wellRED podcast - Bubba Shot: "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous"

Episode Date: April 29, 2022

IN 1994 Tracy Byrd put out a satirical and catchy number taking a dig at popular television show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." The song went to number 4 and was beloved for its "down home" take on leading a simple life. But the song itself is genius. Not just for being catchy, relatable, and good 90's country, but also for giving the mythical "everyman" an anthem to counter the idea that if you ain't rich, you ain't happy. We thank Byron Hill and Wayne Tester for penning it and hope y'all enjoy.

And we thank them for sponsoring the show. Well, no, I'll just go ahead. I mean, look, I'm money dumb. Y'all know that. I've been money dumb ever, since ever, my whole life. And the modern world makes it even harder to not be money dumb, in my opinion, because you used to, you, like, had to write down everything you spent or you wouldn't know nothing. But now you got apps and stuff on your phone.

It's just like you can just, it makes it easier to lose count of, well, your count, the count every month, how much you're spending. A lot of people don't even know how much they spend on a per month basis. I'm not going to lie. I can be one of those people. Like, let me ask you right now. Skewers out, whatnot, sorry, well-read people. People across the ske universe, I should say. Do you even know how many subscriptions that you actively pay for every month or every year?

Do you even know? Do you know how much you spend on takeout or delivery? Getting a paid chauffeur for your chicken low main? Because that's the thing that we do in this society. Do you know how much you spend on that? It's probably more than you think. But now there's an app designed to help you manage your money better. and it's called Rocket Money.

Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money shows all your expenses in one place, including subscriptions you already forgot about. If you see a subscription, you don't want anymore, Rocket Money will help you cancel it.

Their dashboard lays out your whole financial picture, including the due dates for all your bills and the pay days. In a way that's easier for you to digest, you can even automatically create, custom budgets based on your past spending. Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscription with members saving up to $740 a year when they use all of the apps. Premium features.

I used Rocket Money and realized that I had apparently been paying for two different language learning services that I just wasn't using. So I was probably like, I should know Spanish. I'll learn Spanish. and I've just been paying to learn Spanish without practicing any Spanish for, you know, pertinent two years now or something like that. Also, a fun one, I'd said it before,

but I got an app, lovely little app where you could, you know, put your friend's faces onto funny reaction gifts and stuff like that. So obviously I got it so I could put Corey's face on those two, those two like twins from the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movies. You know, those weren't a little like the Q-ball-looking twin fellas. Yeah, so that was money.

What was that a reply gift for? Just when I did something stupid. Something fat, I think, and stupid. Something both fat and stupid. But anyway, that was money well spent at first, but then I quit using it and was still paying for it and forgotten. If it wasn't for Rocket Money, I never would have even figured it out. So shout out to them.

They help. If you're money dumb like me, Rocket Money can help. So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with RocketMoney. Go to RocketMoney. dot com slash well read today that's rocket money.com slash well r e d rocketmoney.com slash well read and we thank them for sponsoring this episode of the podcast they're the of my personal favorite stories and show business history is about the time john stewer went on a show on CNN called crossfire and basically single-handedly got the show canceled

John went on the show and reminded everyone on the show and watching at home that what the country needs is actual discourse and discussion of policies and how they lead to people's problems on the ground. Rather than some bifurcated right, left, these are the only two options and these are the only two possible problems or solutions that we have right now, which is what Crossfire offered. The segment was so popular and went so viral at the beginning of the internet, that CNN scratch. the show. Of course, the downside of this is it led straight to Tucker Carlson going to Fox and becoming a worm without a bowtie, because John made him stop wearing the bow tie that day, too, that he is today. Another horrific show that also is as responsible for the downfall of America as Crossfire was, if not more so, was Robin Leach's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. This show is a sin. It is disgusting.

The entire point of the show is to deify rich people and their lives. When it came out in 1984, America didn't know what to think. What most Americans thought was, man, I'd like to live like that. And I know if I work hard, one day I might be able to, when really you have to be born in the generational wealth and have a connection to power that allows you to bend taxes and tax code to your will. Now, am I going too far with how I feel about lifestyles of the rich and famous? I don't know.

I will say this. I know for a fact it led directly to reality television shows like the Kardashians. So if nothing else, can we blame it for that? Much like John Stewart, the people needed a hero to cancel and get rid of lifestyles in the rich and famous. Now, I'm not saying that when Byron Hill penned lifestyles of the not so rich and famous, it was his goal to get the show taken off the air. I'm not saying when Tracy Bird put it out in 1994, he thought, a country singer, a man of the people,

I'm really doing something here. I am speaking out against this show and this song as a send-up, as a parody of it, will in fact lead to it getting canceled. But what I do know is less than a year after it came out, the show was canceled. Now is that really because Robin Leach got cancer? Maybe the parody gave him cancer.

I'm not saying he deserved that. I'm not saying he didn't. I'm saying fuck rich people, and this song is awesome. This is Bubbershot the podcast. Bubba Shot the podcast And that's right Welcome to Bubba Shot the podcast. Gentlemen, first, the facts.

