Brownsville Station A Music Review

Brownsville Station was a rock band out of Detroit, Michigan. As a teenager, I believed that they were from Brownsville, Texas, U.S.A. The band started in 1969 with Mike Lutz, Cub Koda, T.J Cronley and Tony Driggins.

The band in various forms was together from 1969 to 1979, then had a rebirth in 2012 and can still be found rocking somewhere in the U.S.A. today, all be it with many different band members.

Everyone knows the band for their big hit of 1973, "Smokin in the Boys Room", did you ever listen closely to their song, "Kings of the Party"?

"Kings of the Party" was released in 1974 and was included in the "School Punks" album. This song would go to 31 on the charts and was a feature song when Brownsville Station would play on "The Midnight Special" in 1974. The song was written by Cub Koda, Mike Lutz and Henry "H-Bomb" Wreck in 1973.

You might listen to this song and remember some concerts for anyone who attended concerts from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Crowded venues with clouds of pot smoke drifting across the concert hall. Police and security were trying to keep crowds outside of the arena trying to get in. Now think of the number of times someone or everyone managed to get themselves on the stage.

Now let us look closely at some of the lyrics in this song.

"All right now, get your ears lowered down to the speakers

So you can understand what I'm talking about."

Remember those massive vibrating speakers that were in the concert halls. Now the first dozen rows could always feel the tremendous bass feedback from those speakers. Having once been a bass player with a Punk Band, I can tell you what the audience feels is nothing compared to what the musicians experience on stage.

"You know it seems like no matter where we go to play a concert at

There's one thing that remains constant

From the beginning to the very end of the show."

My personal experiences at concerts in the late 70s and early 80s were always filled with excitement, screaming, dancing and occasionally fights.

"You can always count on about one hundred to five hundred people

Down at the very front row screaming one word

At the top of their lungs...BOOGIE!!!"

I must admit, in my experiences, the word "Boogie!" was not used a lot. Things like "F__ing AH!" "ROCK ON!" and "" AHHHHH!" and other inaudible noises rang out amongst the sound of screaming guitars, drum solos, tambourines and clapping. With all the screaming, cheering, and breathing in clouds of pot smoke, I often could barely speak by the end of the concert and sometimes had sore throats for several days after the concert experience.

"And sometimes, the feeling prevails upon 'em so hard, beloved

But they just have to mount up on the stage

And get to giggin' with the band

And when they do, uh-oh, here comes the security fuzz."

For those who never experienced concerts from the late 60s to the early 90s, I am referring to getting up on stage as somewhat easier than today. (Most of the time) I can remember watching people get onto the stage at Eric Clapton, Queen, Tiffany, Ted Nugent, The Clash, The Young Canadians, and other musicians as well. I can also remember the concert security appearing usually embarrassed and dealing very harshly with those they caught on stage. The young man who put his arm on Freddie Mercury's shoulder during "We Are the Champions" got hit from behind and fell into the audience. The teen male that kissed Tiffany was carried off stage, just to name a couple examples.

"Hey you guys are really good, man. I dig up on you guys.

When you gon' play 'Smokin' In The...' O.W.! O.W.! O.W.!

Man, you made me drop my bottle of wine on the floor."

I also remember that people managed to carry in bottles of Baby Duck wine while attending a Ted Nugent concert. Brownsville Station was right on with this part of the song.

"Say, there you go

So we're gonna dedicate this song to everybody listening

Because the ones that get into it

Are definitely, the KINGS OF THE PARTY!!!

Every Friday night there's a concert in their town

You know they all get together and they're ready to party down

An ol' Brownsville Station really diss 'em, 'cause they get it on."

Every city had active venues from hockey arenas to small out-of-the-way clubs that would be rocking on Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes other nights in between.

"You see the chicks they all go crazy, oh when the band begins to play

And the guys make so much noise, they scare all the cops away

But together we start to change the show into a rock 'n' roll holiday."

We're the kings of the party, we're the baddest people alive

We're the kings of the party, aw come on, and slip me five

Now we're the kings of the party, 'cause we're the baddest people alive."

Girls would expose their chests to the band and security near the stage. Guys would shout and wave closed fists into the air as the guitars screamed out over the crowd. The bands and lead singers often encouraged some of the bad behave of the masses through waves, words, and gestures. Some artists would give and take high fives, others fingered the audience and band members threw garbage at the audience at one venue. (Oh, for the days of Punk Rock!)

"We're the kings of the party, we're the baddest people alive

We're the kings of the party, aw come on, and slip me five

Now we're the kings of the party, 'cause we're the baddest people alive.

Ten thousand eyes watching while we leave the floor

Ten thousand tongues screaming more and more

HANG ON! Let me see 10,000 eyes watching Brownsville leave the floor. That would translate into 5,000 people. BUT! 10,000 tongues screaming more and more. Does this mean that 10,000 Cyclopes were watching the show? Did everyone have two tongues? My head hurts at the possibilities here.

What about the fifteen hundred waiting outside of the door? What were they?

"So we're the kings of the party, the baddest people alive

We're the kings of the party, c'mon and slip me five

Now we're the kings of the party, 'cause we're the baddest people alive.

We're the kings of the party, the baddest people alive

We're the kings of the party, come down down on and slip me five

We're the kings, the kings of the rock 'n' roll party,

'Cause we get it on.

We're the kings of the party, we're the baddest people alive

We're the kings of the party, aw come on, and slip me five

Now we're the kings of the party, 'cause we're the baddest people alive."

Maybe Brownsville Station was the naughty people because they turned their audiences into two-tongued people or Cyclopes. It is also possible they played their venues to specialist audiences. Therefore, you could see why the police were scared away.

This is a fun song about an era that is gone. No one lights lighters at concerts, anyone. Flash Cube Kodak Cameras are long gone, metal detectors, body searches are standard, tickets are scanned, and life is very different.

Authors Note

As mentioned in this article, the song "kings of the Party" was written by Cub Koda, Mike Lutz and Henry "H-Bomb" Wreck in 1973 for the 1974 Album "Street Punks".

No copy written infringement is meant and this review is for educational purposes.

This review is dedicated to all the past and current members of Brownsville Station. A special shout out to the brilliance of Cub Koda (1948 – 2000).