The Bonzo Dog-Doo Dah Band - Mickey’s Son And Daughter
The late 60’s are not exempt from this blog so long as the track somehow contributes to the preservation of turn of the century music. Here is a fine example of one of my favorite bands covering a classic childrens’ song.
The Bonzos were first given a wide audience when they were the house band for Do Not Adjust Your Set, a British childrens’ program that also featured Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Eric Idle who would all go on to Monty Python. Their wild on stage antics and bizzare instrumentations found them an audience with the growing counterculture and soon they found themselves part of the psychedellic movement while not abandoning the style they perfected on television. They soon befriended the Beatles and found their way into the Magical Mystery Tour feature film where they played Death Cab For Cutie (from which the band took its name) in one scene.
This song was originally recorded in 1935 by Jack Jackson, an influential British band leader and disc jockey.
(video included)
25thday ofJunein the year2009
Denver Darling- Turkey In The Straw
Denver became popular on the radio in the late 30s through his singing of “old time” country songs which were still popular in the Midwest and rural U.S. In 1941 he began recording patriotic songs just after the U.S. entered WWII.
In this song Denver uses the 19th century minstrel standard Turkey In The Straw to parody Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Boswell Sisters- Old Yazoo
From Wikipedia:
Sisters Martha, Connie, and Helvetia “Vet” came to be well known in New Orleans while still in their early teens, making appearances in local theaters and radio. They made their first record for Victor Records in 1925. However, the Boswell Sisters did not attain national attention until they moved to New York City in 1930 and started making national radio broadcasts. After a few recordings with Okeh Records in 1930, they made numerous recordings for Brunswick Records from 1931-1935. These Brunswick records are widely regarded as milestone recordings of vocal jazz. Connee’s ingenious reworkings of the melodies and rhythms of popular songs, together with Glenn Miller’s hot arrangements, and first rate New York jazz musicians (including The Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan, Fulton McGrath, Joe Venuti, Arthur Schutt, Eddie Lang, Joe Tarto, Manny Klein, Dick McDonough, and Carl Kress), made these recordings unlike any others. Melodies were rearranged and slowed down, major keys were changed to minor keys (sometimes in mid-song) and rhythmic changes were par for the course. (Interestingly, they were among the very few performers who were allowed to make changes to current popular tunes. During this era, music publishers and record companies pressured performers not to alter current popular song arrangements). Connee also recorded a series of more conventional solo records for Brunswick during the same period.
The name of their 1934 song “Rock and Roll” is an early use of the term. It is not one of their hotter numbers; it refers to “the rolling rocking rhythm of the sea”.
In 1936, the group signed to Decca and after just 3 records, broke up (the last recording was February 12, 1936).
Connee Boswell continued to have a successful solo career as a singer for Decca. She later changed the spelling of her name from Connie to Connee in the 1940’s, reputedly because it made it easier to sign autographs. (It’s interesting to note that Connee sang from a wheelchair - or seated position - during her entire career, due to an accident she suffered as a young child. Amazingly, when she tried to get involved with the U.S.O tours. during World War II, she was not given permission to travel overseas due to her disability.)
The Andrews Sisters started out as Boswell Sisters imitators. Young Ella Fitzgerald loved the Boswell Sisters and in particular idolized Connee, after whose singing style she patterned her own.
Current groups The Pfister Sisters, Stolen Sweets, and Boswellmania, or the italian trio Sorelle Marinetti continue to imitate the sisters’ recordings. The Ditty Bops have covered Boswell sisters songs in concert.
In 2001, The Boswell Sisters, a major musical based on their lives, was produced at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California. The play starred Michelle Duffy, Elizabeth Ward Land, and Amy Pietz and was produced by the same team that produced Forever Plaid. The show was a hit with audiences and a critical success, but failed to be picked up for a much hoped-for Broadway run.
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