And I was not ready to start this episode. Now I am. Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous is a song written by Byron Hill. Byron Hill is a very successful songwriter. We will get to him. Later, it was recorded by American country music artist Tracy Bird, released in 1994 as the first single from his album, No Ordinary Man.

It won an ASCAP Award for being one of the most performed country songs in 1994. For those of you who don't know, ASCAP is the group, the national organization that protects copyright. They're the people who go around a little flea markets and sue people who own flea markets because they're playing songs without permission.

And so I guess this particular song was a huge hit. My guess is with karaoke, that does not surprise me. Hold on. Wait, can we stop on this for a minute? What? Can we stop on this for a minute? Yeah.

So this, the song, Cops. but they also have an award ceremony. I didn't know that either until I've read this. So what's the point? This is the like, I don't, I don't get it. So his was played most times legally and they know that. They keep track of how the fuck do they do that?

Well, so you have to file to get permission to do it. My guess is that you can't keep up with actual single ones. Like if I've got a karaoke bar, I don't have to tell you how many times I do it, but I do have to request certain songs to be in my book. I would say that in those karaoke books, you know, that's the thing that you have to buy. Well, the people who buy it buy a license.

So I would say that it was licensed broadly the most times is what this means. It also may have been in a lot of TV shows. It may have been, you know what I mean? There's a lot of things they keep up with. And they're sort of like half government institution. When you file for your copyright fees, a lot of it goes to them. And yeah, they are out. I learned about them in law school.

You serious about them going around and stanging people? Like you could be in a flea market playing Skinnerd and somebody walks up and flips up in a badge. It's like, song cop. You've just been cop. I know they do. Agent Crowder, song cop. You've got to turn that off right now. I think what happens is you get a letter two weeks later.

And they were like, hey, the song cops were there. and you owe us a fuck ton of money. It's like a speeding ticket video. I've never heard about it with the songs, but I know that like, you know, WWE, they have agents that around the country that go to bars looking for people

playing like the pay-per-view and shit like that and shut it down. But like, that's a one-time event that they know when to look for. It is wild to think of just somebody being like, all right, today I had to go the fucking, the bait and tackle shop,

make sure they ain't playing George Jones. All of my knowledge about this comes from copyright law class and the cases were from like the 70s, 80s and 90s. My guess is now they do all their work on the computer. Yeah. Like ASCAP actually is the thing on YouTube, by the way, that blocks you. Like, it's them. You have seen their name beside it.

Copyright power. There you go. Yeah, I remember I was working at O'Charley's when UFC, like, first started getting big. And there were other servers asking about, like, are we going to have that? And I remember that's when I found out, like, we can't. Because over charles is a chain, you know. And they said the way it works is like, you got to, you got to pay the pay-per-view times the capacity. Right.

You have to purchase the pay-per-view for every person in there. And I was like, way, and everybody. So they were like, no way. We're not doing that. But like, but I remember it was always like some Mexican restaurants and stuff. Yeah. That just would just buy anything and throw it up. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't remember none of them getting. Wish a motherfucker would. It's with a practice that they were. Yeah. Running white power. Yeah. They just didn't know.

I don't know. But yeah, I always wondered how that. So they have like literal people that could bust you. Like, because I always wondered like when they track the feed somehow. And I feel like now they maybe could, you know. They definitely did it one time. Now I don't know how they would do that because that would probably require compliance with

the local provider. And if I'm Comcast, I'm not trying to get my local Mexican restaurants in trouble when they, if they are also a sports bar. You know what I mean? Like they probably got more channels than anybody. I'd say it really happens a lot when, because some people just will straight up advertise it. And they're like, boom, we can go get them.

But like in the Mexican restaurants, they're probably just like, hey, tell your friends, you know. Tell Hector. Yeah. Anyway. Well, yeah, let's, yeah, let's ask cap. Uh, anyway, sorry, I'm all fucked up now. Well, do you think it hits to get an award from the song cops?

No, it's the law. That's what I'm saying. Like, he got, he got, like, uh, what's the word? Well, honored. He got honored by the song cops, but I feel like, you'd be like, no, I don't have for me. Get your fucking. I mean, I don't think that's all they do is just go around, but like, I think it hits in the sense. There's not in a ceremony.

You know what I mean? Someone's going to read it in your Wikipedia. Most people won't know. know what it is. When you get the award, all they're telling you is, hey, man, you made a lot of money last year. So it's just like hits. Right on.

I appreciate you. You know, I guess thinking about like Metallica and Lars Alrich and stuff, like, I guess the song cops actually really hit for a lot of. They, they do. They want to get paid for their shit. And as they should. Yeah. But I still wouldn't want to be at the song cop awards.

Yeah. We should do that sketch. it would be funny for 18 people, the Songhop Award. All right, well, let's get a little bit more into it. I brought up Byron Hill. We're going to talk about him, the songwriter. I love Tracy Bird.

I forgot how good his fucking voice is. Yeah, man, he's underrated, for sure. When this came out, the critics were raving about it. Chuck full of hilarious white trashisms. This song, the song, I don't know what I'm in up rating it. But this episode is going to be a great episode. Let's dive right into these lyrics because culturally, I want you guys to think about as we're doing this where this fits. Because I think this is post Jeff Foxworthy, but it might be right around the same time.

