The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. Today, Mike played the full version of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" (a.k.a. "Alice's Restaurant Massacree") which has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition at the Insane World of Mike Sain. This farcical and mostly-spoken epic was served with a "meal" of Thanksgiving Day food songs which included turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, salad, corn bread, and cherry pie.
- Let's Turkey Trot - Little Eva - 1963
- Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie - 1969
- Mashed Potato Time - The Crystals - 1963
- Vegetable Love Song - Jewel Akens - ca. 1965 (by request)
- Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes) - Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
- Polk Salad Annie - Elvis Presley - ca. 1970
- Corn Bread - Johnny And The Hurricanes - 1960
- Vegetables - Jan And Dean - 1967
- Cherry Pie - Skip And Flip - 1960
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Notes:
- Little Eva is best known for her chart topping 1962 hit, "The Loco-Motion," and she had several other hits from 1962-1963 which included the plucky "Let's Turkey Trot." She was discovered by famed songwriting team Carole King and then husband Gerry Goffin while babysitting for their daughter.
- The full length version of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" (a.k.a. "Alice's Restaurant Massacree") is about 18 minutes long and was featured in the 1969 cult classic, Alice's Restaurant, starring Arlo Guthrie as himself. A shorter version of this song was also released, entitled "Alice's Rock & Roll Restaurant," which peaked at #97 on the Billboard charts in 1969.
- The Crystals' cover of Dee Dee Sharp's smash hit, "Mashed Potato Time," was included on their 1963 album, "The Crystals Sing The Greatest Hits, Volume 1" (Philles PHLP-4003). The Crystals were one of Phil Spector's biggest hit making artists of the early 1960s, and the Philles label was formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill. The Crystals' "Mashed Potato Time" is included on the hard-to-find Crystals' CDs, "Greatest Hits" and "He's A Rebel (The Ultimate Collection)."
- Jewel Aken's uncharted "Vegetable Love Song" was included on his ca. 1965 album, "The Birds And The Bees" (Era EL-110).
- "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" by Dee Dee Sharp was a follow-up hit to her smash hit, "Mashed Potato Time."
- Elvis Presley's cover of the famous Tony Joe White song, "Polk Salad Annie," which was recorded live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, was included on his album, "On Stage February 1970" (RCA Victor LSP-4362). The version heard today was on the Elvis Presley CD Artist of the Century [Disc 3].
- "Corn Bread" as covered by the rock & roll instrumental group Johnny and the Hurricanes was included on their 1960 album, "Stormsville" (Warwick W-2010-ST).
- Brian Wilson both wrote "Vegetables" and produced and arranged Jan and Dean's cover of that song. Next to the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean was the most popular surf rock group of the mid 1960s. Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys often worked closely with Jan & Dean. Dean Torrence provided lead vocals for the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann," and Brian Wilson provided backing vocals for Jan & Dean's "Surf City." Jan & Dean's "Vegetables" was released as a single in 1967 (White Whale, WW-261, b/w "Snow Flakes on Laughing Gravy's Whiskers").
- "Cherry Pie" dates back to 1954 when the R&B duo Marvin and Johnny recorded this song as the B-side of their R&B hit, Tick Tock." Skip & Flip were the duo Gary "Flip" Paxton and Clyde "Skip" Battin.
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