One of the absolute classics of the genre, and one which no self-respecting lover of bad records should be without.
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy was born Norman Odam in Lubbock, Texas in 1947. This unassuming chap was bitten by the music bug at an early age, performing locally at high school hops and talent shows.
Before one such show he paid for a few hours of studio time and recorded the song for which he will be forever famous: Paralyzed. Only 500 copies of the disc, with T-Bone Burnett on drums, were pressed initially, but it brought the Legendary Stardust Cowboy to the attention of the producers of the 60s TV show Laugh In. His odd collection of whoops, howls and yelps, alongside the insane drumming and franky bizarre trumpet solo was an instant hit, and his recording was soon picked up and reissued by Mercury.
Subsequent releases (including I Took A Trip - see below - and My Underwear Froze to the Clothesline) failed to recapture the distinct oddness of Paralyzed, and Ledge's star soon faded. Little more would be heard of him for over a decade, until he was brought back to prominence by Rhino Records and the Dr Demento radio show. The appearance of Paralyzed on Kenny Everett's Worlds worst records compilation lead to a contract with Big Beat records in the UK and a fairly awful album, Rock-It to Stardom.
He still gigs sporadically to this day. David Bowie is a huge fan: Ziggy Stardust was (apparently) named after the Ledge; Bowie recorded a version of Ledge's I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship for his excellent Heathen album and they've even appeared in concert together.
For more info on the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, check out www.stardustcowboy.com
Good one, I wish I still had that Kenny Everett disc!
ReplyDeleteI still have mine it all its fetching puke-coloured vinyl glory. If you want to find some meore from that album there's a useful Kenny E site at /www.chronoglide.com/wwwshome.html
ReplyDelete9/12/14
ReplyDeleteRobGems.ca Wrote:
What exactly was George Schlatter smoking when he decided to let this clown on "Laugh-In" back in '68? Didn't exactly make him a household name in a mainstream Nixon-dominated world, did It? As for the "Laugh-In" clip, Dick Martin's reaction is priceless. He's thinking, "Oh No! what have you left me with NOW, George? I can't even blink to check out his wardrobe." Makes me wish that Jo-Anne Worley would take his 10-gallon hat and screamed into it like a megaphone! Now THAT would have been a kooky duet! Schlatter was at least brave to have the late Larry "Wild Man" Fischer on another airing of "Laugh In". Wild Man's incoherent ramblings are entertaining next to "Legendary's" banishee yells.