Indelli-mentary, my dear blogsters!

Elementary, My Dear Watson! and Dame Fortune are not easily forgotten. They have the same kind of spooky sticking power as, say, Feelings, or B-I-N-G-O, or Stairway to Heaven, or Oh, Baby! (Don't Say No, Say Maybe). They bore into the very heart of our music-reception center, where they pull a temporary coup (typically 24 to 48 hours). You have been warned. Please sign here, to relieve me of any financial or moral liability in this regard:

(Your name) ______________________. Thanks.

But what do we know of William Indelli? Well, I know next to nothing. As this goes to post (goes to post?), an autographed piece of William Indelli sheet music sits, unclaimed, on eBay (You'll Never Guess, 1969). And his name shows up twice, as a songwriter, at the American Song-Poem Music Archives: the titles are I Musn't and Don't Cry My Heart (sic). Along with the record pictured above, these three things are what I've been able to find out about Mr. Indelli.

B and F Records of Chicago, Illinois was a subsidiary of United. B and F 1327 was released in late 1959.

And it's a good thing the thrift store clerk didn't spot "Not to be Sold" on the label, or I couldn't be sharing this gem right now.

Elementary is an incredibly fun listen, owing to its imaginative production, crack musicianship, and old-time-radio sound effects. So much so, that the humor doesn't seem nearly as lame as it really is. Incongruous might be a better word. How, exactly, are gender stereotypes deduced, when deductions consist of conclusions based on observation? Not to read too much logic into a pop song, but the subject, after all, is Sherlock Holmes. A cute concept, but not very skillfully evolved.

Dame Fortune, another fairly clever play on ideas, hangs together better, but that vocal! How to describe it? Jerry Vale, without the terrific tonsils. Or Jerry Seinfeld, singing in a falsetto. But it's pure entertainment, so maybe I should cool the critique and say thank you, Mr. Indelli (and the Frederick Music Co.), for one of the funnest 45s in my collection. If the Vinyl God smiles on me, I'll find some more. On to the sides:

http://box.net/public/lee/files/337425.html Elementary, My Dear Watson! (Indelli), William Indelli and His Orchestra, 1959.

http://box.net/public/lee/files/344516.html Dame Fortune (Indelli), William Indelli and His Orchestra, 1959.

Lee

Files are flowing, slowly but surely

MYPWHAE is back, for the moment. I'm finding that I can upload one file at a time--so far, no problems. Slow is better than not at all. And I appreciate the words of support. Many thanks! I've decided to keep on a-bloggin', even if I have to find new MP3 digs. Too bad there isn't a song called Keep on a-bloggin', because I'd insert it here.

But what would rhyme well with bloggin'? Noggin? Loggin'? Hm. "Keep on bloggin', Though computer issues are doggin'. Gotta use my noggin. (Oops--I forgot to log in.)" That didn't work at all. Too many words, and no object for "doggin."

Sometimes it takes Herculean resolve to keep on bloggin'. And, (Segue Alert) speaking of Hercules, if you're at all like me, you had no idea there was a theme song to the 1959 Steve Reeves movie. But there was. So help me, Zeus. And we're about to hear it. (Get back here! Where are you going?)

http://box.net/public/lee/files/338863.html Hercules, Vaughn Monroe (1959, from the Warner Bros. import).

Note that the number was co-produced by Charles Grean, one-time manager for Eddy Arnold and writer of The Thing and Never Been Kissed, not to mention the man who produced Merv Griffin's 1949 smash hit, I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts.

Grean had a hit with Quentin's Theme in 1969 (as the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde). He even wrote lyrics for it. Wow. Grean could be the subject of an entire blog....

(Please save, rather than open, file for best results. Thanks!)

Lee

R.I.P., Myron

With all the Floren blog entries of the past few days, to say nothing of the five-part tribute at npr.org, you might wonder why MYPWHAE is devoting space to the famous accordionist, who died on July 24 at the age of 85. And with Floren music pouring from the radio, how can anything by Myron qualify as "music you (possibly) won't hear anyplace else"?

These are excellent questions. I guess I just can't resist following the herd. Sometimes, one gets caught up in the flow.

Anyway, these are great tracks--and, from all reports, by a great guy. Myron was a tireless performer who bonded with the communities he traveled to, who visited the sick, who made a point of employing local musicians for his appearances, and who vowed to keep playing until the requests stopped. They never did. A lot of folks are going to miss Myron very much, many of them from his generation--people who came of pop-musical age in the period between the big bands and the eventual takeover of rock and roll. There are more important things than being cool, such as reminding a generation that its music matters.

http://box.net/public/lee/files/328175.html Lover, from Lawrence Welk at Madison Square Garden, 1956, Coral label.

http://box.net/public/lee/files/328644.html Clarinet Polka, from same LP, 1956.

http://box.net/public/lee/files/328174.html Flight of the Bumble Bee, Myron Floren, 1982.

http://box.net/public/lee/files/326982.html Rock Around the Clock, Myron Floren and His Orchestra, 1982. (No accordion--just one great big band chart!)

Enjoy. Please save, rather than open, files for best results. Thanks!


Lee, grateful to Myron for all of his fine music