Unlike the concise number-one lists for pop, R&B, and adult contemporary, the 1994 #1 country hits list is long, with 30 records. I will list them all, but I’ll only link to the ones that reached #1 for over a week because I’m a lazy blogger. Well, except for two.
Four weeks at #1
Pick Up Man – Joe Diffie. Bobbie Jo Gentry? An obvious reference.
I Swear – John Michael Montgomery, #42 pop. I recall a discussion at the time about how the lines of music had blurred with this song, as All-4-One’s version hit #1 the same year
The Mystery of Sudden Genius. The phenomenon of acquired savant syndrome reveals what happens when brain damage unleashes brilliance. I know Diana, who is profiled in the piece.
Federal Courts: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and The Interview: John Oliver Is Still Working Through the Rage:
To Understand Trump vs. Harris, You Must Know These American Myths
‘Trump Bible’ is one of few that meet the criteria for Oklahoma classrooms. “According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.”
Jill Stein: The Grifter Who May Hand djt the White House Again
1950s TV episode featured a con man named “Trump” who wanted to build a wall
Also
John Amos, ‘Good Times’ Dad, Dies at 84. I saw him perform at Capital Rep in Albany in the August Wilson play Fences as the father several years ago, and he was very good.
Drake Hogestyn, a ‘Days of Our Lives’ Veteran, dies at 70. I only watched DOOL for a couple of years, but I remember him well.
Now I Know: Another Brick in the Wall of Prohibition, and He Complained — and Proved Himself Wrong, and You Could Say Their Commute Goes Swimmingly and Why Late 16th Century British Workers Had to Wear Hats
Word of the Day: Zhuzh– Make something more stylish, lively, or attractive. This would be a brutal Wordle word.
The music of Kris Kristofferson seemed to have bookended my adult life until now. During my first marriage, we had an album the record company had just reissued as Me and Bobby McGee, previously called Kristofferson. It had many songs that other people were making famous, such as Help Me Make It Through The Night and For The Good Times. After the Rhodes scholar, working as a janitor, landed a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn, the Man In Black covered Kris’ Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.
But I particularly enjoyed a couple of other songs on that premiere album. The first track, Blame It On The Stones, features a chorus swiped from Bringing In The Sheaves and lyrics telling us to “blame it on those Rolling Stones.”
Another great song was The Law Is For Protection Of The People. “A rule’s a rule, as any fool can see.” We don’t need certain people “scaring decent folk like you and me. No, siree.” I love that album, and I might still have it on vinyl.
I also had the next album, Silver Tongued Devil and I. It featured The Pilgrim, Chapter 33. I used to quote the line, “He’s a walking contradiction; partly truth and partly fiction,” inordinately frequently. It seems particularly apt to describe many people I’ve known.
A find
While going through my father-in-law’s music collection after he died in 2020, I discovered a two-CD set of Kristofferson’s music titled Singer/Songwriter. One disc features him singing his songs and the other features about a dozen and a half artists covering Kris. It’s quite a fine album. He doesn’t have the prettiest voice, but it has a certain amount of character.
Speaking of character, on “Oct. 16, 1992, Columbia Records threw its longtime artist Bob Dylan an event at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first album with the label.” Sinead O’Connor, who had made a controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, was booed by the MSG audience, but Kris supported her onstage.
Kris Kristofferson did his final live performance at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday party concert in April 2023. With Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris gone, Willie’s the surviving Highwayman.
Oh yeah. He was in the movies, too, but I only saw a few, all at the cinema. In the early 1970s, he appeared in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The only reason I saw Rollover (1981), also starring Jane Fonda, was that part of it was shot at the UAlbany campus. My family saw the two Dolphin Tale (20111, 2014) films.
An old blogger buddy included the song Only In America in his K-Chuck Radio post, Just wipe the vocals off, and we’ll take care of things.
One example of his: the backing tracks of California Dreamin’ by Barry McGuire and by The Mamas and The Papas are virtually identical. I had heard the McGuire version some years ago.
The Only In America story is somewhat more complicated. The great Brill Building songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil initially wrote the piece. As Songfacts noted:
“The song was written at a time before integration, and the lyrics were originally about racism. It had the following chorus:
Only in America, land of opportunity
Can they save a seat in the back of the bus just for me
Only in America, where they preach the Golden Rule
Will they start to march when my kids go to school”
To the best of my knowledge from the different tellings, this version was never recorded.
New lyrics
“The [new, additional] songwriters [producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller] changed [the lyrics] to be a satiric message of patriotism. The Drifters recorded the song with these new ‘patriotic’ lyrics but refused to release it because they did not believe that message.”
Only in America Can a guy from anywhere Go to sleep a pauper and wake up a millionaire
Only in America Can a kid without a cent Get a break and maybe grow up to be President
A 2008 article in the Long Beach Post offers a different explanation for why the Drifters didn’t release the tamer version.