What year? It's 94. It's right around the time he got super high. It's pre-Honey Boo-Boo, but post lifestyles of the rich and famous, which is sort of the opposite of HoneyBoooooo in a lot of ways as far as reality television. We're going to get into reality television because this song, the phrase lifestyles in the rich of famous, as far as I know, was made ubiquitous by the show, Lifestyles and the Rich and the Famous. So this was just a counter to that. And in some ways, that makes it kind of the forerunner of Honey Boo Boo.

It's definitely the forerunner of a lot of current modern country songs that talk about white trash shit. But it doesn't bother me as bad. But let's get in the lyrics. So, well, just since you brought it up, because I've immediately thought of this other. song that I was going to bring up anyway, and it's relevant to what you're talking about right now. This song is just, I was going to say, this song is kind of just, we're not the jet set, which is from 1974. Bobby Braddock, sort of friend of the show, whenever mentioned that.

Like, just everybody knows, Bobby Braddock got brought up on a recent episode, and then I got a text message a couple days later. It's like, hey, Bobby Braddock wants to talk to y'all. And I was like, oh, shit, Bobby Braddock wants to whoop our ass. Have you done anything about that? No, I responded to the person that he got in touch with me through, and I said, send him more away. We'd love that. And I ain't heard nothing else.

He's welcome anytime. But anyway, Bobby Braddock wrote, we're not the jet set for George Jones and Tammy Yonet in 1974. But it's pretty much this. Like, it's, you know, basically the same song. It's got more of a romance element to it. But it's the same type of thing you're talking about from 20 years prior, you know. I have no, I cannot back this up with actual facts. but I feel like this theme of,

we're poor, but it still hits. Yeah, right. Yeah. That's us, first of all, it definitely goes back to some, like, either slave or post-slave hymns of like,

you know what I mean? And then, frankly, a lot of religious songs, you know, it doesn't hit as hard in that scenario, but a lot of religious songs are like, we don't have much,

but we have God. And this is like, we don't have much, but we got sugary treats. Yeah, good time. We got beans in a can and stuff. Right. Your point is well made, well taken.

Well, let's get into the lyrics. And I said this about reality television. I didn't just mean because of the lifestyles and the rich and the famous. The lyrics actually get right at it. Honey, they're bringing out a TV crew. They want to do a story about me and you. They'll be stringing up bright lights in the backyard. There'll be cameras on their shoulders.

We'll be reading cue cars. Leave them long, John's on the line. and if the kids look dirty, that'll be just fine. Because they're going to put us on lifestyles of the not so rich and famous. They want to see us go hawkwild over beans and barbecue. They want to see my fair lane up on blocks, Jeff Falker really joke,

the holes in all our socks, talking about lifestyles of the not so rich and famous. Yeah, I will, you're right about the reality TV element of it. So like the theme of sort of we're poor and that still hits for us, like we were just talking about, that is from we're not. the jet set but this song did really sort of foresee the whole like kind of poverty porn yeah poverty porn shit that was coming later it's like they just want to point and laugh at us type of thing that like

we've written sketches about since that you know like it's definitely and like this song was definitely getting at that in 1994 and maybe before anything else really was i'm really glad you wrote up poverty porn specifically because the first instance of appalachian poverty porn that i know of as far as that became like a cultural phenomenon or whatever, was National Geographic picture, and I want to say the 30s, maybe it was the 40s, in which, no, it was a little boy, it was some kids on a porch, and one of them was eating dirt,

and they put it in National Geographic, and it was like, look at these hillbillies. Look at these hillbillies. We got it teed up for you, Mr. TV, ma'am. Eating dirt, and somebody, a few years later, went, and found the family and the mom was like yeah we were poor but we have food like

kids he's just stupid he's just stupid he's just on this one he got to eat horse you better never seen a dumb boy eat dirt goddamn dumb boys don't eat in California motherfucker

motherfucker to borrow you kill Corey Cory's internet went out oh my God borrow a phrase of trays him back, or maybe, I guess, Corey's, his brain don't hit. Yeah.

Sorry, I hit my camera. Yeah, you treated that camera like they did that boy. Oh, God. But specifically, the lyric, if the kids look dirty, that'll be fine. Let them kids stand. I genuinely think there's some self-awareness coming from. For sure. songwriter, especially because

he is a genius. Like, I don't care. This is commentary, man. Yeah. That's what they want from us. I think it's half a step below commentary, which in some ways makes it better. Because it's not like,

fuck them. It's like, eh. Hey, why not? If this is what hits for them, we're going to do it better than anybody does, by God. Bring me them bing. Here are some of the other songs that he has written.

High-tech redneck, which is in the same. Yeah. You know, if I was a drinking man, politics, religion, and her by Sammy Kershaw, which is a fine fucking song. Yeah. Size Matters by Joe Nichols, which is stupid, but was a huge hit. Full-hearted memory by Alabama. I mean, by George Strait.

I was about saying. Born country by Alabama. And then nothing on the radio by Gary Allen. That song hits for me. He also produced the first three Gary Allen. Gary Allen hits. Gary Allen. He was one of them in that 2000s when everything was turning to shit that I was like, okay.

He still had it. Yeah, he's awesome. I agree with you completely. I always dug Gary Allen. And also, this is real sad, but didn't his wife die cancer and he made a whole album about it? And it was unbelievably good. I don't know. I don't know.

He definitely had some sad-ass love songs. I never knew that backstory. If that's true, that makes him way more hardcore. I also think she'd kill herself because she didn't want to do the treatment. no more. Oh, gave herself cancer. God.

Yeah, man. My buddy, my buddy child, who y'all met maybe once or twice my roommate in college was really into Gary Allen. Anyway,

on a more lighthearted, though, let's go back to lifestyles and the rich and famous of the not so rich and famous. So you've got a TV show that becomes a cultural phenomenon.

Late 80s, early 90s, lifestyles of the rich and famous. Of course. You've got this song as a response to it, but inside it, also in my

opinion and so far it seems like you guys agree with me. Also a response to what was his name? Robin Winners. Robin Leach. Robin Leach. That's it. I was thinking of Jonathan Winners. Welcome to The Witton Famous. I'm Robin Leach.

As you can see here, they have a polar bear. And if any of our fans are younger than us, none of you are, it's the precursor MTV Cribs. But instead of it being like a rapper, it was kind of like HDTV. It was just like, ain't it? Why? that they have this.

They got 18 toilets and you can't eat. Right. Yeah. And that hits for you because you're stupid. Yeah. You ate your beans. You think you might have 18 toilets one day, but you never will. You've been eating piece of shit.

You've been eating piece of shit. Got 18 toilets in the fucking yard. I guarantee you that. Did you guys watch the video? Yeah. Yeah. If I watch the right video, it's just kind of like a live performance video. Yeah.

It's like him jamming in a bar. Yeah, I loved it. I feel like it happened that way for budgetary reasons. Right. But I want to believe there was a little bit of artistic license or choice going on here of like, look, the song is satire. If we make a video that looks the way the song sounds, it will not read a satire. It'll be real bad. It'll be kids eating dirt.

We can't do that again. It's fine for National Geographic. I don't know. I kind of wish they'd have leaned in, but yeah, I hear you. Well, it would have been funny. Wait, are you saying you, so you don't, not that you don't like the video, but you wish the video would have been more on the nose. I'm saying I would like both versions. It would have hit for me. But I understand what you're saying. It's like, I know, the song's already, you know, pulling the way here. I feel like the lyrics are so, especially like the last few verses are so, they read like a play.

it would have been cool to see what they could have done with a real, you know, trailer park situation. But that's difficult to pull off without looking just horrible. You're right. To your point, eating dirt. Right. And here's their three-legged cat. Also Jeff Foxwood is, Jack. Named Lucky.

I mean, I don't disagree with nothing y'all have said. When I was watching, I just assumed it was like, like you said, a budgetary thing largely. Because like they did. It would be hard to go to a trailer though. And we were talking about on a previous episode recorded just a few minutes ago. We were talking about the weird way videos seem to be treated in the 90s. So many major songs just didn't even have videos. Then some videos are iconic.

But I think there's a whole lot of them too that are basically just this. Like I feel like a whole lot of country. videos we're kind of just get them together. I'm pretend to sign a bunch of shit. Yeah. You know, yeah, but that's usually in a warehouse.

This was at a bar. I really liked that aspect of it. And they did have some actors doing some things. It was simple, but I liked that it was, you know, live in front of people and stuff. Yeah.

Yeah, it hit for me. I'm just saying I didn't, I didn't sort of go there in terms of yeah. The why of it. I was just like, this makes sense to me.

They did a lot of this sort of thing, you know. What they're selling here is, and like we touched on, we're going back to the jet set and probably before that. And again, I don't want to like just try to be woke for wot's sake. I guarantee you there were some black musical artists talking about how even over there, I'm poor I fucking hit. Well, I was, yeah, I mean, the rap, you know, the still fly by big time.

That whole album. Isn't that for a dearest? In my new E class, man. Ain't that whole album called Hoodritch? yeah that might have been yeah it is you're right yes they have an album called hoodrich

yeah but dude you know there's plenty yeah I'm sure there's tons of rap songs that would fit in this category that's just the first one that came to rock and roll songs too and guess what no reference to God yeah

fucking we're poor it's let's get back into the lyrics and then talk more about that and this is my favorite verse Tell him about your mama in the bowling league. Tell him about junior in his baseball team. I'll show him my nine point buck in the wall.

I'll blow a few times on my new duck call. Let's let him see old blue how he sleeps all day. We'll bring out the Elvis TV trays. Now son, if that ain't, so many things that our people have TV trays, you know, nine point bucks on the walls, but also really, really truly capturing the 1990s put a redneck on TV. mentality. Bring them on out here.

Come on, baby. Yeah, they want to put me on the TV. Did you notice the duck call portion of the music video and what it actually looked like? No, I didn't. Before they got to the lyric of duck call, as soon as they got to it, it made sense to me. But before that, the dudes were all doing this. They were all looking at each other doing this. And it very much looked like they were like, hey, pass me a joint.

