A Visit to Pico and Sepulveda with Freddy Martin

The sign . . . the song

Today's subject is Freddy Martin's 1947 disc of "Pico and Sepulveda," which somehow became the theme song of Dr. Demento's long-running novelty record show in the 1970s and even inspired a raft of amateur cover versions.

Eddie Cherkose

"Pico and Sepulveda" is a wacked-out recitation of Los Angeles street names which culminates in a yearning desire to settle down in the La Brea Tar Pits "where nobody's dreams come true." The lyrics were the inspiration of Eddie Cherkose, who also wrote under the name Eddie Maxwell, including several songs for and with Spike Jones. For "Pico and Sepulveda" Cherkose managed to get Jule Styne to write the music. If you chant "Pico and Sepulveda," you'll get the gist of the tune.

Freddy Martin was under contract with the Victor people, so he, his band and Cherkose ended up at the new Ambassador label, where the "Pico" song was release number 1001. (In other words, 1.) For label purposes, Martin became Felix Figueroa - Figueroa being another LA street name. It's not clear who is singing, but it could be Cherkose.

The other side of the record is another Latin semi-novelty, "She of the Black Coffee Eyes," written by Harold Spina, best known for "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore." That might be Martin's then-singer Stuart Wade vocalizing on the flip side; both he and the "Black Coffee Eyes" crooner were baritones, anyway.

Freddy Martin, presumably not at the 'Pico and Sepulveda' session

Cherkose also recorded a few items with saxophonist Neely Plumb, who otherwise led bands for cover records. One such song, for the Rhythmtone label, was yet another Latin novelty called "That Half-Hacienda of Mine," with vocal by "Eddie Maxwell (the Semi-Spaniard)" and Plumb leading the "Frijole Philharmonic." On another Rhythmtone release called the "Double Corncerto" Plumb was in charge of the Alfalfa Philharmonic. I would not be surprised to learn that both songs appeared on Dr. Demento's show.

I have spared you the experience of these Neely Plumb numbers; the download includes just "Pico and Sepulveda" and its discmate, cleaned up from an Internet Archive original.

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Milton Berle Sings, and We Cry 'Uncle!'

On my other blog, we have been delving into the composer songbooks recorded by Lee Wiley in the 1940s, starting with Rodgers and Hart, so now it's time for an opposing viewpoint, as provided by comic Milton Berle in 1947. At the time, "Uncle Miltie," as he was known, was popular on the radio, and in a few years would become the first big star of television. When Victor issued this set of R&H tunes, radio was bringing the nation the Milton Berle Show, featuring such comedy stalwarts as Arnold Stang, Pert Kelton, Jack Albertson and Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd.

So Berle could do comedy. He was not, however, known for his singing voice, and that was a liability when his was the name above the title on a Rodgers and Hart album. Miltie did have Broadway experience, but his singing resume was scant. He had appeared in the Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1932, but did not sing. He did have a singing part in the short-lived 1934 show Saluta. In the Ziegfeld Follies of 1943, he sang a Harold Rome song called "The Micromaniac." Later on, he was one of the producers of, but not a performer in, the Walter Kent-Kim Gannon musical of Seventeen.

Betty Garrett

For the R&H album he was called upon to duet with Betty Garrett in "This Can't Be Love" and "Ev'rything I've Got" and do a solo on "Mountain Greenery." He does OK with the by-play in the first song, but quickly dispenses with the melody when called on to sing. He is acceptable in "Ev'rything I've Got," a comic song, but someone who could sing would be better. "Mountain Greenery" is beyond him in every way.

Fortunately, three good performers are along for the program. Betty Garrett is very well suited to her solo take of "The Lady Is a Tramp." I have heard her in steadier voice than in "Manhattan," and she doesn't have the top note.

Vic Damone and Marie Greene

But on "Manhattan" she had the good fortune of being paired with the young Vic Damone, who was making his first records (at Berle's behest). He's in great voice, and singing in a higher register than he did later on. You'll also notice this in "There's a Small Hotel," which he shares with Marie Greene. She was a singing actress who made some recordings for Signature and Columbia, and with Shep Fields and Les Brown.

Vic and Marie also duet on "Falling in Love with Love." Marie solos on "Here in My Arms."

In short, the album is enjoyable, if you can tolerate Berle.

