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"Blues Singer" is the name of a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series [[Somewhere Out There]]. It was originally broadcast on [[unknown]]
{{Infobox
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|header1 = Series
|header3 = Original Broadcast Date
|header5 = Cast
|header7 = Format
|label10  = Preceded by:
|label11 = Followed by:
|data8 = Absurd Monologue, 55 minutes
|data4  = 1/12/[[:Category:1997|1997]]
|below = [https://www.joefrank.com/?s={{#invoke:URLEncode|encode|{{PAGENAME}}}} Purchase]
|belowstyle= border-top: 1px solid #333;padding-top:5px;
|data6  = Joe Frank
|data10 = [[A Call In The Night (Remix)]]
|data11 = [[Philosophy]]
|data2 = [[Somewhere Out There]]
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''There was a time I was a blues singer.''
'''Blues Singer''' is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series [[Somewhere Out There]].  It was originally broadcast on 01/12/[[:Category:1997|1997]].


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
Joe is a blues singer.  The music of daily life and car accidents. He accidentally kills a woman with a knife, burns down a store, and drowns a hotel manager.  "Life is . . ."  Joe is a preacher and the mayor tries to shut him down. Nonsense verse against a rhythmic backdrop. Looking in the mirror and seeing greatness.
Joe tells us about being a blues singer: how he sang, played the
guitar, the images and feelings that informed him.
 
3:10: Joe recalls the cheap hotels he stayed in, the dives he played
in, the people in his audience.
 
4:30: Joe remembers the time he was charged with murder.
 
6:20: Joe tells of the time he was in grocery store.  The clerk
wouldn't take his groceries out to his truck, so Joe trashed the place
and set the gas pumps on fire.
 
9:10: Joe recalls a party in his hotel room.  The manager asked him to
quiet down.  Joe drowned him in the toilet.
 
11:50: Joe expatiates on what life is like.
 
16:20: Joe tells about being a Baptist minister.  His services were
loud and wild.  The mayor visits, asks him to make them quieter.  When
he won't the mayor offers him a new location in an old barn 3 miles
out of town.  When he refuses his church burns down.  Joe kills the
mayor with an axe, hops a train to Memphis.
 
25:30: Joe's been trimming his beard with a hole punch.  He dangles
holy verses on strings run through the holes.  He asks why there is no
justice or peace.  A voice is unsympathetic.
 
30:50: 'I have seen wine turn to water, fishes turn to loaves.  I have
seen the auricle only to retreat to the ventricle.  I have seen the
great ashtray at the end of the world&hellip;'<ref name=sleep>originally aired in
[[Sleep]]</ref>
 
31:50: 'Bent by life's cares and woes I envy the lot of
Eskimos.'<ref name=hell> originally aired in [[Road To Hell]]</ref>
 
32:00:<blockquote>'No.  Bent by life's cares and woes I wish that I had been born an Episcopalian.
<br>'I wish I could dance and sing and not be shamed by the clumsiness of my feet.
<br>'I remember how Maureen Best laughed when I asked her out for a date after class.
<br>'My love is like the morning dew.  Her smile is like a golden shower.
<br>'If the tinkling music of your laugh were not so annoying I'd still be on West 88th Street.
<br>'I woke up this morning feeling so grim but I put my pants where my shirt should have been.'<ref name=goodbye>Joe sings this in [[Goodbye]]</ref>
</blockquote>
 
34:50: Beachcombing in Bali
 
35:40:<blockquote>'You got that wild lookin think that make me want a shout
<br>'come on baby why don't you pull it on out?
<br>'You make me feel like an alligator.
<br>'Let's do it now - forget about later.
<br>'We'll go to a movie or maybe a bar.
<br>'Come on baby just hop in my car.
<br>'There's a flick on Broadway with some movie star -
<br>'what's his name anyway. 
<br>'I read about him in the Enquirer: he was doing something to somebody.
<br>'I know a little place called OJD's:
<br>'they got fine burritos and smokin' black cheese,
<br>'crisp fried chicken and collard greens,
<br>'mashed potatoes and lima beans,
<br>'a meatball sandwich, a pizza pie,
<br>'pickle, tomatoes, and a turkey thigh.
 
