Kentucky Headhunters - Big Boss Man

There's a lot of anger in this country right now. People think that they're being pushed around by a government that's out of control. That they're being told to shut up and do as they're told. That their intellectual betters are in charge now.

People know how that turns out. Meet the new Boss Man, same as the old Boss Man.

You know, there's a country music song for that.

The Kentucky Headhunters are a great old band from back in the day that we still used to talk about "Southern Rock". They've been playing since the early 1980s, but had a break-out moment at the end of that decade. They scraped up $4,500 to make a demo tape, which they sold at concerts. This attracted the studio's attention, although the record execs thought that the sound was "too regional". The band knew their listeners better than the marketing guys, though:

They thought it was too regional, and that no one outside the area would get it, but what they didn't see, was the reaction we got to it every night that we played it in front of a crowd, and it didn't matter where we were playing either.

The album, Pickin' on Nashville had four singles hit the country charts, won a Grammy, won them the Best New Vocal Group award from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and Vocal Group of the Year and Album of the Year from the Country Music Association (CMA).

People know what they like, and know what they don't like, and don't need some MBA in a suit to tell them.

Big Boss Man was made famous by Elvis, rocked up by the Kentucky Headhunters on the album of the same name, and perfectly captures the mood of the nation. Sometimes a line is changed; instead of I'm gonna get me a woman/one who will treat me right, it's performed I'm gonna get me a boss man/one who will treat me right.



Big Boss Man (Songwriters: Al Smith, Luther Dixon)

Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?
Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?
Can't you hear me when I call?
Well you ain't so big, you know you're just tall that's all.

Well you got me workin' boss man
Workin' round the clock
I wanna little drink of water
But you won't let big Al stop

Big boss man now can't you hear me when I call?
I said you ain't so big, you know you're just tall that's all
Big boss man, why can't you hear me when I call?
You know you ain't so big, I said you're just tall that's all.

I'm gonna get me a boss man
One who's gonna treat me right
I work hard in the day time
Rest easy at night
Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?
Can't you hear me when I call?
I said you ain't so big, you're just tall that's all

I'm gonna get me a boss man
One that's gonna treat me right
I work hard in the evenin'
Rest easy at night
Big boss man, big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?
I said you ain't so big, you're just tall that's all
All right, big boss man
It's all right

I'm gonna get me a boss man/One that's gonna treat me right

See you in November, Congress.