D. W. Washburn
"D.W. Washburn" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Two famous recordings of the song are by the Coasters and the Monkees. It was also included in the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe.
| "D. W. Washburn" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US single cover | ||||
| Single by The Monkees | ||||
| B-side | "It's Nice to Be with You" | |||
| Released | 8 June 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 17 February and 1 March 1968 RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, United States | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:46 | |||
| Label | Colgems #1023 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | The Monkees | |||
| The Monkees singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Monkees' version was a non-album single, and was also a double-sided hit, backed with "It's Nice to Be with You," also a non-album single. The music was arranged and conducted by Shorty Rogers.
Lyrics
The lyrics tell a story of a derelict (Washburn), chosen by a well-meaning charity for a wash-up and a meal. Washburn declines the offer, though, preferring his jobless, drunken but easygoing lifestyle to a life of responsibility. He mentions, "I do believe I got it made".
Recordings
Recorded during the sessions for The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees, their version of "D.W. Washburn" was the first single they released after the second and final season of their series on NBC concluded. All their previous singles reached the top 3 of the Billboard Top 100 due to strong promotion through their use in various episodes; without this exposure, the song became the band's first to miss the Top Ten in the U.S. Billboard charts, reaching No. 19.[1] It was also their last US Top 40 single until "That Was Then, This Is Now" in 1986.
Lester Sill, president of Colgems Records at the time, later regretted his decision to release the song as the follow up to Valleri. "I loved the sound of the song – the demo that I heard. Then I realized after we did it and it came out that it was really a downer. It was a story about a guy in the gutter, about a bum. I thought that there was kind of a comical, dixieland feel to it that I felt was rather different. In hindsight, I realized it was an awful mistake." In the early 1950's, Sill was influential in guiding and developing the careers of the Leiber and Stoller songwriting team.
The Coasters released their version of the song in July 1968. They had recorded the song on October 31, 1967 with Date Records. The B-side of the song was "Everybody's Woman."
A medley "D.W. Washburn" / "L. David Sloane (A Good Man Is Hard To Find)" by the Hutch Davie Calliope Band, entered the Cashbox "Looking Ahead" survey on August 25, 1968.
The Monkees continued to perform the song during their 1980s and later reunions. One performance was on Nashville Now, a country music showcase.
"It's Nice to Be With You"
Also recorded during the sessions for The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees, the B-side, "It's Nice to Be With You", also charted in the U.S., reaching No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and No. 26 on Cashbox.[3] It charted best in Canada, where it reached No. 15.
References
- "The Monkees - Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
External links
