Dirty Ol' Men

Dirty Ol' Men:
They're everywhere.

Jerry Lee Lewis was one.




(But this post isn't about Jerry Lee- that will be another post- his older records are Mellow, Christian, and Country. I've got a pair, and I'll toss up some of that surprisingly great stuff. Later, later: patience Friends!)

They are even on records that I have.
Dirty Ol' Man.mp3 by The three Degrees
If and When.mp3 by The Three Degrees

The other day I was picking through some records, and I came across a slab of vinyl without any cover. It was by The Three Degrees: "Who are they?": I'd never heard of them. But at the Second Mile Thrift, records are just a quarter, so you take a Second look at things, even if (especially if?) they appear innocuous at first glance.

I saw a few song titles that seemed fun. One was "Dirty Ol' Man". Here's a Youtube of a live performance of that song, on Japanese television (!!!!):


Watch the video: it has Tennis! Coronations! A Mallet!
"You're a Dirty Ol' Man; You can't keep your hands to yourself! Yeah! You're a Dirty Ol' Man; Go mess around with somebody else!"

When the sleeve is missing, you don't have as many clues to go by. No pictures, no listing of who might have produced it, etc. You go by band name, track names, and your gut.

(most people's guts have shit for brains -get it?- but not my guts. No, I'm your favorite cultural detective; I can sniff out little clues and make a picture out of them. You'll see...)

It's like a peepshow- pay a quarter, take your chance, see what it is that you can see.

It turns out that The Three Degrees are on Philadelphia International Records- home of the Philly Sound. Yeah! I didn't notice this at first, but then I saw 'K. Gamble and L. Huff' as the songwriters, and then, I could hear them too. Gamble and Huff produced/wrote tons of 'the Philly Sound' bands.
Very smooth RnB, around the time when disco mixed with other sounds in a pretty dynamic way. Usually, this mix involves some of the funk and fun of disco; but with the regal pomp, drama, and cooled-out style of rhythm and blues and soul.

Ooh, I'm tellin' you- if you don't know, now you know.
Evidently, Gamble and Huff were also producing at a time when so-called "Women's Lib" was a topic of convo; here are some of the spoken lyrics to The Three Degrees' "I Like Being a Woman":

"You know, women's liberation
It's cool.
I mean, it's got its good points
and its bad points.

But you know sometimes, i just want to be loved
And that's when i become your slave.
I don't want to be your equal, i just want to be a part of you."

Right!
And on the topic, these were some sharp looking broads. If you haven't seen the youtube clip above (shame on you then!), here's a pic:



Hot to Trot, right?





They told me that "A Woman Needs A Good Man" to be a good woman.