Colonel Abrams

Artist: Colonel Abrams

LP: 7" single
Song: "Trapped"

[ listen ]

I think this is the first time I've been jealous of pink neon tubing. But it's not just the tubing that's got Colonel Abrams trapped. As he sings here in this song (a top-ten hit in England, thought it fell mostly on dead ears in the USA), he's also trapped by the love he feels for a young woman (the tears roll from his eyes), and by the steely glares from her horribly judgmental parents (they don't think he's good enough; they want him sent to prison!). 

But it goes even deeper than that. Colonel was trapped by the expectations of others, both musical and personal (the rolling tears again). His label likely required him to endlessly repeat the exact same hit-making formula that brought him international fame...but when the formula ran dry and the money stopped pouring in, he was tossed aside like a sun-faded copy of last year's Yakima Herald Republic.

How is one supposed to earn a living after becoming an international pop star that has fizzled out and come crashing down to earth? Trapped again! Trapped even more by the high cost of rent in New York City, by the high cost of diabetes medicine, and by the difficulty of receiving adequate treatment without having a secure place to live, Colonel Abrams died—homeless, sick, and broke—on Thanksgiving Day in 2016. I just learned this today when I looked him up online. What a sad, sad end for such a handsome and talented fellow. Tears roll from my eyes. You can read the BBC's obituary for Colonel Abrams here.

[ Colonel Abrams: May 25, 1949 — November 24, 2016 ]