…SONG
In ND #8 (March-April ’97), we ran a review of a record that included a cover of the song “Tulsa County” and trusted the disc’s liner notes which credited the tune to Joe Tex. We followed that in #9 with a (supposed) correction stating that Roger McGuinn had written the song, then again in #10 admitting we’d found that to be wrong, too, and asking for help. Many thanks to the several folks who obliged; the first, and most thorough, response follows:
I believe I can help with your question about the song “Tulsa County”, a.k.a. “Tulsa County Blue”. The version many of your readers may know is from the Byrds album The Ballad Of Easy Rider, which was recently reissued by Sony in its second wave of augmented Byrds rereleases. That’s why somebody told you the song was written by Roger McGuinn. In fact, it was written by a singer named Pamela Polland.
I have a comprehensive webpage devoted to the Byrds, called ByrdWatcher (http://ebni.com/byrds). Here is a bit of background on the song from the review of Ballad on the site:
Pam Polland, the composer of “Tulsa County [Blue],” had her own band called Gentle Soul. [Byrds producer] Terry Melcher had produced an LP for Gentle Soul and in the course of doing so acquired the copyright to “Tulsa County.” The song had already been a country hit for June Carter, but Melcher must have been pleased when [Byrds bassist] John York suggested the Byrds record the song. Before Gentle Soul, Polland had performed with Ry Cooder. Cooder later joined the Rising Sons, along with Taj Mahal and future Byrd Kevin Kelley. The Sons were signed to Columbia and recorded sessions with Melcher for an album in 1965 and ’66. “Tulsa County” was one of the tracks they cut; it was finally released on The Rising Sons (Columbia/Legacy, 1992).
–Tim Connors
…WRESTLER
“In the glory days of big-time pro wrestling, a brute by the name of Black Jack Mulligan was famous for his finisher, a convincing little piece of theatrics known as the “heart punch.” At least I think it was Black Jack. What I am sure of, however, is that John Casey has delivered the sonic equivalent on Hannah Rose Suite.”
When we ran this introductory paragraph of a record review written by Lou Fusaro in ND #9 (May-June ’97), we really didn’t expect it to create a firestorm of controversy that would subsequently redirect the focus of our magazine. But, hey, we’ll gladly play along with this silliness. In ND #10 (July-Aug. ’97), a letter to the editor from Jonathan Gelperin claimed: “In fact, it was a different professional wrestler, Big John Stud, who was the master of the devastating heart punch.” In the wake of that assertion, we’ve received a full-on body-slam of letters offering a variety of somewhat contradicting viewpoints, though the general consensus seems to credit Stan Stasiak for the heart punch. We’ll let our wrestling-obsessed readers take it from here:
Re: the touching letter from Jonathan Gelperin in the most recent issue of No Depression (#10, July-Aug. ’97) chiding you for crediting Black Jack Mulligan for being the master of the heart punch, and claiming that credit for Big John Studd (note the correct spelling of the name). Neither of those two worthies was truly a master of anything, let alone the heart punch. Black Jack Mulligan was a mid-carder who was principally known for his heel tactics. Studd was a tall stiff who couldn’t wrestle a lick. No, the true master of the heart punch was the late Stan Stasiak, who ironically died last month of heart failure. Stasiak not only originated the move, he won several national and international titles with it. I’m pleased that your reader had a pleasant experience with Mr. Studd; I have invariably found the pro wrestlers I’ve met to be kind to the elderly, children and dogs.
Feel free to run this, if you dare open up ND to charges of your readers being tattooed rednecks who watch wrestling, drink beer and drive Ford pickups.
–Bryson Alden (yes, Grant’s brother)
Seattle, Washington
By way of reply/explanation regarding Jonathan Gelperin’s letter in No Depression #10:
Big John Studd (for that is the way he spelled it, with two Ds) died around two years ago. I met this gentle giant and dedicated dad about a year before he passed away. It was at the Richmond Coliseum and, no, he was not wrasslin’, because he was several years into retirement. He was with his son’s youth ice hockey team from the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. He was very much involved in youth hockey and served as an assistant coach for his son’s team. That afternoon, he worked the penalty box.
I remember well his reign as a tag-team champion with King Kong Bundy and his epic wars with that wrasslin’ icon, Andre the Giant, another gentle person who was known to sometimes down two cases of beer before a match.
But if there was an Encyclopedia of Wrestling (and there may well be), if you looked up “heart punch” in the index, it would undoubtedly lead you to Black Jack Mulligan, who “invented” it, not to Big John Studd.
–William Burke
Richmond, VA
In last month’s issue (ND #10, July-Aug. 1997), letter writer Jonathan Gelperin corrected No Depression by explaining that the heart punch belonged to professional wrestler Big John Studd, not Black Jack Mulligan. The heart punch has long been used as a move in professional wrestling, and by many men. And just as wrestlers embrace a “finishing move”, they often abandon it for another one in different times in their career. Studd later went to the body-slam in his feud with Andre the Giant.
For historical accuracy, it was Stan Stasiak who is credited with inventing the heart punch in the ’60s.
Sadly, both Stasiak and Studd are no longer with us. Studd passed away a few years ago of a form of cancer, and was not quite 40. Stasiak died early this year, in his 60s.
–Josh Neimand
Burlington, VT
Re: Jonathan Gelperin’s letter in No Depression #10:
I beg to differ with Mr. Gelperin, but it was Stan Stasiak of the old World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) who was the original master of the heart punch, back in the mid-1970s (when I was in sixth grade.)
–Matthew Stanley
New York City, NY
