Format: 7"
Label: RCA
Country: US
Year: 1977
Price paid: $1.50
Location purchased: My Mind's Eye, Cleveland
This is not a punk song, so don't be confused. It's a contemporary scathing parody of punk stereotypes... and a damn' good one at that. So good in fact that if you squint your ears in just the right way it's nearly indistinguishable from the British punk sound of the time.
Take a listen. Yes, she's rough around the edges and she could be somebody's mom. But the song itself is brilliant, the energy infectious, and the band really can play quite well:
Cherry Vanilla- The Punk (video)
Cherry Vanilla herself is quite a character. Most notably she was David Bowie's high-profile publicist during the early 70's, going so far as to (jokingly, I think) offer oral sex to any DJ that would play Bowie's music. She also worked on some of Warhol's theater projects, including the starring role in the UK production of 'Pork.' She's released three full LPs, five singles, and a tell-all book- definitaly not a flash in the pan despite her laughable stage name and tongue-in-cheek style.
I've wanted this single for awhile now. Sadly the condition's not that good, the sleeve anyway. The sleeve art gets the job done with its cute arresting image of Cherry and shocking red font, but I'd hardly call it ground-breaking design. But hell it's on RCA, so what do you expect?
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