<br>'Hey, honey, get in the closet and close the door:
<br>'I don't want to see you anymore.
<br>'Let my fingers do the walking and let my eyeballs rest.
<br>'We'll snuggle by the golf clubs you know I'm best.
<br>'Hey baby what's that hangin off the wall?
<br>'It sure smells funny and it's eight feet tall.
<br>'I got me a gun but don't be afraid - I just have it for protection'<ref name=sleep /><ref name=goodbye />
</blockquote>
 
38:20: Joe rides the rods like a hobo, tells us how great the hobo
life is.<ref name=hell />


45:30: Joe tells us he sees a great man when he looks in the mirror,
goes into detail.  He blames a conspiracy that kept him from achieving
greatness.


47:50: Recalling his life as a blues singer Joe recalls all the
substances he abused: whiskey, valium, amyl nitrate, Valium, rubbing
alcohol, shoe polish, sterno, floor wax, kerosene&hellip; but he sang
the blues beautifully.


== Interesting Facts ==
49:40: He tried rehab.


== Music ==
51:30: Joe remembers when he had an apartment in Oregon.<ref name=dark>originally
* "It Could Be Sweet" - Portishead (from [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001FI7/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=thwhsh00-20&linkId=d1afc4fef5c179c8c0ae89dfa6c1988c "Dummy"], 1994)
aired in [[In The Dark (Part 1)]]</ref>


== Commentary ==
52:00: Joe wants to be 'to be a rumpled pipe-smoking bachelor'.<ref name=dark />
{{commentary}}


=== [[User:Spblat|Spblat]] ===  
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:95%; overflow:auto;">
This has always been one of my favorites.  Lots of nice shocking stuff. "So I drowned him in the toilet." "She died of a heart attack while I was stabbing her."
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Legacy Synopsis</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* Joe is a blues singer. 
* The music of daily life and car accidents.
* He accidentally kills a woman with a knife, burns down a store, and drowns a hotel manager.   
* "Life is . . ." Joe is a preacher and the mayor tries to shut him down. 
* Nonsense verse against a rhythmic backdrop.
* "But I have grown a beard and am covered with weeds"
* Looking in the mirror and seeing greatness.
</div></div>


== External Links ==
== Music ==
* [[Judith Owen]] vocalizes over "It Could Be Sweet"
{{It Could Be Sweet (Portishead)}} [Intro]
{{My God Can Do Anything (Luther Barnes - The Red Budd Gospel Choir)}} [15:27]


== Additional credits ==
The original broadcast credits state: "With vocalist [[Judith Owen]], guitarist [[James Harrah]]. Special thanks to [[David Rapkin]]. This program was recorded, edited, and mixed by [[Bob Carlson]]."


{{Somewhere Out There}}
== Footnotes ==
[[Category:Absurd_Monologue]]
[[Category:Absurd_Monologue]]
[[Category:Narrative_Monologue]]
[[Category:Narrative_Monologue]]
[[Category:Somewhere Out There]]
[[Category:1997]]
[[Category:Judith Owen]]
[[Category:James Harrah]]
[[Category:Show]]
[[Category:Show_by_date|19970112]] {{Airdate|airdate=1997-01-12}}
{{Series|series=Somewhere Out There}}{{Cast|cast=Joe Frank}}

Latest revision as of 17:24, 31 October 2024

Series
Somewhere Out There
Original Broadcast Date
1/12/1997
Cast
Joe Frank
Format
Absurd Monologue, 55 minutes
Preceded by: A Call In The Night (Remix)
Followed by: Philosophy
Purchase

There was a time I was a blues singer.

Blues Singer is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Somewhere Out There. It was originally broadcast on 01/12/1997.

Synopsis

Joe tells us about being a blues singer: how he sang, played the guitar, the images and feelings that informed him.

3:10: Joe recalls the cheap hotels he stayed in, the dives he played in, the people in his audience.

