Drink American

Fred Koller (1950–)

This is the other song of the 100 that I first heard sung by the writer. Charlie Messing, an ex-bandmate from the Unholy Modal Rounders (1975–78), said, “There’s this guy in town from Nashville that I’m backing up, and that you should come to Maxwell’s in Hoboken and listen.” They started to play “Drink American”, and again, ding-a-ling, the perfect song bell!

Before the song was over, I knew I had to do it, so I talked to Fred about it after. He said it had been intended as a jingle for Miller High Life, but they turned it down. I gasped. Such stupidity was almost beyond comprehension. They had been handed an iconic song that could have been linked to their beer forever and ever. Idiots. Now, I’m from Milwaukee where Miller’s was first brewed, and knew it was, like Schlitz, shitty beer. Milwaukee’s PBR was better. So even if they had decided to use it, it would have been the biggest goddamn lie. Anyway, I said, “Can I please do it?” He said, “Sure.” So in 1985 it came out on the first (Peter Stampfel And The) Bottlecaps album. Robert Palmer called us the first post-modern folk-rock band. The album won the New York Music Awards best indy record of the year. A writer for a Penguin music encyclopedia called the Bottlecaps, “an awful aging hippy band”. Cool heads agree.

Fred Koller is from Chicago, but has lived in Nashville for years. He has written over 300 songs that have been recorded, and is the former vice-president of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International. He was a 25-year songwriting collaborator with Shel Silverstein.