Speedo and Mr Earl

[Chris Stern]

Have been meaning to write about this for months.

In Buddy Holly, A Biography by Ellis Amburn, he writes (page 85) that
the the lead singer with the Cadillacs was Earl "Speedy" Carroll. "(He)
had sung one of rock's most famous lyrics on the 1955 hit record
"Speedo" pointing out that his nickname was "Speedo" but people usually
called him Mr Earl".

So there it is and now we know where that line came from. Paul's music
of his teens. Now where can we find the record.

Chris

[Cathy Friedmann]

I'd read this before, too, but I saw it in one of the Paul Simon
biographies, if I remember correctly. There was a great Doo-Wop special on
PBS a couple of nights ago, with the original groups singing their hits.
They did Speedo - I thought it was : "They call me Speedo but my real name
is Mr. Earl". Cathy

Chris Stern <cws...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:3852DB3B...@mediaone.net...

[Cathy Friedmann]

I was browsing through books of 19th & 20th century art several years ago,
at the library. Was really scanning for some lesser-known Impressionists,
but also opened a book on Magritte. Flipping through it, there was the
photo of René & Georgette Magritte w/ their dog after the war! The caption
even said something *very* close to those words. Cathy

David Wilkenfeld <wil...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
news:_%S44.6301$uj2.1...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
> That's right, it was the Cadillacs, and they did do it on the PBS special.
> Listen to Rene and Georgette Magritte with their Dog After the War, for an
> whole list of Paul Simon's DOO-Wop favourites.
>
> Speaking of which, I'll admit that I've learned a few things listen to
> Paul's intellectual lyrics. For example. I'd never heard of the great
artist
> Magritte until I heard that song!
>
>
> Cathy Friedmann wrote in message <38530...@nntp2.borg.com>...

[David Wilkenfeld]

[David Wilkenfeld]

That's exactly right! The caption was almost exactly the same as the song
lyric.

Margaret Deering wrote in message <8313pa$8o4$1...@scotty.tinet.ie>...
>That was probably the same book where Paul got his inspiration for this
>song. He said in an interview before that he was in Joan Baez' s house
and
>she had a book on the coffee table. He was flicking through it while
>waiting and came across that photo.
>
>
>
>Cathy Friedmann wrote in message <38540...@nntp2.borg.com>...

>>I was browsing through books of 19th & 20th century art several years ago,
>>at the library. Was really scanning for some lesser-known Impressionists,
>>but also opened a book on Magritte. Flipping through it, there was the
>>photo of René & Georgette Magritte w/ their dog after the war! The
caption
>>even said something *very* close to those words. Cathy
>>
>>David Wilkenfeld <wil...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
>>news:_%S44.6301$uj2.1...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...

[MHohulin]

>o there it is and now we know where that line came from. Paul's music
>of his teens. Now where can we find the record.
>

I borrowed a cd from my public library--something like "The Greatest Hits of
Doo Wop" that had it on it. It's such a classic doo-wop tune, it shouldn't be
hard to find.
alt.newsgroupspaul-simon

[WhoMe]

>It's such a classic doo-wop tune, it shouldn't be
>hard to find.

This is true. There are a number of single discs and sets of Doo Wop hits on
the Rhino label. Look under 'oldies' or 'various artists' in your friendly
neighborhood record stores.

Bill

"It will destroy your family, your happy home is gone
No one can protect you from it once you turn it on."

-- Bob Dylan
T.V. Talkin' Song

[Roy Dripps]

Paul's 50's influences can't be underestimated. "Where the dancing
is elite" from "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" comes from "South Street,"
"The Coast" echoes Frankie Lymon ("doo-wop, doo-wop").
Paul's live performances over the years have featured versions of
Everly Brothers songs like Bye-Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie,
and (from the "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us") Rambler Gambler.
(Paul later wove "Rambler Gambler," a traditional folk ballad with a
series of verses and no chorus with the Del-Vikings "Whispering Bells,"
which is basically a chorus for Joan Baez' album "Speaking of Dreams."
Paul performed Chuck Berry's Mabelline throoughout the One Trick Pony tour
and the
Simon & Garfunkel tours of the early 80's.
At a couple of shows on his "Twelve CIty Solo Acoustic Tour" of the summer
of 1984, Paul did in fact
perform a medley of "Was A Sunny Day" and the Cadillac's "speedooo."
Of course this summer's Bob/Paul tour featured I Walk The Line,
Blue Moon of Kentucky, The Wanderer and That'll Be The Day.
The 1993 Paramount shows featured a number of 50's songs (includign an
obscure number by a
little known group called "Tom and Jerry", of all things!)
My guess is that there are a lot more that you can come up with, but that's
a strt.

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[Roy Dripps]

Almost forgot to give credit to Chicago's Orlons for "South Street."

[WhoMe]

>Paul's 50's influences can't be underestimated.

One of the most obvious is that the opening vocals of "The Obvious Child" bears
a strong resemblance to "Get a Job."