Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway was the original lead singer for the band Wall of Voodoo, singing on their debut EP and first two albums, including their only hit song, "Mexican Radio". Wall Of Voodoo's genesis was in a Hollywood company called "Acme Soundtracks", a commercially unsuccessful venture founded in 1977 in Hollywood by Ridgway. Ridgway's intent for the company was to provide soundtrack music for independently produced low-budget horror films; unfortunately, the company found few takers for its services. Instead, Acme Soundtracks evolved into a band that played live shows.
The band was named Wall Of Voodoo by Ridgway before their first gig in reference to a comment made while recording and overdubbing a Kalamazoo Rhythm Ace drum machine, a gift to Ridgway by writer and iconic voice over artist Daws Butler, partner to Stan Freberg, voice of Yogi Bear and many other Hanna-Barbera characters. When someone jokingly compared the multiple drum machine and farfisa organ laden recordings to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Ridgway commented it sounded more like a "Wall Of Voodoo", and the name stuck.
Actually, for new listeners, the voodoo reference was a little misleading, as it referred to the music's often spooky quality, as opposed to any Haitian or Caribbean influences. In fact, WoV's music could fairly have been described as a cross between early synthesizer pop (especially that of Devo) and Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" films. Adding to the music's distinctiveness was Nanini's percussive experimentation, mixing drum machines with unconventional found instruments such as pots, pans and various kitchen utensils, as well as Marc Moreland's twangy spaghetti-western guitar. On top of the mix was Ridgway's unusual vocal style—a nasal Western drawl that combined the stoic ballad-style Sprechgesang of Johnny Cash, the declamatory theatrical delivery of Ethel Merman, and the ironic, clenched-jaw voice of a wisecracking ventriloquist's dummy. One of Ridgway's hobbies since childhood has been ventriloquism and he occasionally assumes the persona of a dummy named Jackie T. Lazar, such as in his cover version of "Behind Closed Doors" from Holiday in Dirt and in the video for "Big Dumb Town" from Black Diamond.
Ridgway embarked on a solo career in 1983, shortly after Wall of Voodoo's appearance and break up at the US Festival that same year. After collaborating on the song "Don't Box Me In" with Stewart Copeland from The Police for the soundtrack to the film Rumble Fish (1983), directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper and Tom Waits, he released his first proper solo album, The Big Heat (1986), which included the top 5 European hit "Camouflage". This was followed by numerous other solo recordings Mosquitos (1989), Partyball (1991), Black Diamond (1995), Anatomy (1999), The Way I Feel Today a collection of big band standards (2000) and Holiday In Dirt (2001) which also included a DVD of videos. Ridgway's most recent solo outing is Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs (2005) featuring the narrative song, "Talkin' Wall Of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1", a history of his former band in song that was especially poignant, having followed the recent deaths of Marc Moreland and Joe Nanini.
Since the early days of Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway has been interested in music for cinema. A list of films for which Ridgway has written scores and/or original songs is included below. Ridgway's album Holiday in Dirt was a quasi-cinematic project, with the release of the album accompanied by a showing of 14 short films by various independent film makers, each film corresponding to one of the songs on the album. A compilation DVD of the films was released in February 2005.
In 1994, Ridgway began work on a new project in the form of a trio called Drywall, the other members of the trio being Ridgway's wife, keyboardist/vocalist Pietra Wexstun of the band Hecate's Angels (who had previously worked with Ridgway on Mosquitos and Partyball), and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight. In 1995, Drywall released its first album (first of a "trilogy of apocalyptic documents"), titled Work The Dumb Oracle. A short film directed by Carlos Grasso titled The Drywall Incident was released the same year. An extended, instrumental soundtrack album for The Drywall Incident was released in 1996.
Ridgway and Wexstun also collaborated on a suite of mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces to accompany an exhibition of post modern surrealist artist Mark Ryden's paintings, which was released as the album Blood- Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear"in 2003 in a unique 3 panel packaging design by the artist which quickly sold out of its limited pressing of 7,500.
Stan Ridgway and Drywall regrouped in 2006 to release the album Barbeque Babylon, the third "apocalyptic document" with the single "The AARP Is Following Me". The new Drywall lineup features Rick King on guitars and bass and Bruce Zelesnik on drums and percussion.
Ridgway has also contributed to albums and projects by producer Hal Willner, Frank Black and the Catholics, The Flesh Eaters, The Divine Horsemen, The Ray Campi Quartet, The Fibonaccis, and Roger McGuinn.
Nadine
Stan Ridgway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street
I shouted to the driver, ";Hey, conductor, you must
Slow down, I think I see her, please, let me off the bus";
Nadine
Oh, honey, is that you
Woah, Nadine
Seems every time I see you, baby, you've got somethin' else to do
Woah, I saw from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin' toward a coffee-colored Cadillac
Pushin' through the crowd, tryin' to get to where she's at
I was campaign-shouting like a Southern diplomat
Chorus repeat
You're off with someone, someone new!
Downtown, searchin' for her, lookin' all around
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading uptown
I caught a loaded taxi, picked up everybody's tab
Tipped a twenty dollar bill, I said ";you catch that yellow cab";
[Chorus repeat last line repeat x4]
Nadine
Nadine
Nadine
Make a scene
Nadine
Keep it clean
Nadine
Eat a bean, Nadine
The song "Nadine" by Stan Ridgway is a playful and quirky tale about a man searching for his elusive love interest named Nadine. The song begins with the singer riding a city bus and spotting what he believes to be Nadine walking up the street. He pleads with the bus driver to let him off so that he can catch up with her.
Throughout the song, the singer continuously chases after Nadine as she slips away from him, seemingly always too busy to spend time with him. The chorus repeats the phrase "Seems every time I see you, baby, you've got somethin' else to do."
The song has an upbeat and jazzy sound, with a saxophone and a catchy guitar riff adding to the lively vibe. The lyrics are playful and humorous, with the imagery of the coffee-colored Cadillac and the "campaign-shouting like a Southern diplomat" adding to the whimsy of the song.
Overall, "Nadine" is a lighthearted and entertaining song that showcases Ridgway's unique storytelling abilities and musical style. It tells a relatable tale of chasing after someone who always seems just out of reach while still maintaining a playful and fun tone.
Line by Line Meaning
As I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat
I boarded a city bus and found a free seat
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street
I thought I spotted the love of my life coming my way
I shouted to the driver, ";Hey, conductor, you must Slow down, I think I see her, please, let me off the bus";
I shouted to the driver, asking him to stop the bus as I had to get off because I thought I had seen my future bride
Nadine
Oh, honey, is that you
Woah, Nadine
Oh, honey, is that you
Seems every time I see you, baby, you've got somethin' else to do
I called my future bride Nadine and asked her if it was really her. I also mentioned that whenever I saw her, she always seemed to be busy with something else
Woah, I saw from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin' toward a coffee-colored Cadillac
Pushin' through the crowd, tryin' to get to where she's at
I was campaign-shouting like a Southern diplomat
I witnessed Nadine turning and walking back while making her way towards a coffee-colored Cadillac. I tried to navigate through the crowd to reach her while shouting like a politician on a campaign trail
You're off with someone, someone new!
I suspected that Nadine might be with someone else
Downtown, searchin' for her, lookin' all around
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading uptown
I caught a loaded taxi, picked up everybody's tab
Tipped a twenty dollar bill, I said ";you catch that yellow cab";
I went downtown to search for Nadine and finally saw her getting into a yellow taxi heading uptown. I took another taxi, paid for everyone's fare, and instructed the driver to follow the yellow taxi
[Chorus repeat last line repeat x4]
Nadine
Nadine
Nadine
Make a scene
Nadine
Keep it clean
Nadine
Eat a bean, Nadine
The chorus repeats several times, with me calling out Nadine's name and encouraging her to do something fun like making a scene or keeping it clean, and then finishing with a lighthearted suggestion to eat a bean
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind