There was such a boatload of Beatles knock-offs during the first wave of Beatlemania, I wonder if anyone has catalogued them all? Golden/A.A. Records wasn't expecting this effort--arranged by Milton DeLugg and performed by Wynken, Blinken, and Nod--to make much of a splash, but Dance and Sing Mother Goose with a Beatle Beat turned out to be the outfit's sleeper release for the year (1964). Well, not really, but I think it's safe to call this LP the best-ever attempt to merge Mother Goose nursery rhymes with 1964 teen dance beats. The only one, probably.
This was a surprise. And the surprise is not that a children's record label would release an LP of nursery rhymes with a British Invasion feel--any and every excuse to Beatles-link a collection of tracks, whatever those tracks may be (nursery rhymes, Poe adaptations, train sounds, belly-dancing instructions) was used in those days, and when all existing excuses were exhausted, new ones were made up. As Beatles tie-ins go, this one is actually pretty conventional. What's surprising is that it was done so well, that everyone took the project seriously. Low-budget LPs for children--especially albums based on current crazes--were not usually this thoughtfully or skillfully conceived, but what we have here, against all odds, is a collection of amusing texts and expert, studio-level backings that really rock the shoe. Since it's Milton DeLugg behind the music, I guess we couldn't expect anything less than expert arrangements, but the lyricists--Jeff Harris and Ann DeLugg--do expert work, too--nothing like the phoned-in rush job we might expect with such a kiddie effort. In fact, the words get pretty hardcore at times--take these (to Three Blind Moose): "The moose hung Bruce, The moose hung Bruce, He hangs in a caboose, He hangs in a caboose. Now, Bruce was a goose, was a goose on the loose, But Bruce wasn't loose when they put on the noose, And the three moose have got Bruce's loose goose juice, For three blind moose, Three blind moose." The perfect lullaby for little sleepyheads. "So, they (yawn) hung Bruce and drained his juice and (yawn) the blind moose got some goose juice?"--Child. "That's right, dear. Sweet dreams."--Mother. Three hours later, the child wakes up yelling. Clever verses, though they might work better for, say, Boris Karloff Reads Mother Goose for Naughty Children.
I forgot to mention The Golden Rock-a-Twisters, who assist Wynken, Blinken, and Nod. And it just occurred to me that the "moose juice" lyrics are all the more perverse, given that this is a Mother Goose-themed LP. A Mother Goose rhyme about a captured and killed goose? And I can't believe I just typed "Mother Goose-themed LP." Anyway, maybe the Beatlemania craze was regarded by some in the recording industry as not merely peculiar and unconventional, but potentially harmful. This could account for the occasionally disturbing lyrics here. Actually, I'm deliberately overanalyzing things to up the word count, so as to maintain a balance between text and image. With New Blogger, there's no way to be sure how things are going to coordinate (or not coordinate) in that regard.
And the preview image indicates I have more space to fill. Well, how about that jacket art, which is very nice, though I can't make out the artist's signature? Everyone and everything has a Beatle wig, including the clock, cat, and mouse, though I don't recall any mention of the cat in Hickory Dickory Rock (which is called Hickory-Dickory-Dock on the jacket). I don't quite get the banana with the glasses, vest, and Beatle hair--I don't recall any lyrics along that line--though there are the three blind moose twisting away, Snoopy-style, with Bruce the Goose mercifully left out of the picture.
Why does Blinken (pictured under the drummer) have four arms and four legs? Weird. And I'm assuming Nod is the Paul McCartney-looking guy with the tiny guitar (to the left of the moose). Except he's egg-shaped, which would suggest Humpty Dumpty in a Beatle wig, and I think I'll just quit trying to make sense out of this...
DOWNLOAD: Dance and Sing Mother Goose With a Beatle Beat (Golden Records LP 127; 1964)
Lee
41 comments:
As soon as I get the courage, I will listen to this. There is a long history of nursery rhyme jazz songs: I Got Rhythm in my Nursery Rhymes, A-Tisket A-Tasket. As a child I was listening to Harry the Hipster.
I'm glad you figured out all that imagery. The only thing I deciphered was Paul McCartney as Humpty-Dumpty.
I am also glad that I was too old for the tale of Bruce the Goose when this came out.
Eric,
I just discovered that Sonny Lester, the director of this LP, also produced Ann Corio's "How to Strip for Your Husband." Now it'll probably take a little more courage to give this a try...
I was expecting the music to be totally forgettable, and it's definitely not that.
