Song 517: This week on the playlist you’ll find Poison Ivy by The Coasters, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I don't actually recall which version of this tune first came across my radar, and exactly when, but at some point after The Beatles rocked my world during the winter of my 7th grade year, I did get to hear it, and I relished the suggestive message in the playful lyrics. The rendition that enticed my ears could have come from The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann or The Kingsmen (who got their first appearance on this list with song 507 which was Louie, Louie), but regardless of who crafted the one I heard in my HS years, as the 1970s arrived and unrolled, I got to know this original hit, as I did so many other first generation RnR recordings, and I appreciated the musical texture created by the originators. The track does also seem to fit the first week of summer quite well, as I strongly suspect I have some genuine Toxicodendron radicans growing in at least one or two spots on my property. Now most of us know that Measles make you bumpy and mumps'll make you lumpy, and plenty of us learned the hard way that chicken pox'll make you jump and twitch. In addition, The common cold'll fool you, and whoopin' cough will cool ya, But even worse, Poison Ivy, Lawd, will make you itch! In the warmer weather months in the northeastern states, be careful where you step and don't scratch too much.
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