Uggy Pugs I Have Done

I wonder if Phil Celia came to Tin Pan Alley thinking of himself as a serious vocalist, capable of great singing and hoping to be given wonderful things to perform. If that was the case, he must have been sorely disappointed, given that he ended up singing such classics as "Moaning and Groaning Twist", "I'm Sorry I Put On Charlie's Shoes", "It Butch the Rough Barber Man Shaves Castro", "A Fat Man in a Compact Car", "Tin Cans, Tin Cans, Tin Cans", "You Made a Boo Boo, Lula", and of course, "Keep On Smiling! Pay Your Taxes!", nearly all of which can be found on this site by plugging them into the box at above left (or just clicking on the Phil Celia tag below this post). I think only one or two of them got posted to the now defunct WFMU blog, rather than this site. 

Poor Phil. He landed at Tin Pan Alley during one of those periods when they seemed to have been attracting lunkheads who thought they were funny, or at best, people who wanted to have something goofy recorded for them. Today, Phil is "Doin' the Uggy Pug"

Like a lot of Phil's records from this era, this song is set to the backing of a three piece jazz combo. The lyrics describe a dance style unlike any you've ever heard, with mixture of things people don't generally (or ever) do while dancing ("He hunches over with a razzle bristle back" "he slithers like a python") and phrases that are not explained, but seem to be dance moves ("She gives the cat's meow" "<she acts> like a cat upon a track" - huh?). I'm also not aware of eagles listening to music as the fly away. 

Looking over that list, one thing that pops out at me is that the brain-trust at Tin Pan Alley usually actually did a good job, and sometimes an excellent job, of tying music styles and arrangements to the goofy words they had received. That wasn't so often true of other labels. 

Download: Phil Celia - Doin' the Uggy Pug

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The flip side is named "Orbit Rhythm", and this is apparently another dance move song, although there are far fewer directions at how to do the "Orbit" than there were for doing the "Uggy Pug". The drummer is doing some fun stuff with his sticks and the pianist on these records is never less than steady and professional, but I don't get much from this one. 

Download: Phil Celia - Orbit Rhythm

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