And it looked like they were all smoking a joint. And then they said the duck call thing. It's like they were just like pretending to do it. duck call, but dude, it just looked like they were being like, we about to get higher and a motherfucker here. Well, I mean, that's another thing people do who are white crashing poor, so I can see it.

This whole, every line in this song, or this part of the song reads like a Jeff Foxworthy kind of. Yeah, they may have just had the book. Yeah. Yeah, I could see it going either way. I mean, like I said, Byron Allen is brilliant. Still him from

Jeff Foxworthy? Smart. Still from West. Thank you to Byron Allen, right? Hold on. You said Byron Allen. Oh, my bad, Byron Hill. Byron Allen is from Comics Unleashed. He also a media mogul. He owns the Weather Channel.

He's also, I've told you guys this. There's an old man named Petey that plays basketball at the Y with me. He's like 70. All he does is argue with people and ask me when I'm going to go on Byron Allen. That's hilarious. Literally every time. Three times a week sometimes. He says, did you talk to your agent about getting on Byron Allen?

That's so funny. I remember we were talking about Byron. Allen how hard like how rich he was and people didn't realize it when we were on the road one weekend and it was right when Jeff Bezos and and Richard Branson were having like their space race and they were going whatever and we're talking about how rich Byron Allen was and people don't realize how rich he is and we sort of illustrated it and Corey goes, God damn, when's this motherfucker going to the moon? I'm saying it's a good question. Yeah. He already owns the weather. Yeah. Anyway, Byron Hill. Yeah.

Byron Hill, it would be brilliant to steal from Jeff Foxworthy, but he's also brilliant enough. Perhaps he was just kind of parallel thinking, recognizing Zitegeist-wise, that it was time to celebrate all things, to quote Jeff Foxworthy, unsophisticated. This has, I love this song, I love Jeff Foxworthy, I love Tracy Bird,

but this has unequivocally led to, not the song single-handedly, but that attitude and proving that you can make so much, money off of being proud of being goofy, redneck, unsophisticated, whatever word you want to throw at it has led to, like I said earlier, Honey Boo Boo, but also specifically in country music in the 2000s and all the way up until now, there is this very strange like, we're just simple folk. I was going to say, it's sung by a guy, but it's just why it's sung by, you know, a guy that

the studio groomed who's dating a movie star. and the guy playing it is in an 80s. It reminds me a DJ's truck joke where he's like redneck. They used to call me redneck redneck rednecks is rich. I got 60,000 trucks and boats. Some guy in an 80,000 dollar truck just being like, that's us, baby.

Just simple people, you know. Yeah. Well, I was just going to say you're talking about how it like led to all this fucking exploitation and whatever else. But it also probably led to, in a way, this podcast and our... Right, yeah, and our like, because people are like,

they ain't eating dirt. they're saying words that's weird y'all know they knew words like that yeah but yeah now but i think this song like i just feel like this song this song is absolutely fucking self-aware in my which is what makes it like totally different in my mind as far as like being a precursor to all that

or whatever it's like i say it's sort it's almost like a B-Rabbit. An early commentary. Yes, a B-Rabit situation. It's like an early commentary on all that happening. And I feel like kind of pointing it out in a way

that's like, like I said, really self-aware. And I don't know. This song's, uh, the song hits. Does it.

Does it. Should I get back to the lyrics? Sure. All right. I will proceed. They're going to put us on lifestyles of the not so rich and famous. They want to see us go hog wild

of her beans and barbecue. They want to see my fair lane up on. locks the holes in all our socks, talking about lifestyles of the not so rich and famous. Last verse slash the bridge slash Dakota slash the outro. And I like that he didn't end on a full chorus for the record. Yeah, our idea of high class living is sitting on the porch on a cool night. Our champagne and caviar is an RC Cola and a moon pie. talking about lifestyles of the not so rich and famous

lifestyles of the not so rich and famous damn right boy so see that like uh i feel like that has got to be a straight up homage to uh we're not the jet set right there why um because definitely had to be in his mind yeah because it's like because like that's sort of the format of that whole song of like uh not the whole on but like you know our steak and martini is draft beer with wienies yeah like and it's

just it you know it's got the exact same kind of structure as the champagne and caviar rc and a moonpie or whatever it just uh they're just too similar and again it was by george jones and tamie yinette i just i feel like it that's got to be an homage in my opinion right yeah i i agree with you but i also want to point out, and I'm not even, I'm not trying to counter you. I think you're right. And then I also, though, there is a more famous, and that's not true, there is a song that's as famous. It was at that time, probably, and it's been around a lot longer called R.C. Cola and a moon pie. By Liston, I've lost it. Bill Lister heard that. It came out in the 50s, but when I first found that out, I thought that's where this iconic duo, R.C. Co. in a moon pie.

