My legion of loyal followers will of course recall the story of Mike the Headless Chicken. In case you need a refresher, here’s the original post. And, apropos of today’s entry, you’ll want to recall that Loyal Reader Brian W shared that his brother-in-law is the performer of a storied Mike the Headless Chicken song. Alas, I was initially unable to track down a recording of said song, and when Brian helpfully supplied an AIFF file, I discovered my antiquated laptop can’t cope with that format.

But now, after much effort and cursing, I’ve been able to convert the file and append it to this post. So, I give you Timothy P. and the Rural Route 3, performing “Mike the Headless Chicken!”

I must say this is a masterful performance. The musicianship is head (!) and shoulders above the other examples of the MTHC genre. And the lyrics are impressive: “There wasn’t any Colonel with his tasty twelve-piece bucket. They cut their dinner’s head off and pluck-it, pluck-it, pluck-it.” Plus, the wordplay comparing “colonel” and “kernel” is brilliant!

As you no doubt recall from my earlier post, the town of Fruita, Colorado holds an annual “Mike the Headless Chicken” festival on the Labor Day Weekend. This is where I plan to be in 2026. Join me if you dare! Until then, keep your head above water and out of the clouds.