Pop A Top

Hey! What are you doing on Friday, July 6th? Are ya gonna be in Chicago? The Mountain, in conjunction with fellow Chicago bloggers Songs:Illinois and Can You See The Sunset From The Southside are proud to present our first live show at the South Loop's finest joint, Cal's Bar. 3 fine bands (The Gunshy, Frontier Ruckus, and Satellite 66), cheap booze, and a chance to meet your favorite Chicago blogger face to face and tell them what a pretentious prick they really are. More info as we get closer (good god, it's only a week and a half away). Circle the date on your calendar.

'Til then.

We're still trying to pimp our new all things drinking mp3 site, Barstool Mountain (where we've been posting much more regularly over the past couple of weeks), so today at Big Rock Candy, we're gonna post about a feller who's true home is over at the Barstool. If you like Jim Ed Brown, then Barstool Mountain is the place for you.

Jim Ed Brown began his career in the 50's with members of his family under the creative moniker, The Browns. Eventually outgrowing the rather bland harmony-laden constraints of the vocal group, Brown set off on his own.

While his biggest successes came in the 70's, Brown hit the ground running in the mid-60's with the classic "Pop A Top", which recently placed at #61 in the world famous Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs list. "Pop A Top" contains, easily, the best first 1 1/2 seconds in recorded history. The rest of the song is pretty gol-durned swell, too. It's a classic late night bar lament, where last call's coming, but the girl aint, if you know what I mean.

Sticking with traditional honky tonk balladry in his early solo sides, Brown created at least one other drinking classic, "Bottle, Bottle".

Jim Ed Brown is 100%, 198 proof approved.

Jim Ed Brown: Pop A Top (mp3)

Jim Ed Brown: Bottle, Bottle (mp3)

Please support your local, independent bottling factory.

Leader Of The Pack

Just so you know, we've finally got our first "official" post up over at Barstool Mountain. If you liked our Top 100 Drinking Songs list, or just songs about drinking, that's the site for you. We'll keep is as fresh and non-skunky as possible. Check it out.

Now then.

If you're not familiar with the name Mary Weiss, you're at least tipped on The Shangri-Las, the classic "bad girls" of 60's girl groups of whom Weiss was the lead singer. You know, "Leader Of The Pack".

Weiss has a new album out, her first in...well...a really long time. Our good friends over at Norton Records figgered it was about time the world got another listen to Ms. Weiss, and, lo, it came to pass that she was paired with Greg Cartwright and the Reigning Sound on her new album "Dangerous Game". Cartwright may be more familiar to us fuddy duddy's as Greg Oblivian of, well, you know, The Oblivians. I've rambled about them before, and will do so again, to be sure.

Weiss has a voice that makes good boys squirm and nice girls say their prayers. It's been places you can only dream about, and there's kerosene in those pipes. She's still pissed, still been done wrong, and still not willing to sit back and take it. She's got what some would call an attitude problem. And we like it. Teenage riot in the adult world.

The Reigning Sound provide the perfect backdrop for Weiss' vocals. With Cartwright writing the bulk of the songs, the band layers on with organ drenched, tambourine shaking, rocknrollgaragepop. It's almost sunny, a perfect summer album for the newly broken-up and lovelorn, with a noirish heartbeat.

There's been a clutch of rebirths and comeback albums over the years, with varying degrees of success. Some sound simply rote, with a name producer at the helm attempting to breathe new life into a tired sound that has forgotten how to be hungry. "Dangerous Game" is not one of those. It's as if the past 40 years were compressed, and Weiss picks up right where she left off, all rebellion and shimmering chrome.


Mary Weiss: Don't Come Back (mp3)

Mary Weiss: Tell Me What You Want Me To Do (mp3)

Please support your local, independent malt shoppe.

Leaching On

Thanks to all who stopped by to visit The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. The list has moved over to Barstool Mountain, where you can find the full list in it's entirety. We'll be covering all the bases over there, from the Top 100, the Top 286, and anything and everything else drinking song-related in between. Check it out. Should be fun.

