Ep. 111 Today's Peep Battles 111-Degree Heatwave on July 11, Remembers Sacramento Summers, Encounters with Tree Frogs, Luke the Drifter's Musical Legacy, and Reflects on Justice and Redemption

What happens when you combine a heatwave, nostalgic summer memories, and a touch of music history? Join me on this scorching episode as we celebrate Podcast 111 on the 11th of July with an uncanny temperature of 111 degrees. We kick off with a reflection on the sweltering conditions reminiscent of my childhood summers in Sacramento. Listen in as I share tips on staying hydrated, caring for pets, and a light-hearted tribute to my friend JT's relentless outdoor work ethic, while ambient fan noise sets the stage for our heatwave discussion.

Ever had a tree frog latch onto your shin in the shower? Let’s dive into some quirky encounters and cherished memories from the 1970s, featuring tales of cutoff Levi's, Schwinn bicycles, and celebrity sightings at Southgate Shopping Center and Florin Center in South Sacramento. Walk down memory lane with me as I recount these playful and heartfelt stories, blending humor with nostalgia.

Uncover a rare gem in music history as I introduce a special disc jockey record by Luke the Drifter, the pseudonym for the legendary Hank Williams. We’ll explore the commercial reasons behind Williams' creative decisions, and delve into the emotional depth of his storytelling. From commercial logic to moralistic narrations, I’ll share a poignant courtroom drama inspired by Luke the Drifter’s work, reflecting on themes of justice, remorse, and redemption. Don't miss this unique blend of heatwave anecdotes, nostalgic tales, and compelling storytelling.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Thank you, thank you so much. Hello there, how the heck are you Well? Thank you, no more, please. Yeah, yeah, giddy up now. Hey there, it's the pat, it's peeps, but I almost said the pat wall show. Solid big blur. I'm pat. By the way, it's the pat's peeps podcast. It's not the pat wall show, but I do, of course. Maybe you know that, maybe you you don't. I host the Pat Wall Show as heard everywhere on your free iHeart app and on KFBK, locally in Sacramento. So, anyhow, 7-11 day on the 11th day of July in 2024, and it's Podcast 111. So here we are, the 11th of September, podcast 111, and guess what? It's 111 degrees today.

Speaker 1: 1:11

I don't know how it everything lined up perfectly on this 111 podcast and really, thank you. You know, what I'm learning is that a lot more people are listening to my podcast than I thought. You know. Sometimes I don't know when people are listening to my radio show. Not everyone calls in. It's kind of hard to gauge. However, I have been doing a little research and I've come to find out. Thank you, you guys have been listening. It means so much to me I cannot even thank you. I've got just a whole list of people that I could say thank you to. But if I know you, you know that I appreciate you, and if I don't know you and you're listening to me, I want you to know that I appreciate you Just for taking the time to listen to the podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:57

All right, it means a lot, as I have mentioned, you know, did I mention this? We have all these businesses coming on board All of a sudden in the last week. I'm inundated. I know I talked about that, I won't get into that again, but I'm really blessed and happy, not just for me, but for customers and people who are going to be saving money, and for these businesses. But anyhow, it's hot. Looking out the studio windows into the beautiful foothills of Northern California, it's hot. I mean, there's no breeze, 111 degrees. I got JT. He's coming up today and he's going to do some weed eating and I'm thinking, jt, it's too hot man. He's like no, no, never too hot for me to do outdoor work. And so, okay, god bless you, man. But first of all, I don't like weed eating. I will do almost anything outdoors, but I'm not a guy that likes or nor enjoys weed eating, and I live on property so it takes a lot of weed eating, so I'm going to leave that to someone else and gladly pay for that to have that done.

Speaker 1: 2:57

I don't know if you can hear in the background. Every time I talk I'm kind of noticing it. It's a weird phenomenon. At least in my headphones I have a fan going. I have not turned my air conditioning on during the day yet, despite it being 111 degrees. I know, I don't know, it's just a thing. I just like the heat, but I do have to get the air moving. So I have a fan on right now and every time I speak I can. It makes me. I can hear the fan. I don't know if it's, if it's the same thing with you, but it is hot.

