Song of the Day 3/26: Was (Not Was), “Somewhere in America There’s a Street Named After My Dad”
When Detroit natives David Weiss and Don Fagenson formed Was (Not Was), they both adopted the surname Was and combined to create music based on a simple philosophy. In the words of lyricist David, “the groove can handle anything,” a credo they put to the test frequently in composer Don’s mix of funk, R&B and dance-pop and lyrics that one critic said “range from the satiric to the bizarre.” Their breakthrough came with 1988’s “What Up, Dog?” and its two danceable hit singles, “Spy in the House of Love” and “Walk the Dinosaur.” But the album’s best cut might be its opener, this uncharacteristically poignant ballad on the unlikely topic of real estate red-lining.
The band was fronted by two Detroit soul-circuit veterans, Harry Bowens and Sweet Pea Atkinson. They usually sang dual leads, but Bowens had the more expressive voice and greater range, and he handles the vocals by himself on this one. The trumpeter is Detroit jazz veteran Rayse Biggs.
At night only crickets
No prowlers, no sirens
No pinky ring hustlers
No angel dust Byrons
No bars on the windows
No sabre-toothed neighbors
Just good simple folks
In a rainbow of flavors
Somewhere in America
There’s a street named after my dad
And the home we never had
I’ll work for Mr. Fowler
Making fifty cents an hour
And I’ll save what I can
So I can get a piece of land
I’ll raise some cows and carrots
Get ahead on my own merits
And if I fall I’ll take it like a man
Somewhere in America
There’s a street named after my dad
And the home we never had
No more bland TV dinners
No ten car collisions
No showbiz beginners
Making global decisions
No daycare Fellinis
No fast food assassins
No billboard bikinis
Just truth and compassion
Somewhere in America
There’s a street named after my dad
And the home we never had
The “show-biz beginner making global decisions” was named Reagan back then, but otherwise nothing has changed.
I think I might’ve featured this one during my run. What a band. Saw them at the Troc on one of the coldest nights in history. Several of ’em wore winter coats on stage as, if I recall, the exit from the stage to the street was right behind the stage.
‘What Up, Dog?’ belongs in everybody’s collection. It’s one of those albums that’s impossible not to like.
Someone once asked Don Was how they got such good musicians to work with them when they were still unknown. He said showing them David’s lyrics was enough to convince most of them.
This also reminds me: Back when I was doing ‘topical’ messages on my phone, I featured a snippet of ‘Hello, Dad, I’m In Jail’ along with an imaginary prison conversation between Kermit Justice’s kid and, wait for it…Ron Aiello.
To quote Was Not Was:
“I laughed anyway.” One of my senators called me, heard the message, and told me to remove it.
Ah, yes. “Crash” Justice. Those were the days.
Funny. “I laughed anyway” was one of my favorite lines to use, but no one else had ever listened to Earth to Doris.
This was one of my favorite albums at the time, but almost no one else I knew had heard anything but the singles.
Inspired selection. Seems to click with the readership. We’re in jail. We like it here!