Bonus: "The Milton Berle Polka"

I've added a bonus consisting of a 1949 record called "The Milton Berle Polka," presumably honoring the comic's eminence in the nascent television industry. The artists are the Marlin Sisters, in reality Goldie and Gittile Malavsky. They were heard on my other blog supporting Frankie Yankovic in his classic recording of the "Blue Skirt Waltz." The Berle record is an enjoyable example of that elusive genre, the polka exploitation song.

Celebrating Milton Berle made the Marlin Sisters glum 

The Berle/R&H cover at top was reused from a Dinah Shore Gershwin set of 1945, which can be found here, in a newly revised version in ambient stereo. I wonder if Victor used the cover design for other sets.

The Berle R&H album was remastered from Internet Archive originals. The sound is fine.

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Bing's 'Emperor Waltz' - Songs, Sources and Spin-Offs

Bing serenades what appears to be
a stuffed likeness of Joan Fontaine

In his postwar films, Bing Crosby continued his picaresque adventures, with or without Bob Hope. Today we'll look at the music from his 1948 film The Emperor Waltz, where he was a plucky turn-of-the-century gramophone salesman. The story involved Bing trying to get the emperor of Austria to buy a new-fangled Victrola, so as to give it some much needed publicity. The crooner also gets to romance a Countess, played by Joan Fontaine.

At the time, Paramount's (or Bing's) usual ploy was to engage Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen for his movie songs, so that a big element of the film's success was ensured.

For this score, however, the duo was employed only for the minor number "Get Yourself a Phonograph," and Bing didn't even make a commercial recording of the piece.

Instead the big tunes (relatively speaking) were taken from existing sources. First, the title song, an adaptation of the Johann Strauss II composition, with Burke's lyrics added.

The other numbers were more obscure, at least to American audiences. "The Kiss in Your Eyes" was a version of a piece from Richard Heuberger's 1898 operetta Der Opernball. "Friendly Mountains" was reputedly based on Austrian yodels. And "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame" is a Ralph Erwin song from a 1929 German film of the same name (Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame) that starred Marlene Dietrich and Harry Liedtke. Burke provided the English lyrics for the first two; Sam Lewis and Joe Young the latter, back when the film was new.

In this post we'll present Bing's commercial recordings, a selection from a promotional disc, and the sources of the songs, as appropriate. And we'll add a few surprises.

The Emperor Waltz

First, we have the "The Emperor Waltz" with Bing's reading of Burke's at times clunky lyrics ("Like poets say, 'It's perfectly swell!'"). Bing does his best, but the number doesn't come off completely. The transfer is from the Decca recording.

For contrast, we have the original composition (Kaiser-Waltzer, Op. 437) from a superior 1950 recording by the eminent conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Vienna Philharmonic. You will note that Strauss's composition is much more complex than the Bing/Victor Young adaptation (as might be expected).

Wilhelm Furtwängler

Friendly Mountains

On the soundtrack, "Friendly Mountains" does indeed start with Bing's version of a yodel - characteristically including any number of "bum-bum-bums." The soundtrack has fun with elaborate echoes. ("Let the friendly mountains sing along," Crosby advises.) This transfer comes from the Paramount promotional disc at right. 

Also included is Bing's commercial recording, in which the echo effects are not quite as prolonged; even so, the device gets tiresome.

I Kiss Your Hand, Madame

As noted, "Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame" comes from a 1929 film of the same name, with the famed tenor Richard Tauber providing the vocal on the otherwise-silent soundtrack. He is not seen in the film, but nonetheless appeared in the publicity along with the principals (below). We have his recording from the German Odeon release.

Harry Liedtke, Marlene Dietrich and Richard Tauber

Bing himself had recorded "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame" with the Lewis-Young lyrics back in 1929. The arrangement accentuated the tango rhythm, with Eddie Lang on guitar, Roy Bargy on piano and Matty Malneck on viola, all uncredited.

Crosby's 1947 commercial recording is very fine, appropriately dreamy with luscious backing by Victor Young and orchestra. It's my favorite of the three readings.

Tauber, 1929 Bing, 1947 Bing, and Spike

Even a good record deserves a parody, and Spike Jones provided one that, if anything, has become better known than either of Bing's efforts. There is a straight presentation of the tune from Paul Judson and choir before transitioning to a chorus of gunshots, cow bells and the like. Then the choir offers a cooing reading of the lyrics interspersed with rude noises and sound effects, followed by a tasteless bravura close. Richard Tauber died at about the same time as this record came out. Coincidence?

