Song of the Day 11/27: The Skillet Lickers, “Turkey in the Straw”
Not to be confused with that Sarah Palin YouTube hit, “Turkey in the Processor,” this 1926 recording is one of the earliest of this 19th-century American folk tune, which derived from an even older Irish ballad. The Skillet Lickers were mostly Georgians with day jobs, led by Gid Tanner, and their music was old-time even in their day.
The song itself is literally the background music to the nation’s history: It was Billy the Kid’s favorite tune. It was the soundtrack to Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” the first appearance of Mickey Mouse. With different lyrics it was the minstrel song “Zip Coon,” which gave rise to one of the form’s stock characters. It was one of the songs the band played as the Titanic sank. In many places, kids know it as the song played by the ice cream truck, fer chissakes. I rest my case.
The second voice is fucking crazy.
One of my best friends in grade school was a violin prodigy who grew up and joined the Cleveland Symphony. He practiced, no exaggeration, five hours a day. One day in I think it was 5th grade he said, “Wanna here something cool?” We went upstairs to my brother’s room and shut the door, because he would have gotten in trouble if his mother heard him from downstairs, and he tore into a version of “Turkey in the Straw” that would have left Charlie Daniels in the dust. True story.
Another true story. One fall I was working three jobs that, together, were like one full-time job. One of which was as a cashier at the 7-11 across from Stanley’s.
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and I put a sign on the deli case reading “Special Surprise For Anybody Ordering Turkey Roll Today”. I mean, who orders turkey roll on Thanksgiving at 7-11? Nobody.
These two 7-11 regional managers trundle in, both wearing those Haldeman sunglasses where they can see out but you can’t see in. One asks me in a vaguely southern accent, “What’s the surprise, son?”
I pull my fiddle out from behind the counter and play Turkey In The Straw.
Without so much as cracking a smile, he asks me: “Planning on working here LONG, son?”
Awesome.