Sunday, December 20, 2020

Bark! The herald canines sing...

 



Read all about Carl Weismann's Singing Dogs here.  The Danish Weismann was an ornithologist who made field recordings of birds--recordings that were often ruined by the sounds of barking dogs.  It's not completely clear whether Carl, in league with producer Don Charles, accomplished his singing-dog tracks by using the stray barks (so to speak) on his bird-song tapes or if he and Charles specifically recruited four dogs (all of whom barked in a different pitch) and recorded them in a studio.  I'm guessing it was the latter scenario, because the dogs all had names--Pearl, Dolly, King, Caesar, and (later) Pussy.  A dog named Pussy--that's correct.  It's possible Carl and Don had wanted to name the dog Cat, but he or she objected, and they compromised with "Pussy."

Anyway, since the dogs all had names, and because they all barked in the correct pitches for creating tunes, I'm guessing they had to be studio dogs.  With contracts, royalties, doggy treats, etc.  I consider this arf-fully likely.

We'll be hearing a DJ edition of The Singing Dogs' first single--the one from which the famous barking Jingle Bells hails (did I just type, "from which the famous barking Jingle Bells hails??), and which also includes equally brief bark-athons of Pat-a-Cake, Three Blind Mice, and Oh! Susanna (the last title, in fast and slow versions).  And, while these are all familiar tunes to us humans, imagine how fresh and exciting they must have sounded to the performers.

As a bonus, we'll hear a Singing Dogs 78 I had to search like crazy to find in my rows and stacks.  At one point, almost all searched-out, I checked the Internet Archive--and found not a scent of it.  So I resumed searching, and up it sat--er, up it turned: 1956's Hot Dog Boogie (credited to dogs Dolly and Caesar) and Hot Dog Rock and Roll (credited to dogs Pearl and King).  No mention of Pussy--I suppose it's possible he or she had a paw in the writing process, but was unable to fetch any of the credit. (Cha-dunk, crash!)

I wish I owned those pic labels.  I don't--I swiped the images from Discogs.  And I just recalled that the regular, non-DJ release of the first single (with Jingles Bells, etc.) included a circus-style opening, with either Carl or Don introducing the dogs over a drumroll: "Lades and gentlemen..."  (I forget the rest.)  There was also circus-style music spliced in at the end of each selection.  That lead-out music was removed for this DJ issue--hence, the abrupt stops.

I should note--and I hope I don't offend any Dean Martin fans--that Spike Jones was inspired by the Singing Dogs when he did his all-barking take-off on Memories Are Made of This.  I believe I've seen a picture of Spike Jones pretending (?) to conduct a chorus of canines.  Also--and I had no idea this record existed--there was 1974 Singing Dogs LP on the Mr. Pickwick label, recorded by Carl Weismann!  This LP probably followed from the success of RCA's 1971 Jingle Bells re-release.  

Arf!



DOWNLOAD: The Singing Dogs, Directed by Carl Weismann, 1955-56






Lee

13 comments:

rockindoc said...

Ruff ...

Buster said...

I am a Dean Martin fan and I am not offended by your observations.

Thanks for the Dogs. I've always liked the Jingle Bells record (go figure), and I've not encountered the other selection.

Lee Hartsfeld said...

rockindoc,

I was going to say something about the "woofs of rock and roll," but that doesn't quite work as a pun. Almost...

Buster,

It seems to be uncommon. I mean, if it was released on RCA and the Internet Archive doesn't have it, that's a sign it wasn't a smash. I don't even remember where I found the 78--probably thrifted it.

Clarence Pune said...

Wonderful.
There was also a record of them bark/singing Happy Birthday.
Any chance you have that?

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Clarence,

That one I don't have, unfortunately. Looks like it was released on their 1974 Mr. Pickwick label LP. I need to get that in my collection!

Until then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmke73EQZ08

Ernie said...

Thanks Lee! I, too, had no idea they did a follow-up single on RCA, much less an LP on Pickwick. I guess somebody was chasing the money. :)

Mac said...

Barking (singing?) dogs eh? A little bit goes a long way in my book - however, that being said the version I have of jingle bells has it called "Pearls" jingle bells - I never know why but now I do so thanks for teaching this old dog something

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Mac,

Sure! I was undecided about including the dogs' names or not (as you can see, I decided on the latter). One thing that occurs to me--if "Jingle Bells" was sung--er, barked--by Pearl, then tape-speed manipulation would have had to be done. After all, each dog for was chosen for his or her specific bark pitch. And I don't think I've ever typed "bark pitch" prior to now. An historic moment!

A man for whom Christ died said...

Lee,
Gonna do like some others, comment before even listening to the files LOL! I too, remember, their version of Happy Birthday, from an oldies (is that's how it's spelled) morning show I listened to, when I was a kid, on the old WBBB, Burlington, NC, satelite-fed out of TX, I believe. More recently, I remember you featuring the other version(s) of these cuts (or is that, the other bits of these bites) a few years ago, in one of your Christmas zips, maybe part four of that year. The kids have been after me, to let them hear Jingle Bells, just haven't plugged in the backup to find it. Well now, I just may have to LOL! Oh and years ago, I had part of Jingle Bells on a tape (I say part, because I would have recorded all of it LOL) and I played it for a dog we had, she just stood there, sniffed the tape recorder, then walked away LOL! Thanks, again, love and prayin' for ya!

Romans 11:33-36 KJB

Josh
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Sky Raven said...

One of my all-time favorite Jingle Bells renditions. Thanks also for all the great background info... who knew? As a kid I listened to a DJ on AM radio who played this several times each Christmas season - - but I never knew there was more. Thanks so much for this little gem. Burt

Larry said...

The Bark Pitch was swung on and missed. Did they do Take Me Out to the Ball Game? My black lab likes anything involving a ball.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, Lee
I remember hearing DrDemento actually speeding up the 'Hot Dog Boogie' to play faster. That is his version that aired on his show, I never knew the actual speed was slow, makes sense now.
Have you ever heard it sped up, DrDemento version ?
Have a great Seasoned Greeting and a Happy Nude Rear !
Byron

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Hope you all had a great 25th!! And, no, I never heard the sped-up version of that!