I guess the Poor Boys weren't that poor

[Alpo]

CCR. Willie and the Poor Boys.

 

I have listened to this song and I have sung this song for years. But I finally got enough curiosity to look it up.

 

The first time I heard the lyric, where poor boy pranged the rhythm out on his Kalamazoo, I thought maybe that was another term for kazoo. But then the next line has Willie playing kazoo.

 

So I find out that the Gibson guitar company was in Kalamazoo Michigan, and people used to refer to a Gibson as a Kalamazoo.

 

I've always been under the impression that a Gibson, like a Fender, was a fairly expensive piece of musical equipment.

 

So we have four guys playing music. One is playing the washboard, which is an inexpensive piece of laundry equipment. One is playing the gut base, which is made from a broomstick and a wash tub. The leader plays both harmonica and kazoo. You can spend a lot of money on a harmonica, but you can also get one fairly cheaply, and the last kazoo I bought was 25 cents.

 

But the fourth member - "poor boy" - plays a Gibson guitar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pat Riot]

I’m pretty sure they’re lip syncing and they sure ain’t playin’ those improvised instruments in sync either.

 

 

Check this out. Not sure this isn’t lip synced either. 
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zmcyg

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

There's a full drum set hidden in that picture somewhere.   That might have been a video of them performing the song but that is not the sound played over the video.

[Subdeacon Joe]

The way I heard it the "Kalamazoo" is a jews harp, not a git-fiddle.  Which makes more sense that setting rhythm with a guitar.  

[Cypress Sun]

3 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

I’m pretty sure they’re lip syncing and they sure ain’t playin’ those improvised instruments in sync either.

 

 

Check this out. Not sure this isn’t lip synced either. 
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zmcyg

 

 

Rarely were the "live performances" on 60's, 70"s and early 80's tv shows actually live. When using present day visual technologies, it's obvious most of the time.

[Pat Riot]

53 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Rarely were the "live performances" on 60's, 70"s and early 80's tv shows actually live. When using present day visual technologies, it's obvious most of the time.

Yep