[Motorcycles in Music] The Storey Sisters / Bad Motorcycle (1957)

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Sven

Bad Motorcycle was a hit single on the Cameo label, performed by the Storey Sisters in Philadelphia in 1957. Its infectious chorus and naive, confessional lyrics still charm today.

Ann and Lillian Storey originally recorded under “The Twinkles” and the song was initially released with that credit. The 1958 re-release hit #45 on Billboard’s pop charts.

In the song, a girl gossips about a boy she just met, and describes him as “a bad motorcycle”. He’s bold enough to ask for her phone number and to ask her out on a date, but he calls her when he said he would, so he can’t be all bad.

The song plays off the 1950s view of motorcycles as being wild, edgy, non-conformist. (Perceptions that still persist today with some cause.)

The chorus has a refrain of “voom voom voom” that’s echoed by a bass drum beat, with a rhythm that recalls jump rope songs. In the middle is a short but peppy guitar solo by “Wild” Jimmy Spruill. Spruill played on dozens of rhythm and blues and rockabilly hits and had a hit of his own with the 1959 single Hard Grind.

The sisters had a total of four singles (or eight tracks) to their credit, but Bad Motorcycle was their only hit.

Bad Motorcycle is available on the Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 boxed set. Fans of singer/comedienne Tracey Ullman make recognize the song from her cover version on her 1984 album You Caught Me Out. Ullman’s version is campy and silly, while the Storey Sisters’ version is a better performance with much better instrumentation.

Bad Motorcyle

I was on my way to school
When a fellow I did meet
Took me by the hand
And he told me I was sweet

And I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom
Yes, I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom

As we walked home alone
He asked me for my phone
He told me his name
And I told him the same

And I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom
Yes, I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom

Girl, I’m not jiving about a thing
He knew just what was happening
He had my heart just a pumping
Girl, he was really saying something
He had my heart up on a shelf
Girl he was really something else

As I went home
Sat down to wait
He called me at eight
Not one minute late

And I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom
Yes, I knew by the way he smoked
He was a bad motorcycle, voom-voom-voom

Original © Thornett Music

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First Ride: New Year’s Day 2012

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Sven

Sunday, January 1, 2012—There are a number of superstitions about New Year’s Day, including one regarding the direction of the wind.

Wind from the north forecasts a year of bad weather, while wind from the south predicts good weather and general prosperity. Wind from the east presages a year of bad crops, while wind from the west means a bountiful harvest…but the death of a person of national importance.

New Year’s Day’s sunrise found strong winds gusting from the west and a clear sky. By mid-day, the wind had calmed, and temperatures were in the mid-60s, much nicer than the historical average high of 50ºF. (The average daily high bottoms out at 49ºF in the first two weeks of January, after which temperatures begin to rise again. Every day we beat that average is one less day of winter!)

Another superstition for New Year’s Day is that you should do the things you want to do more of in the coming year.

OK, I just made that one up, but like a lot of motorcyclists, I try to get out for a ride on New Year’s Day as a symbolic start to the year. The destination isn’t important, just the activity.

This year, my buddy Terry and I deviated from the normal New Year’s Day ride down to the Mississippi River with his cronies, and we headed up to Shelby Forest State Park for a bit.

This year, el Bandido got the nod, since the Silver Bullet made the New year’s Eve run down to the RiverKings game. On the way home, I was regretting not having the heated grips, but the Bandit’s familiar grunt is practically part of the traditional ride.

As the park, we found blue skies, bare trees, and quiet…other than the sound of of other motorcyclists making the trip out to the park.

An unexceptional ride…but time spent on the bike, in good weather, with a good friend is definitely a good omen for the year ahead.

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[Motorcycles in Music] My Little Sister’s Gotta Motorbike

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Sven

Several years before Both Wheels Left the Ground, Crazy Cavan and the Rhythm Rockers had another motorbike themed song.

My Little Sister’s Gotta Motorbike was inspired by the true story that Grogan’s sister was one of the first girls in South Wales with a BSA motorcycle.

BSA was a company as diversified as any of today’s Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.

Birmingham Small Arms began in 1861 as a gun manufacturer in Birmingham, England. In 1880, BSA began producing bicycles, and then motorcycles in 1910.

I remember the BSA bikes as being some of the most graceful-looking of the early-century bikes we displayed at the Art of the Motorcycle in the Memphis Pyramid in 2007.

BSA expanded into the Sunbeam brand of motorcycles, and then into automobiles for a brief period, until that line was merged into a subsidiary of Daimler.

Beginning in the 1960s, BSA struggled in the face of competition from the Japanese brands, and a 1972 merger with Norton and Triumph was the death knell for all three marques. By 1978, the various brands of motorcycles (and guns) were sold.

In the years following, the brands have been revived by successor companies, but today, the original BSA lines of guns and motorbikes are nothing more than a memory.

My Little Sister’s Gotta Motorbike

My little sister’s got a motorbike
See her coming down your way
My little sister’s got a motorbike
It’s a big black BSA
She don’t wanna do the things
That a lady’s supposed to do
My little sister’s got a motorbike
She’s a rocker through an’ through
Rock on!
 
Well, sittin’ in the cafe
Boots across the floor
Talking about the big machines
Parked outside the door
 
My little sister’s got a motorbike
See her coming down your way
My little sister’s got a motorbike
It’s a big black BSA
She don’t wanna do the things
That a lady’s supposed to do
My little sister’s got a motorbike
She’s a rocker through an’ through
Ride in!
 
Well, she won’t wear no ladies dress
No fancy pinafores
Leather jeans and jacket too
That’s my sister’s clothes
 
My little sister’s got a motorbike
See her coming down your way
My little sister’s got a motorbike
It’s a big black BSA
She don’t wanna do the things
That a lady’s supposed to do
My little sister’s got a motorbike
She’s a rocker through an’ through.

by Cavan Grogan © 1977 Carlin Music Corp

Posted in Motorcycles in Music, Music | Leave a comment