Speaker 1: 3:33

A couple of things in on the hot, on the fact that it's hot. I'm seeing this, these articles, these news articles about what was it? The heat wave is going to be devastating. Where is it? Let me see if I can find that. It said something like the devastating heat wave continues in California, something to that effect. And I'm reading it. And it says you know temperatures from 100 to 105 degrees and you know. It goes on about making sure that you stay hydrated and that your animals are hydrated. And you hear that it kind of scared me. It's a motorcycle going by, I thought something got stuck in my fan. Anyhow, they're talking about staying hydrated, making sure your animals if you have pets and such are hydrated. And I'm thinking, come on, man, it's a heat wave, but it's summertime, but it's summertime. I just don't understand it Everything. So here's what they're saying Dangerous and record-breaking heat wave will wither west over the weekend. Okay, granted it's hot. I understand that. They say about 40. This is from what is this? From NBC? About 42 million people, they say, remain under heat alerts. That's today.

Speaker 1: 5:11

Dangerous, record-breaking heat will persist in the West through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. So through Saturday, blistering temperatures are forecast to remain above 100 degrees tomorrow, leading to more record-setting temperatures for cities like Las Vegas, salt Lake City, boise, idaho, spokane, washington. And they're saying that this long duration of heat, the heat wave, remains extremely dangerous and deadly if not taken seriously. Dozens of daily record-high temperatures, according to the Weather Service, are forecast over much of the West again through Saturday, a couple of days and it will expand in coverage over the portions of the Central and Eastern US over the weekend. Temperatures expected tomorrow, friday, to include 116 in Las Vegas, 103 in Salt Lake City, 101 in Denver and in Sacramento, as I mentioned, 111 degrees. I'm not in Sacramento right now, but it is 111. I'm a little further up in the foothills Now. When I say things like this, I certainly do not mean to be insensitive, I do not, but and I think I've already said this, so I'm not going to beat that proverbial dead horse I'm just saying when I was a kid it was 105 degrees in Sacramento.

Speaker 1: 6:48

What do you expect? Not to repeat an earlier show you move to Phoenix. What do you expect? There's desert, and let's put more concrete and let's do that in the desert and then move there. Like, what are you expecting? Arctic winds? Are you expecting the cool summer breezes? What are you expecting? Arctic winds? Are you expecting the cool summer breezes? What are you expecting?

Speaker 1: 7:08

Here's another thing If you move to Arizona Fountain Hills, whether it's if you move to Nogales, if you're in Tucson, you know. If you're in Green Valley, you know what they have in summer they have monsoons. When the monsoons comes, are you when they come? Are you so surprised? Oh, my God, the monsoons are coming. It's where you live. The concrete exacerbates the whole situation. That's 121 in Phoenix, of course it is. Again. It's the desert and you put concrete and you put buildings in there. So that's what's happening with the weather is it's going to be extremely hot, like it was when I was a kid.

Speaker 1: 8:04

However, there are things to think about that I do not really remember as a kid being a danger. Now, if you're outside and here's, what I want to say is I don't want to be insensitive, you know, I'm just. I've said it before. I think I'm repeating myself, but and I don't intend to I'm a bit of an oddball. I like it. There've said it before. I think I'm repeating myself, but I don't intend to. I'm a bit of an oddball, I like it. There's something about heat that I like, but again, I'm not working on a roof. I'm not doing that For you roofers, people who are really working in those situations stay cool, stay safe.

Speaker 1: 8:35

It's all the obvious stuff. Of course you want to keep your pets hydrated. Of course, kids or pets in the car, for God's sakes, any time of the year, I mean, it's just common sense. Never Now, if it's cool out, and never mind. And you have a dog and the windows are down so the dog doesn't bite anybody, and it's below 55 degrees and you're running into the it's below 55 degrees and you're running into the gas station to pay for your gasoline, that's one thing, but to leave an animal out in the heat, it's just common sense, right? I'm not even going to mention a child, because you just can't do that Ever, but I just find it's the same news stories every year. Oh the heat, yeah, it's the heat. If you're working in it, if you're on the road crew, if you're on the roof, if you're working in attics, if you're working in places where it's hot, I've done it. Please be safe. That's all I can tell you, and I can certainly empathize with you if you're really out there and you're dealing with that heat.

