Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Fast talkin', rhythm rockin', rockabilly women

San Francisco singer Pearl Harbour made several solo albums after her band the Explosions broke up (the rhythm section joined SF legends Chrome). Pearl's first, 1980's wonderful Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too, was recorded during her relationship with Paul Simenon, and his brother Nick plays drums on it. I wonder who plays the lightning-fast pedal steel on this great tune, "Out with the Girls", which Pearl cowrote with guitarist Nigel Dixon. As a bonus, here's a song from Pearl's 1995 album, Here Comes Trouble, which features East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys on guitar.

Bunky and Jake made their lone album, LAMF, in 1969. Bunky was a black woman, and Jake was a white man; their real names may be lost to history, though "A. Jacobs" is credited as a songwriter. Felix Pappalardi may have played bass on this track, which is a frantic Chuck Berry cover (a/k/a "Slow Down, Little Jaguar"). This LP had a lot of miles on it from the original owner, and I wasn't able to clean up all the pops and clicks, but I think they add to the charm. There's a great book called Listen to This (Hyperion, 1999), where famous musicians are interviewed about their favorite records, and Terry Adams of NRBQ lists Bunky and Jake's LAMF as one of his choices.

Pearl Harbour: Out with the Girls


Pearl Harbour: Have Love, Will Travel


Bunky and Jake: County Line

3 Comments:

At 4/23/2006 3:20 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

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At 1/15/2007 2:39 PM , Blogger jonder said...

Steve New (from the Rich Kids) also played on Pearl Harbour's solo album, and I think Paul Simonon's brother was the drummer.

 
At 6/08/2015 12:39 PM , Blogger jonder said...

Boy, was I wrong about Bunky & Jake. Their S/T debut preceded LAMF. Andrea Skinner (Bunky) and Allan "Jake" Jacobs also made a children's record in the mid-2000's. Jake still performs and records. Ms. Skinner died in 2011.

 

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