The Dardanella Blues

Lyrics

Johnny S. Black (M) and Fred Fisher (L) - 1920: A follow up to the wildly successful Dardanella, this song has more of a jazz feel than blues, so is a blues in name only. Black's innovative bass pattern is used liberally throughout the verse and chorus, linking it to the original, although the sequel was not as successful in live or recorded performance. It did, however, sell relatively well in both sheet music and piano roll format. The lyrics actually reference the original composition, rather than continue the content of the mystical girl by the oriental bay, which further dilutes potential popularity. I was first introduced to this piece by my mentor and Colorado legend, Dick Kroeckel, who made a logical medley out of both pieces. He is virtually the only person I've heard play Dardanella Blues other than myself.

Saloon

Lyrics

Ernest R. Ball (M) (as Roland Llab) and George Whiting (L) - 1920: There actually was a time, that some of you visiting here may remember from childhood, that this country practiced prohibition of alcohol by mandate of a constitutional amendment. As Max Morath has put it, "A majority of the people voted in prohibition, because a majority of the people in this country drank too much." Go figure. This lovely comic ballad by the writers of many serious Irish ballads is part tongue-in-cheek and part love song. It was written right at the advent of prohibition, a time when those who really wanted it were still able to get it. The quality of Ball's composing is evident in how well the melody holds up without vocals. It was Max who I first heard performing it, and I was able to secure a rare copy for my own performance on Volume 2 of Perfessor Bill Edwards Sings. The booth pictured at the left is one that Ball had sat in on occasion, and may have even composed When Irish Eyes Are Smiling in. The saloon it was in may further be the inspiration for this piece. So sit back, enjoy, and "Cheers!"

Second Hand Rose

Lyrics

James F. Hanley (M) and Grant Clarke (L) - 1921: One of the most popular songs ever associated with Ziegfeld Follies entertainer Fanny Brice, Ms. Brice herself associated deeply with the song as well for reasons that may not be apparent on the surface. Rose was Fanny in many ways, an immigrant or child born of immigrants and living in one of the many ethnic neighborhoods of greater New York City. While Rose in the song is the daughter of a second hand store owner, Fanny was the daughter of an immigrant saloon keeper who her mother eventually left due to his drinking and absence from the home. Still, the two had much in common. Born Fanny Borach and raised primarily by her mother, Rose Borach, she started singing in her early teens mostly to help raise money to feed her siblings. This led to some stage roles, but mostly typecast as a Yiddish girl, even though she knew no Yiddish herself. Fanny finally changed her last name to Brice in an effort much duplicated among the immigrant population to become more Americanized. Her talent eventually led her to a long-standing role as a comedic star in the famous Follies starting in 1910. She did not, however, as is portrayed in the first of two biopics (Funny Lady), audition for Ziegfeld with this song, as it would not be composed for another 11 years. Like Rose, Fanny had been frustrated by always getting the leftovers, and she remembered this often throughout her life as she rose out of the tenements to become a memorable star, second at that time perhaps only to Al Jolson.

The Rose in the song is a good-natured parody that represents not only Jewish immigrants but those from other parts of Europe and Russia as well, as they struggled to make a good life for their children, even if it meant foregoing anything new and settling for whatever those who were better off had no further use for. Still, Rose is a bit petulant because she has things (coat, piano, a parlor to put it in, pearls, access to the Ritz) that most immigrants could only dream of. The subtle comedy lies in her association with the average New York immigrant not having new things, but complaining about what she does have like a spoiled brat, something that Fanny (and later Barbara Striesand) was able to portray to the hilt. This arrangement is part 1920s jazz and part piano roll, using snippets here and there of previously recorded performances. It's a second hand arrangement of a first-rate tune that I hope you have as much fun with as I do.