Speaker 1: 9:44

The things I did not deal with as a kid. By the way, one thing that I didn't have to deal with as a kid is my mom actually could go in the store if she wanted. Like there was six kids. She could go into Thrifty's we talked about this on my show last night or Lucky's over at Southgate, or whatever. I remember it so well. She'd go, and this is the you know the 60s, early 70s. All right, kids, I'm going to run into thrifties real quick and I'll be back in the shake of a lamb's tail. That's what she would say. I'll be back in the shake of a lamb's tail. And she'd go in there. We knew she'd be in there for probably 10 minutes, if that. And that's when we would proceed to beat the living heck out of each other. You know and be kids, wrestle, you know, and just have fun and goof around Like kids will do in the station wagon. But she never left us in with the windows rolled up in the middle of the heat. We always went in with her.

Speaker 1: 10:42

I remember going into Jumbo Market in Sacramento. Anyone remember Jumbo Market? They had one over on what is that 24th and was it Florin Road down there. They also had one in the South area, one over in Land Park even, which is in the South area, and you'd walk through those front doors and have that air conditioning thing blowing. Ah man, I used to love that. I mean don't get me wrong, I love the heat, but I love that air too. I used to walk into Jumbo Market. That air would blast you. It's like, oh, that's the greatest thing ever. But when it was cooler out, yep, back in a shake of a lamb's tail and there we would be, sitting in the car. We didn't have to worry about freaks. Like Tony Cox said on my post posting Southgate Shopping Center yesterday on my Facebook, tony's like those were the days you didn't have to have your head on a swivel looking for violence and freaks and people going at retail theft and all of that stuff, and he was so right. So that's changed.

Speaker 1: 11:46

The other thing that's changed you know, when we were a kid we'd see Smokey Bear, smokey the Bear, whatever you want to call him. Hey, kids, only you can help prevent forest fires, right, forest fires. Now you never even hear forest fires. You hear wildfires. It's always wildfires. I don't know what ever happened to the term forest fires or even what they've done to Smokey the Bear, which, or Smokey Bear, okay, whichever, I know it's Smokey the Bear, anyhow. That's for another show what they've done to that, anyhow.

Speaker 1: 12:22

So then you have the wildfire. So you have fire danger. If you're living up in the foothills, you are definitely dealing with fire danger and you're living up in the foothills, you are definitely dealing with fire danger and people's insurance companies are dropping them. Then you have to get on the California Fair Plan, which is what I'm on. Then you have to not only do that, then you have to get on another insurance company. You know the co-insurance company, which, in my case, I've got one of those as well.

Speaker 1: 12:50

So that's something that has changed because, hey, you know what, they can't manage the forest. They want to, they being Newsom and others who directly blame I'm going to call them forest fires. I'm going to go old school on the climate change. I say you know what, try managing the forests, not denying some climate change, because we've really, you know, we've really tried to ruin this planet in so many ways. I'm not going to disagree with that. But sometimes you go too far and you need to manage the forest, but anyhow.

Speaker 1: 13:24

So here's the other thing dealing with on Saturday, a couple of days from now, I have been scheduled for a blackout. They have these rolling blackouts, so that means I will be without electricity this Saturday morning, just like a lot of other people, and then when it's not me, then it'll be someone else. So you have to go buy a generator. I don't even have a generator hooked up. I haven't got to that point yet. Anyone out there in a business that sells generators, let me know. We will make you a Pat's Peeps, if we like your business and how you conduct business and if you treat people right, that's the criteria. But yeah, we have to have a generator.

Speaker 1: 14:02

Then you have Newsom telling people hey, listen, when the summertime's here and the grid's really getting hit heavily, please don't plug in your electric cars that they're jamming down our throats. So let's say it's prime time for forest fires. Some fool sets a forest fire and now you can't get in your electric car, which isn't charged up. So what are you supposed to do, gavin? We've given up our gas vehicles, right Well, which isn't charged up? So what are you supposed to do, gavin? We've given up our gas vehicles, right Well, I haven't. But some people now they've got the electric car and you're not supposed to charge it up because the grid is being overloaded. Are you out of your mind, boy? Do not let this happen to America. Do not let this guy. Oh geez, I don't want to get into politics. What else? Oh yeah, here's another little phenomenon that I'm dealing with during the heat.

Speaker 1: 15:01

I mentioned this on my show and I think I mentioned it here on the podcast as well. You can get a drink of water here. I mentioned it here on the podcast as well. You can get a drink of water here. But, uh, the topic of, and now the reoccurring topic of, critters in my Shower, on the next, critters in His Shower Today.

