Duane Eddy's twangy guitar intro is deep and resonant...but Lee Hazlewood's voice is smoother and higher than you remember. This is an early performance from Lee, well before he met up with Nancy Sinatra.
Duane and Lee met up when they were in high school, and Lee produced Duane's early singles in 1958 on the Jamie Label (which, no conflict of Payola, was partially owned by Dick Clark). "Moovin' 'n' Groovin'" was played on Dick's "American Bandstand" show and sold 100,000 copies. Eddy's fab "Rebel Rouser" followed...the irony here being that the howlin' rednecks you hear overdubbed onto the song, are actually black guys. They were The Sharps, who eventually earned novlty fame as The Rivingtons.
Released in 1960, "The Girl On Death Row" was used (very briefly) on the end credits to Terry Moore's depressing 1960 "Why Must I Die" film, which was in turn inspired by the 1958 Susan Hayward opus "I Want To Live." The tune lopes along at a country-rock pace as Lee sketches in the story:
"They take her life tomorrow. Is she guilty? She says no. The girl on death row. Now someone holds her trembling hand. Another says, "Please understand." Why can't they see it in her face? Another should be in her place..."
And the reason for posting it? Oh, just killing time.
THE GIRL ON DEATH ROW
Thank you so much for posting this. I have been looking for it for years.
ReplyDeleteLee
Thanks, Lee...
ReplyDeleteRecognized the name from those "Unsold Movie Pilots" books. Fascinating stuff
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the books.
ReplyDeleteLee Hazlewood is my guilty pleasure. I've been enjoying your compilations (I think the first one I downloaded, some years ago, was Gene Barry singing the theme from BURKE'S LAW). A classic!
Lee
LOL.
ReplyDeleteYes, Lee could be described that way. The cowboy Serge Gainsbourg? Leonard Cohen for hillbillies? Kristofferson without the fancy college degree.
He could be so heavy, too. He and Nancy doing "Sand," real dustbowl Shakespeare there. But it worked.
Hope to have more odd stuff related to TV...wish somebody'd get the rights to some of those TV pilots for DVD compilations. I seem to remember some glimpses were on a TV special a few years ago. If they could be licensed for TV, why not DVD.
I wanna see "Josie And Joe" (1962). Or do I?
I made that special... THE BEST TV SHOWS THAT NEVER WERE...for ABC. I also did one for CBS...THE GREATEST SHOWS YOU NEVER SAW. Clearing those clips for broadcast was not only living hell, it was outrageously expensive...which is why it's unlikely you'll ever see DVD compilations.
ReplyDeleteLee