Girls Love Rock & Roll (2026)

Tracks

1. The First Time
2. I Woke Up In Love This Morning
3. Rock 'N' Roll Girls (2026 Mix) (*)
4. Victoria's Secret (2026 Mix) (*)
5. A Date With Destiny (2026 Mix) (*)
6. What The World Needs Now Is Love (**)
7. Never Mind
8. Oh-Oh, Ramona
9. Suzy Is A Headbanger (2026 Mix) (*)
10. I Wanna Play With Alice (2026 Mix) (*)
11. Spiderweb Surf Walk (Instrumental)
12. Girls Love Rock & Roll
13. Sun
14. Singing Water
15. Persnickety
16. Thinking Chair
17. Homecoming (Fill The Western Sky) (**)
18. Pink Ladies
19. Sawdust And Blood
20. I Wish I Had Just One More Piece Of Chicken (Instrumental)

* Different mix previously released on "Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls?" EP in 2025.
** Previously released as singles in 2025.

Credits

Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford - Vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, banjo, percussion, other noises.
Patrick A. Crawford - Lead guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 8, 16; keyboards on track 16.
Jim Wright - Lead guitar on tracks 9, 12.
Walt Austin - Lead keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 6, 14.
Tim Gillespie - Trumpet on tracks 6, 16, 18; harmonica on track 17.
Terri Lynn Queen - Vocals on track 6.

Recorded & produced by Crawdad Crash.

Tracks 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 written by S. D. Crawford; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).
Track 2 written by L. Russell Brown and Irwin Levine; published by Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc. and Spirit One Music o/b/o Irwin Levine Grand Music.
Track 3 written by Steven R. Hensley; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).
Track 6 written by Hal David & Burt F. Bacharach; published by BMG Gold Songs o/b/o Songs of Fujimusic, BMG Gold Songs, and Universal Music Corp. o/b/o New Hidden Valley Music.
Track 7 written by Paul Westerberg; published by WC Music Corp.
Track 9 written by Douglas Colvin, John Cummings, Thomas Erdelyi & Jeffrey Hyman; published by WC Music Corp.
Track 17 written by S. D. Crawford & Jerry B. Michel; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).

Singles, EP, and album artwork by Margaret M. Belin.

Released Feb. 12, 2026.

& 2026. All rights reserved.

Links

Girls Love Rock & Roll is listed on Discogs.

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Crawdaddy's Notes

The First Time

There are some things that you just can't really "get" until you experience them personally — then you're changed forever. I wanted this to have a sound like a sloppier, louder version Elvis Costello & The Attractions' "This Year's Model" album; so, I asked Walt Austin to add some keyboards, which sound great. That's Patrick Crawford on lead guitar.

I Woke Up In Love This Morning

As I kid, I liked watching anything with music on TV — the Partridge Family, the Monkees, the Johnny Cash Show, Hee Haw, the Muppets, Saturday Night Live, Don Krirsher's Rock Concert, etc. This Partridge Family song gets the Crawdad Crash "louder and faster" treatment, with my son Patrick on lead guitar, making this a "family" project, too — especially since my daughter does all my artwork!

Rock 'N' Roll Girls (2026 Mix)

This is one of my favorite songs the Hodads recorded after I left the band — written by my buddy and bass player Steve Hensley of the Hodads, Buckofive, and Terry Funk Railroad. I thought it might sound good played faster with a power pop feel to it. Hope you like it. That's Patrick on lead guitar; he's added tasty licks to over a dozen of my songs the last few years. Originally released with different mix on the Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls? EP.

Victoria's Secret (2026 Mix)

There's always that mysterious new kid that everyone wants to know about. When I was in high school, we really did have a new girl named Vicki one year, but this isn't about her or any particular person. I was going for a sound reminiscent of Fountains Of Wayne, but everything I do turns out louder! So, I enlisted the help of my friend Walt Austin to provide the cool keyboards. In addition to his own stuff, he's played on songs by Day By The River, Static..., Slightly Famous Somebodies, and others. Originally released with different mix on the Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls? EP.

A Date With Destiny (2026 Mix)

I remember going to the Dairy Queen one time, and the cute young lady who helped me had a name tag that said "Destiny". The idea for this song popped in my head immediately, although it was years before I did anything with it. After the initial 11th chord, this has a roots rock feel to it, but it ends up being sort of bouncy and jazzy. Originally released with different mix on the Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls? EP.

What The World Needs Now Is Love

Don't we all need more love? This is a gritty, groovy take on the Hal David / Burt Bacharach classic, popularized by Jackie DeShannon and Dionne Warwick. I thought it would benefit from a funky groove instead of the original 3/4 time. That's long-time Crawdad Crash collaborator Tim Gillespie on trumpet, along with our hometown friend Terri Lynn Queen on vocals with me. (My first "duet" — even though Tim recorded her remotely in his office!). Walt Austin provided all the incredible keyboards to give it that "almost yacht rock" vibe. Previously released on the What The World Needs Now Is Love single.

Never Mind

I'm a big fan of the Replacements, and this is one of my favorites from the "Pleased To Meet Me" album. I tried to add some noise and bombast but stay true to the essence of the original. BTW, this was sort of hard to figure out — not a lot of guitar tab out there for Replacements songs — but I finally found a video where Paul Westerberg tuned his A string to a B, which explained a few things. I stubbornly played this in standard tuning, with one guitar playing the main part and another droning on B.

