Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs were an American rock and R&B band that emerged from the Los Angeles punk/roots music scene of the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s.
"[1] This scene also produced bands such as The Blasters, X, Los Lobos, The Gun Club, The Knitters, The Circle Jerks, and The Plugz.
[2] Top Jimmy (born James Paul Koncek; died † May 17, 2001) was a Kentucky native who moved to Tacoma, Washington, in his youth.
He relocated to Los Angeles at age 15 in November of 1970 — rejoining his mother, who'd moved to L.A. while Jimmy was serving a stretch in a juvenile institution.
[1][3] He got his nickname from working — and providing handouts — at a fast-food stand called "Top Taco", located across the street from the A&M Records studios in Hollywood.
[1][2] The film The Decline of Western Civilization was shot around that time, and Jimmy is seen and heard while receiving a tattoo from John Doe of X.
In 1980, backed by the surviving members of The Doors, including Manzarek, Jimmy sang "Roadhouse Blues" at a special event.
"[1] He'd previously compared the "leather-voiced shouter" to Howlin' Wolf in Make The Music Go Bang!, a chronicle of the early L.A. punk scene.
[1] Live, the lineup usually consisted of: Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs concerts often featured guest appearances by such artists as Tom Waits and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
[6] Chris Morris described the "Blue Mondays" as "an infernal scene" that drew a hard-drinking crowd, and the band matched the audience's consumption.
The back cover said, "The album you hold in your hands contains songs either written by or associated with Merle Haggard, Otis Rush, Johnny Paycheck, Bob Dylan, The Coasters, Jimi Hendrix and Howlin' Wolf."
Of the 11 tracks, the only three originals were contributed by Carlos Guitarlos: "Dance with Your Baby", "Hole in My Pocket", and the instrumental "Backroom Blues".
[12] Morris kept the memory of Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs alive in another history of the L.A. punk scene, Under the Big Black Sun (2016).
Yet another contributor, Maria McKee, said in her chapter that when Jimmy asked her to sing with him on stage when she was just 16, it was a major turning point in her life.