Dead at the ripe old age of 89. When I first moved to Rochester, it seemed like a depressing place, a boarded-up rust belt city ringed with Chili’s-ridden, Godforsaken suburbs. One day on the radio, I heard some Mose Allison song, I think it was his version of “Seventh Son”, and after it was over, the DJ talked about having seen Mose Allison at a dive on Monroe Ave. (they have a funny way of pronouncing “Monroe Ave” here and it’s supposed to connote something bohemian or run-down), and I thought maybe this wasn’t such a bad place after all.
“Tell Me Something” is my favorite Mose Allison. You can’t beat lyrics like this:
You say the world’s a mess
It’s anybody’s guess
As to who will deliver that low blow