Playin' Possum
Encyclopedia
Playin' Possum is the 1982 debut solo album by Maureen Tucker
of The Velvet Underground
. The album features a number of renditions of classic rock and roll
songs, (such as the 1955 standard "Louie Louie", Bo Diddley
's title song from his 1958 self-titled album
and the Little Richard
hit "Slippin' and Slidin'"), as well as renditions of more modern rock songs (including Bob Dylan
's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and The Velvet Underground's own "Heroin"). Tucker performs every instrument on the album and recorded it in her living room, dubbed "Trash Records".
Maureen Tucker
Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground.- The Velvet Underground :...
of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. The album features a number of renditions of classic rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
songs, (such as the 1955 standard "Louie Louie", Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's title song from his 1958 self-titled album
Bo Diddley (album)
Bo Diddley is the debut album by rock and roll pioneer and blues icon Bo Diddley. It is a compilation of his singles since 1955. It collects several of his most influential and enduring songs...
and the Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
hit "Slippin' and Slidin'"), as well as renditions of more modern rock songs (including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and The Velvet Underground's own "Heroin"). Tucker performs every instrument on the album and recorded it in her living room, dubbed "Trash Records".
Side 1
- "Bo DiddleyBo Diddley (song)"Bo Diddley" is a rhythm and blues song first recorded and sung by Bo Diddley at the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago and released on the Chess Records subsidiary, Checker Records in 1955. It became an immediate hit single that stayed on the R&B charts for a total of 18 weeks, 2 of those weeks...
" (Ellas McDanielBo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
) - 3:56 - "HeroinHeroin (song)"Heroin" is a song by The Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song is one of the band's most celebrated compositions, overtly depicting heroin use and abuse...
" (Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
) - 8:49 - "Slippin' and Slidin'Slippin' and Slidin'"Slippin' and Slidin" is an R&B/rock song performed by Little Richard. The song is credited to Little Richard, Edwin Bocage , Al Collins, and James Smith....
" (Richard PennimanLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Edwin BocageEddie BoEdwin Joseph Bocage was an American singer and New Orleans-style pianist. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements...
, Albert CollinsAlbert CollinsAlbert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, James Smith) - 3:18 - "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) - 3:18
Side 2
- "Louie LouieLouie Louie"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
" (Richard BerryRichard BerryRichard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
) - 2:42 - "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Penniman, Bocage, Collins, Smith) - 4:30
- "Concerto in D Major" (Antonio VivaldiAntonio VivaldiAntonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
) - 3:47 - "Around and AroundAround and Around"Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode".- The Rolling Stones :...
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) - 3:42 - "Ellas" (Maureen TuckerMaureen TuckerMaureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground.- The Velvet Underground :...
) - 6:01
Release history
- Trash TLP 1001 (Original vinyl LP release)
- M.T.-1441 (white jacket German reissue)