On Monday at work we were discussing an upcoming artist installation that will center around Lightin' Hopkins. Turns out Lightin' Hopkins was inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson. Blind Lemon Jefferson was the inspiration for a former collegemate's restaurant in Deep Ellum (Dallas, TX). He name the restaurant The Blind Lemon and the logo was a lemon wearing sunglasses. It's funny how one topic can lead to another.
So while we were discussing artists and musicians I told them that when I was a mere tyke I was given a portable record player and an album. The album was a compilation of various songs and one of them was Tighten Up by Archie Bell & The Drells. I never knew how to dance the Tighten Up but I remember the song...and that was from about 40 years ago.
What I remember about the song is that Archie Bell says that in Houston they do a dance called the Tighten Up. While I'm telling this story one of the ladies said they she remembers seeing Archie Bell & The Drells perform at something similar to the Houston version of American Bandstand.
So one of my co-workers is intrigued by all of this and she finds a video of Archie Bell & The Drells performing the song. Until I watched the video yesterday, I always thought The Drells were the musicians. I love their dance steps on the video. Enjoy!
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Election Eve messages from Wanda Sykes, Billy Porter, Pete Buttigieg,
George Takei, Ricky Martin & Adam Lambert!
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4 comments:
It's like a bad Eddie Murphy skit on Saturday Night Live!!!!
OMG...i love this song. my aunt was a cheerleader (i knew all of the cheers:) and the pep band would play this song and the cheerleaders chanted while the basketball team would warm up. I still remember the routine:) Who knew they were so hip in Missouri?
Also, as a former Dallasite and Deep Ellum regular, the Blind Lemon was a fav spot.
thanks for the memories:)
Well...we al better Tighten Up...cause your other homeys..Mr Bush is about to put us more in debt.
That was so funny. Just so you know I am going to bring Tighten Up back to Houston. LOL!
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