Listen/Download – Beauregard and the Tuffs – (Love Is Like a) Ramblin’ Rose
Greetings all.
What I bring you today is an updated version of what I used to call the ‘Intersection of Iron Leg and Funky16Corners’ now rebranded (cough…) as a ‘Twin Spin’.
If you head over to Funky16Corners, you’ll get smacked in the head by the brilliant 1965 Ted Taylor version of ‘(Love Is Like a) Ramblin’ Rose’.
This is the self-same tune that a few years later was positively “blowed up” by the only Motor City Madmen that ever mattered, the MC5.
Now, earlier this year, my man Derek See over at Derek’s Daily 45 dropped another version of this song, which as soon as I heard it I knew I had to get myself a copy to stuff into my record box.
That version – which you see before you today – was recorded by a combo named Beauregard and the Tuffs.
Other than the fact that it was also recorded in 1965, and inspired by the Ted Taylor version (as opposed to the 1962 Jerry Lee Lewis recording) I can tell you absolutely nothing about Beauregard and the Tuffs.
No matter how hard I’ve searched, I have been able to turn up nothing about them (though you’d think with a name like that, something would show up). Other than the band name, and the writing credits, there is no further identifying information on the label that might point a curious soul like myself in a new direction (the flip ‘Big Bad Guitar’ is a cover as well).
The Beauregard and the Tuffs recording is a fantastic example of early, UK R&Beat influenced US garage, with the fuzz guitar, organ, harp-monica and pounding, troglodyte drums.
The guitarist of the group is particularly interesting.
I make the determination that they were ‘covering’ Ted Taylor, not only because of their adaptation of the falsetto lead, but because their 45 also carries the appended writing credit of Obrey Wilson, which seems to have originated with Ted Taylor’s Billy Sherrill-produced Nashville session.
That all said it is indeed an exceptionally groovy record, and I hope you dig it (and pop on over to Funky16Corners if you haven’t yet dug the Ted Taylor).
See you next week with another episode of the Iron Leg Radio Show.
Peace
Larry
