The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #156716   Message #3694305
Posted By: PHJim
15-Mar-15 - 06:24 PM
Thread Name: Talking blues, a forgotten music genre?
Subject: Lyr Add: ALL AMERICAN BOY (from Bobby Bare)
Did Lonnie learn the "Talkin' Guitar Blues" from Cisco Houston? I think his version (almost the same) pre-dates Lonnie's.
In the fifties, Bobby Bare recorded a song called The All American Boy and released it under the name Bill Parsons. It had a lot of verses in common with The Talkin' Guitar Blues.

Gather 'round, cats, and I'll tell you a story
About how to become an All American Boy
Buy you a gittar and put it in tune
You'll be rockin' and rollin' soon.
Impressin' the girls . . . pickin' hot licks . . . all that jazz

Well I bought me a guitar a year ago
Learned how to play in a day or so
And all around town it was well understood
That I was knockin' 'em out like Johnny B. Goode
Hot licks. . . showin' off. . . ah number one.

Well , I'd practice all day and up into the night
My papa's hair was turnin' white
Cause he didn't like rock'n'roll
He said "You can stay, boy, but that's gotta go."
He's a square. . . He just didn't dig me at all

So I took my guitar, picks an' all,
Bid farewell to my …,
Split for Memphis where they say "y'all"
An' them swingin' cats are a-havin' a ball.
Sessions … hot licks an' all … they dig me.

I's rockin' an' a-boppin' an' I's a-gettin' breaks.
The girls all say that I had what it takes.
When up stepped a man with a big cigar.
He said: "Come here, cat, I'm 'o' make you a star.
I'll put you on Bandstand … buy you a Cadillac … sign here, kid."

I signed my name and became a star,
Havin' a ball with my guitar,
Drivin' a big long Cadillac,
And fightin' the girls off o' m' back.
They just kep' a-comin' … screamin' … yeah, they like it.

So I picked my guitar with a great big grin
And the money jus' kep' on pourin' in,
But then one day my Uncle Sam
He said [knock, knock, knock] "Here I am.
Uncle Sam needs ya, boy … I'm, uh, gonna cut your hair off …
Take this rifle, kid … gi' me that guitar … yeah …"