Tag Archives: The Blasters

Song of the Week – American Music, The Blasters

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Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Happy 250th Independence Day!

What better way to celebrate than with some good old American music?  And by that, I mean “American Music” by the Blasters — two minutes of straight-ahead, American Graffiti-style rock ’n’ roll.

The Blasters were led by songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Dave Alvin, along with his brother Phil.  Dave would later spend time with X and the Knitters, but the Blasters remained his most enduring musical vehicle.

Their debut album, also titled American Music, was released in 1980 on the independent Rollin’ Rock label.  It was a master class in American roots music, blending rockabilly, blues, country, jazz, swing, R&B, and early rock ’n’ roll into a sound that felt both timeless and fresh.  Think of it as the next link in a chain stretching from Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry to Creedence Clearwater Revival.  The album included the version of “American Music” featured here.  (It was recorded for their critically acclaimed, self-titled, second album.)

So fire up the grill, grab a hot dog, an ice cream cone, and a few sparklers, and celebrate America’s 250th birthday with “American Music,” a song that captures the spirit of the day as perfectly as its title.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Marie Marie, The Blasters

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Ignored             Obscured              Restored

The Blasters are a rockabilly band formed in Southern California in 1979.  They were piloted by the Alvin brothers, Phil (guitar and vocals) and Dave (guitars), along with bassist  John Bazz and Bill Bateman on drums.

I first became aware of this group with their self-titled 1981 album.  It kicks off with today’s SotW – “Marie Marie.”

The opening guitar strum intro kills!  And the track takes off from there with high energy.

In a 2014 interview with NPR’s Terry Gross, Dave Alvin discussed the origins of the song:

“It was one of the earliest songs that I wrote. I don’t think it was the first, but it was the third or fourth. And, yeah, I was laying in my bed, kind of excited about suddenly being in a band and being a guitar player. And so, I have these songs rolling around in my head and the sort of melody and everything kind of came to me. And I thought, well, this would be a great Cajun Balfa Brothers kind of song, and then if you put it to a Chuck Berry beat, this might be pretty cool. But I couldn’t think of any lyrics. And we had a rehearsal the next evening. And so, all that day I was walking around humming this melody. And I was like, what’s it about, what’s it’s about, you know, ’cause I had no idea how to write songs at that point. I still don’t. But I really didn’t have any idea then and I just – whatever I was doing that day, you know, I just – living inside my brain. And then – and the reality was about 30 minutes before we left to go to rehearsal, I sat down at our kitchen table, and I just wrote the lyrics – just came to me. I was kind of – I remember being a little kid and we were driving down this road up near the Puente Hills. And there was an old Victorian farmhouse and there was a girl sitting on the porch with a guitar. And for whatever reason, that image stuck with me and so I just wrote that.”

The British musician Shakin’ Stevens released his own version of the song in 1980 that reached #19 in the UK charts.  But I still prefer The Blasters’ original.

The Blasters are still around and performing, but without Dave Alvin.

Enjoy… until next week.