“The song, with its gentle Latin rolling beat and percussion thump, could have been the next chart hit for the Drifters if Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler hadn’t pulled the recording. Wexler said that, in the light of race relations of that time, it would be unfeeling, unfair, and unfitting to have a black group release a song about America being the land of opportunity and suggest that an African-American could become its president.”
The song was recorded a few months later by Jay and the Americans, who Leiber and Stoller produced. It became a moderate hit, reaching #25 pop on the Billboard charts. I remember the Americans’ version then, and as a kid, I found it not credible.
In any case, The Drifters’ version appeared for the first time in the 1972 UK LP “Saturday Night At The Club.” The cut was conducted by Garry Sherman and recorded on April 12, 1963.
Lead singer
I’ve read in several sources that Rudy Lewis was the lead singer on The Drifters’ version. One of the YouTube videos of Only In America lists the group at the session as Billy Davis, Charlie Thomas, Eugene Pearson, Johnny Terry, and Lewis.
Marv Goldberg’s Later Drifters notes: “At their April 12 [1963] session, they recorded Only In America (led by Rudy), Rat Race (Rudy) [#71 pop], If You Don’t Come Back (Johnny Moore), and I’ll Take You Home (Johnny Moore).”
From a 2016 From The Vaults post: “Lewis is probably the most underrated of all the Drifters’ lead singers. He had the bad fortune to come in after Ben E. King redefined the group’s sound and never got the recognition that King did.” And King had had a series of solo hits.
Nevertheless, Lewis, who sang with the legendary gospel arranger Clara Ward, was the primary lead from 1961 to 1963 and had hits such as Some Kind Of Wonderful (#6 RB, #32 pop in 1961), Up On The Roof (#4 RB, #5 pop in 1963) and On Broadway (#7 RB, #9 pop in 1963). He died in 1964, at least in part from drug use, an early member of the 27 Club. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Here’s Jay & the Americans with Charlie Thomas’ Drifters performing Only in America live, obviously many years later.
“What, Me Worry” is on view at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, through October 27, 2024. There is also an online symposium, The Usual Gang of Idiots and Other Suspects:
MAD Magazine and American Humor, on October 18 and 19. MAD magazine on CBS Sunday Morning.
Dame Maggie Smith , grande dame of stage and screen, died at 89. I only saw her in the movies The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978), A Room With A View (1985), Sister Act 1 and 2 (1992, 1993), The First Wives’ Club (1996), seven Harry Potter films (2001-2011), Gosford Park (2001), The Best (and Second Best) Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011, 2015), Quartet (2012), Downton Abbey and A New Era (2019, 2022), and The Miracle Club (2023).
Now I Know: Like Two Ships Not-Quite-Passing In the Night and Why Isdied This Football Player Sitting in the Stands? and A Different Type of Mug Shot and The Problem With Food Allergies on Mars and A Slippery Way to Win a Football Game
MUSIC
Please note: all of the links in this and other posts worked when they were created. However, there’s a dispute between YouTube and SESAC (Society of European Stage Acts and Composers), a performance-rights organization similar to ASCAP and BMI. So, certain videos are blocked until the dispute is resolved.
New Jersey — Born in the U.S.A. by the New Jersey native son Bruce Springsteen. The song has often been misread by politicians; it is not an enthusiastic celebration of American birthright but instead a conflicted protest song, with criticisms about the Vietnam War.
New Mexico — Confident – Demi Lovato; the New Mexico singer has performed at the Democratic National Convention in the past.
New York — Empire State of Mind, a duet by two New York artists — Alicia Keys and Jay-Z — that became the anthem for the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series run.
North Carolina — Raise Up – Petey Pablo, a hip-hop artist from North Carolina.
Ohio — Green Light – John Legend, the Ohio native scheduled to play a concert in Chicago after the convention’s proceedings on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma — Ain’t Going Down (Till the Sun Comes Up) -Garth Brooks, the Tulsa, Okla., country legend.
Oregon — Float On – Modest Mouse, a band born in Washington but now based in Portland, Ore.
Pennsylvania — Motownphilly by the Philadelphia group Boyz II Men, and Black and Yellow by the Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, a staple at Pittsburgh Steelers games.
Puerto Rico — Despacito– Luis Fonsi; one of the biggest singles ever by a Puerto Rican artist.
Rhode Island — Shake It Off – Taylor Swift, who owns a home in Watch Hill, R.I.
Unlike the concise number-one lists for pop, R&B, and adult contemporary, the 1994 #1 country hits list is long, with 30 records. I will list them all, but I’ll only link to the ones that reached #1 for over a week because I’m a lazy blogger. Well, except for two.
The 
The music of Kris Kristofferson seemed to have bookended my adult life until now. During my first marriage, we had an album the record company had just reissued as Me and Bobby McGee, previously called Kristofferson. It had many songs that other people were making famous, such as Help Me Make It Through The Night and For The Good Times. After the Rhodes scholar, working as a janitor, landed a 
An old blogger buddy included the song Only In America in his K-Chuck Radio 