Jim Croce eulogized a man who was “meaner than a junkyard dog.” But there was another Bad, Bad Leroy. LeRoy Neiman.
January 12, 2007 10:59 AM |
Noted, Y2K Culture
If someone asked you to write the stupidest possible lead-in to an anecdote about the Rockefellers, do you think you could do better than this?
Long before he became the czar of the breakfast sausage industry, country singer Jimmy Dean eulogized a coal miner in the 1962 chart topper, “Big Bad John.” John was big because, well, he was a big guy. He was bad because he was not to be trifled with and possessed a strength and courage that impressed his co-workers. But there was another John, a real life John, who established a reputation for being both big and bad but decidedly less admirable. This John wasn’t to be trifled with either. In fact, he was every bit as cunning and dangerous as the serpent that once served as the logo for the company he built, Standard Oil.Big Bad John D. Rockefeller was not a lowly coal miner. He was America’s first billionaire...
That’s from Chapter 7 of Surviving Y2K.
I like to think I could make this stuff up, but fortunately I don’t need to try.
Comments
This begs the question...was Jeremiah indeed a bullfrog or was he some corporate badass? And was he really a bullfrog or just a large toad?
This post made me chuckle. I love hearing real stories behind songs...though I must admit this one was nearly before my time. The Rockefellers have been during my time and given their once newsworthy presence they are relics of another era, albeit a philanthropic one. Even during the Gerald R. Ford ‘06-‘07 Wake Tour, Nelson Rockefeller was merely a footnote. Nice that one of them got a song. From the sausage schiller.
Your blog looks great by the way.
Posted by: Chris | January 13, 2007 9:38 PM
You have to read the piece all the way through to understand the comparison of Rockefeller and the Big, Bad John of Jimmy Dean’s song. It’s obviously intended to be humorous.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 4, 2007 7:24 PM