Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Ms. Betty Jo Bangs, in the flesh

In 1971, Betty Jo Bangs released "Daddy Was A Preacher, Mama Was A Go-Go Girl." The early 1970s saw a few singers tackle this song, most notably Jo Anna Neel; Miss DeLoius And The Music Men also issued a version.

I tracked down a promotional photograph of Ms. Bangs. Her posture is demure and her demeanor pleasant and composed. I'm happy to be able to put a face to the singer of the song I love so much.

The photo goes a long way to make up for the brutal typos in the only advertisement I've been able to find for the single, from Billboard magazine. The title is wrong, and Bangs is given an unintentionally hilarious surname. Didn't matter, the song stiffed on the charts. It's A Giant flop.



12 comments:

DrBOP said...

My favorite version (which I'm sure you're aware of, but just in case you're not) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FewzfHLo71E

Keep on chooglin'!

Joe Bonomo said...

Mary Huff and co. taught it to me!

DrBOP said...

NICE LIFE! :+)

and....how fuckin' cool is THAT?

Don M. Patterson said...

Hi, I found your nice tribute to Miss Bangs while doing a deep dive on the producer of her song, Junior Keith. He sold 1 square-inch ranches in comic books to keep his label afloat, it's a wild story. And Betty Jo Bangs was done wrong. You might find it interesting: http://www.orgivemedeath.com/one-square-inch.html

Joe Bonomo said...

Don, thanks for writing and sharing your post. Fantastic stuff! Thanks for your hard work in clearing up the murky story. I've shared on facebook.

Don M. Patterson said...

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing. I saw the ad and just had to learn more, didn't expect the backstory to be so fascinating.

Joe Bonomo said...

Barbara Eden! Bob Hope!

If you're on fb lemme know and I'll tag you.

Don M. Patterson said...

Right? It really has everything. I'm not on FB but am on Twitter @DonMPatterson

Anonymous said...

Love Betty Jo! I get the privilege of having her share her songs and singing them for me! Great talent this wonderful lady has 🥰

Joe Bonomo said...

That's great! When and where did you see her?

Anonymous said...

Betty Jo and Bob Bangs were my good friends. I met them when she and her husband, Bob, lived on their farm/ranch near Campo, CO. I knew Betty Jo as a songwriter and performer and housewife with many interests and hobbies. She was a wonderful friend with many stories to tell from her childhood and adulthood. She took me rattlesnake hunting, catching them alive and placing them in feed bags. She would put them in her freezer and then would mold them in various poses covering the snakes with a clear liquid which would harden. These specimens would make paper weights. She molded a 5-6 ft rattler in a strike position and gave it to a local bank in Campo. Bob was an avid gun collector and he built a secret basement room in their house where he stored his large gun collection and ammunition. Betty Jo and Bob Bangs, childless, lived life to the fullest and were known throughout southeastern Colorado, Oklahoma Panhandle, western Kansas and Northeastern New Mexico.

Joe Bonomo said...

Thanks for writing, anon. Great stuff!