''Stars & Hank Forever'' is an album by American

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

group

the Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

. Released in 1986, it is the second and last album in the American Composer series before its cancellation due to increasing difficulties in maintaining the project. The track "Kaw-Liga", later issued as a single, samples the rhythm and bassline of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

" (a reference to country singer

Billie Jean Horton Billie Jean Horton (née Jones; born June 6, 1933) is an American country-music singer-songwriter and former music promoter who is best known for her high profile marriages, first to iconic country musician and singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1 ...

, who was married to Williams before his death) and did well in the emerging European club scene, spawning several remixes; it is as close as the Residents ever got to a bona fide commercial hit. The "Sousaside" features sound effects recorded by Philip Perkins to create the effect of a marching band on a happy occasion; a mix of "Stars and Stripes Forever" without sound effects was released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the "Kaw-Liga" single. ''Stars & Hank Forever'' is also the last studio album to feature guitarist

Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collab ...

, before his early death in July 1987. The Williams song "Six More Miles" has since become a sort of ceremonial number for the Residents, being performed in tribute to Snakefinger in 1987, and recently as an encore in 2018 in tribute to the death of

Hardy Fox Hardy Winfred Fox, Jr. (March 29, 1945 – October 30, 2018) was an American musician. He was co-founder of the band The Residents as well as their primary composer. From 1982 to 2016 he was the president of The Cryptic Corporation. During hi ...

, one of the founding members of the group.

Track listing

Personnel

* The Residents – performance, arrangements * Snakefinger – slide guitar on "Hey Good Lookin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stars and Hank Forever: The American Composers Series The Residents albums 1986 albums Hank Williams tribute albums John Philip Sousa Ralph Records albums