Stukas Over Disneyland. The Dickies were the clown princes of punk, not to mention surprisingly longstanding veterans of the L.A. In fact, by the new millennium, they’d become the oldest surviving punk band still recording new material. In contrast to the snotty, intentionally offensive humor of many comedically. THE DICKIES Vinyl Records and CDs Jumpy, hyperactive Punk that replaces the genre's stereotypical anger, frustration and angst with campiness, goofiness and hilarity. Fast, simple, poppy songs are powered by three chords and an amazingly witty sense of humor. The Dickies Discography. 1979 Dawn Of The Dickies. 1979 The Incredible Shrinking Dickies. 1983 Stukas Over Disneyland.
Robert 'Bob' Davis (August 11, 1956 - June 6, 1981), stage name Chuck Wagon, was an American musician and member of the Los Angelespunk rock band The Dickies, with whom he released two albums in his lifetime, as well as a solo 7' single called 'Rock n' Roll Won't Go Away'.[1]
Having joined the Dickies shortly after their formation in 1977, Wagon was the band's multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, rhythm guitar, saxophone and harmonica as well as performing backing vocals. Dissatisfied with the band by early 1981, Wagon quit, but was persuaded to return for a handful of live shows. His final studio work with the band, released posthumously in 1983 on Stukas Over Disneyland, would feature Wagon on drums.
On the evening of June 5, 1981, after a Dickies show in Topanga Canyon, California, and deeply depressed over the end of his relationship with his girlfriend, Chuck returned home and shot himself in the head with a .22 rifle at his parents' San Fernando Valley home.[2][3][4] He died in a hospital the following morning at the age of 24.[3]
Discography[edit]
The Dickies Discography Blogspot
- The Dickies - The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (A&M records)
- The Dickies - Dawn of the Dickies (A&M records)
- The Dickies - Stukas Over Disneyland (Tracks 1 - 4) (PVC)
- Chuck Wagon - Rock & Roll Won't Go Away (A&M Records)
References[edit]
- ^Iain Baker. 'Down With Tractors'. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^'Chuck Wagon'. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^ abSimmonds, Jeremy (2008) [2006]. '1981'. The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press. pp. 154–155. ISBN978-1-55652-754-8. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^'Eighties'. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
For years, a self-publicized imbecility (and perhaps an identification with the vain, kitchy 'Valley Girl' subculture of the San Fernando Valley) has prevented the Dickies from achieving the recognition they deserve. The Dickies were, in a way, the Monkees of the early Californian punk scene, distinguished by their passion for 'junk movies', the trashy films which they doubtlessly fed on as adolescents. Nearly all of their songs borrow their titles from some line or plot of a film. And while they are certainly among those who have innovated the least in the world of punk rock, they are also among those who have entertained the most, and are among the few who still entertain today.
The band consisted of: the singer, Leonard Graves Phillips, the guitarist Stan Lee, the bassist Billy Club, keyboardist Chuck Wagon, and the drummer Karlos Kaballero. Their first works of 1978/79 were spoiled by being too fast and too short. On their first album The Incredible Shrinking (A&M, 1979), only the thrash-boogie of Give it Back and the silly lyrics similar to that of the Ramones in You Drive Me Ape succeed in establishing an identity. On the other hand, the second album, Dawn (A&M, 1979)--thanks to music-hall arrangements and refrains (precise rhythm, bass drumrolls, old-style guitar solos, organ)--succeeds in placing in full prominence the funny contrivances of Stan Lee (guitar), Chuck Wagon (keyboard and wind instruments) and Leonard Phillips (vocals): from Tritia Toyota to Fan Mail, from Manny, Moe and Jack to Attack of the Mole Men, the album is a parade of comic sketches inspired by B-films, which follow in quick succession, without a moment of pause. One could say as much of the 45s from the same period, I’m OK (1978), Got It At the Store (1979) and the legendary Gigantor (1980), all born of the cross between circus music and a horror soundtrack.
The band broke up after Stukas Over Disneyland (PVC, 1983), but like the Weirdos, they reformed in 1988 to take advantage of a rising interest in their catalogue. After recording the theme song for the serial Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the Dickies recorded Second Coming (Enigma, 1989) giving the impression of a more serious powerpop (Cross-Eyed Tammy, Goin’ Homo). The EP Roadkill (Triple X) of 1993 signaled the culmination of the new direction, with just the right amount of melody, speed and humor.
Varied singing, catchy tunes, and keyboard arrangements by Leonard Graves Philips
made Idjit Savant (Triple X, 1995) a small masterpiece of 60s revival, having little in common with the Dickies of 1977. Dressing up their outdated punk rock with a grandiosity half-way between Queen and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Dickies made Welcome to the Diamond Mine the anthem of the new season; with suggestions of the bubblegum of the Monkees in Make It So and surf music in Zeppelina, they qualify to be placed among the greats of the Sixties revival. New commercial outposts were conquered, ranging from hardrock in I’m Stuck in a Condo to the disco-punk of Blondie in Toxic Avenger. And if Roadkill, for a moment, brings back the memory of the bombshells of better times, the almost grotesque vocal and instrumental arrangements of Oh Boy and House of Raoul serve as a reminder of how many years have indeed passed. This cross between Green Day and Rush is no longer the Dickies of the past, but is terribly keeping in step with the times.
The Dickies Discography Torrent
As much as they shine, their return doesn’t change the fact that, after the death of Wagon (1981), the Dickies have never been the same again.