Cover Me Impressed: 'Half a Boy, Half a Man'

Back in 2001, the folks at Telarc paid homage to Nick Lowe with the cleverly named tribute album 'Labour of Love.' I bought this record because, one, I love Lowe and, two, some of my favorite artists, including Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw, chose inspired and obscure songs I was really curious to hear. The best of the lot, however, came from an unlikely source. An old rockabilly singer named Sleepy LaBeef (pictured) was joined by C.J. Chenier, an accordion player and son of the "King of Zydeco" Clifton Chenier, for a raucous zydeco rendition of "Half a Boy and Half a Man." This is one of Lowe's top tunes and can be found on the 1984 album 'Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit.' Sadly, this one is out of print. Hopefully, Lowe's latest label, Yep Roc, will rectify the situation.

Nick Lowe - Half a Boy and Half a Man (mp3)
Sleepy LaBeef and C.J. Chenier - Half a Boy and Half a Man (mp3)



More Cover Me Impressed:
"Money Changes Everything"/"The Right Stuff"
"I Put a Spell on You"
"Johnny, Are You Queer?"
"Superman"
"Voices"
"Almost Saturday Night"
"Too Many Teardrops"
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"
"They Don't Know"
"Everybody's Talkin'"
"What Goes On"
"There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
Halloween Edition
"Porpoise Song"
"Prairie Rose"
"Come On Eileen"
"Walking On Thin Ice"
Jason Falkner Edition
"True Love Will Find You In The End"
"This Will Be Our Year"
"You're My Favorite Waste of Time"
"Nightime/Thirteen"
"The End Of The World"
"(Don't Go Back To)Rockville"
"God Only Knows"
"And Your Bird Can Sing"
"So Sad About Us"
"Everywhere"
"Walking The Cow"