03/31/2007
Dirty Music Of My Childhood
My father died when I was 4. My mom did a fantastic job as a single parent for years, but obviously was interested in the hookup with someone else. So, at one point she parked me with my grandparents in Manhattan, and did what singles did then (and still do, I suppose): she went on a Caribbean cruise, destination Aruba.
After a few weeks, she returned with a straw hat, a straw bag, great memories, a handful of photos, and an LP of double-entendre calypsos: Calypsos Too HOT To Handle (Monogram Records MLP-837). The record was undoubtedly the sort of item supposed to "put life in your party" while you were knocking back a martini and giving your neighbor's spouse the come-hither look.
I was 8, going through her meager record collection, methodically feeding everything into the maw of the gigantic Zenith Home Entertainment Center (radio/phonograph combo), when this "adult" LP caught my ear. Not because of the lyrics - which I was way too young and sheltered to understand - but because of the catchy melodies and cool vocals.
I played the LP to death for a few years, memorizing every word, and then put it away until I was in college, when I listened to it again and the light dawned about the true meaning of "The Big Bamboo," "I Left Her Behind For You," and "what you gave my daddy last night."
Michael R., a friend and collector in Atlanta, put the LP on CD a few years ago and kindly sent me a copy. On our way back from a party last night, the wife and I were listening to it in the car. I sang along at the top of my lungs while C cringed, either at my singing or my driving, I'm not sure which. Probably both.
Three choice cuts (too hot to handle) appear below. And if by some chance you fancy de calypso sound, check out my friend Irwin's calypso hour on WFMU, Muriel's Treasure. And you can download an awesome calypso mix from Schadenfreudian Therapy. My friend Michael eventually became entranced by the work of The Duke Of Iron and encsonced him on his own page.