Thursday, June 18, 2009

Songs of Freedom: "That Long, Lonesome Highway"

Son #1 lives in Washington State and is in the business of repairing and restoring Harley-Davidson motorcycles for resale. He told me this week that he has a powerful urge to just head on out; he hears the call of the open road and would like to bike around the country and see the great places in the good ole USA. I told him that reminded me of a TV series that was popular in 1969 & 1970 called "Then Came Bronson" starring Michael Parks. Parks, as Bronson, rode his Harley all over the country and each week he was in a new place meeting new people and facing new problems.
The theme song of the show was "Long, Lonesome Highway," and Michael Parks sang it himself. It's one of those freedom songs that sticks in your head, and I remember the words four decades later. I always wondered what happend to Michael Parks, but I saw him recently in Chill Bill #2. You probably did too, without knowing who he was. He played Esteban Vihaio, the Mexican pimp with the genteel manners and fine clothes who tells the protagonist where she can find Bill, played by the late David Carradine.

Son, this one's for you.



Here's Michael Parks in "Kill Bill No. 2".

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