Teenage Philosopher

Bobby Day - Teenage Philosopher

Teenage Philosopher was released in 1960, two years after Bobby Day's breakout smash, Rockin' Robin. Both tunes were written by Leon René, who set up two LA based labels I'm very fond of, Rendezvous and Class. Unfortunately, the length of time since René was himself a teenager (about 50 years) is glaringly obvious in the lyrics of today's selection. I can't imagine the condescending "beware beware beware" tone resonating with the youth of any era. Still, like Rockin' Robin, Teenage Philosopher has a swinging Earl Palmer rock'n'roll beat. It also has a brief interlude of Plas Johnson's growling sax that makes up for any lyrical inadequacies.