Party was the first song I wrote...well, the first I felt good enough about to record. It's sort of an autobiographical thing based on first-week at the beach. In the Carolinas, everyone goes to the beach the first week school is out. We'd hang out, drink (we could drink at 18 in those days), swim and chase women (not necessarily in that order).
There was always the evening call of what are we doing tonight, and there was always a party. It was impossible to be a stranger; you were always welcome.
My favorite line of all is the third verse. If you remember kissing what a few minutes ago was a stranger in the shadows of the old Myrtle Beach pavilion, you get it.
This is the first and only recording of Party. It was released on a Carolina Beach Music Award nominated CD called Boardwalk Memories on Old Beezer Records and made it up to number 30 on the charts from 94.9 The Surf. Because of some licensing issues (mostly my fault as a newbie songwriter) it was not included on sebsequent pressings. So, if you have a copy of Partyon Boardwalk Memories, you have a rare disc.
If you don't have a copy, just click add to cart.
Real Man came as a challenge from The Gidget. She laid down the gauntlet for me to ...as she put it..."Get in touch with my feminine side." The high heels still hurt my feet.
This song did well. Judy knocked em on their tukas' at the Ripete showcase, the 120inc showcase and the CBMA industry awards show with it. It cracked Craig Fleming's Smokin' 45 and went as high as 24 on The Surf.
It was re-released on Ripete's I Could Dance All Night Vol II, with some changes. Keith Houston and Julian Fowler cut about a minute out of it, to make it more conducive to radio play. Jim's solo suffered the fate of the ax, and it's a shame. Jim did that solo in one take and JR and I both sat there with jaws dropped asking the engineer, "Please.........tell me you got that!"
So here it is in it's entirety. The full Monty. Only available here. Click add to cart to hear Jim's killer solo.
Grits has sorta taken on a life of it's own. It's actually sold the most. It's a bit quick for shaggers, but swing and line dancers love it. There's even an Eat Mo' Grits line dance that has been written for it. Who knew??
I get more questions about the inspiration for this one that any of the others. I do all the cooking at my house. You ever fix breakfast for supper? It's a Southern guilty pleasure; fry up some homade sausage and gravy for an evening meal. Can't beat it!
Anyway, after my Bride had a lousy day she comes in while I'm cooking complaining about it. I started playing word games trying to improve her mood (Well honey, if your day has turned to $*@% you need to Eat Mo Grits). Befor I knew it, there it was just waiting to be tied together.
For the record there are several verses I used with her that didn't make it to the final recording. Family setting and all......
This is the second version of Grits. The first had a piano solo by Memphis and a guitar solo by Jimmy. When we originally recorded these songs our focus was to make a good demo. The thought that some folks would want to buy a copy never entered our minds.
So when we re-recorded it, we wanted it a bit more..............gritty. We added Memphis' nasty harp solo,and on the way to the studio the third verse just hit me like a thunderbolt. So we put the third verse where Jimmy's solo was (sorry Jimmy!). Because we didn't haul all the drums back in to re-record them, you'll hear some cymbal crashes in odd places. Consider them like a fly bite in fine leather; it just proves it's authentic.
Click add to cart for your copy.
After writing Party, I began to think about writing a what Marion Carter calls a, "wiggle your toes in the sand, drink a beer, watch a pretty girl," song. A song that reflected my beach visits in my late teens.
But what kept coming back to me was how many firsts I had there. First kiss, first beer, first.....well. We always stayed at Ocean Drive. North Myrtle Beach for some of you. And I can step back and see myself standing outside what was the Pad. There was a bottom "floor" that had a jukebox, a bar and a sand floor. There was a lattice that surrounded it, and I would hang out there for hours, listening to the music. Those teenage visits to OD still influence my musical tastes today.
So the song is pretty much another autobiographical thing. Maybe it is a "wiggle" song, but I don't think so.
Interesting side note. In the second verse talking about Sam Cooke I wanted to use the line
"Then I heard Sam Cooke singing "Bring it on Home to Me," but was denied permission by the Cooke estate. So I changed it to have Sam sing into my ear. Sam's a ghost; he can sing where he wants to.
This is the second recording of Grew Up. We brought in a horn section and the sax man just blew us away (no pun intended). So we let him ride most of the song.
