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Mel-o-dy 113 (B), May 1964
B-side of Little Acorn
(Written by Dorsey Burnette)
In contrast to the rockabilly stylings and muted pop sensibilities of the A-side, Little Acorn, this is some proper hardcore Country & Western right here – just Dorsey and his acoustic guitar for two and a half minutes, no other accompaniment whatsoever, a two-chord solo campfire lament. In its own strange little way, this is among the most confrontational records Motown ever released.
It’s a sorry tale of financial disaster, something along the lines of Johnny Cash’s Busted, as Dorsey’s narrator runs down his money troubles, the sparse backing focussing attention on his lyrical woes. It’s surprisingly bleak in places – “Man, I can’t afford to die” – and Dorsey comes over as an unexpectedly sympathetic character actor, his Southern drawl a wee bit forced and self-conscious in places but generally engaging and likeable.
The real selling point, though, is the chorus, which actually got a laugh – a real one – out of me when I first heard it:-
Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Winter’s here
And it’s cold as…. usual
The liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4 make a lot of play about how this joke no longer works, shorn of a context when saying “hell” on the radio was a complete no-no, but I still think it’s funny. And it’s easy enough to reconfigure for a 2011 audience; just imagine the second line is Autumn’s struck or something.
Dorsey’s delivery, sweetly self-deprecating in the face of the lyrics (every line of this song seems to practically scream for a maudlin, mawkish performance, but Dorsey, who actually wrote it, avoids trite sentimentality for something more along the lines of the Johnny Cash song – yep, I’m screwed alright – and wins big as a result), raises the material far above where it should be.
Not a masterpiece by any means, but it’s sweet and funny, and it took a certain amount of balls on Motown’s part to release it at all, so it’s okay by me. These two sides have certainly made me mark Dorsey out as one to watch, and that’s the last thing I’d expected going in.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
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Just imagine the look on Ozzie Nelson’s face as Dorsey is singing this to Ricky LOL
Not a bad record–actually there’s a slap bass on this as well giving it good rockabilly credibility–the only other artist using a slap bass in 1964 was Jack Scott [” Wiggle on Out” on GROOVE], who incidentally had been personally asked by Berry Gordy to sign with Motown but refused choosing Chet Atkins/RCA VICTOR instead thinking he could make the kind of rock n roll records Elvis used to make —like John Lennon said to Elvis lol I digress again!!!!!!!!
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I wonder what ties Dorsey formed with Motown here that led him to rejoin the Melodyland/ Hitsville label years later.
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I suspect that Dorsey left Motown with a pretty good relationship intact (separate from Al Klein’s relationship to the company. Burnette had been given the responsibility and pay of a producer, and had been allowed to write his own songs, and write for others. Out of what little push Motown gave their C&W artists’ releases, he got most of it. I’m guessing that he enjoyed his stay with Motown, which was lacking only in hits, big sales and significant royalties (which even Motown’s hitmakers didn’t receive).
I’m not surprised that when Motown started up their new C&W venture, they gave Burnette a call.
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But did they have to call Pat Boone ?
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I love this one. Absolutely. Wasn’t expecting to enjoy much of anything on the Mel-o-dy label, so this one kinda took me by surprise. Maybe because it wasn’t trying to be a HIT- this one is genuine in ways nothing else on Mel-o-dy ever was. Actually sad as well in it’s stark look at the reality of life for many. This prompted me to look up whatever I could about Dorsey. I don’t know the man, but I feel like I like him, as if he’s a “friend in my mind.”
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