1985 Alcohol of Fame
Alcohol of Fame, written by Mark Fielding Darden in 1977
Copyright in 1985; #PAu00069418; and again here:
PAu 845-034; May 16, 1986
On our first "pilgrimage" to Colorado around 1977, Milton Gore and I stopped one night at a campsite in Salinas Kansas. There around the fire, we met an old man who had this idea for a song. He called it "Alcohol of Fame". He had no tune or lyrics, just an idea. With my dog Pud running around the camp fire chasing rocks and bottle caps, we drank and sang most of the night away.
The next morning, we packed up and continued towards Fort Collins, Colorado where we intended to become famous recording artists... Later that day (while Milton was driving) I penned these lyrics and came up with this melody. That was in 1977.
We were driving in Milton’s blue Plymouth Fury. The muffler was dragging. One of the back doors wouldn’t stay shut, and we had two spare tires we didn’t know what to do with because we had all our equipment and Pud with us. We were towing a trailer, too, that said, “Colorado or Bust” on it.
So I tied a long dog chain all the way around the car. It held up the muffler, kept the door shut, and the two spare tires on the roof gave it “spring” enough to stay tight… all the way there.
As far as I know, I wrote the song long before anyone else had done so elsewhere... Milton and I recorded it back in NC in 1985 several years later, (though I had actually written it in 1977 as above). I knew the fellow's name who came up with the idea and kept it with the song for a very long time, but somewhere along the way, I lost it. Anyway, here's to you, old man.
© 1985, Collected Songs, Volume 5/ Fielding Darden/ Raleigh, NC
Mfd: guitar, vocals, drums, video (2022)
Milton Gore: lead acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass.
Copyright in 1985; #PAu00069418; and again here:
PAu 845-034; May 16, 1986
On our first "pilgrimage" to Colorado around 1977, Milton Gore and I stopped one night at a campsite in Salinas Kansas. There around the fire, we met an old man who had this idea for a song. He called it "Alcohol of Fame". He had no tune or lyrics, just an idea. With my dog Pud running around the camp fire chasing rocks and bottle caps, we drank and sang most of the night away.
The next morning, we packed up and continued towards Fort Collins, Colorado where we intended to become famous recording artists... Later that day (while Milton was driving) I penned these lyrics and came up with this melody. That was in 1977.
We were driving in Milton’s blue Plymouth Fury. The muffler was dragging. One of the back doors wouldn’t stay shut, and we had two spare tires we didn’t know what to do with because we had all our equipment and Pud with us. We were towing a trailer, too, that said, “Colorado or Bust” on it.
So I tied a long dog chain all the way around the car. It held up the muffler, kept the door shut, and the two spare tires on the roof gave it “spring” enough to stay tight… all the way there.
As far as I know, I wrote the song long before anyone else had done so elsewhere... Milton and I recorded it back in NC in 1985 several years later, (though I had actually written it in 1977 as above). I knew the fellow's name who came up with the idea and kept it with the song for a very long time, but somewhere along the way, I lost it. Anyway, here's to you, old man.
© 1985, Collected Songs, Volume 5/ Fielding Darden/ Raleigh, NC
Mfd: guitar, vocals, drums, video (2022)
Milton Gore: lead acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass.
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Creativity