first 2014 version / second 1983 version
writer: Doug Koempel
albums: Time and Distance (BOF-56) 1983 | Feelin' Alright (BOF-94) 2014
artists: the Memory Brothers
publishing: Blue Baker Music BMI
2014 version:
- vocals: Doug
- drum track: Doug / Drums On Demand
- bass and brass: Doug / Yamaha NP-V80
- keyboard: Doug / Wurlitzer 200A electric piano
- organ: Doug / Hammond A100
- recorded at: Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio / West Union, Iowa
- vocals: Doug Koempel
- drum programming: Doug / Roland TR-606
- bass and electric piano: Doug / Roland Juno 60
- keyboard: Doug / Young Chang grand piano
- acoustic guitar: Kevin Conner / Martin D-35
- recorded at: Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio / West Union, Iowa
Doug's notes:
Hi friends,
It was sometime in the fall of '82, and I remember driving through Algona, Iowa on my way to Okoboji when on the radio I heard some gravel-voiced blues man singing something to the effect of "She's a big legged woman . . ."
The station had faded in and just as quickly faded out. I thought to myself, "Did I hear that right??!!" Because of the poor reception, I really wasn't sure what the lyric was. But what I thought I'd heard got my creative wheels turning.
Within a day or two and with tongue in cheek, I had penned "Fat Legged Woman Blues." I promptly added it to our set list and soon discovered our fans were divided into two camps: those who loved it . . . and those who despised it!
Back in the '70s and '80s, Kevin Conner and I performed a lot at the Cedar Cabin Club in Ashton, Iowa. The Cabin was situated smack dab in the middle of a very conservative area of northwest Iowa - good Christian people with solid Midwestern values. And there were indeed a lot of raised eyebrows when I'd launch into "Fat Legged Woman Blues." However there was also this very playful group of folks from the Orange City/Le Mars, Iowa area who were a bit on the mischievous side - they simply loved the song and relished the rise it got out of some of their more-demure compatriots. So I decided to take the song out of regular rotation and save it for when our Orange City friends were in the audience.
By the late '90s we quit playing the Cedar Cabin, and I retired the song. After that I seldom played it until fairly recently after some folks from the Decorah, Iowa area happened to hear it on our "Time and Distance" album. They asked if we ever perform it. Well, that request prompted me to resurrect the song; and it's currently been enjoying a bit of a revival. I decided to re-record it with a little different arrangement for our "Feelin' Alright" CD which was released in 2014.
So here you're listening to the 2014 version followed by the original recording done 31 years prior. And yes, I still have people scrunch up their noses and shake their heads when they hear this song - but then there are a handful of enlightened folks with a wicked sense of humor who get it! Let's hope you're in the latter camp.
Click to hear both versions.
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