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Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen – Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers Favorites

Commander Cody
Back in 1980 my dad and I were sitting downstairs watching TV while we were playing Monopoly (a game I seldom won, and I never got to be the dog) and I think it was on PBS or something, and it was about music or something. I don't know what it was, but it was on. I can't remember what it was about, but there was a segment that stood out that was likely talking about music and television. Then they talked about something or other and then played a song that stopped me in my tracks: The hook was infectious, "Two triple cheese, side order of fries." The song played, and frankly I don't remember much about the video, but I remembered the name ... Commander Cody, and the segment went on and talked about his early work with his old band the Lost Planet Airmen. It stuck with me. What always struck me was I never sought out the record, or anything else by Commander Cody.

But, I never forgot.

Then a while back I found the wicked We've Got a Live One Here! the band's double live album from 1976. This was my real introduction to the band, and it was a good one. The band was far from being the novelty act I had assumed them to be based on my lone exposure all those years ago. This was turbo charged country swing that was more at home in the rock and roll world than they were in the country camp.

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Of course I cannot claim to be all that knowledgeable, I mean I have the internet and can look up the basic stuff. The band seemed to skirt the edge of commercial success. All of the band's albums in the States between 1971 and 1976 would break the top 200. They went as high as number 58, and on the low side managed to hit 170. They never had a gold record, but they were probably selling enough to warrant keeping them on the roster.

Then I found Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers Favorites which was chock full of songs about trucks and the truck drivin' life, except for the two minutes at the end where the band throws in a live version of "Tutti Frutti" that may have felt out of place but wasn't. This was the band's second album, and was released in 1972 on Paramount Records. If you didn't know there was a Paramount label, you aren't alone ... this was new to me too.

This was a lot of fun, and while country isn't really my thing, Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen were more like a raucous bar band ripping it up and daring you not to grin and tap your feet. There were quite a few songs that really stood out here. I'd normally make a little list, and to those who know the record would go, "Yeah, that's right!" Or more likely ask, "Hey what about ..." so to avoid that, and because I'm feeling a bit lazy I'll just say there were more songs here that stood out than I expected.

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