Bobby Grier, who was the first black player to play in the Sugar Bowl, died July 8. He was 91. When the University of Pittsburgh accepted an invitation to play Georgia Tech in the January 2, 1956, Sugar Bowl, Georgia Governor Marvin Griffin sent a letter to the Georgia Board of Regents requesting that schools from Georgia refrain from participating in racially integrated sporting events.
I’m surprised to find out he didn’t also write "This Girl Is a Woman Now’, “Woman Woman” and “Don’t Give In” - the grand slam of creepy songs by a single artist.
Meh, “Young Girl” ranks pretty low on my “Creepy Sex Predator” playlist. Yes, the narrator is attracted to an underaged girl, but he knows it’s wrong, and he’s trying to fight it - “Young girl, get out of my mind. My love for you is way out of line.” At least he’s not inviting her back to his apartment for sex, a la “Hot Child In The City”.
I feel “Sweet Little Sixteen” belongs on the list. Sung by Chuck Berry (when he was thirty-two), Pat Boone (when he was thirty), Jerry Lee Lewis (when he was twenty-seven), Eric Burdon (when he was twenty-five), John Lennon (when he was twenty-three), and Cliff Richard (when he was seventy-six).