SLEEPING WITH A MEMORY | The Memory Brothers

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album: For Always / 1997 (BOF-64)
publishing: Blue Baker Music BMI
produced by: Doug Koempel
lyrics by: Eletta "Dolly" Sias *
artists: the Memory Brothers
label: Memento Records

• vocal: Doug Koempel
• background vocals: Mike Williams and Doug
• electric guitar: Mike Williams
• saxophone: Heath Patschull
• piano (Young Chang grand): Doug
• drums and horns programmed by Doug
• sequenced on Korg M1's internal sequencer
• instruments: Korg M1 (keyboard) and Alesis SR-16 (drum machine)
• recorded at: Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio / West Union, Iowa

Doug's notes:

Think of songs such as "Blueberry Hill", "I'm Leavin' It Up To You", "This Should Go On Forever" and "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights." What do these songs all have in common? The answer is that they're all examples of a south Louisiana genre known as "Swamp Pop."

The defining elements of swamp pop are the triplet piano rhythms, the heavy accent on beats "2" and "4" by the snare drum and rhythm guitar and the driving, ostinato bass line. The speed is usually mid-tempo, and the lyrics frequently find a lovelorn subject singing about his lost sweetheart.

"Sleepin' With A Memory" fits all these criteria and is a perfect example of swamp pop - all the way down to the wailing sax solo so perfectly played by a young Heath Patschull (who has gone on to establish himself as one of the top instrumentalists in the Midwest.) And what could be more poignant than the late Dolly Sias's plaintive lyric:

        "I sleep with her but dream of you,
        You sleep with him but dream of me,
        Two people sleepin' with a memory."

* Dolly also wrote the lyrics to our 1997 song: "You're Gonna Do It (Ain't Cha!)"

Click below to play "Sleeping With A Memory."