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Ronnie Lee Williams - "King Kong (Is Alive And Well)" b/w "D.Y.A.O." 1976

  




 

Ronnie Lee Williams - "King Kong (Is Alive And Well)" b/w "D.Y.A.O" Eurodisc 1976



If you've ever hankered for a "where are they now" speculation tune regarding cinema's most famous giant gorilla, done in a thumping disco beat, no less, then this is the song for you! According to Williams, Double K (or K-squared) grew tired of the smog-clogged, superficial scene in Los Angeles and beat feet to somewhere else in California. Where, we never learn.

Ronnie Lee Williams is an American expat who made his way to Germany while in the military in the 1960s. There he started a long career as an actor, presenter, radio personality and singer. I presume this single was produced to cash in on the remake of King Kong that came out the same year, starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. 

The flipside on this bad boy is "D.Y.A.O.", which, as you might imagine, stands for Dance Your Ass Off. It's definitely funky, and has a strong James Brown flavor to it, but when you lead with King Kong, and you have a great picture sleeve like this one does, well, I have to go with the A-side for the post.

In regards to the picture sleeve, it looks like some lucky gorilla mask, not at all proportionally accurate to the titular beast in regards to his/its surroundings, has been flocked by a gaggle of foxy ladies on the hood of a convertible. Ah, the life of celebrities. Why he's adorned with what looks like night vision goggles, I have no clue. This looks like the set up for a hip, crime-solving detective gorilla series where the protagonist exists in a world where everyone is just cool and nonchalant about the fact that a giant gorilla is a private investigator, and is staffed with a bevy of Charlie's Angels-ish beauties to help with the task. And frankly, I'm here for it. 

Williams re-released the single the following year with a less weird (and as a result, less fun) picture sleeve, under the pseudonym D.J. Scott. Maybe the record company needed to re-coup some of the production losses when this didn't sell like hot cakes. I don't know. D.J. Scott is the moniker he utilized when releasing his version of the Rick Dees atrocity, "Disco Duck," that same year.

"Hey, Josh..." you might inquire, "is this the last King Kong-related song you have to gift us?"

"No, my child," I say. "Not even close."

Adieu.

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