"Peter's Trip"

The Electric Flag at the Fillmore, Michael Bloomfield, 2nd from left on gee-tar
I just recently watched a couple of double features, one being two Roger Corman films, The Young Racers (1963) and The Wild Angels (1966), the other being an excellent pairing of The Trip (1967) with Psych-Out (1968). Of the four, The Trip (also directed by Roger Corman) is by far the best, followed by what is sort of a cheesy precursor to Easy Rider, The Wild Angels, featuring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, next being Psych-Out with Jack Nicholson, lastly, The Young Racers, the worst of the four.

All four have a kitschy, retro appeal for me, but The Trip stood out for, among other reasons, having an interesting soundtrack. Most of it is, as you would imagine, heavily psychedelic. But that's good, because I enjoy the genre! The soundtrack is by The Electric Flag, a short-lived group formed by Mike Bloomfield in 1967. I'm rather partial to "Peter's Trip," sort of a regal, harpsichord-driven blues jam, at times sounding like an outtake from Pet Sounds. It's one of those songs I feel like I've heard before, although I don't think I ever have.

In search of Route 66 (you'll get gas)

Done did:

Carrizozo, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
San Jon, New Mexico/Adrian, Texas/Vega, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
McLean, Texas
Shamrock, Texas



McLean, Texas












Carrizozo, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
San Jon, New Mexico/Adrian, Texas/Vega, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
McLean, Texas
Shamrock, Texas

Next time:

In search of Route 66 (Amarillo by....midday)

What has come before:

Carrizozo, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
San Jon, New Mexico/Adrian, Texas/Vega, Texas
Amarillo, Texas

Just a couple of miles west of Amarillo is the Cadillac Ranch. I actually had to use longitude and latitude for once with my GPS to find this place, located just off of I-40 in a cattle field. Built in 1974 by Stanley Marsh and San Francisco art collective the Ant Farm; moved about 3 miles west in 1997 due to development. It is one of the Route 66 artifacts referenced in Cars. And although you could Google "cadillac ranch" and find thousands of pictures just like these (many much better), here you go:


A ten verse ode to the birth and death of the American automobile's tailfin?


I'd love to get back to Amarillo some time and get this at sunrise or sunset. Now those would be a little more unique.


I read somewhere this is a historic, old Art Deco theater.


The Beef Burger Barrell has been open since the late 1930s.

This Art Deco apartment building (the Arlington/Sunset Apartments) from 1926 wasn't actually on Route 66, and it probably belongs in another post, but it was in Amarillo, I was there, so voilà.

One of the oldest buildings in downtown Amarillo, the Santa Fe Building is an example of Late Gothic Revival style and was completed in 1930.




The 1930 Pueblo Deco (Art Deco) Paramount Theater


Streamline Moderne Greyhound Bus Station, c. 1947


The 1940, Streamline Moderne Bivens Building


The Potter County Courthouse, c. 1932, Moderne


Back on Route 66...



This had to have been an irresistible eye-catcher for kids, who in turn would beg an exhausted (after a long day of driving on Route 66) mom and dad to stop and stay here for the night.



Built from blueprints dated October, 1944, the Triangle Motel at 7954 Amarillo Boulevard East Amarillo, Texas, was one of the first motels built on Route 66. Cream-colored brick veneer was hand-cut and oven-dried in Amarillo.

Called "A Tourist Court," the Triangle Motel was a God-sent haven midway to California, offering comfortable suites with one 12x16 room, the other one 12x12. The bathrooms with extra-large tiled showers--3x5--were also unexpected luxury for weary travelers in the middle forties. (source)



The Big Texan opened its doors alongside Route 66 back in 1960. When news came of the building of the new interstate, threatening to bypass the business and suck its life out, a new home for The Big Texan was built at a the current location in 1970. (source)

Carrizozo, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
San Jon, New Mexico/Adrian, Texas/Vega, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
McLean, Texas
Shamrock, Texas

"Mama Will Bark," a.k.a. Sinatra's career nadir

In memory of cheesemaster Mitch Miller, this repost:

Must have been a slow news month.
Wikipedia entry:

"Mama Will Bark" is a novelty song written by Dick Manning and performed as a duet between Frank Sinatra and Dagmar in 1951. The song was recorded at the behest of Columbia Records A&R head Mitch Miller, who had been intrigued by the comic chemistry he perceived between Sinatra and Dagmar during her appearances on Sinatra's CBS television program, The Frank Sinatra Show.

Dagmar's talents on full display
The recording, which features off-key singing by Dagmar and sound effects of dogs barking, is commonly cited as an emblematic low point in Sinatra's troubled later years at Columbia. Sinatra himself later said of the song: "The only good it did me was with the dogs." Nonetheless, the single (which did not receive an album release) was a hit, nearly reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard singles chart.


The B-side to this May 10, 1951, crime against humanity? The Ava Gardner-inspired classic, "I'm a Fool to Want You" (the birth of Sinatra Career Phase II, in my humble onion).

The "Coming Up" video

I can actually remember the live, world premiere of this, in the days even before MTV (gasp). It was shown on the May 17, 1980, episode of Saturday Night Live. I must have somehow talked my parents into allowing me to stay up late to watch it and probably had a friend over spending the night or something for the "big event."

The video is for the Paul McCartney song "Coming Up," the first single from McCartney's second solo album, McCartney II. From the Wikipedia entry:


"Coming Up" was the opening track from Paul McCartney's McCartney II album, written by McCartney and released in 1980. Like the rest of the album, the song had a minimalist synthesized feel to it. It featured humorously-processed lead vocals from McCartney, who played all the instruments and shared harmonies with his wife Linda McCartney.

John Lennon had liked the song, crediting it for driving him out of retirement to resume recording.

The video is memorable, and it looks like McCartney had a blast making it. Again from the Wikipedia entry:

"Coming Up" is also well known for its video. It is an early example of electronic trickery, with Paul McCartney playing ten roles and Linda McCartney playing two. The "band" (identified as "The Plastic Macs" on the drum kit—a nod to Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band") features Paul and Linda's imitations of various rock musician stereotypes, as well as a few identifiable musicians. In his audio commentary on the 2007 video collection The McCartney Years, McCartney identified the four characters that were impersonations of specific artists:


Hank Marvin (guitarist from The Shadows)


Ritchie Blackmore from Rainbow / Deep Purple


Ron Mael of Sparks (keyboards)


the drummer, Ginger Baker from Cream


and a "Beatlemania-Era" version of himself


While others such as author Fred Bronson have suggested that there are other identifiable impersonations in the video, such as Andy MacKay, Frank Zappa and Neil Young, McCartney said the other roles were simply comic relief.

I think it's strange how McCartney doesn't switch over from left-handed to right-handed guitar playing for his Ritchie Blackmore imitation like he does for the Hank Marvin one. Weird. And I'd always assumed the drummer was a parody of Steve Gadd or Animal from the Muppets(!). Most people probably thought the Hank Marvin character was Buddy Holly. The saxophonist clearly is Andy MacKay from Roxy Music. I think this dude looks a bit like Teddy Boy-era John Lennon, complete with the sideburns and ducktail:

The video (nice quality version).