2003 AUGUST 8 #220
In 1974, legendary disc jockey Wolfman Jack
was riding high on a crest of newfound popularity. His
appearance in "American Graffiti" the previous
year had introduced him to a new crop of teens who had
only heard about him. Recording artists such as Todd Rundgren
and The Guess Who recorded songs about him. The Wolfman
was recruited to appear in TV shows, commercials, and
even in public service announcements such as we have before
us here. The "Citizens Alliance for VD Awareness"
produced this 45 to be given away at record stores in
the Chicago area. (I picked this one up at the now defunct
SoundSource in Oak Park). It's basically a cool funk vamp
with a rhymin' voiceover by The Wolfman and a chorus of
background singers (a la Lou Reed's "Walk On The
Wild Side"). The Wolfman delivers this message to
teens in four minutes of hip jive talk: If you get VD,
you can get "Free Shots fo' what you got"!
In those heady days of 1974, when the worst sexually transmitted
disease you could get was VD (venereal disease), which
could be erased with a free shot, The Wolfman actually
seems to be encouraging kids to sex it up. There is no
mention here of preventive measures (condoms, foam etc.),
but hey... it was a safer, cleaner world. "Safe Sex"
wasn't even on the horizon.
- Stormy Hunter, http://tstormhunter.iuma.com/
TT-4:07 / 2.8MB / 96kbps 44.1khz
from Cavda Single #333 (1974)
(Image courtesy of Stormy Hunter)
Tom writes:
8-8's entry adds new, ironic meaning to the Guess Who
song title, "Clap For the Wolfman!"