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:: Dick Curless - The Iceman::

Dick Curless was a rich voiced balladeer from Maine who is mostly remembered for his odes to the hard workin' men who drive 18 wheelers. His biggest hit was the fantastic A Tombstone Every Mile, about a treacherous stretch of highway in his home state, and an early classic of the genre. He did a little bit of everything in his life, including a military stint in Korea where he not only drove a truck, but appeared on Armed Forces Radio with the handle "Rice Paddy Ranger." He later toured the country in Buck Owens All American Show. He also had a weak heart, a bad stomach, a serious drinking problem, and one bad eye. This last affliction prompted him to wear an eye patch, which makes him extremely cool in my book. Just look at the cartoon of him on the label; that's how someone nicknamed The Baron should look, right?

This here 45 came out in 1976, after Dick had quit hitting the sauce and his career was starting to peter out a bit. The A side, Hogtown, is a pretty good little tune, but I was definitely more intrigued by the flip side, an "adult party record" cut. Who was making adult party records in 1976? They even marked it Not For Airplay, to really build up the naughtiness. Truth be told, it's not very dirty. Just lots of wink-and-a-nudge metaphors about the local iceman delivering to all the local ladies boxes. I've never heard of Audem records, but their awesome logo should make Boards of Canada very, very jealous. Dirty ol' Dick rolled on into the next life in 1995. Enjoy this salacious salute to a different sort of hard workin' man.


Tony

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