The Friday 5×2: Your Booze Songs

You all came up with a few good songs after last week’s theme of “booze.” Fifteen in total, eight which actually had the name of an alcoholic beverage in the title, and seven more that had lots of booze in the song. Here they are.

1. The Andrews Sisters, “Rum And Coca-Cola” Kip told me that the song was written by comic genius Morey Amsterdam. Most of you know who he is. If you don’t, look him up.
2. Toby Keith with Willie Nelson, “Beer For My Horses” Jeanne, who usually recommends hard rock and heavy metal songs, had three country songs she wanted to recommend, including this one. It was the fourth and final single from his seventh album, 2003’s Unleashed. The song peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 but spent six weeks at #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart, making Willie (at age 70) the oldest person to have a #1 on the chart.
3. Joe Nichols, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” The first single off his 2005 release III, it went to #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart, Joe’s second #1.
4. John Anderson, “Straight Tequila Night” Here’s kind of an oldie for you. It was released in December 1991 from John’s Seminole Wind album, and it reached #1 on the country chart, his first #1 since 1983.
5. Frankie Yankovic, “Beer Barrel Polka” Uncle Jack suggested this polka classic. Every polka band on the South Side of Chicago (and trust me, there are a lot of them) plays this one at least once a night. Frankie Yankovic is the Polka King, so I chose his version. Another good polka favorite is “In Heaven There Is No Beer.”
6. The Champs, “Tequila” Stephen suggested this one, and informed me that “tequila” is the Spanish word for “little jail.” Members of The Champs included Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, who went on to folk-rock fame and fortune in the Seventies.
7. Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, “Whiskey Lullaby” Newcomer Jamie came up with this one, warning me that it’s a sad song, and the video just makes it sadder. It was from his 2003 album Mud On The Tires and peaked at #3 on the country chart in 2004.
8. Bob Dylan, “Moonshiner” Eugenia came up with this. I wasn’t sure whether to include it with the songs with booze in the title or the ones with lots of booze in them, so I put it in between. The history of this song is a bit unclear, with some sources saying it came to the US from Ireland and others insisting it was the other way around. Dylan recorded it in 1963, and it was included in his Bootleg Series.
9. The Irish Rovers, “Wasn’t That A Party” Birgit suggested it, but not by name, and I was able to find it anyway. I’m getting pretty good at this.
10. Ella Fitzgerald, “I Get A Kick Out Of You” Another Birgit choice. The song was written by Cole Porter and included on Ella’s The Cole Porter Songbook, just not sure if it’s on volume 1 or 2. If you’re a jazz fan, Ella’s “Songbook” albums are a must-have.
11. Toby Keith, “Red Solo Cup” Another of Eugenia’s choices. From his 2011 release Clancy’s Tavern, it reached #9 on the Hot Country Singles chart and #15 on the Hot 100 in 2011-12.
12. George Thorogood, “I Drink Alone” Some of you were disappointed that I chose John Lee Hooker’s version of “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” so I was glad Eugenia suggested this one. It was on his 1985 release Maverick and reached #13 on the Mainstream Rock chart that year.
13. Frank Sinatra, “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” Uncle Jack recommended this. Sinatra recorded it so many times he made it his song, but it was first done by Fred Astaire in the 1943 movie The Sky’s The Limit.
14. AC/DC,”Have A Drink On Me” Another Jeanne suggestion. From their 1980 album Back In Black.
15. Neil Diamond, “Cracklin’ Rosie” Eugenia suggested this, and at first I wasn’t going to include it, then I remembered one of the US wineries (Gallo or Paul Masson, most likely) had a wine they called Crackling Rosé. At least I think they did. Anyway, it’s a good song. It was on his 1970 album Tap Root Manuscript and was his first #1 single.

And that’s your Friday 5×2 for April 27, 2018.