Rockin’ and a Rolls Royce
July 4, 2009
Today I got to have a very short spin in a 1926 Rolls Royce in the name of work. And I couldn’t help but be impressed by it. The leather seats, the little wipers, the indicator flip switch installed, the doors, the horn, its engine purr and quirky horn – it was beautiful…. And I generally have no love or care for cars.
1926 Rolls Royce
Anyway, I was looking for music that might suit the piece on radio and I was searching for a tune to hint of the pre-war era the vintage car came from. I found the very literal song, ‘Rolls Royce Papa’ by Virginia Liston but the recording was very poor.
[can't hear it? Go Here]
So off I went to think and two songs came to mind from the 1920s pretty instantly.
First of all, the very obvious but brilliant ‘The Charleston’ from 1923.
[Can't hear it? Go Here]
And then, through my ol’obsession for Smashing Pumpkins randomly enough, ‘My Blue Heaven’ came to mind (which was a hit in 1928 for crooner Gene Austin).
Smashing Pumpkins included a cover of ‘My Blue Heaven’ in their Aeroplane Flies High boxset, and this was the first time I heard the song.
[can't hear it? Go Here]
This then lead me to find Fats Dominos version which was popular n the ’50s.
[Can't hear it? Go Here]
And it was through that song that I began to listen to more and more Fats Domino. At that stage I hadn’t listened to much ’50s rnb or rock n’roll, so this was a bit of an entry point. And weirdly enough it was during my obsessive Smashing Pumpkins period as a teenager, that i discovered Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill, Aint That Shame, Blue Monday, The Fat Man etc…
So from a 1920s vintage car, to a ’90s rock band cover, to a ’50s rock n’ roll legend….I’ve, um, got to Rock and Roll via Rolls Royce.
Now playing – Fats Domino – Blue Monday
Have a listen to Fats Domino on Spotify – here’s his ‘Best Of.
On another tangent, this has now got me in the mood for Bugsy Malone. Love the fact that the horn at 1′30 is pretty much the sound of the Roll Royce.
PS. We didn’t use any music in the end….