Titina (Je Cherche Après Titine)

Lyrics

Léo Daniderff (M), Zez Confrey (M additional theme), Bertal-Maubon and E. Ronn (L) - 1922/1925: This is an absolutely charming piece that although is not commonly heard today realized some fame in both Europe and the U.S. in the 1920s. Composed by the Frenchman Léo Daniderff in 1922, Titina made its way to the U.S. with English lyrics via the stage revue Puzzles of 1925. Zez Confrey, in his capacity as an Ampico reproducing roll artist took off with the tune in a fabulous arrangement, some of which is quoted here. He started with the very catchy chorus, used the verse as an interlude before a chorus variation, and even arranged a third theme in the manner of a trio, which is paraphrased in this performance. Other artists and bands recorded it throughout the late 1920s as well. However, the chorus of the piece was used to greatest effect in the 1936 Charles Chaplin film Modern Times in a scene where he is called upon as an alleged singing waiter to perform a piece. The tramp character consequently chose Titina with some partly non-sensical French lyrics made up for the occasion and suggestively delivered at points. Lest one dismiss Chaplin's musical tastes or talents, know that he often composed music for his silent and sound films, including the oft-used Smile for this same soundtrack. My take on Titina is a little more laid back and exudes a natural swing inherent in the composition.

You've Got To See Mamma Every Night

Lyrics

C. Con Conrad (M) and Billy Rose (L) - 1923: In the same year that they turned out Barney Google (below), the short-lived team of Conrad and Rose came up with this gem. It became a hit for the inimitable Sophie Tucker that same year. Rose's clever lyrics tend to imply that of an illicit affair, a theme that was common in ragtime songs, although a bit better masked in previous years for the sake of propriety. The egotistic but talented Rose obviously went on to better things, including many hit songs and a stormy marriage to Ziegfeld Follies alumni Fanny Brice. Conrad started out as a vaudeville pianist before delving into composition. He started writing for Broadway in 1924, and ended up losing everything in failed productions around 1929. He made a comeback in Hollywood with many film scores and an Oscar to his credit. Tucker was able to make the most of insinuations in her classic recording, in which the interlude (see lyrics) is followed by a bawdy "da da da da" chorus. The structure includes a verse, a repeated chorus, and an interlude, which was common during the 1920s. Somewhere buried in this song is a moral! Or is that immoral?

Barney Google

Lyrics

Con Conrad (M) and Billy Rose (L) - 1923: The comic strip hero for ne'er-do-well lovers everywhere, Barney Google, debuted less than four years before this best-selling musical tribute was released. The comic strip in which Barney lived (still running as Barney Google and Snuffy Smith) debuted June 17, 1919 as Take Barney Google, F'rinstance. Creator Billy DeBeck, who actually started the strip to finance a legitimate art career, soon changed it to Barney Google. The short wisecracking character was a sports enthusiast and gambler who was frequently henpecked by his "wife three times his size" because of these habits. But it wasn't until his sidekick came along in 1922 that Barney warranted a song about his exploits. As it played out in the strip, Barney was in the wrong place at the right time, just standing around outside of the Pastime Jockey Club. As the end result of a physical argument, a man flew out the window right on top of our hero. Feeling that Barney had saved his life he gave him one of his horses, which of course was Spark Plug. That was all the spark that was needed to set the strip on fire. The horse was only meant to remain temporarily in the storyline, until after his one and only race. However, the anticipation of the event became a national sensation (even though Spark Plug lost miserably) and Sparky became a fixture in a continuing love-hate relationship. Years later Snuffy Smith, a hillbilly cousin of Barney's, joined the strip, and eventually became the main character, ending Barney's domain in the 1950s under the pen of a different artist. But it was DeBeck who approved the lyrics of this tune and even contributed the cover. Many people bought the music even though they couldn't read it or had no instrument, just because of the cover. It included the characteristic extra verses, mostly nonsense, a common practice of lyricist Billy Rose.

Copyright ©1923/1949 Whitney Warner

Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)

Lyrics

Jack Yellen, Milton Ager, Bob Bigelow and Charles Bates - 1924: One might guess that either one or more of the composers of this famous piece had actually met Hannah (or one of her sisters). The tone of the lyrics suggests Hannah as a real man-hater just short of a Black Widow in regards to her treatment of men. This is one of those crossover songs that has roots in both ragtime and blues style songs, but clearly has a swing to it as well, a harbinger of a musical style that was just starting to grow legs at that time. Two of the tricks that draw attention to songs like this are the break in the middle of the chorus, which accentuates the melodic and lyrical content at that point, and the extended chorus ending. Such endings, nothing more than a four or eight measure insert, were seen as early as 1918 in songs like Somebody Stole My Gal, and presented a musical method to insert more lyrics without breaking up the overall flow of the chorus. Both tricks also gave some wiggle room for instrumentalists who wanted to improvise a bit, making songs like Hannah popular with jazz bands as well. As for how Georgian's feel about such songs as this and Sweet Georgia Brown which accentuate the less seemly women in their population... well both songs are mentioned on historical web sites for the state, proving that notorious publicity is still publicity.

I'll see You In My Dreams

Lyrics

Isham Jones (M) and Gus Kahn (L) - 1924: This was a song born from instant inspiration, albeit from a talented tunemaker of some note. Jones was trained as a saxophonist and by the time the jazz age came forth in the 1920s he was recording regularly with his band on Brunswick records and doing quite well. His earlier compositions with a variety of lyricists were only average, but in 1924 he burst forth with some great tunes, including Swinging Down the Lane, Spain and It Had To Be You. However this piece, with lyrics by the prolific Gus Kahn who gave voice to several 1920s hits, was purportedly a spur of the moment surprise. It seems that Jones wife gave him a baby grand piano for his 30th birthday in 1924, and that within an hour (if you believe the legend) he had finished I'll See You In My Dreams short of a full lyric. It is billed as a Fox Trot song, but that is open for wide interpretation since Jones often recorded such Fox Trots at casual tempos that invited slow dancing. This dreamy melody works at a variety of tempos, but I have chosen a relaxed tempo to allow for some improvisation in the repeat choruses.

Copyright ©1924/1950 MPL Communications

Everybody Loves My Baby

Lyrics

Spencer Williams and Jack Palmer - 1924: This was the first of a pair of "baby" songs by Williams that culminated in I Found a New Baby two years later. Williams was doing very well in the 1920s with consistent hits, some in league with Clarence Williams (no known relation), and succeeding as a publisher as well, something a black person was less likely to have done prior to 1900 due to cultural restraints. This piece is cleverly worded by Palmer, allowing for any race to sing it effectively (another fine selling point), and it includes contemporary slang like "sweet patootie" It is clearly intended to be sung by a male. The minor verse, done here in more of a blues style in the beginning, leads into a chorus that spends equal time in the minor and major modes. After the bluesy chorus the tempo picks up for a rollicking stride rendition of the tune. There are nods in here to ragtime friends Jeff Barnhart (who does a fine rendition of the piece) and Brian Holland (from his arrangement of the follow-up song). Comparisons of Everybody Loves My Baby and I Found a New Baby (the price of everybody wanting one's baby) will show that the chorus of each is mostly the same save for the 8 bar bridge. If it ain't broke, why fix it.

Copyright ©1924/1952 by Warner Music.

Yes Sir, That's My Baby

Lyrics

Walter Donaldson (M) and Gus Kahn (L) - 1925: This memorable tune from the Charleston era was actually inspired by a pig! Not a real one, however. The composers were visiting their friend, stage entertainer Eddie Cantor, one afternoon when Cantor's daughter Marjorie brought out one of her favorite toys, a walking mechanical pig. She wound it up and it started walking in rhythm while two notes kept coming from the little creature. Kahn was inspired and started working lyrics to these notes in rhythm with the pig, coming up with the title and opening line of the chorus in short order. The pair immediately turned it into a song, and Cantor turned it into a lasting hit. Among my favorite renditions, and the ones I first learned the piece from, are the inspired Firehouse Five Plus Two recording of 1950, as well as a lesser known recording by the late Milton Berle on a minstrel revival record from the early 1960s. The rhythm quickly becomes infectious in both the verse and chorus. As with the FHF+2 version, I have added a Charleston chorus, and a few other cutesy tricks. Years later, Kahn commented that his take from the song constituted the largest amount of money a Jewish songwriter had ever made from a pig.

