Red Elvises: Winter Reggae

Add a little surf guitar, an electric contrabass balalaika, keyboards, percussion, a Slavic accent, a bit of comedy, and a lot of kitsch – the result – the Red Elvises. For those of us who had to practice duck and cover (like that would have protected us from the big one) back during the cold war, who would have thought a group from the former Soviet bloc would adopt the name of the “King” and have a cult following in the U.S.? Well Comrade, they do – and they are absolutely wonderful in their own populist way.

Since my area of the U.S. has seen a lot more snow than normal (120 inches this season so far), I thought that a song dreaming about the beach would be in order. What could be better than the Red Elvises singing “Winter Reggae?”

While I’ve never seen this band outside of YouTube, the lineup in this recording is my favorite. Oleg Baranov, who played “Big Red,” is now playing keyboards, accordion, and ukulele on the current leg of the band's 2010 tour. It just doesn’t seem the same without that huge red representation of Russian imperialism. I also miss touring keyboardist Elena Shemankova who is reportedly working on a solo career. Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Yuzov remains and has rechristened the band as Igor and the Red Elvises. Hey, “Natasha's singing Reggae; hey, hey, hey; it makes me feel all right.”

Live Version in St. Petersburg

Lyrics

It's minus forty in December; it's cold and windy outside,
I dream of sunshine and the ocean, endless summer on my mind
I just wanna be the one, singing songs and having fun under the biggest yellow sun.

Natasha's singing reggae (hey, hey hey) and I don't sleep all night,
Natasha's singing reggae (hey, hey hey) it makes me feel all right.

Her father is jamming on a squeeze-box, to keep her mama satisfied,
Sometimes he sings like Volga boatmen, while getting drunk on winter nights.
And he just wants to be the one, singing songs and having fun under the biggest yellow sun.

Natasha's singing reggae (hey, hey hey) and I can't sleep all night,
Natasha's singing reggae (hey, hey hey) it makes me feel all right.