Biz And Guitar Watson Can Do Bad By Themselves
'Too Late'
by Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and Larry Williams from their 1967 album Two For The Price Of One on Okeh Records
'Bad By Myself'
by Biz Markie from his 1993 album All Samples Cleared on Cold Chillin' Records
Now it's no secret that The Beef is a fan of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. Sure, he was an immensely skilled guitarist who changed with the times and had success in more than one genre. What I really love about his music is the raw personality that comes across. You get the feeling that the man means what he's saying, and also that a live show would blow your top off. I suppose it's a testament to his love of performance that he died on stage. Respect.
Larry Williams has an amazing life story. You should click that link, because it's a shocking example of what failure and misfortune can do to a talented man. Or maybe it's just another example of how the music industry eats people. Discovered at age 19 in New Orleans, he had some early success making R&B and Rock & Roll records. Then he was busted for 'selling narcotics' (now that's gangster) and drifted for a while. In the 60s, he hooked up with Johnny Watson and made a few records for the legendary Okeh records which had some success. The 70s didn't go so well, and at the start of the 80s he was discovered in his home with a bullet wound in his head. Damn.
On this record from 1967, Larry is shining. Johnny gives counsel to Williams over an uptempo R&B track with some somewhat questionable orchestration. But with a vocal duet like that and such a hopping drum track, it's hard to complain too much. It was 1967, everyone was doing that stuff.
In this song, Larry Says :You can go on and find you somebody elseWhich reminded me of this Biz Markie song from his post-law suit album, All Samples Cleared. It certainly isn't his best album, but it does have a few classic Biz moments. I once made a mix-tape for a girl which included 'I'm An Ugly Nigga (So What?)' and you have to admit that 'Young Girl Blues' takes the tenderoni concept to a whole new level. Neither track, however, is the quintessential B-i-z-m-a-rra like 'Bad By Myself,' whose hook is :
I can live cheaper by myself!
I don't need no woman to help me starve to death! Can you dig it?
I can do bad by myself
I don't need no help
To starve to death
I can do that on my own
I have a tendency to focus on the benefits of a relationship, and ignore the costs. It's nice to have friends like Biz and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson to remind me that the choice is mine. I don't need no help making myself unhappy and stressed out. K. Thx.
Then she popped the question
And asked me for some dough
I looked her in the face and said
"Hell No!"
You're a head nurse and you want my dough?
You must be crazy as hell
(Introspective shoutouts to Cinnacism, who I hope does not get blown away by Hurricane Rita.)