Moonshine in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Moonshine is referenced in many works, including books, motion pictures, musical lyrics and television.
Literature
- In Patrick DennisPatrick DennisPatrick Dennis was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes "Patrick" recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis...
' fictional biography First Lady, the early years revolve around a moonshine called "Lohocla" (alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
spelled backwards) produced by the father of protagonist Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield. As time passes in the story the concoction is less prominent, until the time of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the now-aged Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield donates her father's original formula for Lohocla to the United States government, which uses it in the atomic bombs dropped on JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. - In Rocket BoysRocket BoysRocket Boys is the first memoir in a series of three, by Homer Hickam, Jr. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boy's pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. It won the in 1998, the year of its release. Today, it is one of the most often picked community/library reads in...
(and the follow-on movieOctober SkyOctober Sky is a 1999 American biographical film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who...
) by Homer H. Hickam Jr.Homer HickamHomer Hadley Hickam, Jr. is an American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer. His autobiographical novel Rocket Boys: A Memoir, was a #1 New York Times Best Seller, is studied in many American and international school systems, and was the basis for the popular film October Sky...
, moonshine plays a role in one of the home-made rocket fuels the protagonists create. In order to obtain it, they wind up getting drunk.
Movies
- In the movie Stalag 17Stalag 17Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...
, featuring William HoldenWilliam HoldenWilliam Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
as prisoner of war Sgt. Sefton, Sefton's still is one of his more "profitable" ventures. Of its product, made from potato peels and a few strings from Red Cross packages, he says the house "only guarantees you won't go blind."
- The 1958 movie Thunder RoadThunder RoadThunder Road is the title of a 1958 drama–crime film about running moonshine in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee in the early 1950s. It was directed by Arthur Ripley and starred Robert Mitchum, who also produced the film, co-wrote the screenplay, and is rumored to have directed much of the...
starred Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as a moonshine runner who takes risks driving his family's product through the hills of TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
for delivery in MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
- The 1963 film The Great Escape is about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II. The two principal characters were U.S. Army Air Force Captain Virgil Hilts "The Cooler King," played by Steve McQueen and British Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Bob Hendley DFC "The Scrounger", played by James Garner. The two make moonshine in celebration of the 4th of JulyIndependence Day (United States)Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. On that day while passing out their potent concoction to the detainees, German guards discover the tunnel -- nicknamed "Tom" -- being dug by these two and the other prisoners.
- Moonshine was central to the plots in the 1973 Burt Reynolds films White LightningWhite Lightning-Music:* White Lightning , an American psychedelic rock band* "White Lightning" , a track from British hard rock band Def Leppard's 1992 Adrenalize album...
and its sequel GatorGatorGator is often used as an aphaeresis of the word "alligator".Gator may refer to:*Gator , a 1976 action movie starring and directed by Burt Reynolds*Gator , a swimming pool game*Gatorade, a popular brand of sports drink...
.
- The film MoonrunnersMoonrunnersMoonrunners is a 1975 film starring James Mitchum, and the precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard television series. Mitchum had co-starred with his famous father, Robert Mitchum, in the similar drive-in favorite Thunder Road eighteen years earlier, which also focused upon moonshine-running bootleggers...
(19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) is a fictionalized account of the real-life experiences and stories of moonshiner Jerry RushingJerry RushingJerry Elijah Rushing is an American best known for his years as a bootlegger or "moonrunner" .Rushing was born into a family business making illegal whiskey...
. The TV series The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
was a 1979 spin off of the Hollywood film, using many of the same characters.
- In the 1977 film Greased Lightning stars Richard Pryor as Wendell Scott, the first African-American stock car racing champion in the United States. The film is loosely based on Scott's true life story. As a taxi cab driver in post-World War II, Scott had learned the skill of car racing by transporting illegal moonshine in the backwoods of Virginia.
- The Hungarian film HukkleHukkleHukkle is a 2002 Hungarian film. It's about the daily life of people in a random village which seems beautiful and harmless, but there is something mysterious going on...
(Hiccups) is a study of a rural community where the regular distribution of moonshine is suddenly responsible for a series of mystery deaths when the rebellious women of the town bump off their more Chauvinist menfolk with select bottles tinctured with lily of the valley root.
- In the John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
films True Grit and Rooster Cogburn, Wayne's character Ruben J. "Rooster" CogburnRooster Cogburn (character)Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1968 Charles Portis novel, True Grit.The novel was adapted into a 1969 film, True Grit, and from that a 1975 sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn was also produced...
is a heavy-drinking United States Marshal who refers to his favorite moonshine as "genuine, double-rectifiedRectified spiritA rectified spirit, rectified alcohol, or neutral spirit is highly concentrated ethanol which has been purified by means of repeated distillation, a process that is called rectification. It typically contains 95% alcohol by volume...
busthead". However, he never buys his moonshine, instead confiscating it from other drunks for his own consumption.
- The film The People Vs. Larry FlyntThe People vs. Larry FlyntThe People vs. Larry Flynt is a 1996 American biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman about the rise of pornographic magazine publisher and editor Larry Flynt, and his subsequent clash with the law. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, and Edward Norton.The film was written by...
depicts Flynt and his brother Jimmy selling moonshine as children.
- The film Walking TallWalking TallWalking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
depicts Sherriff Buford PusserBuford PusserBuford Hayse Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee , from 1964 to 1970. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices on the Mississippi-Tennessee state-line. His story has directly inspired several books, songs, movies and at...
, who combats, among other things, illegal moonshine distilleries in McNairy County.
Music
- Moonshine appears in a number of artists' songs, like Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, John DenverJohn DenverHenry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, Ol' Dirty BastardOl' Dirty BastardRussell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
, Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
, Jimmy BuffettJimmy BuffettJames William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
, AkonAkonAliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
, Jamie TJamie TJamie Alexander Treays , known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer/songwriter from Wimbledon, South London.-Early life:Jamie Alexander Treays, was born in Wimbledon, South-West London...
, and Hank Williams Jr. as well as Hank Williams IIIHank Williams IIIShelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
. Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
sang a song called "Daddy's Moonshine Still". American country-roots singer/songwriter Gillian WelchGillian WelchGillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
released a moonshiner's dying lament, "Tear My Stillhouse Down". Hank Williams IIIHank Williams IIIShelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
sang "A Moonshiner's Life", paying homage to one man by name.
- George JonesGeorge JonesGeorge Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
' 1959 chart-topping song "White Lightning" tells the story of a North Carolina moonshiner. "Well in North Carolina, way back in the hills, lived my ol' pappy and he had him a still. He brewed white lightning 'til the sun went down. Then, he'd fill him a jug and he'd pass it around. Mighty mighty pleasin', pappy's corn squeezin'."
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
recorded a song in 1958 titled "The Ballad of Thunder Road," in which a moonshiner and his son run the stuff in a truck and the "revenuers" never catch him. At the end the son goes too fast--"He left the road at ninety," says one line. The last line of the chorus goes, "The Law they never got him 'cause the Devil got him first!"
- Copper KettleCopper Kettle"Copper Kettle" is a song composed by Albert Frank Beddoe and made popular by Joan Baez. Pete Seeger's account dates the song to 1946, mentioning its probable folk origin,"Frank."...
is a witty song about moonshine performed by artists such as Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
- Legendary funk band ParliamentParliament (band)Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, led by George ClintonGeorge Clinton (musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, recorded a song called "Moonshine Heather (Taking Care of Business)", a funky mid-tempo song about a mother who must sell moonshine to support her kids.
- Black metalBlack metalBlack metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band VenomVenom (band)Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
praise the beverage in a song by the same name, found in their album Possessed.
- Covington, Georgia rapper BoondoxBoondoxDavid Hutto is an American rapper from Covington, Georgia. Hutto is most commonly known as Boondox, whose stage persona is that of a killer scarecrow. He is currently signed to Psychopathic Records.-Biography:...
recorded a song titled "Sippin on down", about making and consuming moonshine.
- Hoyt AxtonHoyt AxtonHoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
's No No SongNo No SongRingo Starr's cover of Hoyt Axton and David Jackson's "The No No Song" was included on his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. It was a number-one hit in Canada and a number-three hit in the US. The song describes progressive attempts to sell Colombian marijuana, Spanish cocaine and Tennessean moonshine...
describes progressive attempts to sell drugs and TennesseanTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
moonshine to a recovered addict who refuses it all. Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's cover of this song was a number-one hit in Canada.
- The bluegrass song "Rocky TopRocky Top"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year...
" (Univ. of Tennessee's fight song) speaks of strangers who went looking for a moonshine still and never returned, as well as locals who "get their corn from a jar" because the ground is too rocky to actually grow corn.
- In the song "Ready or Not" sung by The Fugees, there is a reference to drinking moonshine.
