Harry Belafonte

Artist: Harry Belafonte

LP: Swing Dat Hammer

Song: "Grizzly Bear"
[ listen ]

Today I woke up to the news that it was Harry Belafonte's 90th birthday! I set aside this award-winning 1960 album of prison chain-gang songs before I headed to work so I wouldn't forget to post it here when I got home. But then after work I zipped over to Uptown Cinema to catch the terrific Oscar-nominated German film TONI ERDMANN before it leaves town on Friday.

Near the end of the film there's a funeral scene where the son of the deceased laments that they didn't play Harry Belafonte as instructed, since he was his mother's favorite singer. So I've really had a Harry Belafonte kind of day. He keeps popping up everywhere! Belafonte's got so many wonderful songs, it's too bad nobody remembers him for anything but that one banana song. Granted, it was his only top 10 hit, but "Grizzly Bear" goes all the way to #1 in my book. Happy Birthday, Harry!

[ Harry Belafonte — Then and Now ]

The Escorts

Artist: The Escorts

LP: All We Need Is Another Chance

Song: "Look Over Your Shoulder"

[ listen ]

Before leaving Smash Records, I inquired about other basement record stores nearby. I remembered visiting one in the Adams Morgan area three years before, but I couldn't remember its name. The guy directed me to Joint Custody across the street, which had a really narrow stone stairwell entrance leading to minty green caverns filled with vintage riches. The store had only been open for a couple of months, so it wasn't the place I'd been looking for (I found it the following day), but Joint Custody had some really great stuff—like this 1973 debut LP by The Escorts, a soul group made of guys doing hard time in New Jersey's Rahway State Prison for crimes like armed robbery and murder. I don't know about you, but if someone accosted me on the street and started singing like these guys do here, they could go ahead and murder and armed robberize me and I'd hardly make any fuss at all. Surprisingly, there's no info about The Escorts on Wikipedia, but you can read about Reginald Haynes, one of the original members of the group, on the Legendary Escorts webpage here. I've included notes and lots of neat photos from the back and inside of the album below, and the track posted above includes an interview soundbite from producer and Motown veteran George Kerr.

[ the outside of Joint Custody — Washington, DC ]

[ the Joint Custody stairwell — Washington, DC ]

[ the inside of Joint Custody — Washington, DC ]

Porter Wagoner

Artist: Porter Wagoner

LP: Soul of a Convict and Other Great Prison Songs

Song: "The Snakes Crawl At Night"

[ listen ]

We've all heard the rumors that "the snakes crawl at night" amongst the libidinous all-male populations of America's prison system, that "when the sun goes down, the snakes will play," but I was surprised to find out someone had actually written a song about it. This 1967 Porter Wagoner record that includes this and other prison songs was something I found at the Goodwill Thrift Store in Colville, WA on my way back to Seattle. I pulled into town at around 9am, so figured I'd visit a locally-owned cafe or diner downtown to get some coffee and food. After finding no such place, I asked the friendly thrift store cashier where I could find a good breakfast diner in Colville. She excitedly informed me that the best and most affordable breakfast in town was at Arby's. Go here if you'd like to see more pictures from my trip.

Born in West Plains, Missouri in August of 1927, Porter Wagoner had a long and successful career in country music, which included singing lots of duets with Dolly Parton. If Porter hadn't passed away a few years ago, he'd be celebrating his 83rd birthday tomorrow! You can read all about the life and career of Porter Wagoner here, see his New York Times obituary here and find the liner notes for his "Soul of a Convict and Other Great Prison Songs" LP below, along with a photo of Porter doing time in jail. All I know is, if those guys were my cell mates, there would definitely be a few friendly words, some music mixed with understanding... and when the sun went down the snakes would play.

[ Porter Wagoner: August 12, 1927 — October 28, 2007 ]