lp discography - covers & lyrics

Songs about the unsung hero of our communities; the police officer.
Whose's the man behind the badge ? The answer is included in the question itself: a man ! ...a man with human joys and sorrows, personal pride, loving family ties, fears and ambitions. But the real difference between most men and those wearing a badge on their chests is the social duty they have agreed to perform; that important yet universally unappreciated job of maintaining law and order ... of protecting all of us from the wrongdoings of others as well as from our own thoughtlessness.
In essence, these are the thoughts and feelings that are set to music by Red Simpson, that singing and composing "truck drivin' man" with a knack for singing about real and dedicated people going about the business of earning and honest day's pay... of people performing a beneficial service to all mankind ... of men and women who have too long been overlooked on the scales of public thanks and appreciation.
Red's great hit The Highway Patrol, included in this unique collection of songs, is kind of a key to the entire album. For here is rhythmic and melodic entertainment that also has something worthwhile to say, in this instance of the nation's Highway Patrol officers who work long hours for low pay just to keep speeders down and traffic safety up. Expanding and explaining the role of those who protect our country roads and city freeways are Workin' For The Highway Patrol which describes the hazards of high-speed pursuit and the dangerous meetings with "con men, convicts and wide guys," and Rules Of The Road which laments the deadly combinations of "drinkin' and drivin' " and the drunken disregard of traffic regulations. Similarly, Bad Man Highway Patrol is a study of the rudeness and meanness that officers often meet when trying to prevent tragedy at the wheel by instructing youngsters that "a car is like a weapon and drivin' not a game." But warnings are brazenly scoffed at, making the avoidable wreck a certainty ..." it makes you said, man - mad, man - but don't let it show."
Moving songs about other types of police officerscon the job also receive Red's lyrically sympathetic and melodically compelling treatment. In a lighthearted vein, Sidewalk Patrol tells of the cop on the beat, in this case of an understandably "jumpy officer who, at all hours of the night, watches for prowlers and checks locked business establishments. There's also County Sheriff which speaks of the brawny upstanding, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen" whose diverse duties keep him working "from eight to four and cruising four hours more; City Police, a fast-paced tale of a local officer who proudly spends his lifetime keeping the peace for his friends and neighbors in his own home town; and Sheriff Sam who, in the old-west tradition, copes with roughouse barroom situations.
Who's the man behind the badge ? He's the man who performs these and countless other duties in the regular course of the job. He's the unsung hero who's called upon to stake his own life in order to protect ours. And probably most overlooked, he's the flesh and blood human being who falls in love just like everyone else, as in the whimsical "Under Arrest" (You Gotta Be My Wife) or the guy whose pensive wife and family wonder if he'll return uninjured when he leaves home in the morning, the evening or the dead of night. He's the dedicated public servant who, in spite of pensions and a gold watch, has a little part of him die upon retirement after 25 Years On Patrol. He is Johnny Law..." they call him flat foot, but when you're in danger he's there."
Red Simpson, who composed 10 of these memorable songs, has captured the feeling of these men and their jobs. And whether he presents them ballad style, country-rouser style or as a moving recitation, each song emerges as not only a long overdue tribute to THE MAN BEHIND THE BADGE but also as an artistic reflection of the vast humanity and musical talent of Red Simpson... a unique entertainer on the rise.

RED SIMPSON

THE MAN BEHIND THE BADGE