Blues

Albert Collins: “I Ain’t Drunk ( I’m Just Drinkin’)” and “Frosty”

Above is “I Ain’t Drunk (I’m Just Drinkin’ “), a tongue in cheek take on the inebriation by Albert Collins.

Albert_CollinsHere is the first verse:

Everyday baby, when the sun go down
I get with my friends, an’ I begin to clown
I don’t care, what the people are thinkin’
I ain’t drunk, I’m just drinkin’

The song is preceded by a few seconds of video in which Collins says exactly who he is as a guitarist by saying who he is not.

Below is “Frosty,” a breakthrough for Collins. The video is fuzzy but the band is great. The song initially was recorded in 1962 and was a million dollar seller. Richard Skelly’s bio of Collins at AllMusic has a curious not: The label, Hall-Way Records, was in Beaumont, Texas. For song reason, Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter, natives of the city, were in the studio at the time. Collins later said that Joplin correctly predicted that the song would be a hit.

Collins – who was cited as an influence by none other than Jimi Hendrix – was not well known until Bob “The Bear” Hite of Canned Heat took an interest. Hite took Collins to California where his career blossomed. Sadly, Collins was not to enjoy the fame for too long. He died in 1993 of liver cancer.

Here is “Albert Collins: Deluxe Edition” (which includes “I Ain’t Drunk (I’m Just Drinkin’)” at Amazon and at iTunes.

Photo: Sumori 

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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