Jonathan Richman's career as singer, songwriter, and all-around mischief-maker now spans more than thirty years. Like Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground before him, Richman has inspired countless music fans around the world to take off their headphones and strap on guitars. From his Velvet-inflected early days with the original Modern Lovers, through numerous iterations of the Lovers, to his latter-day solo career, Richman's work has mixed an arresting sense of innocence with a deep sensitivity to human emotion.

Listen to tracks from If I Were a Richman on the Wampus iPod.

$12.99 CD /// /// shirts, etc.

*****

fee foe 5 someone I care about

1. Contact: Ted Townsend, 2227 Westwood Place, Falls Church, VA 22043

arms of kismet pablo picasso

1. "Jonathan's early stuff is his best known. Maybe that's because it's menacing and comical and sweet, all at once. Later on, Jonathan got sweeter and a little less scary. But while his Velvet Underground fixation was still in bloom, he wrote some devastatingly sarcastic tunes. It's hard to hear 'Pablo Picasso' without laughing at Jonathan's self-deprecating snarl. For our version, we built a wall of sound out of guitars and backing vocals, adding a spaghetti western lead guitar that propels the song at a goofy gallop. If you've ever seen Jonathan do 'I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar' live, you'll appreciate this song's self-mocking ethos of the all-powerful electric guitar."
2. Email: mail4@wampus.com
3. Web: armsofkismet.com

the underhills government center

1. "Amorphous Atlanta pop collective The Underhills is Joe Scinta and Scott Doyon and features, in this case, the visiting voice of Joe Rogers, local gratis-sessionaire Marty Kearns, dining room rhythmatist John Roberts and an Italian stand-up player named Dennis who charged us fifty bucks and described the secret to a good marinara while we mic'd him up. Our Golden Circle of Questionnaires is rounded out by Amy Colbetzor, Robin Doyon and Natalie Hintze."
2. Contact: Scott Doyon, 516 W. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030
5. the crowd scene when harpo played his harp

1. "When Wampus asked us to contribute to this record we thought, "hmmm, Jonathan Richman; he's a genius and all... but Harpo Marx! When the hell is someone going to put out a tribute album to him?? I guess Chico might get one if you could get Ben Folds or Suddenly! Tammy interested, but solo harp music is just a little bit too hard to re-arrange for your typical two-guitars-bass-and-drums -- oh yes, we've ALWAYS loved Tropicalia (but really we love Yo La Tengo).... I mean, how do you jam out that stuff? Have you ever tried? It's a pain. Plus, people usually fast-forward through the harp sequences. Notwithstanding that, if you listen carefully to our contribution you can hear us manfully (and womanfully) attempting to add a harp glissando overdub with a real harp. Lemme tell you they are a bitch to tune, man. So, anyway, Jonathan. He's a fantastic songwriter, damn, you bet! We love his music."
2. Web: myspace.com/crowdscene

H.A.R.M. ice cream man

1. Contact: Andrew Beckerman / Kyle Bittinger / Brett Buzzini, 1641 Hicks Drive, Dauphin, PA 17018

beeky I'm a little airplane

1. "It may not be cool, but it's because The Cars' drummer was a Modern Lover that Beeky found Jojo. That's right, we wanted 'all things Cars' and David Robinson drums on the first two ML long players and thank God he did. Jonathan was unbelievable and the impetus for many an off-key drive through the night for us Beekers. He still handles a lyric in one hand and a guitar in the other unlike anyone else, So we tip our hat to you, Mr. Richman. and who are we? Well, Beeky is like Parliament Funkadelic, you know, very large in size and breadth. For the record (or CD), these are the players: Vic P. Beeky, Billy Sykes, Kai Tollkuhn, Evan Pollack, Jim Eaton, Lisa Clarke, Chris Kittilstad, Simon Beeky & Kelly Beeky."
2. Contact: Nic Beery

geoff p. russell's inhibition exhibition hey there little insect

1. "That strange insect buzz/drone that permeates the entire song was made by taping down the C key on a bizarre and antiquated keyboard instrument (the splendidly named "Viscount Intercontinental UFO 61") bequeathed to me by my late grandmother, then putting the whole thing through a wah-wah pedal for added fly-buzzing-against-your-window irritation. Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhh! My apologies to Mr. Richman for adding the arachnoid third verse. I hope I've managed to remain true to the spirit of the original lyric." --Geoff P. Russell, Sheffield, England
2. Contact: Special Agent Geoff P. Russell, PO Box 1562, Sheffield, S2 2XU, ENGLAND
3. Web: http://www.peoplesound.com/artist/thespecialagents

frumious snacktime buzz buzz buzz

Contact: Members currently in Federal Witness Protection Program.

space robot scientists I'm straight

1. Contact: Andre Bermudez / Matt Dallow, 10 Bethel Lane, Commack, NY 11725
2. Web: www.spacerobotscientists.com

early lines modern world

1. Contact: Deep East Records, P.O. Box 861898, Plano, TX 75086-1898
2. Web: www.lowfashion.com/earlylines/

the young adults she cracked

1. Contact: The Young Adults, c/o Greg Gibson, 11645 Wildflower Court, Cupertino, CA 95014
2. Web: www.theyoungadults.com

microwave orphans dignified and old

1. Contact: Matt Orphan, Eiffel Trousers Records, 55 Violet Road, Kings Park, NY 11754
2. Web: artists.tacowagon.com/microwaveorphans

kowtow popof lonely financial zone

1. Web: kowtowpopof.com

wampeters twilight in boston

1. "We lived in Boston in the late eighties, and relocated to the D.C. area in 1989. This song describes Boston the way we might -- the public gardens, the Back Bay, the Fenway. You can tell Jonathan spent a lot of time hanging around those places. He wrote the song long after he had left Boston for California, and that's basically our situation now -- we're expatriates. If you listen closely to the second half of the song, you'll hear Eamon playing a 'fish,' which we had never used on a Wampeters recording. It made us laugh immensely."
2. Email: mail4@wampus.com
3. Web: wampeters.com

If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of Jonathan Richman

Produced by Mark Doyon | Mastered by Eamon Loftus | Designed by R.E.D. Design

Like tribute CDs? Check out Glass Flesh: a Tribute to the Music of Robin Hitchcock.