I Wish't I Was In Peoria

Lyrics

Harry Woods (M), Billy Rose and Mort Dixon (L) - 1925: Poking fun at a particular city is hardly a new sport for entertainers. Toledo had it's ignominious fifteen minutes through the Randy Sparks tune Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio. The Marx Brothers found a new portal of comedy while hurling insults at the town of Nagadoches, Texas (Nagadoches is full of roaches, etc.). Then there is this shining example of backhanded recognition which may have little to do with the reputation of Peoria, Illinois and more with how primary lyrcist Billy Rose with help from Mort Dixon believed they could create silly rhymes to go with it. In some sense it is a mix and match piece that allows the performer to create whatever version of the song he deems suitable, as there are no less than seven verses and ten choruses. Doubtless many performers made up their own additional lyrics as well. The tone of the piece somewhat fits the acerbic personality of Rose who certainly thought more of himself than many around him. They viewed him as unattractive, vain and callous, but admired his talents. Evidently so did former Ziegfeld star Fannie Brice who married him around this time. In spite of, or perhaps because of Rose, the song Peoria became a staple of stage comedians of the late 1920s, and one of the last great hits of vaudeville, a format that was on its way out. The city of Peoria remains intact and dignified to this day, and the annual World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing moved to this hospitable location in 2002. In fact, I wish't I was there right now, and all of you too.

Copyright ©1925/1951 MPL Communications

Sweet Georgia Brown

Lyrics

Maceo Pinkard (M) and Ken Casey (L) - 1925: Most people who know the music of the twenties or earlier are very familiar with Sweet Georgia Brown, but few have heard the verse, particularly with the original words. They are often shocked to learn that this otherwise innocuous advertisement for a great southern state is actually a song about a black prostitute. "She just got here yesterday, things are hot here now they say..." It was nonetheless a very big Charleston hit originally popularized by bandleader Ben Bernie, who received co-composer credit in exchange for recording the piece in spite of not having written any of it. This was a common arrangement with songwriters during the era, which allowed them better distribution of their work, albeit with diminished royalties. The very capable Pinkard was also responsible for one of the first Charleston tunes ever written, in advance of James P. Johnson's monster hit about the dance. This is my championship version used on at least two occasions at the annual World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing held in Decatur, Illinois. I add contrast by starting the song in a slow and sultry mood through the second verse, then pick it up into a Charleston tempo, closing out full steam ahead.

I Never See Maggie Alone

Lyrics

Everett Lynton (M) and Harry Tilsley (L) - 1926: This is a cute novelty that borders on risqué, albeit in a polite and proper fashion, as the composers were both British. Maggie saw some revived success as barbershop quartet arrangements in the late 1940s and 1970s. In a time when morals were being tested to the extreme in this country, the issue of an unmarried couple alone was titillating at best, especially when constantly foiled by the presence of the female's family members. But it was pieces like this that helped the 1920's to "roar" as much as they did. This arrangement is loosely based on the original, with some additional lyrics from one of the barbershop versions.

Baby Face

Lyrics

Benny Davis and Harry Akst - 1926: Fresh off the success of Dinah in 1925, Harry Akst teamed with Benny Davis to turn out what would be the biggest hit of his career. Although Eddie Cantor was the first to run with Baby Face, some 20 years later Al Jolson would try to have the last word when he recorded it for his second biopic, Jolson Sings Again. It has a wonderful jaunty feel right from the start of the interestingly constructed verse, and a beautiful legato melody that was picked up on very quickly by composer Carl Stalling. He used it in several Warner Brothers cartoon shorts in the 1940s and 1950s. One that is memorable to all who have seen it is Scent-imental Romeo from 1951, in which the man of a thousand voices, Mel Blanc, provides a truly Maurice Chevalier inspired Franglais performance of Baby Face via skunkmeister Pepé Le Pew (pictured). The suave stinker even wore a straw hat and danced with a cane. While this performance evokes more of the 1920s in America than it does of Gay Paree, it certainly doesn't stink up the joint! "I deedn't need a shoove, 'cus I jus fell een loove, with your preety bebé face!"

Pepe Le Pew name and image are copyright © Warner Brothers Pictures.

