"Too Much Junkie Business" | |
---|---|
Demo by The Heartbreakers | |
from the album L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes | |
Released | 1994 |
Recorded | December 13, 1977 |
Studio | Riverside, London |
Label | Jungle |
Songwriter(s) | Walter Lure, Johnny Thunders |
Producer(s) | Mike Thorne |
"Too Much Junkie Business" is a song written by Walter Lure of the New York punk band the Heartbreakers. Johnny Thunders sometimes introduced it as "written by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Waldo (Lure)." [1] The lyrics are a black-humored takeoff on Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1956), about the complications of everyday life. Its melody is the New York Dolls' version of "Pills" by Bo Diddley. [2] Thunders performed it often in his post-Heartbreakers career. Lure has said that he let Thunders take co-writing credit because "he liked it so much and he wished he’d wrote it". [3]
A Heartbreakers demo recorded for EMI appears on L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes and live versions are included on many compilations. Walter Lure has performed it often with and without his band the Waldos. He and Billy Rath recorded a version in 1978 for Island Records which was never released. [4] With Dee Dee Ramone's "Chinese Rocks," the song became a nostalgic anthem of sorts for punk-era and Thunders memorial concerts and tributes.
New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls. It was released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. However, most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their vulgarity and onstage fashion as well as homophobia in New York; the group later appeared in exaggerated drag on the album cover for shock value.
John Anthony Genzale, known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later played with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist.
The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock.
Sid Sings is the first released solo live album by English punk rock musician Sid Vicious. It was released posthumously in 1979 and entered the British album charts on 15 December where it peaked at number 30.
Gerard Nolan was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers.
L.A.M.F. is the only studio album by the American punk rock band The Heartbreakers, which included Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Walter Lure and Billy Rath. It was released on October 3, 1977 by the British independent record label Track Records, and the music of the album is a mixture of punk and rock and roll.
Too Much Junkie Business is a compilation of studio demos and live recordings, recorded in late 1982 by protopunk guitarist and singer Johnny Thunders. It is one of the original releases by Neil Cooper's then cassette-only label ROIR. It was reissued in 1999 on compact disc as The New Too Much Junkie Business.
Jungle Records is a British independent record label formed in 1982, specialising in punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases.
In the Flesh is a posthumous live CD by punk rock guitarist/singer/songwriter Johnny Thunders. It consists of the full live set featuring a reunion of Thunders with fellow ex-New York Dolls and Heartbreakers drummer Jerry Nolan, ex-Dolls bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane, and ex-Idols & London Cowboys guitarist Barry Jones, recorded at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, California on January 4, 1987. Given Thunders' notoriety for performing in a smacked-out or alcoholic haze, this more sober and professional Thunders performance led one reviewer to declare the CD to contain "an ample track selection, generally superb performances, and surprisingly good fidelity all in one package -- a Triple Crown rarely achieved in the world of J.T. live recordings."
Live at Max's Kansas City is a live album by The Heartbreakers. Recorded at a "reunion"/"farewell" show on September 16, 1978 at the famous Max's Kansas City nightclub, the album's performance — loud, sloppy, and laden with bawdy introductions and/or lyric changes to many of the familiar songs from their only studio album, L.A.M.F. — further cemented the band's live reputation. A classic of early punk rock, the album has been called "probably the best official document of any New York band of the era."
Lipstick Killers – The Mercer Street Sessions 1972 is a 1981 album of demos by the New York Dolls. The album's songs were later re-recorded for New York Dolls, except for "Don't Start Me Talking" and "Human Being" which were later re-recorded for Too Much Too Soon and "Don't Mess with Cupid", which was never re-recorded.
Danny Ray is an American tenor saxophonist. Known for his sax style which evolved from early punk rock and R&B roots he is a long-time contributing artist to the New York City music scene and has been identified with the moniker, "Exploding Sax".
Bo Diddley's Beach Party is the eleventh album by rock musician Bo Diddley. Recorded live in concert in July 1963 at the Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, it is one of rock music's earliest live remote recordings. The album was a success in the UK Album Charts reaching #13 on July 3 and stayed on the charts for 6 weeks.
"Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, After School Session, in May 1957; and as an EP. The single reached number four on Billboard magazine's Most Played R&B In Juke Boxes chart, number 11 on the Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart and number seven on the R&B Top Sellers in Stores chart in the fall of 1956.
Stations of the Cross is a Johnny Thunders album recorded over two sets at The Mudd Club in New York on September 30, 1982. Film director Lech Kowalski had originally planned to record a live Johnny Thunders performance for his movie, Stations of the Cross. The spoken dialogue was recorded at the Carlton Arms Hotel, New York City, in Room 29, on August 25, 1982.
The Blank Generation (1976) is the earliest of the released DIY "home movies" of the 1970s punk rock scene in New York City. It was filmed by No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe and Patti Smith Group member Ivan Kral.
The Chess Box is a compact disc box set compilation by Chuck Berry. It is one in a series of box sets issued by MCA/Chess in the late 1980s. The Chuck Berry set is the most prominent of these, having won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album in 1989. Berry's Chess Box was reissued on vinyl in 1990.
Walter Lure was an American rock guitarist and singer. He was a member of the rock group The Heartbreakers.
Odie Payne was an American Chicago blues drummer. Over his long career he worked with a range of musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Little Johnny Jones, Tampa Red, Otis Rush, Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Minnie, Magic Sam, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Guy.
In Cold Blood is a 1983 double album by Johnny Thunders. The In Cold Blood album contains studio recordings and the Live LP contains live recordings.