The Judy's were a

Pearland, Texas Pearland ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Harris counties. The city of Pearland is a principal city within the metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, t ...

-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

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Jonestown massacre The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationa ...

. 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 .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976. Berkowitz ...

murderer; "Radiation Squirm" refers to the

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...

; "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 On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

, 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 Pearland High School (PHS) is an American public high school, located in Pearland, Texas, south of Houston. It is one of three high schools in the Pearland Independent School District, and serves parts of Pearland and most of the city of Bro ...

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

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, "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 the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. 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 comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from ...

,'' used the song "Ghost in a Bikini," composed by David Dean from The Judy's 1985 ''Moo'' album.

Documentary

''The Judy's'' is a short 2003 documentary on

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Louis Black Louis Black is a co-founder of '' The Austin Chronicle'', an alternative weekly newspaper published in Austin, Texas, and was the newspaper's editor from its inception until his retirement on August 8, 2017. He has written over 600 articles i ...

of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

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Bibliography

Annotations

Notes

References

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External links

*
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