Monday, August 15, 2016

DEAD SKUNK

SWMBO came home from running an errand awhile ago and casually mentioned that she had seen a dead skunk on the road coming into our development.

Which, of course, brought back this earworm from 1972.





The writer and performer of that jaunty tune is Loudon Wainwright III.

He is the son of a Life Magazine columnist and editor who exposed him to the music of Tom Lehrer and Stan Freberg, who the younger Wainwright cited as influences on his style.

Loudon III was married for a time to the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle, which produced two children who both became singers and writers, Rufus and Martha Wainwright.

A relationship with singer Suzzy Roche resulted in another daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, also a singer.

Loudon III has written and recorded many songs, won a Grammy, and acted in movies and television shows.

But I'll always think of him as the guy who introduced me to the "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road."

16 comments:

  1. Never heard it before...like it! We get skunk visitors from time to time, surprisingly enough I don't mind the distant scent of skunk, but up close and potent...wheeew!

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    1. Funny how you can pass one on the road, not hit it or anything but the smell pervades the car for a minute or so.

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  2. Many a dog of ours has had skunk run-ins and ended up with a tomato juice bath.

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    1. I've heard about that for years but never knew if it worked.

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  3. I never knew that song. The only thing I know by LW3 is "You can't Fail Me Now," which is a really great song that gets me every time. Oh, and I know a song he did called "I Wish I Was Lesbian."

    Rufus has some good stuff, too.

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  4. Gosh darn it, now I've got that song stuck in my head.

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  5. Haven't heard this song before and now I think I'll be humming it all day.

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  6. Back when it was released, our old buddy and former colleague Cris "moto groove" Conner became the first DJ to play it, and to play it frequently. It became a kind of party anthem. Still makes me smile.

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  7. I can't believe anyone our age has not heard this....
    I didn't/won't play it, won't have this in my ear all day.
    Louden had some good songs, even was on a tv series, "MASH", an occasional.
    cheers, pal.
    Mike

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    1. Coward!

      I didn't know or had forgotten that Louden was in Mash but I read it yesterday along with a number of other movies/tv shows he was in. Quite a talent, if a quirky one.

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  8. Some folks have led sheltered musical lives. That one's a classic.

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  9. I had forgotten that song...until now. That's an oldie.

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