Hot 100 #44

It's the Easter holidays at college so I have no classes... which you might expect would mean I'd have more time to work on the blog. Unfortunately, the boss has dumped a ton of extra work on me so I have even less time than usual. Apologies then if I have to keep this brief. Today's band, +44, were, apparently, an offshoot of Blink-182. I've not heard anything by them and don't have time to investigate right now.

The Swede set the ball rolling last week with a load of jazz and blues...

James 'Son Ford' Thomas - '44 Blues'

Oliver Nelson & Eric Dolphy - '111-44'

Howling Wolf - 'Forty Four' 

McCoy Tyner - '44th Street Suite' (couldn't find that one, but I'm sure it's NICE).

Lynchie, meanwhile, came tooled up with a mean '44, having realised "There are a LOT of blues songs about men killing women or other men with a .44 pistol."

Tim Rose - "Hey Joe"

Hey Joe, where you goin' with that money in your hand?
Hey Joe, where you goin' with that money in your hand?
I'm gonna go down to town to buy a blue steel 44
I'm gonna go down to town to buy a blue steel 44

(In case you're wondering, Jimi Hendrix doesn't appear to specify the calibre of his own gun.)

Lynchie continues, "But one woman did shoot a man with a .44 in the song Frankie & Johnny..."

Well, Frankie lifted up her kimono dress
And she drew out a little .44
She shot once, twice, three times she shot him
And through that hardwood door
Yeah she shot her man (yeah he was her man)
Well but he been doin' her wrong yeah

Lots of people recorded that, but here's Sam Cooke because... well, he's Sam Cooke.

Rigid Digit added another famous .44 song...

Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee

Stagger Lee went home

And he got his .44

Said I'm going to the bar room

Just to pay that debt I owe

Stagger Lee went to the bar room

And he stood across the bar room door

Said Now nobody move

And he pulled his .44

Good call, though my first thought was I'd have gone with Nick Cave... except Nick's Stagger Lee carried a Colt 45... so he should have been here last week.

After last week's splurge, Martin decided to rein himself in this week with only two suggestions...

44 Stories by Johnny's daughter, Roseanne Cash.

And for the lyrics that could have made it into a maths or multiplication top ten, the (frankly not very good) 15 Times by Gilbert O'Sullivan, which has the lines:

You and me and baby makes

3, 4, 5, 6, 7

8, 9, 10 and 11

12, 13, 14, 15 times 44 is 660!

Despite his whole "not very good" ruse (methinks he protests too much), I fully expect Martin to suggest this song consecutively for weeks 15 - 3 of this feature.

Swiss Adam was up next with a tune I didn't know, but always got time for this gentleman...

Pete Wylie - 4-11-44

And then Rigid Digit returned with...

Megadeth - 44 Minutes

(Imagine my disappointment to discover that wasn't actually 44 minutes in length. Still, not bad for Megadeth.)

And this belter...

CW McCall - Convoy

Well, we rolled up Interstate 44

Like a rocket sled on rails

Never get tired of that... though RD rather spoiled it by reminding me of the Dave Lee Travis version... the less said, the better.

Finally both Swiss Adam & Rigid Digit suggested this...

The Nails - 88 Lines About 44 Women 

...which did appear 44 posts ago, but it's still worth another play.

After all that... and a little surprise that nobody mention Fats Domino - 44... I was left with a clear choice between just two songs, both suggested by The Swede (although C seconded the first one).

This week's runner-up then is this...

The Zombies - Care of Cell 44

It would have been a worthy winner, were it not for this, from a band that Brian introduced me to a year or so ago and I've had a great affection for ever since...



I think I have a clear winner for next week... but I'm always open to having my mind changed. Go for it!