The Kiss in Your Eyes

Richard Tauber

Heuberger's "Im Chambre Séparée" was transformed by the film into "The Kiss in Your Eyes," here transferred from Crosby's Decca recording. The original is represented by Tauber's 1931 Parlophon disc, with an orchestra led by an uncredited Frieder Weissmann. It's a beautiful piece, well served by both artists in their own ways.

"Im Chambre Séparée" gained another life a few years after the film. In 1953 Dorcas Cochran came up with a song titled "Suddenly," somehow forgetting to credit Heuberger for its melody. Les Baxter recorded it for Capitol with a very good solo vocal by Bill Kennedy. It, too, is in the download.

In addition to the various permutations in the download, the "Emperor Waltz" and "Kiss in Your Eyes" did occasion a good number of cover records, presumably trading off Bing's popularity, if not Strauss or Heuberger.

* * *

The film itself wasn't a huge success. Made in 1946, it wasn't released until 1948 and while it did recoup its investment, it wasn't a blockbuster. During the filming, Bing was reportedly chilly to co-star Joan Fontaine and resistant to direction from Billy Wilder. The director, who had lived in Vienna when young, was disappointed by the final film.

The recordings have been restored from Internet Archive transfers.

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On a Sugar High with Rosie, Roy and Three Bears

Promotional labels; picture sleeve for commercial release

This post presents a 1951 promotional record for Sugar Crisp cereal featuring Roy Rogers, Rosemary Clooney, and three cute bears. But before we get to the record, some background might be helpful.

When Post's Sugar Crisp cereal came out in 1948, it quickly became popular with children, if not dentists because it was literally more sugar than cereal. Post's ad agency, Benton & Bowles, came up with a memorable (and lengthy) tag line, "For breakfast, it's dandy. For snacks, it's so handy. Or eat it like candy." Like candy? It was (and still is) candy.

B&B conceived the idea of having three bears as a mascot for the cereal - Dandy, Handy and Candy - who appeared in Sugar Crisp ads. (There's one below.) In 1951, the agency decided the bears needed a song, and tunesmiths Alan and Marilyn Scott set to work. Then B&B arranged for Rosemary Clooney to record the result, "Dandy, Handy and Candy," for Columbia records.

Rosemary Clooney

Now, the record does not push the cereal, per se. Instead the Scotts invented a tale of the bears living in a hollow tree, wanting something bigger, building a house, becoming disenchanted with the upkeep, and moving back to the hollow tree. Rosie Clooney managed to make all this charming.

Post then set up a deal where cereal buyers could get both the record and sheet music. Cash Box magazine reported they expected to move some 50,000 discs that way.

Dandy, Handy and Candy sell the product

But for this post we're presenting a different promotion for the same record, apparently designed to be sent to merchants. On one side we have Rosie with the "Dandy, Handy and Candy" song. On the other we hear from singing cowboy and TV/radio star Roy Rogers, whose programs were sponsored by Post cereals. In addition to some folderol involving wife/sidekick Dale Evans and dog/sidekick Bullet, Roy breezily mentions a brochure providing the details of the promotion, while explaining that comical sidekick Pat Brady was off working on his Jeep, Nelliebelle. He concludes by singing a splendid Western swing number, "San Antone," which, if truth be told, beats the heck out of "Dandy, Handy and Candy."

I don't know if all this sold any cereal or not. It couldn't have hurt because Sugar Crisp was very popular, and I ate it myself occasionally. I even remember the tag line and the bears.

A few decades later the Federal Communications Commission banned such product tie-ins aimed at children.

If you want to know more about Sugar Crisp cereal (now known as Golden Crisp in the US) and an exhaustive delineation of its evolving bear mascots, please see this discussion by blogger Dan Brady.

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Songs from the 'My Sister Eileen' Musicals

When Ruth McKenney started writing about moving to New York with her sister Eileen, she began a multimedia enterprise that spawned New Yorker articles, a book, a play, a film, a Broadway musical, a Hollywood musical, and a television show. And perhaps some other things I've missed.

Today we'll concentrate on the musical offspring of the My Sister Eileen stories - the 1953 Broadway production Wonderful Town, and the 1955 Hollywood film issued under the original title. The two musicals had different scores - Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green; My Sister Eileen by Jule Styne and Leo Robin. (Columbia Pictures apparently didn't want to pay for the Broadway score.)

