The Judy's were a
Pearland, Texas
Pearland ( ) is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend and Harris County, Texas, Harris counties, in Texas, United States. The city of Pearland is a principal city wit ...
-based punk and new wave band that flourished from the late 1970s through the early 1980s.
History
The Judy's song, "Guyana Punch", recounted the
infamous Jonestown massacre. Several of their songs were topical: "Dogs" refers to the
Son of Sam
David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco; June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer and former United States Army, U.S. Army soldier who committed a series of stabbings and ...
murderer; "Radiation Squirm" refers to the
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, located on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Londonderry T ...
; "How's Gary" refers to the execution of convicted killer
Gary Gilmore
Gary Mark Gilmore (born Faye Robert Coffman; December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing ...
; and "Vacation in Tehran" refers to the
Iranian hostage crisis, among others. On December 1, 2007, The Judy's announced the opening of their own label and website, Wasted Talent Records. On this website, the albums ''Moo'' and ''Washarama'' were released on CD and vinyl, having been previously available only on vinyl and cassette tape.
Original personnel
The band was founded by four
Pearland High School students: Sam Hugh Roush (a guitar, vocals) (Pearland '80), David B. Bean, (songwriter, vocals, guitars, keyboards) (Pearland '80), Dane Cessac ''(né'' Dane Urshel Cessac; born 1962) (Pearland '80), drums, vocals, and Jeff Walton (Pearland '81) (bass, vocals). Roush, while a senior in high school, died January 9, 1980, from a one-car accident near his home while driving home from school band practice. days earlier, The Judy's had recorded its debut
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "Teenage Hangups." Sam's father, an educator in the Houston Public Schools, was a former musician in the Air Force Band at
Connally Air Force Base in
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...
. After Roush's death, The Judy's continued as a trio.
After The Judy's first disbanded, Bean, in 1983, recorded a solo
EP album titled ''Modomusic'' and Walton, in 1983, recorded a solo album titled ''Danger Boy.'' Both Bean and Walton continue to make music professionally.
Discography
Filmography
The 1988 film, ''
Married to the Mob
''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime romantic comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, written by Barry Strugatz and Mark R. Burns, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. P ...
,'' used the song "Ghost in a Bikini," composed by David Bean from The Judy's 1985 ''Moo'' album.
Documentary
The Judys' is a short 2003 documentary on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
by Elizabeth Skadden.
Bibliography
Annotations
Notes
References
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External links
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Interview with Jeff Walton, bass (June 2007)Houston Press: Feature Article on The Judy's
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judy's
Punk rock groups from Texas
Musical groups from Houston
People from Pearland, Texas