Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

Who is Dexy of Dexy’s Midnight Runners?

by John Robinson

Q: I love the song “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Who is Dexy?

A: “Come On Eileen” was a No. 1 hit in 1983, but to answer your question, there is no “Dexy.” The band’s leader was Kevin Rowland; the band named themselves after the nickname for Dexedrine, a form of speed. The band has claimed they had a policy of no drugs or alcohol.

Q: All I can remember is part of the song that contains: “Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine, the monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line!” What can you tell me about this one?

A: That’s “The Clapping Song,” a 1965 single by Shirley Ellis, the same person who brought us “The Name Game” in late 1964. “The Clapping Song” is not a reworking of an old nursery rhyme; it was written by Shirley’s husband, Lincoln Chase. Within the song is a lyric about a “rubber dolly,” which was lifted from a 1931 song, “Little Rubber Dolly” by The Light Crust Doughboys. The lyric goes, “My mother told me, if I were goodie, that she would buy me a rubber dolly.” This lyric became widely used in the 1950s by little girls playing jump rope.

Q: Every time I hear The Beatles’ song “Day Tripper” it sounds like something I heard before. Was that song a rip-off of something else?

A: I don’t believe it is, even though it’s been said that John Lennon based its famous guitar riff on an old Bobby Parker rhythm and blues song, “Watch Your Step.” “Day Tripper” went to No. 5 in early 1966. The “Day Tripper” lyrics were John Lennon’s first obvious reference to LSD in a song. When the single first came out, it was believed to be about a hooker. It also can be interpreted as John razzing Paul about being hesitant to try LSD (Paul was the last of the four to try it.). Lennon wrote most of the song with a little help from Paul, who sings lead. It’s another example of a Beatles’ song mainly written by one but sung by another, like “Eight Days A Week.”

Q: What are the Captain & Tennille doing now? Are they still together? What is he a captain of?

A: I’ll start with your last question. Daryl Dragon wasn’t a captain of anything. Due to his fondness for wearing boating and nautical hats, he was given the nickname “Captain” by Beach Boy Mike Love. Even though many bios refer to them as THE Captain & Tennille, their correct stage name is minus the “The.” In 1971, Dragon was tour keyboardist for The Beach Boys and Toni Tennille was staging her musical “Mother Earth” when they met at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco. Toni hired Dragon as a musician for the show, and in turn, Dragon coaxed The Beach Boys into hiring Toni as a backing vocalist/musician. Once they fell in love, they went out on their own as a duo, calling themselves The Dragons, eventually settling on Captain & Tennille. Their hit streak began in 1975 with “Love Will Keep Us Together” and ended in 1980 with their last No. 1 hit, “Do That To Me One More Time” and a couple of lesser singles. In January 2014, Tennille filed for divorce, unknown to Dragon until he was served papers. Daryl “Captain” Dragon died of renal failure in January 2019.

Q: Loved your mention a while back on one of my favorite ’60s bands, The Dave Clark Five. Can you just give a brief bio?

A: Sure. Leader of the band Dave Clark was the drummer, not the singer. Lead vocals were provided by keyboardist Mike Smith. Lenny Davidson was lead guitarist, Rick Huxley bass guitarist and Denny Payton performed sax, harmonica and guitar. Their first 13 chart singles, from 1964-1965, made them unwilling “rivals” of The Beatles, often beating them in popularity polls. Because they didn’t seem to be a long-haired “threat” to parents, they were considered more “family-friendly” than other British bands of the time. This is why they appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” a whopping 18 times, more than any other ’60s English group. After the success of The Beatles’ film “A Hard Day’s Night,” John Boorman (who went on to direct “Deliverance” in the early ’70s), directed The Dave Clark Five movie, “Having A Wild Weekend,” which was originally titled “Catch Us If You Can” in England (I love The Dave Clark Five, too, but it’s an awful tedious film to watch!). After psychedelic music became the rage in the late ’60s, The DC5 couldn’t successfully embrace it. They split up in 1970.

 

John Robinson grew up in Stockbridge and graduated from Stockbridge High School in 1969. He’s been an author, TV host, columnist, actor, producer, emcee and radio broadcaster.  Robinson’s favorite music of all time includes surf, psychedelia, garage bands, Motown and just plain ol’ good-time rock ‘n’ roll. To read more rock ‘n’ roll trivia, “Paranormal Michigan” stories, and lots more, check out Robinson’s books on his author page at facebook.com/johnrobinsonauthor.

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