Wonderful Town has sired a series of albums, including one by the original cast and another from the 1958 television production, both with Rosalind Russell as Ruth. There was no cast album from the film, possibly because the score was too skimpy. In that production, only Betty Garrett (Ruth) was known as a singer. (Yes, I realize that Jack Lemmon issued a few vocal LPs.) For me, the high point of the film is not a song but a spectacular dance duel between Bob Fosse and Tommy Rall, who were competing for Eileen.

This post is not concerned with any recordings by the original casts; rather it examines the records that appeared in the market covering songs from these musicals. Most are from Wonderful Town, but the few from My Sister Eileen are worth hearing as well.

Wonderful Town

Let's start with Wonderful Town and my favorite song from either score - "Ohio," in a heartfelt version by the superb Lisa Kirk. The work has witty lyrics by Comden and Green and a loping tune (possibly inspired by Gershwin's "Bidin' My Time") that suggests Bernstein thought that Ohio is out West where the tumbleweeds blow. Rosalind Russell and Edith (Edie) Adams introduced the song.

The Hi-Lo's (Gene Puerling, Bob Strasen, Clark Burroughs, Bob Morse)
and Lisa Kirk

"A Quiet Girl" is a hymn-like Bernstein creation here in a uncharacteristically restrained - and very beautiful - reading by the Hi-Lo's. Frank Comstock suggests the composer's debt to Aaron Copland in his arrangement. This song was done first by George Gaynes as Bob Baker, Ruth's eventual love interest.

In Wonderful Town, Eileen betrayed her feelings for Frank in the excellent and unaccountably neglected "A Little Bit in Love." Here we have the talented Sandy Stewart several years before her big hit "My Coloring Book." The song comes from an Epic EP devoted to songs from the score.

Sandy Stewart and Lena Horne

The most popular song from either musical was possibly "It's Love," here in a typically polished version from the great Lena Horne. Edie Adams and George Gaynes introduced it.

One of Bernstein's most felicitous inspirations was the "Wrong Note Rag," near the end of the Wonderful Town score. Pianist Jack Fina, who made his name with Freddy Martin, has some fun with the piece, although he seems almost pained by the wrong notes.

Jack Fina and Arthur Fiedler

Finally, we have a medley of the Wonderful Town songs from the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler. The conductor was more attuned to musical humor than Fina, and he nails the manic quality of the "Wrong Note Rag." Arranger Dave Terry comes back to it a few times in this exceptionally well-done compilation. It comes from the LP Curtain Going Up, available newly remastered on my other blog.

My Sister Eileen

We switch to My Sister Eileen for "There's Nothin' Like Love," here in a effective arrangement by Ralph Flanagan that features baritone saxophonist Stan Webb and the smooth vocalist Johnny Amaroso, who also played trumpet in the band. On film the singers were Bob Fosse (Frank) and Janet Leigh (Eileen).

Art Mooney and Johnny Amaroso

Next, some old-style corn called "Give Me a Band and My Baby," just the thing for Art Mooney and his crew, who specialized in such material. The bandleader's biggest success was "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" in 1948. His hits in 1955 were "Honey-Babe," a march from the film Battle Cry, and "Nuttin' for Christmas," the lament of a juvenile Barry Gordon.

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Finally, Sammy Davis, Jr. does wonders with the Styne-Robin "It's Bigger Than You and Me," a crass tune that the vulpine Bob Baker (Jack Lemmon) croons to Ruth (Betty Garrett). With Davis, arranger Sy Oliver provides a brassy introduction, followed by Sam embarking on some jaunty vocalese that sets the tone for the number.

These selections were cleaned up from my collection and Internet Archive.

About the McKenneys

Ruth and Eileen McKenney

Ruth (1911-72) and Eileen (1913-40) McKenney grew up in East Cleveland, Ohio. Ruth wrote her stories for The New Yorker in the 1930s. They became a book in 1938. She was more multi-dimensional than the film suggests, being socially aware and a member of the Communist Party for quite a few years.

Eileen moved to the West Coast in the 1930s and worked as a Disney artist. She married the writer Nathanael West (Miss Lonelyhearts, The Day of the Locust). She and West were killed in an automobile accident a few days before the play My Sister Eileen opened on Broadway.

Ruth's daughter believed her mother never quite recovered from Eileen's death.

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