelot. (I'm not lion)
James Taylor's "Mona," about his thoughts of shooting his pet pig. He once said it was a song he would never record, but he did anyway.
A tragic tale involving Mona here: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/magazine/james-taylor-pig.html
"Marie Provost" - Nick Lowe
Hey Steve,
In the world of dead dog songs I always think of Fred Eaglkesmith.
I Shot Your Dog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TVga9nRJ4M
And the one I would nominate for the best ...
He's a good dog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd3QV0lwMXk
A few more ...
Bird Dog - Everly Brothers
Puppy Love - Donny Osmond, among others
Atomic Dog - George Clinton
If Dogs Run Free - Bob Dylan
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo - Lobo
And a personal (and obscure favorite) ...
Walkin' My Cat Named Dog - Norma Tanega
Okay Steve,
If you are cheating on the Youngbloods, "Grizzly Bear, then I feel free to include Louden Wainwrights, "Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road"
rob ;-)
How Come My Dog Don't Bark (when you come around) by Dr. John
Neil Young's "Old King" is a pretty good song about a dog much like my own when I was a kid. I think Michael Jackson's "Ben" belongs on every list about of songs about domesticated friends in the animal kingdom.
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