Jimmy Rankin struts through Ralph's Place in Dartmouth as exotic dancing girls
move to the beat of his catchy new single, Followed Her Around.
No, Rankin hasn't delved into the world of exotic performance, he chose the
strip club as the locale for his new video.
After a two-year hiatus from performing, Rankin is set to launch his
much-anticipated solo recording called Song Dog.
The video is directed by George Dougherty, who has worked with The Rankins on
several hits including Movin' On, Forty Days and Feel the Same Way Too.
The new video was filmed on Sunday at Ralph's Place, with Dougherty behind the
camera. It was produced in association with Charlie Cahill's New Scotland
Pictures Inc.
"We received about five different treatments for the video, and we really liked
George's ideas and direction," Rankin said after the shoot.
"I've worked with him before. He's very professional and I feel at ease working
with him."
Dougherty arrived in Halifax from Los Angeles last Wednesday, and Rankin and his
wife and manager, Mia, drove straight to Ralph's Place to check out the scene.
"George went up and asked the dancers if they wanted to be in Jimmy Rankin's
video," Mia says. "'They're using strippers in a Rankin Family video?' one of
the girls surprisingly asked."
Dougherty explained to the dancers that Jimmy was embarking on his solo career
and he chose three of Ralph's girls to dance in the video.
Dougherty, who has filmed about 70 videos for bands like White Zombie, Anthrax
and East Coast musicians Kim Stockwood and Bruce Guthro, said he always wanted
to do a video like this.
"I remembered the cover of Tom Waits' album Small Change and he was sitting in a
dressing room and a stripper was by his side," explains Dougherty. "I thought
it worked well with the song."
Followed Her Around is one of 12 original tracks on Song Dog. It was written by
Rankin and Gordie Sampson.
Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor contributes backing vocals on the track.
As the strains of a Hammond B-3 organ open the song, Dougherty pans dancing girl
Jade, and Rankin begins singing. He walks through the bar as the audience
watches the dancers on stage. He checks out people playing pool, gets a drink
from the bar and heads into a backroom. During this time, a young guy jumps
onstage and bouncers wrestle him off.
Rankin continues his walk through Ralph's, at times oblivious to some of these
antics and heads for the door, driving off in a long robin's-egg blue '64 Ford
Galaxie XL 500 convertible, supplied for the video by Sackville's Gary Gaetz.
There is no nudity in the video and as Mia says, "It isn't cheesy."
Rankin walks through the bar like Chris Martin of the British band Coldplay does
on the beach in their video Yellow.
Followed Her Around was delivered to radio stations across Canada on May 2. The
album is being distributed by EMI Music Canada and will be officially released
on July 17.
Some of the other tunes penned by Rankin include Tripper, which he wrote in
1989, based on a true story recalling the innocence of childhood in the midst
of a violent death; Wasted, which he wrote in Italy and is a remorseful look
back at a relationship during a drunken evening; Lighthouse Heart celebrating
the bonds of love; and We'll Carry On, which examines the strength and
resilience of those whose lives rely on the sea for sustenance.
Cookie Rankin joins her brother, lending her beautiful voice on Tripper, as well
as the tracks Midnight Blue, You and Me, Stoned Blue and Captain Harmony.
Other guests include Gordie Sampson, Joel Feeney and Cassandra Vasik, drummer
Randy Cook, keyboardist Brent Barkman, bassist Jamie Gatti and the Spin
Doctors' guitarist Eric Schenkman.
Rankin dedicates the album to the memory of his brother John Morris, who died in
a tragic car accident in January 2000.
Song Dog was recorded between January and April this year at Great Big Music in
Toronto with songwriter / producer Tim Thorney, who has also worked with Alanis
Morrissette.
The video is expected to be delivered to music stations in late June. (More on The Rankin Family)