Buster,
Same here--I was honestly expecting Bruce to be spared, since this is a kiddie record and all. But, no. It's not even a cautionary tale--it's just three moose slaughtering a goose. I had to replay the track just to be sure I'd heard things correctly.
Fascinating stuff.
In response to the question you ask at the beginning of the post, the most comprehensive list of Beatles novelty recordings I know of is in the book You Can't Do That by Charles Reinhart. It was published in the early 80s, so it wouldn't have anything from after then, and I'm sure it's missing other things--I don't think the Mother Goose thing made it, but I could be wrong. Still it's a good place to start. The other half of the book is about bootlegs, but there are much better guides to Beatles bootlegs--I'd recommend starting with Doug Sulpy's work for that area.
Wow! This is really something! You could spend almost as long analyzing that cover as a real Beatle album. And if those are the actual lyrics you're quoting and not some late night fever dream reinterpretation, this is going to take some time to parse. :)
Thanks, Lee!
Hi,Lee!
I enjoy your blog quite a bit. Keep up the good work!
As for this album cover, I don't think that's a banana. I think it's the moon, as in "the cow jumped over..."
And doesn't Wynken the drummer look way more like John than Ringo?
Thanks for a fun start to the day!
Sonny Lester was also involved with Solid State records among others.
Speechless. The stuff you find, Lee! You put us all to shame. Keep it up!
Dear Lee. This blog is very interesting. I live in Hungary and similar US releases didn't get here. But fake records were also made here because there were no dollars to import the original releases. So understandable. But who bought these fake records there in the US?
Sincerely, Peter
Hi, Peter.
As far as I've been able to gather, the fake hits were purchased by young people who lacked the money for the genuine hits. I've heard from a number of people who bought "sound-alike" hits in the 1950s and 1960s for that very reason. Also, you may have seen my posts about the Top Hit Club (run by Waldorf Music Hall), which offered sound-alike hits through mail-order and through Woolworth, a retail chain here in the U.S.--apparently, a good number of young people bought Waldorf records, and there were other mail-order "clubs" that did good business, including Gilmar and two labels associated with (and named after) the magazines Hit Parader and Song Hits. Also, during the 1950s and into the early 1960s, the popular music scene was dominated more by songs than by specific versions of songs--rock music changed that, of course, though sound-alike records continue to sell through the 1980s, and probably beyond. There's a common view that generic hits were bought primarily by parents for their children--by adults who couldn't tell the real artists from the sound-alike singers. This seems to be our media's preferred story, though I personally don't accept it. For one thing, I don't think there would have been such a thriving fake-hit industry in the 1950s and 1960s if the purchases were made primarily by clueless grownups--this would not account for the huge number of fakes that were sold, nor would it explain the "clubs" and the store associations. Anyway, to sum up, I think the fake hits succeeded because they were cheaper, and because, in the earlier days of rock and roll, young listeners were much more interested in the songs than the performers. They were willing to accept renditions that weren't original.
What period are you referring to in Hungary? The 1960s and 1970s? The peak for fake-hit sales in the U.S. was approximately 1951-1965 or 1966. I hope this has been of some help. Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
Lee,
Interesting discussion. With the ex-US market, to a degree the covers were driven by language considerations, too, along with the unavailability of US product in some countries.
I may have mentioned this before, but my grandparents had some cheapo label products on hand, simply because they had a new fangled console stereo and needed something to play on it. To build up their stock, they bought something inexpensive and right at hand in the supermarket or drug store.
My grandparents had some Royale and Gramophone label stuff, too, but they had a cheap player. I think, in their case, it was the initial attitude toward paying LP prices for 10- and 12-inch records, with people failing to realize that LPs contained considerably more material than 78s. I was fascinated by the budget labels, even as a kid. But as fascinated as I was by 78s, which were like the coolest things I'd ever encountered (at age 10 or so).
Record clubs served the same purpose for a lot of folks from that generation--easy, less expensive ways to stock up on vinyl without having to go to a record store. The Columbia Record Club was almost a high-class Waldorf kind of operation--all the music you'll ever need, and packed into two LPs. There are, of course, a lot of fake-hit comps from the C. Record Club. I think that was the club whose ads showed up in magazines all the time. The ads were for currently popular stuff--Beatles, Streisand, Bennett, etc.--but I recall the pressings were specific to the club--i.e., inferior.
That is, "but not as fascinated as I was by 78s."
Johnny Cee,
A late thanks for the nice words. And, yes, that must be the moon--that makes a lot more sense! Thanks for the i.d.--that really had me puzzled.
Eric,
I didn't know that about Lester. I'm just vaguely familiar with that label. Thanks.