Now that that's over, let's cover some other great tunes.

We're real keen on Tom's over here. Tom Waits, Tom T. Hall, Tom House (who we covered way back when), Tom of Tom and Jerry fame, Rev. Tom Frost, and today's cover star, Tom Leach.

Tom Leach mines some pretty dark territory, and does so with a kudzu-ravaged throat and kitchen sink production. A sense of late-night loneliness permeates his songs, the last to leave the bar at night and the first to arrive at opening time. He'll tell you all the reasons she done him wrong, and he'll tell you why he still shows up at her doorstep day after day, court order be damned.

It's been 9 years between Leach's last album and his newest offering, Seven Song Tape/Thank You For The Coffee. In the in between years, his previous album, "Tom Leach" was never far from my record player. Both albums are a gospel of sorrow and desperation, with obvious nods to Cash, Lefty, and Merle at their most down and out, the gospel of downtrodden.

Leach is a masterful songwriter in a minor key, plundering the Country lexicon, throwing out the sentimental, and turning the expected phrase into something all his own.

"Doris Days", which you can find below, is a particular favorite here at the Mountain, with a swell little twist on the title and the namesake, delivered in a bittersweet melody of melancholy.


Tom Leach: Doris Days (mp3)

Tom Leach: Yesterday's News (mp3)

Tom Leach: At The Bottom Of A Barroom On a Hill In Tennessee (mp3)

Please support your local, independent record store.

Last Call For Alcohol

Here we go.

We are proud to present the top 10 of our Top 100 Drinking Songs.

We couldn't have done this without the hundreds of suggestions that poured in from all y'all back in January. And we certainly couldn't have done this without the help and expertise of our panel of judges. Please, once again, raise a toast to Kip, Sean, Kyle, Andy, and Rev. Frost.

For the record, and for your edification, the following songs, in no particular order, scored the number one slot in each of the ballots.

"Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, And Loud, Loud Music (Various/Vern Gosdin)
"There's A Tear In My Beer" (Hank Williams)- 2 votes
"Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" (various)
"The Wild Rover" (Traditional)
"Sally MacLennane" (The Pogues)

I was particularly pleasantly pleased and surprised by numbers 10 and 8 making it so high up on the list. Both artists are favorites of mine, and have a strong catalogue of great drinking songs. One has moved on to different, and perhaps stronger, themes, while the other we still say a silent prayer for every night.

Wynonie Harris (numbers 6 and 7)issued a strong smackdown to the competition for best shout/jump Blues belter.

Number 9 was the top Country weeper, and number 5 makes its case for the moonshine still in Americana culture/myth.

Congratulations to Ireland (numbers 8 and 3). These songs are not so much a validation of a stereotype, but more a testament to the Emerald Isle's gift for song and storytelling.

Number 4 was the clear winner 'til the last ballots came in. You know the song, and everyone has their favorite version of it. The Mountain's personal preference is The Lightnin' Hopkins version.

Number 2 was another surprise, and a very good one. The ultimate teetotaler's lament to their wayward partner.

And number 1. The only song to receive votes from every judge, it placed in 3 top 10's, 2 top 20's, and 1 top 30. It covers all the bases, and I think very deserving of it's prime position. Having been covered exhaustively, with the title switched around and the lyrics altered in some cases, it's one of the few drinking songs that can boast versions in the widest amount of genres. Everyone has their favorite rendition, but we recommend the Milburn version. Just happens to be our favorite.

