40 Year Itch : The Brotherhood of the Eye Patch

James Booker : Junco Partner

[Purchase]

Last Wednesday I woke up with double vision. It was an interesting commute to get into work . Then the novelty wore off and I realized I'd better see a doctor. That doctor told me to go straight to the emergency room. That's because double vision, or diplopia, can be a sign of a stroke or aneurysm, a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis or some kind of rare disease. It can also just be one of those things that happen without explanation...which is where I am right now. So I am writing this with an eyepatch, expecting any day to get an appointment scheduled with one of three neuro opthamologists in the Seattle area. Not an appointment. An appointment scheduled. I'm told it may weeks before I ever see one of them.

  So to make the best of a not very good situation, I took out a gold pen and painted a star on my patch in tribute to New Orleans pianist James Booker, who , 40 years ago, released Junco Partner. The title track is about a junkie. It had already been done by Dr John, but Booker's version runs deeper. It's more wounded. And I can identify with that these days.

Across the Atlantic, Joe Strummer and his pub rock band, the 101ers, was also playing "Junco Partner" in their live set. The Clash would later record a version for Sandinista!