Taking It to Detroit

Listen while you read: The Motor City!

There's a thing that every band should be knowing
It's a basic law of rockin' and rollin' 
Hear what I am telling you
In a land that's been known for its 'mobiles
Now it's KISS and Seger who are its big wheels
I wanna be one, too

We're taking it to Detroit
Coming in from New York
We're breaking it in Detroit

This is what I do to make myself famous
Make this band a household name on Uranus
Headline in Cobo Hall
. . . 

We're making it, breaking it, shaking it
Taking it to the great lake with it
We're taking it to Detroit

~  Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats)

Rolling Stone once called The Good Rats "the world's most famous unknown band." If you lived on Long Island or in most parts of the tri-state area, you knew who The Good Rats were. During their heyday, they were the warm-up band for those popular 70s bands like Rush, Journey, Styx, et al. (I never really liked any of those one-word-name bands of that era.) My late husband, who was eight years my junior and from a large NYC suburb, absolutely loved The Good Rats! Tasty, their 1974 effort, was definitely his favorite. I think I still have the vinyl album somewhere.

Today, my adventuring daughter Jenna (who just returned from a year in the Bahamas) is heading for Detroit to take part in a panel discussion on environmental literature. So I looked for songs about Detroit. (There's a boatload!) When I saw The Good Rats, I knew I'd found my song. It appears on the 1978 release From Rats to Riches.

Peppi Marchello, lead vocalist (with a very distinct voice) and songwriter for The Good Rats, died in 2013. I think two of the original members still perform as The Good Rats, but they probably stick to their Long Island neighborhoods. Maybe a half-dozen years ago, my friend Kathy and I went to a local roadside bar where The Good Rats were playing. It was really sadly pathetic. The turn-out was small, as there was a cover charge and most locals had no idea who The Good Rats were. It may very well be that I was the only person in the room who did, as I requested "Injun Joe" and watched Peppi's face light up. Somebody knew who they were!

If you are one of my two readers who also know who The Good Rats are, you might be interested in this vimeo, The Tail of the Good Rats. The rest of you can just move along.

So Jenna is taking it to Detroit. I'll pick her up at the airport on Saturday, and on Sunday, she's off on another adventure. Stay tuned.