came from. I was like, all right, one of these companies paid old Bill listing to make this song and, you know, that's how it went back then and now it's a thing. But apparently he was simply singing about poor people and what they were doing on their own. R.C. Cola and Moonpie, two different companies, one in Chattanooga, one in Columbus, Georgia. Now, Corey, I didn't really look this up. How close is Columbus to Chattano? Man, off top of my head, I want to say three and a half, four hours, maybe. I could be. Yeah. So it's not like

were in the same hood really especially if we're talking about the 30s when getting you know that which one is moon pie chattanooga yeah yeah yeah okay about that's like because you know i don't know for our listeners no corey was almost mr moon pie one had a real real sweet moon pie sponsorship lined up that uh he uh squandered wandered yeah we're talking about he was going to show up with moon pie cape on driving a moon pie car on the club fucking twirling a moon pie cane and stuff it's it's well what's what's what happened was they here's what happened was after a show i had i'd hosted it the comedy catch and then this lady had not seen my set but she'd seen me going up between it and then afterwards i was

selling merchant stuff and she just looked at me and was like this is the face of moon pie right here and so she was like we want to give you so she's like come down to the store monday or whatever so i come down to the store dude they give me cases of moon pies moon pie shirts Moon Pie Mardi Gras Beeds, a Moonpie case knife that was so sweet, like all the swag. And then they were like, so when's your next show? And I was like, I'll be there this weekend. And they came. And then they saw the act.

And I have never talked to them again in my entire life. And it very much seemed like they were giving me the keys to the Moonpie Mobile. Yeah. I remember I was talking about it on the thread at the time, like in between those two things happening. Yeah. Like we're like, it's about to be it, dude. You about to be shot to the moon pie, boy. Like, yeah, fucking Mr. Moonpie coming up.

And then, yeah, no, it was not. It's so odd to me that they can, that any person could be in that scenario and then leave without at least saying, we'll be in touch, like a line. You know, nope, we're just going to fucking leave. Nope, that's the extent to which he did not have for them. And by the way, at that show, because I knew they were going to be there, I wore my moon pie shirt. I wore a moon pie hat.

I wore the beads around my neck and shit like that. Like I was missed. And you know that halfway through my set, they were just like, take it off. Take it off. You making jokes about shoving them moon pie beads up somebody's butt or something? Probably.

Like were you doing stuff about it? No, no. I was just representing. Just decked out in moon pie gear. Just decked out in moon pie stuff and then doing my fucking dump for Baby jokes. No, of course they didn't.

Nobody. They were like, yep, that checks out. Almost everything I've ever worn, no one has ever second-guessed it. Yeah, why wouldn't he? Well, anyway. You order to circle back to that. Yeah. See how Moon Pie feels about you now.

Maybe they'll make a buttercream flavor. I don't like to mix business with pleasure. You don't shit where you eat. That's what I say. and he eats moon pie. I do. I fucking love them. I remember when this song was out.

That was my dad's favorite part. That was my mom's favorite part. Everybody liked to, you know, because it slows down right there, almost like the beat drops. And everybody screams, is an RC cola and a moon pie. And I didn't know then, and like I said,

I looked into it, that has been a southern staple, a southernism since at least the 30s. So we're going to give you guys a brief history of both these companies and how this came about. R.C. Cola was literally just invented as a fuck you to Coca-Cola. There was a pharmacist in Columbus, Georgia, pharmacist, as you guys are probably aware,

used to be also where the soda fountain was. They were a soda jar. Exactly. Well, this one particular gentleman sold so much Coca-Cola that he thought, I deserve a discount. Coca-Cola was like, fuck you, you don't get a discount. He was like, well, fuck you, I'm a chemist. I'll make my own ship. And he did.

And then they sued him, not because of the formula, but because of the name. He changed the name to Nehi. Then the company, Nehi, went through some stuff. The depression came. It almost killed it. They sold it to somebody else. They changed the name back to R.C. Cola because they were like, fuck Coca-Cola. You'll lose that lawsuit.

Let's go to court, bitches. And it became a Southern staple. And it was cheaper than Coca-Cola. Are they still-Nehai? Yeah, there are. I think there are. I know, I know, I know, I know Nehai still exist. I'm saying they're the same company.

They're the same company, yes. Oh, shit. I don't know. I might have known that. I can't remember. You go to RC machine. They got Nehai in it. Exactly. So, Moon pie, there's a bakery in Chattanooga that has an excess of flour at some point. They order too much for whatever reason. They're bread. They're bread people. We do bread.

They start saying, all right, we got all this excess flour. What do we do? They get into the dessert game. The dessert game kind of becomes their whole thing after that for a little while. And they say, we've got to invent a treat for the working man. And someone comes to them and is like, you need to make something that will fit in a lunchbox. but be hardy at the same time. So the first version of the Moonpie was a double-decker.

So it was almost as tall as it is big around because the way the lunchboxes were shaped, it was like it almost was like a thermos. You think about the way a thermos is shaped? It was like you could shove that down in there, but it'd still be big. Well, somebody figured out like at local grocery stores through no one asking R.C.

R.C. didn't ask them to this. MoonPy didn't ask this. But because R.C. Cola was so cheap and moon pies were cheap and such a delicious treat for everybody they were like hey you realize you can get a full lunch for a dime it's a nickel for the rcola and it's a nickel for the moon pie and then that just became a very popular lunch among coal miners so our people've been yeah our people have been on the sugar literally before the depression yeah no wonder we they all died at 54 breathing in cold dust and then it's stuck to the dirt

10 cent lunch of fucking moon pie and R.C. Cola. Isn't it? Take me back and leave me there. The good old days. The dirt was free and didn't kill you. Isn't it wild that it's hard as moon pie hits,

they're not even the number one baked, uh, good place in Chattanooga, like of baked desserts. Like they're still, they're number two. Like we got Lil Debbie too.

