Millie Jackson

Artist: Millie Jackson

LP: Caught Up

Song: "I'm Tired of Hiding"

[ listen ]

Before heading out of town, I drove around the Toledo Art Museum, which unfortunately had already closed for the day. But while leaving the parking lot, Sound Asylum Records caught my eye across the street. They were having a closing sale! Along with a few records (mostly stuff like Freddie Jackson, The Jets, and Melba Moore), they also had lots of CDs, clothing, jewelry, and things like that. I did find this neat 1974 Millie Jackson LP, on which she evidently introduced her "innovative style of raunchy rap," and I found two potentially so-bad-they're-good late '70s gospel records (there was no listening station, so I had to judge a record by its cover). Nothing was priced, but since the store was closing and the signs outside proclaimed "50% off! Everything Must Go!" I figured the LPs would be .50¢ or maybe one or two dollars at most. The woman working there had to call someone on the phone to tell them what albums I wanted and find out how much to charge me. I was told they were $5 each, and I suddenly understood why they were going out of business. I put the cheesy gospel albums back, paid $5, and left with my Millie Jackson record. I figured the cover alone was worth at least $5.50. You can read about Millie Jackson's life and career here, listen to her weekday afternoon radio show on Dallas' KKDA 730 AM, and the notes and pictures from her "Caught Up" love-triangle LP (they're caught in a web of lies!) are included below.

[ Sound Asylum Records — Toledo, OH ]

Bobby Bare, Norma Jean, Liz Anderson

Artist: Bobby Bare, Norma Jean, Liz Anderson

LP: The Game of Triangles

Song: "One Among the Three of Us"

[ listen ]

In this melancholy song about love triangles, Liz and Norma Jean both admit that they've had to take turns being "in the way" as far as their complicated romantic relationship with Bobby Bare is concerned. But in order to make things fair, I think there should be a verse where Bobby pipes in with, "and then tomorrow, I'll be the one who's in the way!" But alas, this was 1967... so the egocentric, male chauvinist Mr. Bare ends up getting 200% from his women, whereas Liz and Norma Jean have to make do with getting just 50% each from their man. But as country music fans like me know all too well, that's just "life as it really is." You can read about Bobby Bare here, Norma Jean here and Liz Anderson here.