G.G. Allin

Sympathy for Mr. Allin

by Scott Bass

(December 2016)

Perhaps you have heard of the late GG Allin; he was the guy with the stage show that involved stripping, shitting, and fist fighting with his fans... usually while simultaneously singing his songs as the backup band buzzed on. For most people, and certainly for critics, that’s enough information to know that this guy gets zero stars, and contributed exactly nothing to the annals of worthwhile musical culture. Such a funny word that is. Annals.

An alternative view would be that GG (born Jesus Christ, mercifully changed to Kevin by his mom before school started) Allin was an inspired kid with real musical talent that left a rather impressive legacy despite decades of mental illness and addiction. And much like how The Cramps mined obscure depths of '50's and '60's raunch to excavate tasty covers to introduce to a whole new alterna-audience decades later, GG often channeled his deep regard for the music of the past into songs that he would... let’s say "reinterpret" for his fans.

He got his start playing drums on a couple of late '70's singles but by '79, GG was a full-fledged frontman with backup band The Jabbers. One unexpected place The Jabbers drew some inspiration from was The Ohio Express. Ring a bell? The history of the Ohio Express is complicated, but this is a group that was once synonymous with the "Bubblegum Pop" sound in the '60's. Their hits included "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and "Chewy, Chewy." If you’re too young to remember these, you didn’t miss much. They called it "Bubblegum Pop" because it was so sickly sweet, moronic, and after a few minutes of chewing, ultimately insipid. Pretty much the absolute opposite of the music GG Allin would later be known for.

GG Allin and the Jabbers’ nearly straight-up (sped-up) cover of The Ohio Express’ 1969 "Up Against The Wall" demonstrates a honed punk band who are taking cues from a much wider range of influences than the casual listener might give them credit for.

Now let’s shift gears to Baker Knight, who had some success as a singer in the '50's and '60's but is probably best known as reliable source for material for the era’s largest stars – Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and many others all recorded tracks written by Knight. Add to that list GG Allin, who probably wrote the lyrics to "Tough Fuckin’ Shit" in his head the first time he ever heard Baker Knight’s 1966 side "Sorry 'Bout That," also covered that year by Nancy Sinatra. The original track has the attitude but Baker was unable to fully realize the lyrical theme at the time. GG Allin to the rescue, and he successfully rectifies the problem.





"I pawned my Smith-Corona and I went to meet my man." -Zevon

"I pawned my Smith & Wesson and I went to meet my man." -Ronstadt / Allin





Sometimes with GG, artists were given credit when their material was appropriated, sometimes not. One of the songs featured prominently in the 1993 documentary Hated was "Die When You Die," a slightly-retitled and reworked version of the B-side to the debut 1978 single from Detroit’s Destroy All Monsters, featuring ex-Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton and MC5 bassist Michael Davis. Besides the obvious appeal of lyrics that include "die when you die when you die you’re gonna die," GG was hip to this song because he was into good music.

Another track Geeg seemed to have swiped was his (ahem) "I Wana Suck Your Cunt." Yeah we’re going there. GG was keen to the early Northeast Boston scene, and one band that was huge on that scene in the late '70’s was DMZ. If you listen to one of the first recorded documents out of Boston, the 1976 double LP Live at the Rat, you’ll hear a song by DMZ called "Ball Me Out." GG’s song is a straight cover of the DMZ song, just with X-rated lyrics. DMZ’s song is about getting yelled at. GG’s version is about... well actually it’s pretty self-explanatory. And that’s how he spells "wana." Wadya gon’ do 'bout it?

In the mid-'80’s, when GG put together an all-female backup band called The Cedar Street Sluts, one of the songs they were known for was the you-have-to-admit-it’s-catchy "Sluts In the City." It’s very unlikely that fans picked up that this was pretty much a straight cover of obscure '80's Los Angeles power pop act Candy (which featured future Guns N' Roses member Gilby Clarke).

Blame the drugs, the craziness, the physical neglect, or just an inescapably juvenile mentality -- whatever the cause, over the years, GG’s output got lower-fi and less interesting until his death in 1993. But it would be unfair to simply forget about Allin and write him off as a talentless hack. He was the real deal; he genuinely loved music and was earnest in his quest to make rock 'n’ roll dangerous again. You might not like the artist, but you have to respect the concept. Allin’s proposition that rock music had become too safe isn’t such a crazy idea and we should salute him for his efforts. Perhaps a roll of two-ply toilet paper and a bottle of Jim Beam would be in order?



