Supermarkets in Popular Music

This is the place for general and miscellaneous posts on topics which might extend past the boundaries of any specific region.

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
User avatar
Dave
Veteran
Posts: 315
Joined: 01 Dec 2005 14:08
Location: Richmond, VA
Contact:

Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by Dave »

I somehow doubt that there are quite as many references to supermarkets in popular music as there are in the movies and television, but I thought it might make for an interesting topic.

I'll start off with "Billy the Mountain" by The Mothers of Invention ("Just Another Band from L.A.", recorded live at Pauley Pavilion, released 1972). There are several references to markets - Ralphs on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and notably Ralphs on Sunset (where Studebacher Hoch buys "some Aunt Jemima syrup, some Kaiser broiler foil and a pair of blunt scissors"). There's also a reference to "Boney's Market" which some say was in Ontario, CA and others say was in Studio City (as "Boni's Market").

Interestingly, The Mothers changed the supermaket references depending on where they were playing - they used Gristedes in New York, A&P in Boston and Toronto, Safeway in Chicago and Kansas City, etc. A website showing differences in the song lyrics by performance location is here:
http://members.shaw.ca/fz-pomd/vaudeville/btm.html, and the song has it's own Wikipedia article as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Mountain

Anyone have other songs?
User avatar
TheStranger
Veteran
Posts: 719
Joined: 18 Sep 2006 01:26
Location: California

Post by TheStranger »

The one that definitely comes to mind is Neil Young's "Safeway Cart" from 1993. (He grew up in Winnipeg and currently lives in the Bay Area, both Safeway strongholds.)
Chris Sampang
User avatar
runchadrun
Veteran
Posts: 618
Joined: 27 Dec 2005 14:29
Location: Granada Hills (Los Angeles), CA
Contact:

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by runchadrun »

Dave wrote:I'll start off with "Billy the Mountain" by The Mothers of Invention ("Just Another Band from L.A.", recorded live at Pauley Pavilion, released 1972). There are several references to markets - Ralphs on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and notably Ralphs on Sunset (where Studebacher Hoch buys "some Aunt Jemima syrup, some Kaiser broiler foil and a pair of blunt scissors").
I wonder which Ralphs on Laurel Canyon they are talking about. The Vons at Laurel Canyon and Ventura is a former Ralphs, but was a Food Giant/Smith's Food King in the 1970s. The one at Valley Plaza is a former McDaniels/Hughes. There's another one way up in Sun Valley but it wasn't built until 1980.

The one on Sunset is no doubt the Rock n Roll Ralphs, which was torn down and rebuilt 10 years ago or so.

As for songs, there's "Lost in the Supermarket" by The Clash, recently covered by Ben Folds, but it doesn't mention any stores. And there's "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses with the line "A&P has provided me with the world's smallest turkey."
User avatar
runchadrun
Veteran
Posts: 618
Joined: 27 Dec 2005 14:29
Location: Granada Hills (Los Angeles), CA
Contact:

Post by runchadrun »

I completely forgot about this song until it just came up in my iTunes library. Glen Phillips, the lead singer from Toad the Wet Sprocket, had a solo album called Abulum with a song called Fred Meyers, though it seems to be about a local mom and pop store instead of the chain of (almost) the same name. You can find the lyrics at http://www.endor.org/glen/lyrics.asp?Su ... &SongID=56
WalgreensDude
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: 13 Jun 2007 03:10

Supermarket reference

Post by WalgreensDude »

From "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny & Cher:

"The grocery store's a super-mart, uh-huh..."
Toby Radloff
Contributor
Posts: 93
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 20:48

Post by Toby Radloff »

From The Kinks' "Come Dancing":

"They put a parking lot on a piece of land, where the supermarket used to stand, before that they put up a bowling alley, on the site that used to be the local Pali"

In the song, I am guessing that "the local Pali" was a ballroom or nightclub.
TW-Upstate NY
Veteran
Posts: 158
Joined: 18 Sep 2006 20:45

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

Just thought of another one and it's in keeping with the season:
"Met my old lover in the grocery store. The snow was falling Christmas Eve."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the title is "Another Auld Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg.
User avatar
Daniel
Veteran
Posts: 283
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 04:09

Post by Daniel »

close... it's "Same Old Lang Syne"
User avatar
shane
Contributor
Posts: 34
Joined: 04 May 2006 20:50
Location: Palmdale california

Post by shane »

I just remembered a country music song by Diamond Rio called Bubba Hyde. It mentions something about Barney working down at the A&P and if you do a quick google search you can find the lyrics.
Dean
Veteran
Posts: 738
Joined: 11 Jan 2007 23:27

Post by Dean »

Ohio Man
Contributor
Posts: 18
Joined: 11 Mar 2009 14:49
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by Ohio Man »

There's this from the Wings song "Junior's Farm":

"I took my bag into a grocer's store/the price is higher than the time before/old man asked me why is it more"


Also, a punk band from New Jersey called Adrenalin O.D. put out a song in 1988 called "My Mother Can't Drive" which had a lyric about the title mom recklessly racing to Shop RIte on double coupon day. The song is on YouTube.
Super S
Veteran
Posts: 463
Joined: 07 Jan 2006 00:40

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by Super S »

Walmart is mentioned in a number of country songs, although not always in the grocery aspect.
User avatar
rudyvalencia
Member
Posts: 8
Joined: 15 Dec 2011 21:54
Location: Greeley, CO USA
Contact:

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by rudyvalencia »

There's always Ray Stevens' The Streak. He mentioned that the streaker running around was at the supermarket first.
Image - Kmart aficionado and grocery store fan
retailfanmitchell019
Contributor
Posts: 25
Joined: 06 Sep 2021 22:46

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

The Dead Kennedys song "Night of the LIving Rednecks" mentions Fred Meyer.
trainman
Contributor
Posts: 29
Joined: 11 Aug 2009 13:56
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music

Post by trainman »

Two 1990s mentions of Safeway:

"Uh, Zoom Zip" by Soul Coughing (Ruby Vroom album, 1994) includes the line, repeated several times, "Recombination, then Viacom, Safeway." (It's a mondegreen version of a line from a different song, "Jazz (We've Got)" by A Tribe Called Quest, which is "Competition dem try fe come sideway/But competition dey must come straightway")

"In Every Place" by Nick Heyward (The Apple Bed, 1998) -- "You're like a Safeway's new price/You're Mister Ever-So-Nice"
Post Reply