So. Thanks for joining us. The list will move over to it's new home at Barstool Mountain on Monday. We'll get a proper, easily downloadable version of the Top 100 up over there. And every song on the list will get, eventually, it's own personal post. If you've been holding off on calling us out about the songs we missed, now is your chance. Hell, give us your personal Top 100. We'll post it. Music taste is malleable and subjective, so we want to know what you think.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 10


10. "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)" - Tom Waits

9. "There Stands the Glass" - Various/Webb Pierce

8. "Streams of Whiskey" - The Pogues (mp3)

7. "Quiet Whiskey" - Wynonie Harris

6. "Don't Take My Whiskey Away From Me" - Wynonie Harris (mp3)

5. "White Lightning" - George Jones (mp3)

4. "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" - Various Artists

3. "Whiskey In the Jar" - Traditional/The Dubliners

2. "Don't Come Home A Drinkin'(With Lovin' On Your Mind)" - Loretta Lynn (mp3)

1. "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" - Amos Milburn (plus every other musician in the world)(mp3)

Grape Wine In A Mason Jar

We're down to the next to the last round of The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs.

Don't forget to stop by the future home of The Top 100 (and so much more), Barstool Mountain for fun and games.

Enough about me. I'm lazy today. Let's get right to it. Anybody want to guess what the Top 10 are?

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 9

20. "I Aint Drunk" - Jimmy Liggins
(No, sir. I aint drunk at all...)

19. "What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)" - Louis Jordan
(Mr. Jordan makes a good case here. Pun intended)

18. "I Gotta Get Drunk" - Willie Nelson
(Willie gives a good reason why our paycheck might suffer, booze-wise. Doesn't seem to be having too many regrets, though)

17. "There's A Tear in My Beer" - Hank Williams
(This was my pick for #1. I'm going to hold off and give it a full post on Barstool Mountain. )

16. "One More For My Baby (And One More For the Road)" -Frank Sinatra (mp3)
(The second loneliest song on the list. We love Frank. Give him a great big hug.)

15. "The Bottle" - Gil Scott Heron
(Is it a cautionary tale? Maybe so, but it still makes us wanna drink. Heron was a poet. A true poet in a time when we throw that word out too much.)

14. "Barstool Mountain" - Moe Bandy/Johnny Paycheck
(The theme song for our other site. Like the Hank Williams song, you'll have to wait for a longer post over there.)

13. "Here Comes A Regular" - The Replacements (mp3)
(Andy, one of the judges, had this to say: "Of gutter poetry and Grain Belt, losers and lonesome corner bars, unloving towns and unforgiving time. A Westerberg-penned classic that's about as sad as drinking songs come. Someone’s gonna show up, never fear.)

12. "Chug A Lug" - Roger Miller (mp3)
(Remember your first time? Miller nails my dim memories. Plus, Miller's a genius, a denotation we don't give out very often here at the Mountain)

11. "Little Ole Wine Drinker Me" - Various/Dean Martin (mp3)
(Ah, Dean. 'Course, I'm biased since I've been in that "honky in Chicago." There are a million versions of this song, but Dino's version is miles above the rest. It's something about that voice...)

Pass The Booze

Good gravy, here we go. The Top 30 of The Top 100 Drinking Songs starts here. Show me the way to go home.

Is that Wynonie Harris in the list below? Wonder if we'll see him again further down the line?

What do you y'all think so far? Are you holding off 'til we get to the end? Get your cocktail napkins ready and start scribbling. We want to hear what you think. A list is nothing more than an effort in subjectivity.

The Top 100 will move to Barstool Mountain on Monday. Stop by now to see what we've got going on currently.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 8

30. "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" - Merle Haggard
(When your best friend is a bottle, and even that leaves you standing alone)

29. "Gin and Juice" - Snoop Dogg/The Gourds
(Our lone hip hop entry. I know we've gotta be missing some great ones, but this 'un is a classic, all lazy afternoon drawl and swagger. The Gourds version is dead-on genius.)

28. "A Six Pack To Go" - Hank Thompson
(The Mountain is certain Mr. Thompson is walking home, or getting a ride. One of the ultimate binge drinking songs, where the evil "Blue Laws" threaten to ruin Thompson's Sunday morning.)

