“Summertime is cool… the heat is getting old… yeah I’ll
get a beverage, just make sure it’s cold”
As I began to
write this entry (May 27), the A/C unit at the Radio Dial home office
has gone kaput. It was over twenty years old, so we knew this day
would come sooner than later. Problem is, this happened during a very
hot and humid weekend (at least for central Ohio), with temps in the
upper 80s, and 90% humidity, and minimal wind. Let’s just say that
we were miserable.
However, one
activity that was getting the Radio Dial family and I through the
heat wave was enjoying frequent chilled drinks. Ice water, iced tea,
lemonade, soda pop, juice, and beer (just the Mrs. and I for that
last one of course), have been instrumental in keeping us at least
reasonably comfortable, along with frequent spins of today’s
spotlighted song, which is perfect for these hot summer days. So
let’s give it up for G. Love and Special Sauce’s ode to quenching
your thirst… the aptly named “Cold Beverage”.
Hailing from “The City of Brotherly Love” (Philadelphia, of
course!), G. Love and Special Sauce formed in 1993 by Garrett Dutton
(the ubiquitous “G. Love” himself), drummer Jeffrey “Houseman”
Clemens, and Jim “Jimi Jazz” Prescott on string bass. “Cold
Beverage” was the first single from their 1994 debut self-titled
LP. It became quite popular on college rock stations and also made an
appearance on MTV’s Beavis & Butt-Head (wish I could
find a clip of that!) However, it did not make an appearance on any
Billboard singles chart.
Classified as
“alternative hip hop”, G. Love’s sound is firmly rooted in the
blues, with sprinklings of classic soul, rap, and alternative rock
blended throughout. Garrett’s brisk blues-rap delivery mentions an
impressive menu of mouth watering drinks that are sure to make anyone
thirsty by the song’s conclusion. Lemonade appears to be the band’s
beverage of choice, as it is mentioned quite a few times, and appears
as a tattoo in the opening seconds of the music video. The drink list
continues with Sprite, iced tea, A&W, milk shakes, egg creams,
orange juice, and various adult libations. There is even a line about
how watermelon is basically a drink, so it’s cool with them if you
serve ‘em up a large slice.
There’s also
some helpful advice in the guise of this insanely catchy chant,
mid-way through the song…
“Stick
it in the fridge… stick it in the fridge… if you like
something cold to swig, man...
stick it in the fridge”
(Zoey, the Radio Dial Daughter,
absolutely LOVES this part!)
My only gripe
about the tune is that it is difficult to follow along with Garrett’s
lyrics, mainly due to his vocals being “buried in the mix” during
the verses. At least that’s how it sounds to my ears. I’m not an
audio engineer, so maybe there’s something else at play here.
Still, “Cold Beverage”, with it’s cool groove, is a tasty
thirst quenching track that should be on everybody’s summertime
playlist.
Has G.Love had
any major hits? Well, the band’s biggest single to date was 2008’s
“Peace, Love, and Happiness”, which hit #15 on the US
Adult Alternative chart, and they’ve made a chart appearance as
recently as 2019’s “Go Crazy”, recorded with modern
blues legend Keb’ Mo, which hit #30 on that same chart. But the
boys of Special Sauce have yet to score a crossover single that has
gotten them anywhere on the Billboard Hot 100. However, I get the
feeling that they are perfectly fine with that. They’ve continued
to record and tour for over 25 years, and that is some incredible
longevity!
So, in case you
were wondering… on June 3rd, we replaced our air conditioning unit.
Seven thousand big ones. Ugh. But it needed to be done. What’s
important is the Radio Dial home office is cool and comfortable once
more. However, you can bet that the family will continue to enjoy
cold beverages and “Cold Beverage” throughout the summer. Grab
your favorite thirst quencher from the fridge, take a swig, check out
the video, and tell me...what are some of your favorite summertime
songs? Post a comment below!
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