Two more (partial) medleys from Ethel Merman's 1955 Memories LP. The clicks during the second (partial) medley were so loud, I had to leave slight volume dips between splices--hence, there are three or four brief skips in the sound. Very brief but noticeable. I dedicate these split-seconds of silence to the late American composer John Cage. Who, by the way, is no longer on the cutting edge. Neither is Erik Satie. There are those to whom this is news, but the bottom line is that the cutting edge is not defined as "what may or may not have been fresh many decades ago." Except in hipster circles, where time is a meaningless concept. As in, the passage of.
I had to pitch out that great album cover, too--the one posted above. Mildew is the problem. Specifically, my dislike for the odor thereof. I gave it a couple days to air out, but I figured it wouldn't. And it didn't. I'll probably toss the vinyl, too, having done my vinyl-rescue thing--it's too trashed to keep. And you thought vinyl rescue was something glamorous. Cushy. Something that didn't require guts. You were wrong. Only the toughest of the tough survive this hobby. Which, of course, doesn't explain how I've hung on so long, but I guess I'm just lucky....
While Strolling Thru the Park One Day; Hello My Baby; In My Merry Oldsmobile; Waltz Me Around Again Henry; Memories--Ethel Merman with the Old Timers Quartet. Arr. and conducted by Jay Blackton, 1955. From Decca LP.
Sweet Adeline; Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!; Give My Regards to Broadway--Ethel Merman with the Old Timers Quartet, 1955.
Boy, those songs really take me back. Back to the days I first heard them, that is--around 1967, I think. I owned a folio of "Gay Nineties" songs that also included a bunch of stuff from the 1920s. Very strange.
In fact, I must have heard a lot of these in school even earlier than age ten. We probably had to sing them. Which is fine with me. They're cool songs. And singing in school is good, even if not cool.
I wonder if kids still sing Stephen Foster and George M. Cohan tunes in school. They did back in "my days." Back when America was an amoral nation. I mean, a moral nation.
Lee
3 comments:
Thanks for this post. The "double Merman" track was especially fun.
Y'know, just for gits and shiggles, someone should have had her record "Silent Night". Can you imagine her beltin' that out? Would sure give Christmas a different feel!
Max the drunken severed head
I think I prefer Twistin' Fridays to Ethel Merman Fridays. But downloaders can't be choosers, I guess.
Max,
That would be something to hear. If there were such a thing as an over-the-top filter, we could play Kate Smith's version through that filter and crank it up--instant Ethel. Kate, to my ears, was kind of a subdued Ethel....
An over-the-top filter. Hm. I wonder if there'd be a market for such a thing?
Ernie,
At least I didn't subject you to any Ethel Merman Twist tracks! Assuming there are such things. However, Cruella informed me that Ethel did a Disco album. Good Lord....
We're safe from Ethel for the time being, though, unless another one of hers shows up. And she's hardly a thrift store staple. Not around these parts, at least.
I'm torn between liking her and wanting to flee. An odd combination, taht.
Lee
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