A fact-checker writes
Sir: I'm afraid that Grey Gowrie is mistak- en (Diary, 8 April). Feelgood is not synony- mous with 'jelly soil', or any other part of the body; it only occurs as part of the name 'Dr Feelgood', made famous, as Gowrie observes, by Aretha Franklin. Originally, however, 'Dr Feelgood' was both the theme song and the pseudonym of one Willie Per- ryman, an albino Negro also known as Piano Red, whose other big hit was 'The Right St,ring But The Wrong Yo-Yo', a 'Would you recommend the primeval soup?' song which actually did deal, hilariously, in bodily imagery. 'Dr Feelgood', and his backing group The Interns, recorded their eponymous song (a different one from Aretha's composition) in 1961, and appeared on stage to great acclaim dressed as doctors or, in the case of the female guitarist, a nurse. In later years, the name was appropriated by a popular British beat combo, and when Perryman appeared in London in 1977 there were many puzzled and disgruntled rock fans in the audience; I did not observe either Gowrie or the Chancellor of the Exche- quer among them.
Chris Smith
The Schoolhouse, Out Skerries,
Shetland •
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