Speaker 1: 15:26

On Critters in Pat's Shower another freaking tree frog, remember I told you before I'm shampooing my hair. Well, my head, my head's, buzzed down. I got my eyes closed and I go to rinse and I look down and when I look down, I see something flipping up in the air. All I see is hands and legs and it latches onto my shin bone hands and legs and it latches onto my shin bone and I give out this ungodly, unmanly, very emasculated sound which I cannot even repeat. I didn't know what it was, man, I told you this. I jumped on me, a critter jumped on me in my shower. I don't expect a critter in my shower, including a freaking tree frog. So I told you all about that. I made a big deal about that because it freaked me out. Well, you know, once bitten, twice shy.

Speaker 1: 16:19

So what do I do now when I go to hop in the old shower which now I'm looking at the, because the shower I'm using over here. It has shower curtains. It's a very old school bathroom. I love it. So I'm like I'm shaking the shower curtains before I get in. I'm just looking to see what critters might have accumulated in there. Since yesterday's shower and since my report my initial report of tree frog in the shower clamping onto my shin bone I can tell you there has been three more incidents, so now it's just a regular thing.

Speaker 1: 16:55

So my two phenomenons I have in early spring I have birds that fly into my wood stove when I'm no longer using a wood stove, by the way, it's now cooled down for the spring, so I get birds in my wood stove. I hear them flapping around. You've seen the videos. I've played them for you. I've talked about my shell and now I get tree frogs in my shower. The thing is I don't even know how they're getting in. Can someone please tell me how a tree frog gets in your house? I'm looking around. I got all the windows shut. All of my doors are solid. They're not getting into my new French doors, but somehow some way tree frogs are getting into my showers. What do I do? I grab them in my tree frog and pest capturing jar, because that's who I've become over the years. Now I have sympathy for these critters. Heck, even if it's some. Some spiders not many and they got to go back outside. It's like I figured they don't want to be in here any more than I want them to be in here. So tree frogs are okay. They're okay. The birdies are free. They're a free bird. We let them go. So yeah, that's another thing going on in my life. I mentioned Southgate Shopping Center and I posted about that on my Facebook page today and I did it because I just have.

Speaker 1: 18:28

When summer hits, maybe your mind goes to winter or whatever it is. You know, whatever season is fall and your mind goes to memories. And for me, when I think summer, I think of the 70s. I love the 70s. Yes, I've been around a while. What about you? In the 70s, we used to get, you know, to wear cutoff Levi's. Try that nowadays and see what people say to you Cutoffs. We used to call them cutoffs. We used to wear cutoffs. We used to ride Schwinn bicycles Living over in South Sacramento. We'd ride over to South I'm going to talk about this on my show this evening, I think and get some phone calls. But we used to ride over in South Sacramento. We'd ride over to Southgate Shopping Center or Florence Center once that was built. I post this picture today of Florence Center.

Speaker 1: 19:15

I'm getting all of these comments of people who remember Southgate Shopping Center. It was a very unique shopping center at the time because it was state-of-the-art and it had like a mall on both sides and then it had a corridor in the time because it was state-of-the-art and it had like a mall on both sides and then it had a corridor in the middle. It was outdoors and the and then in sidewalks. So you could either walk in the middle of the little, the little corridor whatever you want to call it walkway or you could walk on the sidewalks this is, to my recollection, under awnings and things where the businesses were to keep you cool. They used to have a super slide out there. Someone told me that's where they put that first. Save mart was out in the parking lot there. That was later on in the 70s.

Speaker 1: 20:08

I think it was Stuckey's that was on the corner. Someone could correct me if I'm wrong. I think it was Stuckey's that was on the corner. Someone could correct me if I'm wrong. I think it was Stuckey's, pretty sure it was. And then Firestone right there on the corner of Franklin and Florin and it'd be Thrifty's and Lucky's Grocery Store and Crest and Grant's and College, high, kitty, corral, rhodes, liberty House. At one point H Salt Fish and Chips Woolworth was in there for a period of time and I got so many comments. I'm getting so many comments on that Started getting me to think of some of these other shopping centers that used to be around Sacramento, like Florence Center and I remember at Southgate I met Dan Blocker.