That's a little Debbie's based in Chattanooga. Yeah. Yeah. The McKee Bakery. man they started in chattanooga like we have got what's on with the air there or the water oh i have no idea about in all that you know like bagels in new york they say the water is what's yeah i think there's something going on in chattano maybe i think it's just the fuck time of water they steamed them little crystal burgers with too yeah and we got crystal too yeah yeah yeah now that wasn't

yeah yeah yeah now that wasn't like little dabbie an mooseillian no chrisail wasn't he said chicken boy yeah no crystal chicken boy yeah no crystal chicken boy Crystal was. That's my favorite Bruce Springsteen song. Remember when Corey fought the chicken boy? But yeah, man, no, little Debbie, that's us too. Crazy. Didn't you fight him at a bowling alley?

Almost fought him at a bowling alley. And we've been referencing bowling leagues. Too short. I think you had something to say there, Indian outlaw. I just feel like it's funny that it's like this part of the song hits, but it is really sad. what's like you know like let's not forget how devastating that line is rccola and moonpie it's done more damage than probably anything else for sure but i should call that out and i love it i love it again i think it's commentary because at this point

the damage had been six seven decades in the making but right i hear you and it's also to double down on what you're saying go back to the line before it our champagne and caviar now obviously it's meant to be a joke obviously it's meant to be a celebration of the fact that in spite of the fact that we're poor, we will enjoy our lives. But you're right, there's some sadness to, like, and the best thing we got. Yeah, right, right, right.

But I do, I don't want champagne and caviar right now. I want an RC Co and a moon pie. All day. All day. I also thought, like, in this, the song, like in the video, just the cadence and how it is, such a uplifting kind of bar song. I almost wanted,

I just wanted a bar fight to break out. Like that vibe very early. Smash a RC over somebody says. Yeah, exactly. I'm sure it probably did. Shove a moon pie in someone's face and they had to do a few types. Yeah. That probably happened naturally.

Yeah, you're right. What about the Elvis Trey's? Now, Trey, you used to have a joke about, I want to say, commemorative Peyton Manning. Earnhardt. I know we talked about Earnhardt. Yeah, I'd switch it up. But yeah, commemorative plate.

that used to have like people's faces on them and stuff i don't know they still out there doing that commemorative plate's still going we should sell those i mean there are still mammals we should have bubush out the podcast commemorative plates that's a great merch idea yeah but now tv trades if that's what you're about to ask i don't know i don't have a specific memory of those but it sounds right i was going to pull them up and i don't know where my screenshot went there it is give me one second Oh, my computer's freezing. Can y'all hear me? I definitely remember, like, you know, the TV trays and stuff were like, you know, a huge deal for my mom's generation and stuff like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, that's the shit right there. That's what we need. Bubba shot the podcast, trays, plates. Trey trays. I mean, look how hard that fucking Elvis one hits. God damn. Well, I wonder how much these are worth.

I bet these genuinely are worth a lot. but I think the song is also referencing, you know, it was Beanie Boat Babies. Before that, it was precious moment dolls. Before that, it was these TV trays. Before that, it was commemorative plates. Our people have a long history of investing in trinkets. Yeah.

Chon schemes. Yeah. We don't own stock. Get rich slow. Yeah. But every, my ma'amaw, I'm sure most mea, that you got so many things. It's just like jelly jars.

Now, that would be worth a lot of money someday. And every single one of them, it's just like it absolutely will not ever be worth any money, no, it won't. Now, too sure, I said good China. That's not us being racist. That's what they call like the nice plates. Now, some of that China, that's the thing, though,

is you hear enough stories and that show, what was that show, antique road show? It's on its 43rd season right now, yeah. So that was a show that would keep that. Yes, I know, exactly. It would keep that dream alive because there were a million mammoths across the South, and I'm sure to the Southwest, who had these little Chotsky's that weren't worth anything. But you'd have one or two come on that show a year, and they'd have a crystal plate,

and they'd be like, this is actually the second plate Tiffany ever made from, you know, and it would be like, it's worth $150,000. Or the same thing with the L. It would keep the dream alive. I don't know. I love it. I love the idea of it's kind of like the lottery, but with something that you can put on the wall. Yeah, I almost found way to make the lottery dumber, even.

The lottery, but even worse odds. That's what we're into. Well, you can eat off of it, unlike stamps. That's true. You're right. I just thought of a sketch that I have no other idea for it except for the title, which is antique roadhouse. That's all I got. That's all I got.

Antique Roadhouse. I heard you say that. I was throwing bases of each other. Yeah, I was going to say that accidentally. and I was thinking of like breaking plates over, like, like, breaking Peyton Manning's head on your head. Yeah, yeah. Well, all right.

That's most of the stuff I wanted to talk about. I've talked about Byron Hill. I got a question. In the grander scheme of things, where is this song lie in the white trash anthem type of crown? Very underrated. Yeah, I agree. It is underrated.