27. "Rye Whiskey" - Various/Tex Ritter
(Rye whiskey is a nasty concoction. And if we don't get it, we surely will die)

26. "Intoxicated Man" - Serge Gainsbourg
(Gainsbourg sounds drunk...Wait, he sounds like that all the time. "I drink/With too strong amount/I see/Pink elephants/Spiders on the drill plate..." That's a horribly loose translation, but methinks some one's got the dt's or stumbled onto a bottle of Absinthe.)

25. "Bubbles In My Beer" - Bob Wills
(More lonesome barstool lament. Bubbles...we like bubbles. Pretty bubbles....)

24. "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)" - Jerry Lee Lewis
(I get quite a few emails from our friends in Milwaukee. There must be something in water over thataways. Can I believe anything they say? Mr. Lewis makes his case.)

23. "Bloodshot Eyes" - Various/Wynonie Harris/Hank Penny
(One of those songs that translates perfectly as a Honky Tonk song, a Blues song, a Western Swing song, and a Jump Blues song.)

22. "Pass The Booze" - Ernest Tubb
(Sometimes a bartender is the best friend you've got.)

21. "Tequila" - The Champs
(Greasy, stripper horns take you straight to Tequila heaven. Don't drink the water.)

Of Women And Whiskey And What They Can Do

I've got that "Drink, Drink, Drink" song from the Student Prince going through my head.

Thanks for stumbling back to Big Rock Candy Mountain's Top 100 Drinking Songs list. Be sure to check out Barstool Mountain for the supplemental list. Barstool Mountain will become the official home of the List starting next week, and eventually we'll have posts on every song from The Top 100, and more. Fun and prizes!

It's becoming increasingly harder to choose which 2-3 songs to share on each post here at the Mountain. Initially, they were chosen at random. Some have wondered why I don't "share" every song on the list. Truth be told, my bandwidth couldn't handle it, rapidhare sucks and is reviled, and yousendit only allows so many downloads. And god knows how many C&D letters I'd end up getting. We're a respectable blog here, if not respectful. And to continue flogging a drunk horse, I'll keep pimping Barstool Mountain, where, as time goes by, you'll get all the list and more. Bear with us.

You'll notice, particularly as we start getting closer to #1, that several songs are by "Traditional" or "Various" followed by a slash, followed by an artist. This is probably self-explanatory, but just in case...the musician listed after the slash is who we would recommend as having the defining version of the song. In some instances there may be more than one.

Wasn't that entertaining and informative? Tomorrow, as we stagger and swagger into the Top 30, I'll cut the rambling and talk a little about the actual songs, though most of them can probably speak for themselves.

As ever, let us know what we're missing, what egregious errors we have committed.

Cheers.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 7

40. "Bloody Mary Morning" - Willie Nelson

39. "Whiskey You're the Devil" - Traditional

38. "Who Drank My Beer (While I Was In the Rear)" - Various/Dave Bartholomew

37. "Rhythm and Booze" - Corky Jones (aka Buck Owens)

36. "Let Me Go Home Whiskey" - Various/Amos Milburn

35. "Gin House Blues" - Nina Simone

34. "Hey Bartender" - Floyd Dixon

33. "Cigareets and Whiskey and Wild Wild Women" - Various/Buck Owens

32. "In Heaven There Is No Beer" - Traditional

31. "Drunk" - Jimmy Liggins

Some Weasel Took The Cork Out Of My Lunch

Welcome to week two of the Prohibition-busting Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs list. We'll be counting down from 50 to 1 over the next five days, a veritable bender. If you don't like what you see here, crawl over to Barstool Mountain for a list of all the tunes that got votes but didn't make the Top 100. Maybe you'll find your favorite song over there. You can tell us how we must've been drunk not to include it. Every song will eventually get it's own personal post over at the Barstool.

I'll keep the exposition short today, 'cuz nobody's here for my befuddled rantings. You're here for the tunes.

