Song of the Week – Oh Girls, Girls, The Sparkles; Girls, Iggy Pop; Girls, David Johansen; Girls, Beastie Boys

IGNORED OBSCURED RESTORED

The earliest rock and roll music dealt with a few recurring subjects – cars, fashion, school… and GIRLS!

There are a million rock songs about girls. Many call girls out by name – Gloria, Peggy Sue, etc.

Some pay homage to their geographical location.

California Girls – The Beach Boys
Italian Girls – Rod Stewart
Southern Girls – Cheap Trick
West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys

Others deal with their emotions.

Big Girls Don’t Cry – Four Seasons
Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
Girls Talk – Elvis Costello/Dave Edmunds

Today’s post is a tribute to a few of my favorite rockers about GIRLS.

I’ll start with “Oh Girls, Girls” by a Texas based garage band called The Sparkles.

This hep number was released in 1966 as the b-side to “The Hip.” The vocal is awesome. The urgency borders on lecherous.

Next is Iggy Pop’s “Girls” from 1979’s New Values.

The proto punk is in form for this release which came at the peak of the punk/new wave return to the straight ahead rock ‘n roll style he pioneered with the Stooges in the late 60s.

Another punk pioneer was David Johansen, originally of the New York Dolls. He released his song about “Girls” on his self-titled solo debut in 1978.

This is another party rocker. Like all of the others, the lyrics are just an unabashed ode to a guy’s infatuation for girls of all types.

By the mid-80s, Hip Hop had worked its way into mainstream pop culture. The Beastie Boys added their “Girls” to the ongoing history of the genre.

This is typical of the Beasties goofy, humorous take on any subject they tackle.

I apologize if any of these songs come across as sexist or politically incorrect. But it’s only rock and roll and I like it.

Enjoy… until next week.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.