Merle Haggard's No Shit Day

Fifteen years ago, tabloid television legend Wayne Darwen came up with the idea of a reality television series shot from inside Merle Haggard's tour bus, talking to ordinary folks as he makes his way across the country. As with most prescient visions of genius, Merle's 'Merica didn't make it to air, but it did made for a lively chapter in the book Tabloid Baby (see Chapter 32). Merle's 'Merica, meanwhile, has gone exactly where Darwen predicted it taking us back in the mid-Nineties. The great songwriter and musician is featured in the latest issue of Rolling Stone (the one with Megan Fox on the cover), with one quote that's stuck with us since we read it aloud in the Tabloid Baby office:

"I don't believe there's a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans. When you get someone new in the White House, don't you suppose they'd sit him down there the first morning in the Oval Office and explain the rules? Give him orders about what to do, and if he didn't do 'em, they'd kill his kids? That's what I think. I think there's a No Shit Day, when they sit the guy down and he says, 'No shit.' And they say, 'Yeah, and it's this way, too.' 'No shit.' 'And we'll kill your fuckin' kids if you don't like it.' I think we're there."

Michael Jackson's missing nose makes news one month after we revealed that its tip was absent from Jacko death photo

Rolling Stone magazine is getting lots of play today for a story that was broken by Tabloid Baby within hours of Michael Jackson's death:

Michael Jackson died without his nose.

We alone among the world's journalist noticed and reported that the photo showing Jackson's lifeless corpse on the way into the UCLA Medical Center revealed that the tip of Jackson's cosmetic surgery-damaged schnozzola was missing:

"A study of the photo reveals one detail that's yet to be commented on: Michael Jackson is missing the tip of his nose.

"With his many plastic surgeries, Jacko did much damage to the cartilege in his nose and was rumoured to use putty or a prosthetic to replace the destroyed end...

"It appears that the tip was lost as paramedics worked valiantly to get his heart started, perhaps in a kiss of life."


In a detailed report of Jacko's final days and the hours after his demise, Rolling Stone reports that further attempts to pump some life back into the star had rubbed away the rest of the false appendage, revealing the horrific results of one nose job too many. The once-essential mag quotes a witness who claims to have seen Jacko's corpse on an autopsy table said there was simply a small hole where the singer's nose should have been:

"The prosthesis he normally attached to his damaged nose was missing, revealing bits of cartilage surrounding a small dark hole."

The Daily Mail reports the story today, adding confirmation from a former Jacko housekeeper who adds:

"In his closet he had a jar of fake noses and stage glue, which he told me he used for disguises. But some were similar to his real nose, just without the hole."

Most of the mainstream and tabloid Internet media have attributed the story to the Daily Mail. Only the most perceptive and cutting edge tabloid news sites, like Hollywood's Rumor Rat and the UK's Anorak, cited out story-- on Day One.

A good excuse to follow us on Twitter and receive Tabloid Baby updates. We notice things that others do not. That's what we do.

BOYCOTT ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE UNTIL THE HUDSON BROTHERS ARE INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME!

Let the movement begin now.

Let the movement begin here.

Boycott Rolling Stone magazine…

Until The Hudson Brothers
are inducted into
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And let the inspiration come from the picture above: former Mickey Mouse and Lou Perlman ward Justin Timberlake on his knees before disco pop queen Madonna, not at a Bravo, Nickelodeon or VH1 awards show-- but at last night’s Rock Hall induction ceremony.

As of last night, Madonna is in. Tina Turner is not.

Leonard Cohen is in. Lou Reed is not.

John Mellencamp is in. The MC5 are not. Neither are The Faces, The Stooges, or The Monkees.

Or The Hudson Brothers.

The weakening of the Hall is the work of Jann Wenner, the Rolling Stone magazine publisher who has inserted enough of his minions onto the Hall’s board to control the voting and keep out the greats out while putting cronies and personal favorites in (see Fox.com's Roger Friedman's story on the "Rock Hall of Shame".

And high on the list of the neglected, forgotten greats are Bill, Mark and Brett Hudson, the brothers who were the kings of youth and pop culture in the Seventies, who worked and palled with the group including Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson and John Lennon, whose work was influenced and equally by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, and who continue to be relevant and influential thirty years on, working with the likes of Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne and Neil Innes.


The Hudson Brothers were an American rock ‘n’ roll band from Portland,Oregon that rose to international fame in the Seventies with hits like "So You are a Star" (1974; Billboard #21), "Rendezvous" (1975; Billboard #26), "Lonely School Year" (1975; Billboard #57), and "Help Wanted" (1976; Billboard #70).

The group was formed in the 1960s by young Beatles-influenced school kids Bill, Mark and Brett Hudson, and first named The New Yorkers (after the Chrysler), after winning a "battle of the bands" contest. In spring 1967 they released "When I'm Gone" (SCE-12190) on Scepter Records, following that in August 1967 with the Indian-influenced "Mr. Kirby" (SCE-12199) and "Show Me The Way To Love" (SCE-12207) in the falloff that year. By October 1968, The New Yorkers had switched to Jerry Dennon's Pacific Northwest label Jerden Records and issued "Adrianne" (#906), and, in March 1969, "Land of Ur" (#908) in March 1969. Also in 1969, The New Yorkers recorded "Lonely" (#7318) for Warner Bros. Records and "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" (#32569) for Decca Records.

They changed their name to Everyday Hudson in early 1970, releasing "Love Is The Word" (Decca #32634).

For the spring 1971 release of "Love Nobody" on Lionel Records (L-3211), their name was shortened to Hudson. This name was also used in 1972 after switching to the newly re-activated Playboy Records, with the release of "Leavin' It's Over" (P-50001), Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #110. In 1973 Hudson signed with Elton John's Rocket Records and released "If You Really Need Me" (MCA-40141), which was recorded in France and produced by Bernie Taupin. It was followed by "Sunday Driver" (MCA-40317).

Their first record release as The Hudson Brothers came in September 1974 with their chart record "So You Are A Star" on Casablanca Records (NES 0108; Billboard #21), followed by "Coochie Choochie Coo" (NES 816) in 1975, Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #108. They returned to Rocket Records for more 45 RPM charted songs in 1975 with producer Bernie Taupin, later switching to Arista Records in 1976. Yet another name change back to Hudson came in 1980 on Elektra Records, and then to The Hudsons in 1983 on Columbia Records.

The Hudson Brothers albums include "Totally Out of Control" on Rocket Records, Billboard 179 in 1974; "Hollywood Situation" on Casablanca Records, Billboard 176 in 1974; "Ba-Fa" on Rocket Records, Billboard 165 in 1975; "The Truth About Us" on Arista Records in 1978; and "TV's Hudson Brothers" on First American Records, also in 1978. "Those Damn Kids" on Elektra Records in 1980 was released under the name Hudson.

They also starred in The Hudson Brothers Show, a TV variety hour Wednesday nights on CBS in the summer of 1974, followed by The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show on CBS Saturday mornings, from September 7, 1974 to August 30, 1975, in a half-hour format, and Bonkers!, a half-hour syndicated comedy show in 1978, produced in Britain by ATV and distributed by ITC. The three brothers also starred in Hysterical, a horror-comedy film released in 1983.

All three remain active today in the music and movie fields. More on their influence to come. Meanwhile...

No Hudson Brothers?

No Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!