This post is lovingly dedicated to The Puritans and weekend Zima and wine spritzer sippers.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 6


50. "Who Threw the Whiskey In The Well" - Wynonie Harris

49. "Wine Women and Whiskey" - Papa Lightfoot

48. "Whiskey Do Your Stuff" - Louis Jordan

47. "I Like Beer" - Tom T. Hall

46. "I Got Juiced" - Jimmy McCracklin

45. "Sally MacLennane" - The Pogues

44. "Sloppy Drunk" - Jimmy Rogers

43. "Fifteen Beers" - Johnny Paycheck

42. "One Mint Julep" - Traditional/Sarah Vaughan

41. "If Drinking Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" - George Jones

Swinging Doors

Today we're proud to present you with the Merle Haggard portion of The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs.

In my very humble estimation, Haggard, the working man's poet, may be one of the most important artists of the last 50 years. Hag could veer with ease from a hard "fuck you" persona to a troubadour of heartbreak, often in the same song. Beloved by punks and honkytonk purists alike, his massive body of recorded work reads like a travelogue through the American landscape, the fears and hopes, loves and losses, trials and tribulations of the common man. A proud and often contradictory performer, Haggard mapped the template of great Country music, great American music, and is owed a large debt by any and all "alt" Country performers slogging the misery and gin circuit today. And that voice. Haggard's voice, a perfectly twanged baritone, has cracked over the years, but, like Tom Waits, in the ageing has found a deeper resonance. I've often committed the heresy in public of placing Haggard in the same importance as Johnny Cash (let the flogging and howling begin).

Of all the artists in the Top 100 Drinking Songs, Haggard received the most individual votes. Only one artist placed as many songs on the list as Haggard. It's a testament to Merle's skills as songwriter, the laureate of barstool philosophy. Haggard knows where a man needs to be, what helps him through the lonely nights, or eases the aches of a long working day, where all his friends are strangers and they're the best friends he's got.

We're not done with Haggard, of course. There's a good chance he'll pop up next week as we finish the final 50. So come on back, we'll have a shot and a bracer waiting for you, and some keen surprises. And don't forget to visit Barstool Mountain for a continuing look at all songs drinking. It's a testament to the world's second greatest pastime.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 5

60. "Misery And Gin" - Merle Haggard

59. "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink" - Merle Haggard

58. "Bad Bad Whiskey" - Amos Wilburn

57. "Mountain Dew" - Traditional

56. "Whiskey River" - Willie Nelson

55. "Two Six Packs Away" - Dave Dudley

54. "Wine Wine Wine" - Floyd Dixon (mp3)

53. "On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle" - Hank Thompson

52. "Let's Go Get Stoned" - Ray Charles

51. "Swinging Doors" - Merle Haggard

Smelling Like A Brewery, Looking Like A Tramp

Thanks for returning to the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. We're reeling along here, and I hope we're not dragging this out too long. Nah, a little anticipation is a good thing. It builds up a powerful thirst.

For those concerned, and for your convenience, once we're done here we're gonna have an easy reference page with the whole list listed in one lump sum. You can print the page up and share it with friends and family. Something for the kids to look forward too. Of course, the official home for this list will move to Barstool Mountain, which is currently gathering up the stray dogs. You should check it out. It's a fun place to visit, and will really pick up steam once we're all finished here.

I'll keep this short today.

Recommended reading: A while back Locust Street featured a massive project called The Seven Drinks of Mankind. It's some of the best writing and research I've ever read on the world wide interwebs. For your edification, The Mountain highly recommends you check out his brilliant posts on beer, wine, and spirits.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 4

70. "Day Drinking" - Tom T. Hall and Dave Dudley

69. "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter" - Laura Cantrell

68. "Give Me A Red Hot Mama And An Ice Cold Beer" - Smiley Maxedon

67. "Booze Party" - 3 Aces and a Joker

66. "Whiskey Heaven" - Fats Domino

65. "She Said" - Hasil Adkins

64. "Six Pack" - Black Flag

63. "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors

62. "Pabst Blue Ribbon" - Untamed Youth

61. "Pop A Top" - Jim Ed Brown