Speaker 1: 20:49

He used to play Haas on Bonanza. I get to meet that guy at Florence Center. My mom was pretty good about that. If there was a big celebrity in town she would make sure that we got to go meet them. So I'll never forget meeting Dan Blocker on a cloudy day at Southgate.

Speaker 1: 21:04

And then when Southgate, when it was sort of becoming I don't want to say passe, I'm not saying that but there was a new mall built over on Stockton in Florin which was and 65th, which was Florin Center. So at that point we used to ride our bikes to Florin Center because that was a new, cool place to go Either ride your bikes or now we're old enough where we can kind of take the bus over there, if we felt like it Regional transit get over there to Florence Center and then behind Florence. We loved going to Florence Center. Remember Orange Julius Going to Orange Julius. There was Weinstocks over there, not that we were into Weinstocks, but I just remember the Hickory Farms Eppies was out in the parking lot and then behind Florence Center. So Florence Center is razed, now it is gone.

Speaker 1: 21:56

Across the street on Florence and Stockton was Whitefront. If you remember Whitefront, my mom used to go to Whitefront. We'd go in there. I remember, I knew. So I think back on this now and I think, geez, I can't believe I knew that much about music at like 10 years old. I remember walking through Whitefront with my mother and there's music. Whitefront was kind of just a big department store, pre-gemco, pre-target. They had stereo equipment. They had all kinds of different stuff at Whitefront, if you remember, if you remember Whitefront and we were walking towards the record and stereo department and they were playing music. They're playing music on the speakers and my mother she would just dance, she didn't care, she went to dance contests. She was on TV for winning dance contests. So she loved to sing and dance, as I mentioned before.

Speaker 1: 22:54

And so we're walking through the white front and she hears this song playing and she says Patrick, who is singing this song? Now I'm 10 years old, patrick, who is singing this? Now, having studied and stared at the first Credence album from 68's first Credence album from 1968, which is literally, in my opinion, called quote featuring Suzy Q, because it had that label on the front of it. It's part of the album cover and there's Credence and they're out in the middle of this forest, kind of wearing Civil War gear and all that had Suzy Q and Porterville 99 1⁄2 Won't Do and put a spell on you. Some really groovy songs. So I knew Creedence. So here I am. I knew him at eight years old, so I might have even been nine when she asked this. She, I knew him at eight years old, so I might have even been nine when she asked this. She says Patrick, who is singing this? And I said that's Creedence Clearwater Revival. Oh, really, yeah. So we walk into the record department. She goes okay, my son says this is Creedence Clearwater Revival and the guy says yep. So she buys the album, which is, I believe, cosmo's Factory From that point on. By the way, I don't own the rights to this, I'm just educating and discussing the music CCR, formerly known as the Gollywogs. I think I even knew that when I was that age. So that was Whitefront over there.

Speaker 1: 24:51

Speaking of records, then when I was a teenager you'd go across the street. Right behind Florence Center was the Record Factory. You'd go into the Record Factory. $3.33 for any new album that was the price. It was so cool. I discovered so many bands going to the Record Factory, from Bob Marley and the Wailers which played over the loudspeaker, rastaman Vibration, yeah, oh my God. Richie Blackmore's Rainbow. Already knew about Deep Purple, but here's Richie Blackmore's Rainbow man on a Silver Mountain First time I ever heard that. In the record factory Bob Seger, I walked in one time I was like 15, 16. I was playing Nunbo City Limits from the live Bullet album 76. And then that led me to learning more about Ike and tina turner, because that was an ike and tina turner song. So I wrote camel and other groups. So I learned a lot about music.

Speaker 1: 25:47

Walking into that record factory right next to the fashionable flea where we would go and get some of our cool bitchin 70s polyester shirts the fashionable flea. It's so fun Then right down that you wrap around the corner there. Montgomery Wards was there completely gone? No longer, montgomery Wards. You know and I remember Fruit Ridge Shopping Center. I posted about that the other day.

Speaker 1: 26:20

I don't know why I've been thinking about the shopping centers. Oh, I know why Because I went by Sunrise Mall and, geez, it looks like it's. It just looks like it's being abandoned, which is a shame. That was. Later on that became a go-to place. When the other places were kind of going away, we would go to Sunrise Mall and that's what prompted me to think of these things. Just a shame to see Sunrise Mall. You know, in Country Club Center, macy's is gone over there on Watt. Sad to see that, but it looks like the shops that are there are really trying their hardest to make things look really nice, look unique, and try to draw customers in, and I certainly hope that they do, because it's bad enough. We don't have Tower Records or Sam's Hoth Bra over there anymore either, or Macy's. I used to work at the Lions right there at El Camino in Wada. I was a fry cook, a lion cook, back in the day. Most of it's gone, but for those still standing I wish them the best.