4:30: Joe remembers the time he was charged with murder.

6:20: Joe tells of the time he was in grocery store. The clerk wouldn't take his groceries out to his truck, so Joe trashed the place and set the gas pumps on fire.

9:10: Joe recalls a party in his hotel room. The manager asked him to quiet down. Joe drowned him in the toilet.

11:50: Joe expatiates on what life is like.

16:20: Joe tells about being a Baptist minister. His services were loud and wild. The mayor visits, asks him to make them quieter. When he won't the mayor offers him a new location in an old barn 3 miles out of town. When he refuses his church burns down. Joe kills the mayor with an axe, hops a train to Memphis.

25:30: Joe's been trimming his beard with a hole punch. He dangles holy verses on strings run through the holes. He asks why there is no justice or peace. A voice is unsympathetic.

30:50: 'I have seen wine turn to water, fishes turn to loaves. I have seen the auricle only to retreat to the ventricle. I have seen the great ashtray at the end of the world…'[1]

31:50: 'Bent by life's cares and woes I envy the lot of Eskimos.'[2]

32:00:

'No. Bent by life's cares and woes I wish that I had been born an Episcopalian.


'I wish I could dance and sing and not be shamed by the clumsiness of my feet.
'I remember how Maureen Best laughed when I asked her out for a date after class.
'My love is like the morning dew. Her smile is like a golden shower.
'If the tinkling music of your laugh were not so annoying I'd still be on West 88th Street.
'I woke up this morning feeling so grim but I put my pants where my shirt should have been.'[3]

34:50: Beachcombing in Bali

35:40:

'You got that wild lookin think that make me want a shout


'come on baby why don't you pull it on out?
'You make me feel like an alligator.
'Let's do it now - forget about later.
'We'll go to a movie or maybe a bar.
'Come on baby just hop in my car.
'There's a flick on Broadway with some movie star -
'what's his name anyway.
'I read about him in the Enquirer: he was doing something to somebody.
'I know a little place called OJD's:
'they got fine burritos and smokin' black cheese,
'crisp fried chicken and collard greens,
'mashed potatoes and lima beans,
'a meatball sandwich, a pizza pie,
'pickle, tomatoes, and a turkey thigh.


'Hey, honey, get in the closet and close the door:
'I don't want to see you anymore.
'Let my fingers do the walking and let my eyeballs rest.
'We'll snuggle by the golf clubs you know I'm best.
'Hey baby what's that hangin off the wall?
'It sure smells funny and it's eight feet tall.
'I got me a gun but don't be afraid - I just have it for protection'[1][3]

38:20: Joe rides the rods like a hobo, tells us how great the hobo life is.[2]

45:30: Joe tells us he sees a great man when he looks in the mirror, goes into detail. He blames a conspiracy that kept him from achieving greatness.

47:50: Recalling his life as a blues singer Joe recalls all the substances he abused: whiskey, valium, amyl nitrate, Valium, rubbing alcohol, shoe polish, sterno, floor wax, kerosene… but he sang the blues beautifully.

49:40: He tried rehab.

51:30: Joe remembers when he had an apartment in Oregon.[4]

52:00: Joe wants to be 'to be a rumpled pipe-smoking bachelor'.[4]

Legacy Synopsis
  • Joe is a blues singer.
  • The music of daily life and car accidents.
  • He accidentally kills a woman with a knife, burns down a store, and drowns a hotel manager.
  • "Life is . . ." Joe is a preacher and the mayor tries to shut him down.
  • Nonsense verse against a rhythmic backdrop.
  • "But I have grown a beard and am covered with weeds"
  • Looking in the mirror and seeing greatness.

Music

Additional credits

The original broadcast credits state: "With vocalist Judith Owen, guitarist James Harrah. Special thanks to David Rapkin. This program was recorded, edited, and mixed by Bob Carlson."

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 originally aired in Sleep
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 originally aired in Road To Hell
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Joe sings this in Goodbye
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 originally aired in In The Dark (Part 1)
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