One of this LP's previous owners decided Lawrence needed a beard, so he or she drew one. ArcSoft MediaImpression to the rescue. Whoever defaced Lawrence decided to leave Larry clean-shaven. Less work for me....
Twelve very entertaining Lawrence Welk sides featuring basso profondo Larry Hooper, and I guess I'm now officially a Welk and Hooper fan. Of course, if you tell someone you're a "Welk and Hooper" fan, they're likely to say, "What?" Or "Was that some old vaudeville act?"
The biggest hit in this collection is almost certainly Hooper's 1953 cover version of Don Howard Koplow's Oh, Happy Day, an unbelievably simple number in the standard doo-wop I-vi-ii-V form, with no bridge. Koplow's version has a lot of historical significance--you might be as amazed as I initially was to discover that a rock and roll number (and that's all it can be called) hit it big on the charts in 1952 and 1953, and (in Koplow's case) in such a raw version. Elvis invented rock, huh? But Rolling Stone-style journalists have evolved an amazing and highly effective strategy when it comes to dodging the truth about pop music history--they simply ignore it.
I've included my copy of Koplow's 1952 Oh Happy Day original (no comma in his case), and it sounds awful. It wasn't all that well recorded to start with, but my edition/pressing (on Essex, but with a label color I haven't seen elsewhere) has plenty of distortion and almost no high end. Since my disc, despite the cruddy fidelity, is in near-perfect shape, I have to wonder if it's a bootleg. It's also a semi-tone below every other posting I've heard. For a while, I was afraid my turntable was running at the wrong speed, but I did some track-comparing, and my table is fine. It's my copy that was, for some unknown reason, mastered a half-step too low. Anyway, Koplow didn't have much of a voice--he makes Hooper sound like Jerome Hines. The three fake-hit versions I've included are also embarrassingly better, mainly because they're professionally done. A quick check tells me nothing, but I strongly suspect the Your Hits label went along with Your Hit Parade. Discogs won't tell me, though. And when the fidelity on a six-selection Waldorf EP is twenty times better than the disc it's copying... what can be said?
Prior to checking the years for these recordings, I figured that Ball of Fire and Falling Star were Welk-Hooper attempts to cash in on the success of Day, but they're too removed, time-wise. But who knows? Hooper's precise diction doesn't quite go with Ball of Fire, imo, but there isn't a lame track in this bunch, and Hooper's naturally fine voice is one I could listen to all day. Or half a day. For hours, certainly. Oddly enough, and this is just my opinion, the Welk-Hooper Oh, Happy Day sounds more rock-and-roll than the original, at least after all these decades. Yes, there's the Welk orchestra chirping along, but it's a bare-bones arrangement, and Hooper respects the material (what material there is) and does it straight, and since he has an infinitely better voice than Don Howard Koplow, and perhaps because of the way the Welk band emphasizes the triplets, there's a genuine r&r sound to Hooper's disc. As for the original, shouldn't they have redone the take after Koplow messed up the beat at the beginning?
I didn't intend for this essay to be all about Oh, Happy Day, but it is the stand-out number, if only because of its importance to pop music history--and because Hooper's version is so very good. Hooper made a good deal out of a song that barely qualifies as one. Roger Boom is a track I wish I'd discovered years ago--it would have been a regular on my Halloween sleighlist. I won't try to describe it--just listen. And keep in mind that the writer, Bob Hilliard, also gave us the words to Dear Hearts and Gentle People, Our Day Will Come, Civilization (Bingo Bango Bongo), In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, plus Any Day Now and Please Stay with Burt Bacharach.
Click here to hear: Lawrence Welk featuring Larry Hooper
Oh, Happy Day (Don H. Koplow), 1953
Minnie the Mermaid, 1953
With a Little Bit of Luck, 1956
Falling Star, 1957
The 4th "R" (Religion), 1956
Saw Your Eyes, 1954
Ball of Fire, 1956
It Was That Kiss, 1957
Roger Boom (Bob Hilliard), 1956
Mutual Admiration Society, 1957
Lola O'Brien the Irish Hawaiian, 1955
Hallelujah! Brother, 1953
BONUS TRACKS
Oh Happy Day--Don Howard (Essex 311; 1952)
Oh Happy Day--Honey Dreamers (Your Hits 7015; 78 rpm EP)
Oh Happy Day--Dolph Dixon (Waldorf A 114; 45 rpm EP)
Oh, Happy Day--Ralph Brackett, Neely Plumb's Orch. (Music Masters 2003; 45 rpm EP)
Lee
6 comments:
Grandma Mizer of Mud Run Tuscarawas Co was a very big fan of Mr. Welk and as kids we were very privileged to see him every Sunday night at six pm on the television set in the living room. She would have made Beef Stroganoff and she was good at it. Thanks Lee!
I like early Lawrence Welk, I'm not afraid to admit it. Not the Welk that he turned into with his TV show later on, but his early stuff is a lot of fun.
This must be one of the few Welk records I actually own, because I like Hooper's voice. I am sitting here thinking about others - I know I have the Alice Lon record and the Lennon Sisters Catholic hymns album. That's about all.
Anyway, thanks for this transfer, which I know I will enjoy!
I'd enjoy your feedback on the four "Oh (comma optional) Happy Day" versions I posted. I was thrilled to discover I had that many (four) fake versions, though sorry to see I'd gotten rid of my Four Knights 78. For me to pitch it, either I found it totally lame (unlikely) or decided it was too hammered to keep (far more likely). I recall its surface looked like the result of wind erosion on Mars. Listened to that group's version on YouTube and have no desire to pay actual money for a copy. Too blah. I find it interesting and cool that my three fake versions are genuinely good ones, even if the Honey Dreamers turn it into everyday pop. Why not? Sound is surprisingly good on the Waldorf and Music Masters 45s, not so on the Your Hits 78--nothing I could do with the pinched fidelity. Prior to owning VinylStudio's declicking feature, the Music Masters would have been a lost cause--it's nothing but scratches. VS is the bug-infested software I mentioned. Minus its incredible virtues (response curve, declicking) I'd ditch it in a heartbeat and never miss it. But it's best features are a breeze. I just have to dodge the stupider ones.
I'll try to listen this evening.
I like the Honey Dreamers - I posted some of their stuff a long time ago.
Although Larry Hooper plays it straight, he can't help but emphasize the irony in the contrast between the joyful lyrics and his mournful sounding voice. In that sense, I think you could consider this a novelty record. Ralph Brackett is seemingly copying Hooper. You are right that there is far more rock 'n' roll in the Hooper version than that of the composer, who is leaden. Dolph Dixon seems to be covering the composer rather than Hooper, and he just sounds cheerless. Only the Honey Dreamers go their own way, and they probably didn't have much choice but to do so.
I don't think I have that Four Knights version, but I know I have some of their 78s and could trawl through my collection if you want. I am impressed you could find the four versions you did discover.
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