I was trying to get it that earlier. I probably did a poor job. It didn't invent it by any means, but I do think that this and some Joe Diffy songs are precursors to some very dumb current country songs that aren't as good as them. And it goes back to that like Garth Brooks thing crossing over to pop. It's like, do you blame the pioneer for what it's become?

Right. Yeah. I mean, because I think that like, you know, I mentioned earlier, like this is redneck yacht club comes directly from this. And I don't dislike that song by any means, but like it's definitely worse than that. There hasn't been a better this since this. Okay. I don't think.

Yeah. But there's plenty. And I'm, you know, I'm drawing. Fancy like is this. Oh, I know. It is though. It is though. I was just about, so there's plenty of white trash anthems, as you put it, that are much, much bigger with more staying power than this song.

but when Corey said it's underrated, I agree. So this song would not rank very highly. I can't believe it should. It should rank higher than it does because it's better than most of those other than. Yeah, I, hearing it now, I genuinely can't believe that this isn't at more farm parties or like saying more at bars. Because, like, it's very, everybody in the bar can agree. Like, this is our shit right here. Well, again, it was at the time.

Right. Clearly. The butt plug awards or whatever. Tom Cop Award. Tom Cop Award. Nogap. Ask cap. Not butt plug.

Yeah. I think it's a master class in white trash celebration. I really do. I think these lyrics, you said it, I think, too sharp, almost all of them feel like a Jeff Foxworthy joke. I was playing basketball at the Y. Two basketball at the Y references, one show. The other day, and this kid whose eye rage was talking about throwing on Jeff Foxworthy

sometimes in the car because, like, the way he said it was like, because sometimes it's just too real out there to listen to Bill Burr. Yeah. And it was like, you know. And Foxworthy hits. Yeah, exactly. that's what I'm getting. Fox really hits. He really hit on something that people want to identify with. And so did Byron Hill, not Allen here. People wanted to celebrate the fact that they eat beans and barbecue. You know, it's a very, I mean, DJ has a joke. I should have had him on this episode. Dumpster swag. Just talking about how he makes being poor look good. And that's what this song's tapping into. For the record, that what the feeling that guy has of like, sometimes it's too real out there to listen to Bill Burr. is exactly why I listen to a lot of 90s country is that for me.

Like, you know, sometimes I fucking love Jason Isbell, one of my favorite song or I was ever, but sometimes it's a little too heavy for me to listen to Jason Isbel, and I need to just throw on lifestyles of the not-so-rich and famous and just kind of, you know, fucking lose it. Yeah, I agree. I want to say one more thing about a moon pie that I left out. The salesman who invented it was talking to miners about what they needed for lunch. I guess that was a thing.

It was a job you could have is go around and talk to poor people and be like, what do you need to eat? Dirt. Like, it needs to fit in our, you know, thing, but be as big as a moon. Yeah. That was the story. That's such a, like, poor old dumb coal miner sound and things.

It's a lie is what it is. That's a great salesman is what that is. Yeah, right. A hundred percent. Something as big as the moon mister you've told me a piece of chocolate bigger than the moon I sure would appreciate it I know I ain't got long left breathing all this dust with these birds around but I want a piece of chocolate big as the moon is the moon before I die wash it down brought that back first birthday wash it down with something royal yeah all right I guess it's time to rate it fellas we've already done our rap song

two shard i'm gonna go you don't let poor people do music in bollywood right um you know what i'm gonna say no i'm gonna give i'm gonna give this one a three it is it's a good time this song's a good time um and it's funny

and self-aware and um yeah three earn hearts well fuck i'm gonna i'm gonna say three too too charler i may fire it up three three going into this, I would have never thought it. But now that we've broke down the lyrics and also with the thought of like, oh, wow, like this was kind of a fuck you. Like this was written as kind of a fuck you.

That puts it three to me. Like the self-awareness of it and the whole like, if you're going to call me that, I'm going to be that times 10. Fuck you. I'm eating my beans. I mean, it's a fucking three, man. Much like Corey's next album, fuck you. I'm eating my.

beans. I think this song is exactly what it's supposed to be. It's perfect. The only difference I would say is I don't think I'm surprised. This has been on my list for a while. I've been wanting to do this song. I fucking love this song. I think this is like maybe a little sad.

This song made my dad happy. So it's a fucking three because back then not a lot was making my dad happy. He hadn't quit drinking yet. Like it was not good in the house. But like, by God, we're going to eat our beans and barbecue. Exactly. Fuck Robin Leach. Dude, and that's another thing, too,

of like, this song has made me fucking hungry as shit. Like, I want beans and barbecue and a moon pie and the goddamn R.C. Right now. Don't let your drink. Wade dreams, child. I won't. I'm a chicken market dog. Barbecue store right there.

I'm 60 to say, you could probably, like, get them given to you. You know, they're giving them away down to school right now. Yeah, for sure. Any last thoughts, fellas? No. Hits. Does hit. It's.

It's. It's cute. Bubby shout the podcast And that's right A show about country At a tight Don't expect no shit from 2005

Bublish out the podcast And that's right