Crazy Rhythm

Lyrics

Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn (M) and Irving Caesar (L) - 1928: The official definition of crazy suggests a virtual thesarus of terms such as mad, insane, erratic, unsound, askew and obsessed, reflective of the era from which it sprang. The mid to late 1920s were indeed somewhat crazy and even excessive as the U.S. accelerated out of control in some regards towards the impending financial collapse, and the word crazy was used in a number of tunes. It is included here partially due to its reference to National Prohibition which was still a hot-button topic at the time. While this piece, originally interpreted into the Broadway show Here's Howe in 1928 where it became a hit, came late in the jazz age, it still has stylistic tendencies that tie it to song conventions of the decade before. A response of sorts to the earlier and more sophisticated Fascinatin' Rhythm by George Gershwin, this song had a hook that was easier for the general public to hum, important for sales of music and records. Still, I could not help but to infuse not only some crazy rhythms of my own, but a little bit of Gershwin as well. Crazy Rhythm is simple and to the point, so just have fun with it and forget your cares and responsibilities. Worked for our ancestors, right? Hmmmm...

Tain't No Sin (To Dance Around in Your Bones)

Lyrics

Walter Donaldson (M) and Edgar Leslie (L) - 1929: The 1920s were roaring and dance tunes were always in demand. Even tunes about dancing. This one, put together by two experienced and very talented writers, took the craze to a new extreme. Actually, a glance at the lyrics will expose (no pun intended) what many considered to be somewhat risqué lyrics in spots. But consider that the lyricist also contributed to the double entendre laced He'd Have to Get Under many years before. There is plenty of that here, with blatant references to flapper girls and their undergarments (or lack thereof), as well as other titillating scenarios. This is a fine jazz song melodically, and very much in the genre of a traditional jazz band piece, which is how it is presented here. The cover is also one of the better examples of comic art at a time when sheet music covers were becoming definitively more generic.

Putting on the Ritz

Lyrics

Irving Berlin - 1929: Talk about a popular song, this one has had at least four lives in the 20th century alone, and has never really been out of vogue. Referring to the posh hotel chain built up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Cesar Ritz, a man who had earlier been dismissed by some of his employers in the hotel business as unmanageable and inept, it clearly embraces the new use of "Ritz" as a descriptive noun referring to the upper echelon of society. In this case, the subjects are society wannabes trying to appear better off than they actually are. By some accounts written as early as 1927, this piece showed up in 1930 in a film by the same name that featured some other lesser Berlin compositions. Clark Gable in one of his rare singing performances revived it in 1938 in a scene later included in 1973 as part of the film That's Entertainment. It was given new life and new lyrics in the 1940s by way of a couple of musicals and films, and in the 1970s once more by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder in the unforgettable Young Frankenstein. A pop version was charted by Indonesian Dutch singer Taco Ockerse in 1982 and became a top 40 single worldwide. As previously noted, one thing that has changed since the song's inception are Berlin's lyrics, the most prominent and lasting rewrite to them is in a performance by Fred Astaire in 1946 in the film Blue Skies. Why Berlin altered the song is unclear, but it may have been to update a piece mired in 1920s lingo. What has not changed is that great forward motion of the chorus, which is essentially a syncopated arpeggio over a steady bass. Simplicity does sell. Why is it here amidst all this ragtime? It retains the snappy feel and construction of a ragtime melody, making its ancestry very clear. But it also has that late 1920s attitude, which was concurrently reflected in stride and blues compositions of the time. This interpretation reflects a combination of the jazz feel of 1930 with some stride piano stylings, Gershwinesque chord progressions, and just plain old fun, the primary reason that you found it here to begin with!

Egyptian Ella

Lyrics

Walter Doyle - 1931: Quite the opposite of the exotic middle eastern themes of previous years featuring the likes of Aphrodite and Little Egypt, this piece goes to the opposite extreme introducing a comically weight-challenged belly dancer. Mildly offensive to some, although unintentionally, Egyptian Ella appeared at a time when laughs were in short supply (the Depression and Prohibition), and were therefore a profitable business. In 1945 a toned-down version of the piece was included in a Paramount film called Bring On The Girls. Otherwise, it has been rarely recorded. In the version presented here, I included a "bump bump bump" before the heroine's(?) name in the chorus. I derived this from the artist who introduced me to Ella, Colorado's finest ragtimer, Dick Kroeckel. So put on your best snake charmer face and enjoy this very "sheik" song!