Oh-Oh, Ramona

The Ramones changed my life. When I first heard "Rocket To Russia", I immediately loved it — the fast, funny, catchy punk songs with salutes to rock & roll's past. Then I thought, "That doesn't sound that hard — I could do that!" This song started as a tribute to the Ramones but turned into a glam rocker that's totally different than what I first imagined. Funny how songs sort of have their own ideas sometimes. Patrick on lead guitar.

Suzy Is A Headbanger (2026 Mix)

The Fontanels used to cover this, along with many other Ramones songs. I thought it would sound more "headbanging" if it were slowed down a little, had a big Joan Jett / Gary Glitter drum beat, and had a monster guitar. That's "Evil Jim" (Jim Wright) of Elzig, Hodads, Road Hawgs, Spectremen, Evils, Bigfoot, Asphalt Blaster, Los Chucacobras, etc., on lead guitar. Originally released with different mix on the Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls? EP.

I Wanna Play With Alice (2026 Mix)

I was playing golf with my son and telling him about yet another goofy idea I had for a song (hopefully to be on a future release). I had recently seen an Alice Cooper show, and they were awesome — a fantastic experience (as expected), and Nita Strauss was incredible. I somehow mentioned that show and that Alice Cooper is apparently a big golfer. Then, I said, "I wanna play with Alice" — and then the whole song sprang into my head: "When school's out... I wanna play with Alice!" Originally released with different mix on the Where Are The Rock 'N' Roll Girls? EP.

Spiderweb Surf Walk (Instrumental)

I really like instrumental surf rock — from Dick Dale and the Ventures to newer bands like Los Straitjackets and Man... Or Astro-man? This is my own twist on it — less fast, double-picking and more of a weird, spy groove. Imagine walking into a gigantic spiderweb and getting lost with your surfboard.

Girls Love Rock & Roll

As I was trying to think of names for this album, I thought about "Loaded" by Velvet Underground (Lou Reed said it was loaded with hits) because I think this is my best stuff so far. Then I thought about "More Songs About Buildings And Food" by Talking Heads — maybe I could do "More Songs About Girls, Love, And Rock & Roll"? This led me eventually to "Girls Love Rock & Roll" as an album title — which then spawned the idea for the song — which then lodged this riff in my head — undoubtedly inspired by listening to a lot of Joan Jett and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The lyrics give a slight nod to old rock and R&B songs like "Fortune Teller", written by Allen Toussaint. That's "Evil" Jim Wright on the incredible lead guitar.

Sun

This was inspired by a trip to Sun Studio in Memphis and my love of all those old rock & roll records on the Sun Records label. Some of my friends wanted to go to the studio and record a few songs, and I decided to write something new for the occasion. We never went, and the song remained unfinished for a long time until I picked it back up again recently. You'll hear plenty of references to both the studio (like the "X" on the floor where Elvis recorded) and those old Sun Records songs.

Singing Water

I wrote this for Terry Funk Railroad. We practice in Robbie's basement, and none of us (Bert, Dale, Steve, me) are really great singers. So, we always keep some "singing water" handy.

Persnickety

Some words are just fun — and beg to be in a song. This is the story of a lucky guy.

Thinking Chair

This is a funky, groovy, jazzy song unlike anything else in the Crawdad Crash catalog. My brother told me he's going to do a podcast called "The Thinking Chair", and the idea for this song popped into my head. Tim Gillespie provided the fantabulous trumpet part, and Patrick Crawford added some keyboards, along with guiding me on a few guitar parts.

Homecoming (Fill The Western Sky)

This is a folksy tribute to my alma mater, Western Carolina University, and to homecomings in general. I love the tradition of going back every year and catching up with whoever can make it. Some of the lyrical inspiration for this song comes from WCU's "Fill The Western Sky" campaign to finally build out the other half of the stadium. When I was in school there, E.J. Whitmire Stadium only had one side, and some meager metal bleachers were added at some point for the visitors. College memories are little fuzzy. Anyway, the WCU fight song has the line "fill the western sky", and, coincidentally, it was written by Dick Trevarthen, who arranged music for my high school marching band. Fellow Catamount and long-time Crawdad Crash collaborator Tim Gillespie added the awesome harmonica. Tim and I have played music together at many homecoming parties and other events in the Sophisticats, TLQ & The Vinyls, and other bands. Another long-time friend and alumnus, Jerry Michel, helped me tweak the lyrics. Other friends provided the "field recordings" of the sounds you might hear at a game, including the WCU Pride Of The Mountains marching band drumline. Previously released on the the Homecoming (Fill The Western Sky) single.

Pink Ladies

I really like apples — especially pink ladies. What else can I say? The very talented Tim Gillespie provided the absolutely perfect trumpet part, as usual.

Sawdust And Blood

Inspired by a comment by Dale at Terry Funk Railroad practice one night. Playing guitar, he said something about bloody fingers, and then I said something about leaving a pile of sawdust when I play drums. One of us said "Sawdust And Blood" would make a good song title. I went home and wrote it that night — and recorded it the next day.

I Wish I Had Just One More Piece Of Chicken (Instrumental)

Whenever I eat really good fried chicken, I always want a little more — no matter how much I've had. This started as an effort to record some live drums for a DJ friend. I liked some of the messy grooves, and I put some bass on top to test it out. Then, when I got a new guitar, I just started playing it with the "record" button on — and this is the result. I always liked that chicken pickin' guitar sound and funky instrumentals by the Meters and Booker T. & The MG's; so, this is my addition to the "chicken" songs of the world.