I was born in 1967. In 1990, communist rule ended and the market was liberalized. Western music was not favored, but a strong consolidation began in the late 1970s. Anyone who had the money could travel with a World Passport. The easiest way to get Western records was from Austria and Yugoslavia. Vienna is only 200 km, 2 hours by car. For those living near the border it is only 50 km. Fake recordings appeared in large numbers before 1990 and were popular with low-income young people. The almost complete catalog of the state record label is available here: https://hanglemezkatalogus.gportal.hu/
So my shellac and LP collection consists mostly of Eastern European publications. There are quite a few artistically valuable pieces among them, but they have no material value. Library collection of liquidations and legacies can be obtained in large batches. I just win to systematize.
Thanks again for this nice blog! Sincerely, Peter
Peter,
Wow! Thanks for the link and for the historical information. That's fascinating. Yes, I figured you were talking about the Communist ban. Did the fake-hit labels get in any trouble with the state, or were they more or less ignored? Thanks again!
Bill Haley on Pepita! Licensed through Germany, so who knows which of the umpteen Haley versions this is? But great to see that "Rock Around the Clock" made it to Hungary in 1981!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Haley-Bill-Rock-Around-The-Clock-See-You-Later-Alligator/353364629736?hash=item52462c58e8:g:eo0AAOSwcAlfmuqI
If desired I can upload Sonny Lester and Ann Corio's "How to Strip for Your Husband" Vol 1&2
Eric,
I appreciate the offer, but since the albums are out on CD, I'm hesitant to say yes. A link posted in the comment section would be the equivalent of a group share. However... you can always (hint) send it through my personal email. I just try to play it safe with the copyright checkers...
An additional two cents. I concur with Johnny Cee that the banana is actually the moon from “Hey Diddle Diddle”. And that also helps explain the presence of the cat above who, while fiddle-less, nevertheless has more to do with Diddle than Hickory. (A fiddle and a jumping cow might have helped here a bit.) Just as the Humpty Dumpty character is inspired by Paul McCartney, the face of the moon is most definitely John Lennon with his short-lived-fad granny glasses. The upper left drummer has far more to do with Old King Cole than Ringo Starr. And finally, Blinken with the weird “four arms and four legs” is either, depending on your point of view, a beetle (in which case there are probably six legs and two wings) or a Beatle (in which case the number of legs doesn’t matter).
Hi Eric,
It's the original Bill Haley record on SP. Late three decades. America was far away :)
Hi Eric,
I hurried the answer. This is Haley SP is a live record. It was recorded in 1970 in Germany.
https://www.discogs.com/Bill-Haley-The-Comets-Rock-Around-The-Clock-See-You-Later-Alligator/release/3953850
Peter
Peter,
Thanks for the Haley information!
Anon.,
Very interesting. I was thinking the same thing re beetle, but the number of legs was a problem. Good point--if we're talking a "Beatle," the number of legs is no issue. Great reading of the art, but only one problem--on line, it tells me that Lennon didn't start the granny glasses look until 1966, and this was released in 1964. So, we're left with at least one misery! Maybe John experimented with that look in advance of 1966...
Hi Lee, just wondering...Do you know...
So many fake Beatles albums, are there any fake Rolling Stones albums out there? In my German class, one of the lessons in our book had a picture of several teenagers dancing to a Beatles song. My teacher said, what about the Rolling Stones. He is a Rolling Stones fan. So just wondering...
Bryan
Hi, Bryan.
I have a number of individual fake RS songs, but as far as complete LPs... no. As far as I know, the group never got the Beatles treatment. The closest thing that comes to mind--and it's not really a fake-hits LP--is an LP of orchestral renditions of Stones songs. I forget who did it--London Symphony Orch., maybe? They're gotten the "Pops" treatment, but I've never encountered surrogate Rolling Stones LPs. That's too bad, because a fake RS LP would be quite cool.
That reminds me--I have a fake rendition of "Brown Sugar" on one of the Spar fake-hit LPs (the Nashville label, this time), and I should probably rip that collection.
Hi!
Thanks for this one. Interesting conversation. Re: European distances. Remember in late 70's best friend from France said after driving for a 5 hour trip "In Europe in 5 hrs. one can go through multiple countries & here (Ontario, Canada = 4-5 times bigger than France) you don't even leave the province!"
Re: "Bruce The Goose" (?) song. Don't forget that Nursery Rhymes/Fairy Tales/Children's Stories were originally used to teach a lesson & were quite violent at times. Disney kinda' blurred that. Also, "traditional" Fairy Tales (have written about 10 "original" ones but unpublished) Good was battling Evil & Evil was always destroyed & everyone "lived happily ever after."
