Twenties Jazz Age fun

[dachshundonstilts]

Thought it might be good to have a thread to discuss Twenties records that were either novelty songs or just plain fun. This is one of my favorites, sung by Frank Crumit. "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" (1927) supposedly helped popularize the scat phrase "vo-de-o-do," which was, as the lyrics attest, rather in vogue already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDW30ujGCY

[Kitty]

Awesome thread! I'll contribute this song.

https://youtu.be/j9IYlxOvyk8

[dachshundonstilts]

Ah, yes! Same songwriters, Yellen and Ager, as "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune"! And Harry Richman... did he marry Clara Bow or just get engaged to her?

[BettyLouSpence]

And Harry Richman... did he marry Clara Bow or just get engaged to her?

They were only ever engaged.

[dachshundonstilts]

And Harry Richman... did he marry Clara Bow or just get engaged to her?

They were only ever engaged.

Thanks!

[donnie]

Both those songs are catchy and fun to listen to. If I had a neighbor singing the same thing over and over with a ukelele until 3 in the morning, I'd kick them in the vo-de-o-do, too.

Harry Richman sounds an awful lot like Al Jolson—he uses many of the same techniques and mannerisms (deliberately?) Also, the timbre of his voice sounds like Jolson.

[Kitty]

Harry Richman sounds an awful lot like Al Jolson—he uses many of the same techniques and mannerisms (deliberately?) Also, the timbre of his voice sounds like Jolson.

I totally agree! Maybe that style of singing was popular in the 20s.

[dachshundonstilts]

Harry Richman sounds an awful lot like Al Jolson—he uses many of the same techniques and mannerisms (deliberately?) Also, the timbre of his voice sounds like Jolson.

I totally agree! Maybe that style of singing was popular in the 20s.

I think those techniques were generally associated with the blackface minstrel style.

Here's an interestingly bipolar instrumental... with Joe Venuti on violin and Eddie Lang on guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXDaqKiP2-s

[donnie]

I'd heard Joe Venuti on several recordings but didn't realize the full extent of his abilities until hearing this one. He was really quite an artist! He often performed with Adrian Rollini on bass sax. I'm pretty sure that's Rollini taking the break at :45. He would often play solos like that exclusively in the high register and then you could hear the low notes of the bass sax elsewhere in the accompaniment. I've heard that guitarist a lot, too, but don't know who he is.

Edit: I see you mentioned Eddie Lang as the guitarist—should read more carefully!

[Kitty]

Dad had tons of sheet music in his shop when I was little. He had some framed and put on the wall. This is one of them! Yes, we have no bananas!

https://youtu.be/MpbC_j5Xb4k