Prison-Themed Top Ten: Locked Up in the State of Illinois (#6)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (67414)
United States
May 7, 2020 9:06am CST
Here’s a song about prison....only there’s no mention of “jail” or “prison” in the title. This gets close, but not close enough to be on the other list. That’s okay...more music for everyone! With love to JJ, here’s today’s song.
#6: Locked Up in the State of Illinois - BoDeans with DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore
In the mid-90s Elvis sidemen DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore decided to do an album where they’d back a variety of artists. The result was 1997’s All the King’s Men, which included acts ranging from Steve Earle to Keith Richards to Cheap Trick.
Included in that mix was the pride of Waukesha, Wisconsin (if you forget that Les Paul was from there), the BoDeans. This song goes back to the early days of the band (I had bootlegs of them doing this song on their first tour in 1986), but they had never recorded it.
So this tale of prison life for murder has been relegated to this “various artists” album with the common thread of two men who backed the King of Rock and Roll. That’s sad, because it’s a great song.
Locked Up in the State of Illinois
Written by Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas
Recorded by the BoDeans with DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore
From All the King’s Men, 1997
Under 90 years and I’m gettin’ out:
...from the "All The Kings Men" 1997. Sweetfish Records -uploaded in HD at http://www.TunesToTube.com
7 people like this
7 responses
@crossbones27 (49344)
• Mojave, California
8 May 20
This goes great with the memeI just saw. More jail than prison but funny all the same, I thought. You go to a party, be prepared to be sent to jail because of corona virus. You in Jail be prepared to be let out because of Corona Virus. People Logic is great.
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
7 May 20
i wonder how you were going to bring JJ in on this!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
7 May 20
Hey, Michael Ritchie who directed The Bad News Bears was from Waukesha.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (176864)
• United States
7 May 20
Not what I was expecting. Not awful!
1 person likes this