Speaker 1: 27:22

The Fruit Ridge Shopping Center or by Fruit Ridge Drive and that weird stork potato bug, looking freaky thing with the sunglasses, going fishing with that weird hat. That thing creeped me out. I need to go by that area and see what is in that. I don't even know if that shopping center is still there. I don't even know if that shopping center is still there, but anyhow, yeah. So we'll probably talk a little bit more about that on my show here this evening Pat Walsh Show on your iHeartRadio and on your iHeart app as well, which is free. But again, I certainly do appreciate the fact that you're listening to the podcast and that we are getting so many more people listening to the podcast, you know, speaking of music and going back to the day and listening to records and such.

Speaker 1: 28:12

Of course, what do we do here? On Pat's Peeps? We always pick out a record for the end of the podcast, and so I have done that today. And when I picked this record out today, wow, I couldn't believe I have done that today. And when I picked this record out today, wow, I couldn't believe I picked this one out. I'm going to pull it out of its sleeve real quick. Hold on. Oh, my goodness, it is in, just boy. That is a nice condition. It's a yellow label, mgms and big letters. Special disc jockey record. Big black box on the label says not for sale. What year is this? Well, I'll tell you in a second. Flip it over. There is two different sides on this. One Says the same thing on the other side. So this is really. This has to be so rare and this is a really interesting story. This is also one of my favorite artists, but you're going to initially, when I tell you who it is, you're going to go what? Who is that?

Speaker 2: 29:16

I never even heard of that.

Speaker 1: 29:18

So, with that in mind, the record I pulled out today, which I'm super excited to even talk about I'll just tell you because I usually try to save the name of who it is, but I'm going to tell you who it is today, right up front. It's a guy by the name of Luke the Drifter. Luke the Drifter Anyone know who Luke the Drifter is? This is on MGM Records and Luke the Drifter is a very interesting case because when you hear it you're going to see exactly what I'm talking about. So, spoken word, moralistic narrations, talking blues had always been really a tradition in country music and actually in the late 40s this was still commercially viable music, this kind of music, talking blues, moralistic narrations T Texas Tyler's narration of Deck the Cards, for instance, became one of the best-selling records in 1948. However, the artist this is a pseudonym. Did I get that right? That word just popped out of my head. Is that right? Did I get that right? The producer, fred Rose pseudonym. Did I do that? Come on now. Oh my gosh, I'm impressed with my big. I don't even know. I'm going to see if I. That's the first time I've used that word in a long time. Let's see Pseudonym. Pseudonym, did I get that right? I don't even know if I spelled it right. Anyhow, I'm going to go with that. His different name is Maybe I got it completely wrong, I don't know, I don't even care, but he had a different name. Please correct me on my page and embarrass me if you feel like, but Fred Rose, the artist, and the producer, kind of disagreed. So the producer, fred Rose's objection was rooted in commercial logic. Jukebox operators had huge standing orders for this artist's records and if the recitations were issued under the artist's name the operators would complain. Virtually all of the operators served service bars and they didn't want someone to punch up this artist's record and get a sermon. So Rose and this artist settle on a pseudonym. Did I get it right? Pseudonym, I got it right. I'm very impressed with myself. As you can tell his pseudonym, they settled on a pseudonym. No, you keep saying that it sounds weird Pseudonym, pseudonym. You ever do that. No attempt was made to hide the fact that it was the actual artist, but he was Luke the Drifter, and the singer would play along on his radio shows and he'd say now, here's the number one, one of my closest relatives, luke the Drifter. He'd say here's one by my half-brother, luke the Drifter, now Luke the Drifter.

Speaker 1: 32:43

His sessions were recorded at various sessions between 1950 and July of 52 in Nashville Castle Studio. Too many parties, too many pals. Beyond the sunset, the funeral no, no, joe, just wait. And I've been down that road before. Please make up your mind. I have one of the records right here in my hand. This has to be a complete gem. It has to be, because I can't imagine that, even how many. I can't imagine other people really owning this. I can't imagine other people really owning this. So I'm going to play it. This Luke the Drifter happens to be one of my all-time favorite artists. That's no joke. Luke the Drifter, otherwise known as the late great, died at the age of 29.

