My 100 Favorite Charted Country Songs: Della and the Dealer

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What a coincidence, both songs on the separate lists of 100 favorite charted songs today come from 1979! Of course, that wasn’t planned. How could I plan it: in alphabetical order, we’re in the G’s in rock but just reaching the D’s here! Here’s today’s song. Della and the Dealer - Hoyt Axton “Oh, Hoyt, how could you?” (Tom Servo, MST3K, when he saw that Axton wrote the theme song to the movie Mitchell) Jeremiah was a bullfrog and he hated drugs. I think Hoyt Axton made that plain, given that he wrote songs like “The No-No Song” (“no, no, no, no, I don’t smoke it no more”) and Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” (“if I were president of this land you know I’d declare total war on the pusher man”). So you’re not surprised at all when you discover in the final verse that it’s the unnamed dealer who winds up dead in the sawdust of the barroom floor. Hoyt Axton was a great songwriter, with his songs being recorded all over the place (in addition to the above-named songs, the Kingston Trio had a hit with his song “Greenback Dollar,” and Three Dog Night also recorded “Never Been to Spain” on the heels of the success of “Joy to the World”). His versions of his songs weren’t that successful, as he only had two top ten hits (“When the Morning Comes” and “Bony Fingers”). In addition to his singing, Axton did a lot of acting. He was the inventor dad who bought Gizmo in Gremlins, probably his best-known role. However, he also played the jealous ex-boyfriend of Jennifer in an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, and in that episode he sang this song. I love his voice and his songs. He’s sorely missed. Della and the Dealer Written by Hoyt Axton Recorded by Hoyt Axton From A Rusty Old Halo, 1979 Peak chart position: #17 Today’s rock song: “Girls Talk” He swore that Boone would die: