#SongLyricSunday-Basketball Jones-August 22

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This week our host Jim Adams for Song Lyric Sunday has given us the prompt of Sports Songs

For the entire month of August I am doing a 30 Day Daily Prompt Challenge. Each day it requires you to write about that day’s prompt. So Jim is assisting me greatly with Song Lyric Sunday. I use his prompt on Sunday to challenge my blog readers.

Please consider carving out time to read the posts of other bloggers who responded to this music challenge. You will hopefully will discover new songs, revisit an old favorite and it is quite possibly learn a thing or two.

Song Lyric Sunday Rules

Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it contains the prompt words or not.  If it does not meet the criteria, then please explain why you chose this song.
• Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due.  Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be.
• Make sure you also credit the singer/band and if you desire you can provide a link to where you found the lyrics.
• Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song.
• Ping back to this post or place your link in the comments section below.
• Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
• Feel free to suggest future prompts.
• Have fun and enjoy the music.

Basketball Jones

One of the most amazing things about Song Lyric Sunday is the stuff you learn when you go researching a song. For the sports song prompt I choose the tune “Basketball Jones”. What an amazing back story this 1973 song has.

The song was performed by Cheech and Chong, a stoner-hippie comedic duo. Cheech Martin sang lead. He was credited as “Tyrone Shoelaces.

Who else was involved with this record really surprised me. George Harrison, Michelle Philips, Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Carole King, and The Blossoms all have their names tied to the recording. Philips and The Blossoms sang backup (credited as “The Cheerleaders”; Harrison played guitar; King played electric piano; Preston played organ; Scott was on saxophone.

Basketball Jones,” about a baby who is the best dribbler (drooler) in town and grows up obsessed with basketball, was inspired by an experience shared with another celebrity of the era: Jack Nicholson. One day, Cheech & Chong found themselves in the actor’s car, late for a Lakers game. Nicholson, remembered as a “maniac” of a driver, ended up driving “a good mile into oncoming traffic.” While this was happening, the Chicago song “Love Jones” (1972) came on the radio. A nervous Cheech started improvising to the tune, singing, “Basketball Jones, I got a Basketball Jones.”

Chong got a kick out of the tune and declared that they needed to record it. The song ended up being a surprise hit. In fact it was #15 on Billboard’s Top 100

Here are the lyrics which mention a number of NBA greats

Here is the video

Next week the prompt is Fraud, Hypocrite, Phony, Pretender, Snob