Speaker 1: 33:37

Hank Williams here's Hank Williams. Here's Hank Williams. Hank Williams wanted to sell his gospel and spoken word stuff, so he creates the pseudonym known as Luke the Drifter so he could sell records under Luke the Drifter. So when people hit Hank Williams on the jukebox they wouldn't hear. Like you heard a sermon. So let's put it on the turntable. Here is on this side. This is called I Was With Red Foley the Night he Passed Away. By the way, red Foley, also very popular Clyde Julian Red Foley. He was a country musician, made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. All right, so without further ado, you'll recognize Luke the Drifter. I Was With Red Foley.

Speaker 2: 34:42

The night he passed away. We was down in Fort Wayne, indiana, the night. The Lord took Red away and we had to get there a little early Cause we had a matinee. And when Red first went on stage it seemed that he moved and talked a little slow, but of course he went on to do his regular great show. So soon the afternoon show was over with and we all went down the street and ate. Red said he wasn't very hungry but he came along anyway and we got done eating and came back to do the last show. But to think this would be Red's very last, well, who was to know? And when he went on stage for his umpteenth, thousandth time we was all back at the curtains there just shooting the lines. But when he sang peace in the valley there was such a quiet spill I know I'll never forget it and anyone that was there never will.

Speaker 2: 35:53

Well, soon the last show was over with and I went back to the hotel and red gave me a call. I told him to come on over. I was just staring at the four walls. So he came over to my room. He was just next door there, lit a cigarette and sit down in a chair and he started talking about all the worries that a country music singer has. I said all red, I reckon it's not that bad. He said yeah, you're working a lot now and you'll have them someday. Your dad had them and I have them, and I guess it's just meant that way. Then he got up and these are the last words he said I'm awful tired now, hankank, I've got to go to bed. And while I lay there, sleeping with red just a few steps away, the angels came and took him to that last golden stage.

Speaker 1: 36:52

There'll be peace I just realized there's certain songs you really can't step in and interrupt making comments on.

Speaker 2: 37:03

I was with Red Foley the night he passed away.

Speaker 1: 37:10

Hank Williams is Luke the Drifter. Jeez, that was awesome man, man, that guy could tell a story. Do you realize Hank Williams died at 29? To get all of his greatest hits, you got to buy. If you let's go into terms of cds, if you're going to buy all of his greatest hits, his biggest songs, you need like three cds to cover that. The man died at 29, same age as ronnie van zandt of skinnerd, another guy who could write music. I'm going to flip this record over. Okay, that music blows me away. Love this. The other side of this record is called On Trial, without further ado, luke the Drifter On Trial.

Speaker 2: 38:01

Luke the Drifter on trial Order in the court. I heard his honor say A man was called before the bench and his trial got underway. You're standing here on trial today, the third time within a year, and each time you've been before me, your drinking brought you here. The last time, I gave you 30 days and a $50 fine. Oh, but you well know the price you'll pay Won't be so light this time, for drunk driving is not the only charge that we have you on today, but also the life of a little girl, the one you took away.

Speaker 2: 38:56

As I sat there and heard the judge Condemn the man's disgrace, I saw a look of pity reflect upon his face. As I sat there and heard the judge condemn the man's disgrace, I saw a look of pity reflect upon his face. I couldn't understand then why he was letting him go free. But as the judge continued to talk, he made it plain to see no, I'm not going to have you thrown into a prison cell.

Speaker 2: 39:24

I want you out, where you can walk through a life of living hell. I want you to see the tiny children as they come out to play and let your mind take you back to the life you took away. You'll see a cold, deathly picture in every bottle you get near, and when you put it to your lips your hands will shake with fear. You'll never get a good night's sleep for always. In your dreams, you'll see a car strike down a little girl and hear her painful scream. This is one disgrace that you'll never live down for. Every once in a while you'll hear someone say there goes the man that killed his only child.

Speaker 1: 40:18

Oh boy, oh my Luke the Drifter, hank Williams.

Speaker 2: 40:24

Case dismissed. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 40:31

Thanks for joining us, Pats Peeps, Podcast 111. See you on the radio.