Television
- Granny from the 1960s television series The Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
runs a moonshine still by the Clampett family swimming pool (also referred to as the "cement pond") and refers to the product as rheumatismRheumatismRheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
medicine and as an ingredient in her "spring tonic" and claims to drink only a thimbleful at a time. Several subplots of the show's episodes focused on a humorous situation involving Granny's liquor. Every cast member of The Beverly Hillbillies was seen drinking moonshine at one point in time during the show's history. It was also used occasionally to power the family truck, though Uncle Jed felt it was hard on the engine, (also referring it as 'liquid dynamite'). Some colorful descriptions of Granny's moonshine are Possum Ridge Paralyzer and Tennessee Tranquilizer.
- The WaltonsThe WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
featured the elderly spinster Baldwin sisters, who, in memory of their dear departed father, keep alive the knowledge of "The Recipe." Unbenownst to them, their father was a bootlegger, and the concoction they lovingly produce from "The Recipe" is in fact moonshine whiskey.
- In the television series M*A*S*H, the characters Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre, later replaced by B. J. Hunnicutt, made moonshine (which they usually referred to as ginGinGin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
) in a make-shift distilleryDistillationDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
in their tent.
- The protagonists of the series The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
are depicted as having run a still either presently or in the past, depending upon the adaptation.
- In the SanfordSanford (TV series)Sanford is an American situation comedy, which was the revival of the 1972–1977 sitcom Sanford and Son.-Background:In 1977, after six seasons of Sanford and Son, Redd Foxx decided to leave the NBC show to star in a variety show for ABC. His new show, The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, was cancelled...
episode "In the Still of the Night", Calvin (Dennis Burkley) sets up a still in Fred Sanford's kitchen, which he uses to make his special home brew. Sanford is outraged until he has a taste of the liquor, then becomes opportunistic and gains keen ambitions to sell the formula to a big time distiller for a huge sum of money. Unfortunately his plans and dreams fall through once it becomes revealed that the moonshine liquor causes temporary baldness.
- A 4th season episode of Emergency!Emergency!Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
included a major plot thread about a minor epidemic of psychotic behavior in alcoholics, which was ultimately traced to lead poisoning from a moonshine still. By the end of the episode, Engine Co. 51 was putting out a fire that destroyed that very distillery (and the house where it was located).
- In the 2nd season of The Unit it showed a former member of The Unit brewing Moonshine for other members. It was then showed in a number of episodes the Unit members drinking Moonshine from mason jars.
- In an episode of It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
Frank Reynolds is shown pouring large amounts of moonshine in a secret micro-brew he and Mac were making. To which Mac tells Franks "Thats enough moonshine Frank, We don't want people to go blind." , However Frank replies to Mac's dismay, "You can never have enough moonshine." Mac than scolds Frank for wanting to add Anti-Freeze to the Micro-brew claiming,"We don't want to kill people Frank, I don't think you're getting this."
- Early Cuyler of SquidbilliesSquidbilliesSquidbillies is an animated television series about the Cuylers, an impoverished family of anthropomorphic hillbilly squids living in the Appalachian region of North Carolina's mountains. The show is produced by Williams Street Studios for the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network and...
is said to be a frequent brewer of moonshine.
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Homer becomes friends of moonshiners, and he becomes an official taste tester, due to the ability that he drinks a lot and can taste alcohol very well.
- In an episode of OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
, the HBO drama series based in a jail, Beecher is given moonshine by a fellow bunkmate.
Video games
- In the game Redneck RampageRedneck RampageRedneck Rampage is a 1997 first-person shooter game designed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay. The game features songs by Mojo Nixon, Reverend Horton Heat, Beat Farmers and other Psychobilly artists. As the name implies, Redneck Rampage has many hillbilly elements in it...
, moonshine was used as a power-up that increased fighting ability. - In an expansion for the 2008 game of the year Fallout 3Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
. There was a quest to collect moon shine for a character. - In Grand Theft Auto Vice City and Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories, a fictional booze called Boomshine is similar to Moonshine.
- In BioShockBioshockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
, alcohol entitled "Moonshine" can be found in various locations and may be ingested to increase one's Health status at the expense of lowering a player's Eve. - In Red Dead Redemption Moonshine can be bought and consumed to refill the player's Dead eye meter.
- In Alan WakeAlan WakeAlan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010...
, the protagonist has a out of body experience after drinking Moonshine.