One Bad Stud – The Honey Bears (1954)

“One Bad Stud” is an early Jerry Lieber-Mark Stoller tune written for the Spark label which they started with the profits of Big Mama Willie Mae Thornton’s “Hound Dog.” Willie Headen, the Honey Bears lead singer also recorded “Love Me,” (later covered by Elvis Presley) as Willy and Ruth.

AMHF Advisory Board members, the Blasters were featured covering this rare R&B monster, in the following clip from the 1984 film, Streets of Fire. When lead singer Phil Alvin, suggested this song as perfect for the scene and tried to get a license from Lieber-Stoller’s publishers, he was told they didn’t write it. Phil had them contact the writers themselves to tell them they had an artist who wanted to record a song in the film that they had forgotten they wrote, and he’d tell them the what it was if the Blasters could perform it in the film.

Also joining in on the fun on this brilliant cover of what was basically an unknown fifties R&B classic was Lee Allen, the classic New Orleans tenorman, a former Advisory Board man and now a member of our Ouija Board of Advisors.* At the AMHF, we’ll be “Walkin’ with Mr. Lee” happily ever after.

Other band member include Dave Alvin (still playing his Fender Mustang), lead guitar; Gene Taylor, piano, Johnny Bazz, bass; Bill Bateman, drums and Steve Berlin (soon to permanently join Los Lobos) on baritone sax.