SAY, JACK!!!

 First up, a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating today!

Next, an update on my next round of rehabilitated posts. This week's focus was on November of 2011, and the posts in question featured a Sammy Marshall special, some sociological observations from Gene Marshall, another typically bouncy and lyrically interesting offering from Tin Pan Alley, a weird song from the Noval company, and, also from Noval, one of my half-dozen favorite song-poems ever, "Rock, Rocking All the Time". 

Finally, before today's feature, I want to thank everyone who continues to visit the site, and especially those who comment, and want to particularly single out JW. who has offered up about a dozen comments recently, to posts old and new. Keep those comments coming!!!

And now, let's get back to the countdown!

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I have tended to share records from the Film-Tone label sparingly here, first because I don't have that many, but more importantly, because most of those I do have are God-awful, usually without much in the way of car-crash worthiness to make them interesting. 

Well, they all have a sort of discombobulating out-of-time feel, and often feature their standard "Vocal Trio" singing songs that aren't meant for a mixed vocal group, but aside from that, they're mostly pretty samey. 

So I was delighted when I heard the ridiculous and wonderful first song on this Film-Tone EP (and all of their releases were EP's, as far as I know), "Say Jack", which is thoroughly worth hearing and sharing. The band at Film-Tone only had a couple of stock styles, and here they've chosen a sort of upbeat rock-a-ballad backing. But the pleasure here is in the lyrics, all about some missing money. 

The lyrics tell quite a story, in its on style. The best thing about those lyrics, however, is the way the song-poet endeavored to fit in as many rhymes as possible, of words ending with "ack" - I think he even outdid Billy Joel's similarly rhymed "Movin' Out". 

I like to imagine that the members of Film-Tone's  mixed trio were overjoyed to have something this offbeat to sing. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - Say Jack

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I would love to say the remaining tracks hold my interest to even a fraction of the same degree as "Say Jack", but that would not be accurate. The next track, "I'm Locking My Door On You", is the quintessential Film-Tone number - someone with a heartache submitted lyrics, which were set to a minimalist background in an ancient sounding arrangement, primarily led by piano and a guitarist who thinks he's playing a solo, behind that same Vocal Trio, as well as the obligatory sax solo. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I'm Locking My Door On You

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Most of what I just wrote could also apply to "I'll Walk Again With You", although in this case, the author is bemoaning the conflict between lovers, and looking forward to reuniting, rather than being fed up for good. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I'll Walk Again With You

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And finally, "I Cannot Marry You Now", which demonstrates the odd choice that the folks at Film-Tone" regularly made: to ALWAYS use the mixed trio even when the lyrics would seem to demand otherwise. In this case, we have a heartfelt lyric from a man about to enter the armed forces, explaining why this will delay his union with the one he loves. 

Appropriately, the two men sing the first verse together, but then, for much of the rest of the song, the woman of the group not only sings the very male-centric lyric, but takes the melody line whenever she sings. I just find that a very weird choice - there is no reason for her to be on this song. 

On the other hand, this song was written by a woman, but the nature of the lyric is such that she clearly meant it to be sung from a man's perspective, at least in that era, when only men trained for battle. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I Cannot Marry You Now

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Please note that someone - perhaps one of the song-poets - submitted this record to radio station WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee, as seen by the stamp on the b-side label. I'm sure the program director pushed one or more of these tracks into heavy rotation, immediately. 

Rockin' Her, Rollin' Her, Holdin' Her, and I Wonder What Else!

 Greetings!

As it so happens - and in a complete coincidence - the next month for me to update, just as the Christmas ads and music start their far-to-early comeback into our lives, was December of 2011, a month when I featured four Christmas themed song-poem 45's. Those I fixed today include records by Cara Stewart, Gene Marshall, Jeff Lawrence (who made very few song-poem records) and Gus Colletti's "Santa is a Superman". I also wrote a post that month, with no music in it, but directing people to my WFMU posting of one of my favorite Christmas albums ever. 

We now join our program, already in progress

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Today, a wonderfully awful, or perhaps awfully wonderful selection from the folks at Tin Pan Alley, circa 1958. During that time period, the TPA folks seemed to have received more comic song poems and/or those with ridiculous titles, than ALL other labels combined. And since TPA, in those days, was more adept than their competitors, at turning out music that sounded at least roughly like the music of the day, the results are often extremely entertaining, as well as being ridiculous. 

This one may stretch the bounds of acceptability a tiny bit, from today's lens, in terms of its comic portrayal of a then-frequently stereotyped culture of the day, but boy oh boy, does it make me smile. 

The first voice heard is that of Margie Sands, who only turns up on one other documented song-poem record, which I've posted here previously. And the song is half hers, to be sure. But she is essentially the guest artist as far as the listing goes. The credits on the label to "He's A-Rockin' and A-Rollin' and A-Holdin' Me Tight" (!) is "Jack Verdi with Margie Sands". Jack Verdi made only a handful of records for the label himself, one of which I've previously featured. 

I'll leave it at that. The charms of this record have to be experienced first hand. Hope you love as much as I do. 

Download: Jack Verdi with Margie Sands - He's A-Rockin' and A-Rollin' and A-Holdin' Me Tight

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For the flip side, "If You Were There", it's Jack Verdi, solo, showing that perhaps he was not at his best on romantic ballads. This record seems to be the result of someone who listened to a bunch of Platters records trying to recreate the same, without any of the necessary skills needed to achieve that level of greatness. 

Download: Jack Verdi - If You Were There

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Tragic Song Poem

Well, it's been two weeks without a post - that's almost entirely due to me being a political junkie of sorts, and spending most of my free time obsessively watching the pre- and post-election news. And all I can say is... that's a relief...

Anyway, I have again updated a previous month's worth of posts, and not only does this mean I've completed the "fixing" of another year - 2012 is done, now, with the completion of January - but that January featured a bumper crop of song-poem records - twelve of them in all - so those who weren't reading/listening back then have, as of today, 14 new sides to listen to! Yay!

Among the posts I have rehabbed are: A Bobbi Blake record on MSR, an incomprehensible song sung by Norm Burns, a set of two early Preview offerings from Rodd Keith, a New Year's Day post from Sammy Marshall, and an impossibly rare and fascinating acetate from the pen of Norridge Mayhams, certainly the latter being my favorite of the bunch. 

And now....

It's back to Film City and the world of Rodd Keith in his Rod Rogers persona. Today's first offering is a tragic tale, perhaps inspired by all the teen tragedy records which peppered the charts in the first half of the 1960's. It's called "Lisa", and rarely has the appellation "Swinging Strings" seemed less appropriate to tie into the song being performed, than it does of the tale of a groom-to-be describing the scene as everyone learns that there is to be no wedding, and why. "Rod Rogers and the Dreary Strings and Woodwinds" would be more accurate. 

Oh, and the phrase "hit broadside" has to be among the least musical combinations of words I've ever heard in a song - song-poem or otherwise - although I do enjoy the fact that "broadside" is then rhymed with "bride". 

Download: Rod Rogers and the Swinging Strings - Lisa

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On the flip side is a much brighter, shuffling, sun-shiny number titled "I Want Only You Sweetheart". The music is a bit deceiving - the protagonist of the song is suffering from a distrusting gal pal, and it's not clear if he's succeeding in convincing her of his trustworthiness. I greatly enjoy the backing track that Rodd put together for this one. 

Download: Rod Rogers and the Swinging Strings - I Want Only You Sweetheart

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