"A Fine Fine Day" by Tony Carey

1984 / #22

Rate Your Music score: 3.25 out of 5!

Did Boss Hogg appear in a rock video?

In my day, I probably saw this video more than any other on MTV, with the possible exception of Paul McCartney's "No More Lonely Nights", which is now also a lost hit. Tony's song was a tale of an uncle who was in the Mafia who escaped from prison. But I don't think it was a real story. I remember some spoiled kid in school trying to glamorize his uncle who was involved in organized crime. Later I found out the real story, and it was actually almost as sinister as what you'd expect from a Mob guy, and not glamorous at all. But my schoolmate couldn't have told the story as well as Tony Carey did.

I also remember hearing this song on the car radio in a school parking lot, but MTV gave it more exposure than anyone. Every time I turned on MTV, those black-and-white photos of Uncle Sonny would inevitably appear on the screen.

But all the times I saw this video, I missed something that should have been very obvious. Fast-forward to the bridge of the song at 3:45. Pay attention to the man in the suit in the meatpacking plant lip-syncing the lyrics.

Isn't that Sorrell Booke, who played Boss Hogg on The Dukes Of Hazzard? I'm pretty sure that's him, but he wore a wig to hide his bald dome, so I never realized it was him.

I loved The Dukes Of Hazzard in its heyday and even went to see Boss Hogg when he came to the Cavalcade of Customs. That was one of the greatest days of my life! I even had the toy cars. But the show was starting to wrap things up by 1984. By the time Tony's video came out, I had practically forgotten the show ever existed. So it was only recently that I realized the man in the clip was probably Sorrell Booke.

The idea of Boss Hogg lip-syncing a rousing rock 'n' roll track is amusing enough. But there was another lost hit with a similar story. I didn't want to give it a separate entry, because it was a remake of a well-known song. But I'll give it one anyway. The smoke-filled room in the next entry has nothing to do with mobsters.