Prison-Themed Top Ten: Locked Up in the State of Illinois (#6)

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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: