Song of the Day 7/27: The Coasters, “Young Blood”
Aged-out frat boy Matt Gaetz thinks he’s somehow going to survive his scandalous behavior with underage females, even in the face of stories like this one, in which the sister of his fiancee calls Gaetz a “literal pedophile” (she later corrected that to “ephebophile,” the term for someone attracted to post-pubescent teens).
Where could Gaetz have gotten the idea that preying on teens is acceptable behavior? Oh, I dunno — maybe from listening to too much early rock ‘n’ roll? Remember, it was music for teen-agers –“You’re Sixteen” is a lot less transgressive sung by a 17-year-old than by a 33-year-old Ringo Starr, who had a No.1 hit with it in 1973 (Johnny Burnette was a somewhat-less-creepy 26 when he took it to No. 8 in 1960). But it survived in the rock repertoire long after those teens grew up.
“Young Blood” is even creepier, considering the not-exactly-sly menstruation reference and the implicit context of predation, and it was just as widely accepted. Written by Doc Pomus with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, it was a No. 8 hit for the Coasters in 1957, who gave it their trademark jokey treatment. Like a lot of comedy, it’s actually pretty dark.
The song has been covered by a who’s who of ’60s and ’70s rockers. Leon Russell sang it at George Harrison’s concert for Bangladesh. The Grateful Dead played it during sound checks. Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys made it the title of his second solo album. In a sure sign the song is creepy, Bruce Willis sang it as his musical alter-ego, Bruno. The only other band to release it as a single, British blues-rock supergroup Bad Company, took it to No. 20 in 1976.
Last but not least, it was covered in 1995 by Jerry Lee Lewis, whose career famously took a nosedive when he married his 13-year-old cousin.
Beyond these songs, of course, the rock-star lifestyle was notorious for access to groupies, and nobody was checking IDs. In short, Matt Gaetz might have had an easier time getting away with his ephebophilia if he could sing.
