I blogged about the origins of shouting "Freebird!" at inappropriate concerts here. Ray in Austin begged to differ. Now Ray tells his story to the Houston Press. Will the Chicagoans respond to the challenge? This has been fun, so I kind of hope that they do.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on May 27, 2005 to Music | TrackBackJust for the record, Lomax called me first, I didn't call him.
I seek not fame, I seek only the truth.
BTW, 95% of the hits I'm receiving about this are coming from Off The Kuff, not the Houston Press. You should be so proud.
I'm not a real Chicagoan, just a Texas transplant in Wrigleyville, but I'll bite.
Pace Ray, but my money is still on the Chicago origin of the Freebird thing. First, a Chicago DJ with a large audience is more likely than a single Houston club-goer to be the instigator of a wide-spread cultural phenomenon. Remember the whole "Disco Sucks" thing? Yeah, a lot of people thought Disco sucked, but it took a DJ to get thousands of people to yell it en masse at a White Soxs double-header. Same basic principle.
Besides, Chicago was the birthplace of gospel, deep dish pizza, and modern American architecture, so why not the Freebird thing?
I'd be willing to believe that Ray may have invented it in isolation, concurrently with the DJ, though.
I dunno, that's my two cents anyway.
Posted by: FHC on May 27, 2005 5:07 PM