At the Codfish Ball

Lyrics

Lew Pollack (M) and Sidney Mitchell (L) - 1936: I don't know why! I just like this tune. It's a ragtime type of jazzy song that's as cute as the person who introduced it in the movie Captain January, Shirley Temple (now Shirley Temple-Black). Child performers were hardly a novelty in 1936. They were all over musical theatre or graduated from vaudeville. Famous child stars included George M. Cohan, Georgie Jessel, Eddie Cantor, Milton Berle, and Mickey Rooney. But miss Temple quickly became a national phenomenon, because she was the first famous child actress in the movies. It took some of Hollywood's best songwriters to create a tune simple enough for an eight year old to sing, yet simultaneously be appealing to adults. Shirley performed this pun-laden song with the equally talented (and somewhat older) Buddy Ebsen.

Copyright ©1936, 1971 by Fox Movietone Publications

The Beer Barrel Polka (Skoda Lasky)

Lyrics

Jaromir Vejvoda (M) and Wladimir A. Timm and Vasek Zeman (Czechoslovakian lyrics), and Lew Brown (English Lyrics) - 1934/1939: This is one of the greatest beer sing-alongs of all time, and yet many people believe it to have been composed sometime during the ragtime era. Actually, it started out as a true Czechoslovakian polka, composed by Vejvoda, possibly in the late 1920s, but not published until 1934. The original title was Skoda Lasky (Unrequited Love), and had more to do with crying in one's beer than it did with drinking it. Lew Brown, with many other hits of the 1920s and 1930s to his credit, heard and liked the melody enough to write an American set of lyrics to it that dovetailed with a current polka craze. The Andrews Sisters were among the first to record it and create another Brown hit, which was followed up by a spectacular J. Lawrence Cooke piano roll arrangement. There is yet another set of lyrics for the tune in German, which is titled Rosamunde. I present it here in a shortened version from my normal stage routine, which requires a great deal of audience participation. Just know that it works better with the audience stomping and clapping to the beat, drinking a toast, AND singing the chorus! (But don't try all four at once by yourself!)

Skoda Lasky International Copyright ©1934/1971. Beer Barrel Polka Copyright ©1939/1976 Shapiro Bernstein/MPL Communications

The Old Piano Roll Blues

Lyrics

Cy Coben - 1949: Do you want to hear it again? OK. This is one of those pieces that looks and sounds much older than it really is. Information is sketchy on whether the song was commissioned by the QRS roll company, or player manufacturers Wurlitzer or Aeolian. However it was coincidentally just a short time after this song was released in late 1949 that all three companies, in an effort to reintroduce the player piano to the American public, created a post-war media blitz featuring this tune. A combination of key-top devices, streamlined pump models and electrified spinets helped boost previously lagging piano sales, piano roll sales and, somewhat surprisingly, sheet music consumption. The Old Piano Roll Blues is actually a song about the bygone days of piano rolls, rather than one from those days. It contains elements of both Charlotte Blake's That Poker Rag (the B and D sections) and James Scott's Dixie Dimples (the B section). Coben's song became a big hit throughout the 1950s and 1960s, covered by Hoagy Carmichael, Eddie Cantor, Frankie Carle, the flamboyant Liberace, and appropriately on piano roll by the inimitable (although he could imitate anybody) J. Lawrence Cooke. And now, ironically, it has been reproduced on the player piano format of the 21st century - MIDI - by your's truly (including a rarely heard verse interlude). The Old Musical Instrument Digital Interface Blues?

Copyright ©1949/1977 Leeds Music Corporation/MCA Music.

Music! Music! Music!

Lyrics

Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum - 1950: Following the rapid success of The Old Piano Roll Blues and the Capitol Records ragtime LPs in 1950, the nostalgia bandwagon was in motion and new pieces were added to the already expanded repertoire of revived old-time songs. This simple ditty, consistently popular with honky-tonk pianists for at least its first two decades, waxed on the memories of orchestrions and other automated musical instruments that were at one time the jukeboxes of American society. While the term "nickelodeon" itself actually applies to hand-cranked movie viewers or small theaters with an admission of 5 cents, by the time of this composition it was being applied to any form of old-time entertainment that ran on coins. Unlike songs in the ragtime era, this one had the medium of radio to help make it an instant hit with nostalgia buffs, and even interest others in this genre of music. Written in the A A B A style of a 1920s standard, and in spite of the lack of a verse, it has certainly become a classic based on its own strengths.

Copyright ©1950/1978 Cromwell Music Corporation/Warner Music.