Lost Book Gem: "Wiseguy" - Nicholas Pileggi (1985)


"We're the kings of the party, cause we're the baddest people alive."
--> Brownsville Station <--
To be a member of the Mafia...a "wiseguy"...is to be a member of an incredibly exclusive club. To borrow a famous George Carlin line, "it's a big club...and you ain't in it!"

Such was the life for Henry Hill.  From a young kid being a gopher for Paul Vario (a high ranking made-member of a crime family) until reaching the level of a bonafide mobster...Hill had been dipping his hands in a variety of criminal pie.

Living fast and having fun.  And then it all came crashing down.


Though most have seen the Scorsese film..."Goodfellas"...there are still plenty of intimate details within the pages of this book that will fascinate and surprise.  The day-to-day living conditions alone...for many wiseguys doing time behind bars...were nothing short of amazing.

Brownsville Station - "Kings of the Party"/ School Punks (1974)


(All right now, get your ears lowered down to the speakers
So you can understand what I'm talking about...
..............................................
..............................................
...So we're gonna dedicate this song to everybody listening
Because the ones that get into it
Are definitely the KINGS OF THE PARTY!!!)

 Every Friday night there's a concert in their town
You know they all get together and they're ready to party down
An ol' Brownsville Station really digs'em, 'cause they get it on.
You see the chicks they all go crazy, oh when the band begins to play
And the guys make so much noise, they scare all the cops away
But together we start to change the show into a rock 'n' roll holiday.

 We're the kings of the party, we're the baddest people alive
We're the kings of the party, aw come on, and slip me five
Now we're the kings of the party, 'cause we're the baddest people alive.

 Ten thousand eyes watching while we leave the floor
Ten thousand tongues screaming more and more
And there were fifteen hundred still waiting outside the door.

Good stuff!

Casey Chambers
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