Might have to listen to this sooner than later.
Cheers!
Ciao! For now.
rntcj
The Stones turned out to be far more durable, but the Beatles were initially much more popular. The Stones' first two LPs were almost entirely R&B (I loved them then, and still do), and at the time they did not enjoy the torrent of hits that the Beatles produced.
Hi Lee, that is sad. Too bad as I would like to have shared something with my teacher. These Beatles fakes are really interesting though. Bryan
rntcj,
Great points. Also, many fairy tales didn't originate as children's stories. One of the more famous Disney-ized fairytale originally had a king marrying his own daughter (!). And many earlier versions of "Cinderella" had the evil sisters literally hacking off portions of their own feet in an effort to fit them into the magic slippers. Last I knew, "Cinderella" had been traced back about 2,000 years to China--hence, the fascination with small feet. The Chinese version was barely recognizable as "Cinderella"--it's long and complicated, with magic talking fish, etc. I took a course in college on fairy tale evolution, focusing mainly on "Cinderella." It was amazing.
Buster,
True. And, compared to the Beatles, the Stones stuck to the same basic sound (not really, but next to the radical stylistic changes on the Beatles' part, the Stones pretty much stayed the Stones). I find the Stones' attempts at a psychedelic and/or artier sound complete failures. I, too, loved the Stone's early R&B efforts (I just got a mono copy of their U.S. debut LP, so I guess I still do), though I came to prefer John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, et al. I was a blues purist for a while. The Stones are to be commended for shining a spotlight on the black artists who inspired them--H. Wolf, especially.
Bryan,
Sorry about that. But, when I get the chance, I'll combine my individual RS fakes into one post--including the Spar version of "Brown Sugar."
Lee - I had a similar evolution, although I still love the early Brit R&B bands - Stones, Pretty Things' first LP, etc.
I think the Stones' first two (three?) LPs were recorded in mono and only came out in that form and "electronic stereo."
Buster,
Interesting. And I love the Pretty Things' early material--they were like a less inhibited version of the Stones! Wasn't their leader/bassist a member of the pre-fame Stones? The PT "Roadrunner" is pretty much Heavy Metal (only less annoying than the later type). Then again, so was Howlin's Wolf's 1951 "How Many More Years," with Willie Johnson's insanely distorted power chords.
Lee,
I think you're right. Their first LP is spectacular. I still remember hearing "Rosalyn" the first time.
Perhaps this Mother Goose LP is the true origin of the granny-glasses fad. I can just envision John perusing the cover and thinking, “I rather fancy them specs they got me wearing there. Me granny’s got a pair like that she’s not using. Maybe I’ll take them to the shop and get them fixed up for me eyes.” You may have discovered that last unknown bit of Beatles’ trivia.
“John, why is Paul going to sing the lead on this song? You should be singing it. You sing much better than he does, honey.”
Ringo is the drummer, Paul is left handed, John is right handed, the banana refers to a hoax popular at the time, that smoking dried banana skins would get you high...remember Donovan's Mellow Yellow, ...so what's so violent about a Moose hanging Bruce, he was probably the farmer whose wife cut off the tails of the three blind mice, and the girl running between the two guitarists is Patti Boyd who married George then Clapton. Any other questions??
Eric,
I think you covered it nicely!
Hi Lee, Thanks for the offer of a fake Rolling Stones post. That would be great if you can. But, please only if you have time. I checked again on the web for Rolling Stones fakes. I really could not find anything. Maybe, I am not doing the right searches. While I am not really a Beatle or Stones fan myself, I do like some of their songs. Especially their earlier work.
Waiting for your next post. Take care. Bryan
can you reupload please and thanks?
Anonymous--
It should be up and running now. Sorry about that--the hosting site, Workupload, did "maintenance" on Sunday the 4th, and apparently a number of files were lost in the process. Enjoy!
Hello Lee, Thanks for this gem.
I was led to your post whilst researching Milton DeLugg for one of my blog posts. My link between Mr. DeLugg and the Beatles is that in 1958 Milton produced the Buddy Holly hit Rave On! Paul McCartney, a shrewd businessman as well as an ardent Buddy Holly champion, bought the near-worldwide rights to Buddy Holly’s song catalogue, some 40-plus songs, in 1976. But Maria Elena still owns them in the United States. Regards, Bob.
Boppinbob,
My pleasure! And I think I knew about McCartney buying Holly's catalog, but I didn't know that the U.S. rights weren't included. Interesting.
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