Ain’t This a Countdown: Ain’t I’m a Dog

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Aren’t we having fun! Yes, that’s grammatically correct, which you might find surprising for a countdown celebrating the word ain’t. Let’s keep the ball — and the teachers’ eyes — rolling with today’s song on the list. Ain’t I’m a Dog - Ronnie Self How’s that for a grammatical nightmare? Ronnie Self was one of the casualties of the rockabilly era. Absolutely talented (he wrote Brenda Lee’s smash hit “I’m Sorry”), but I guess there was just too much Elvis distracting people from him (and nearly everyone else). Just listen to that growl of a voice! That’s the epitome of rockabilly (his vocals in this song always reminded me of a male version of Wanda Jackson). Sadly, he was a casualty in more ways than one. Not only did success elude him, but he had a history of heart problems and alcoholism. Despite having seven children (according to a newspaper in Springfield, Missouri, where he was living when he passed away in 1981) he died alone at 43. You listen to the power of this song, and think of the lasting impact of “I’m Sorry,” and you can only wonder “what if.” Ain’t I’m a Dog Written by Wayne Walker and George Sherry Recorded by Ronnie Self Released as a single, 1957 Forget about the danger: