I should have featured the former Mayor of Cincinnati on the Celebrity Jukebox following his untimely demise back in April... but it seemed like too big a task. The name Jerry Springer has become synonymous with a certain kind of lowest common denominator trash TV, so it's an easy shorthand for songwriters to drop in if they want to diss the worst elements of society, the ones happy to air their soiled undergarments and then have a big ruck in front of millions, thereby fulfilling Andy Warhol's 15 minutes prophecy. But I think there was more to Jerry than all that - he started out as an adviser to Robert F. Kennedy, before becoming a lawyer and then a major public figure... he even considered running for President. And let's face it, he couldn't have done a worse job than the Orange Manchild. As for his notorious TV show, Jerry clearly had a sense of humour about the whole thing (unlike his loathsome UK counterpart, Jeremy Kyle), happy to join in when others were poking fun at it (and him), most notably in Richard Thomas & Stewart Lee's hilarious Jerry Springer: The Opera.
Speaking of rappers, here's a guy who could easily have been a recurring guest on Jerry's show...
I strangle you to death then I choke you again And break your fucking legs till your bones poke through your skin You beef with me, I'mma even the score equally Take you on Jerry Springer and beat your ass legally
When I was a kid I used to fake sick Luckily, my mom and dad were Pretty easy to trick
I was biding my time Until the house was all mine To do the one thing I really wanted to
Which was watching daytime TV While there's no one home to watch me I'm hanging out with Maury He's doing a paternity test Are you the father? Well, it's anybody's guess And give me Jerry Springer Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, and a TV dinner I guess the best things in life come free Like watching daytime TV
Bret Michaels was the lead singer of Poison. Despite that, this made me chuckle...
One day Jack came over to apologize He told me, my ex which is his new girlfriend was out every night Jack said I think she's been cheating with my new friend Jim Say you love her too bad cause now she loves him Pulled a Jerry Springer on me now your outta luck My new girlfriend thinks you all suck
When you find out things about yourself That you hadn't ought to know When your grandma calls and books you On the Jerry Springer show And you find out you and your wife of ten years Just might be related Brother, life's not over it's just Simply complicated
There were many, many, many more lyrical mentions of Jerry Springer... but I'm trying to be a little more selective and only link to the ones I like, or I figure one of you guys might dig. Like this little beauty...
Today's winning tune comes from a band I was very into around the turn of the Millennium. Hard to believe it's nearly 25 years since this was released. It's a song in which the lead singer professes his love for the actress Claire Danes, named after the TV show that made her famous (though it also mentions her star-making turn opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet).
I went on Jerry Springer To confess my love to you You said I didn't have a chance And there was nothing I could do You told me I was crazy And wished that I was dead. You threw a chair right upside my head
To Scarborough then, where I spent some of my holiday last week. Although we stayed near Scarborough, we did spend more time in Whitby, Filey and Robin Hood's Bay. I do know a song about Whitby, which I'll feature another time, but sadly couldn't find any that referred to either Filey or Robin Hood's Bay. Lynchie was curious as to when exactly Robin Hood visited the North Yorkshire coast, and iffypedia only offers a vague legend about him seeing off some French pirates there once. But even outlaws deserve a holiday, surely?
Anyway, Scarborough, birthplace of rock band Little Angels and folkie Eliza Carthy (no, neither of her famous musical parents were born there). Scarborough may also attempt to claim Robert Palmer, and yes, he may have grown up there, but he was actually born much closer to my own home. There's a reason I call him Batley Bob.
I'm sure we can all name an obvious song about Scarborough.
However, this week's selection comes from Art Brut's Eddie Argos and Dyan Valdes of The Blood Arm, from their short-lived but much-cherished (in this house, anyway) collaboration, Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now! Only 31 views on youtube as I write this post... let's see if we can get them up to at least 35, shall we?
