Halloween, Part 3: Buwa-ha-haaaaa!!!

Seven 78s from my collection, all of which fall into a category I call, Buwa-ha-haaaaa!!!

The ultimate Buwa-ha-haaaa!!! novelty, Paul Whiteman's recording of AH-HA! (1925) is a Halloween near-perennial at this blog, and this time I've added two more AH-HA!s, including Freddie "Schnickelfritz" Fisher's 1940 Decca version.  Fisher really dials up the novelty, except that the novelty was already dialed up to ten, so.... Not sure how he managed it.

And the lyrics make nearly no sense, at least in their printed form--I know, because I finally hauled out my copy and studied them.  All I can conclude for sure is that "AH-HA!" is what you say when you catch your guy or gal cheating on you.  (Not the worst thing you could utter under the circumstances.)  In fact, "AH-HA!"ing is also something you do; you don't simply say it.  As in, "Now I'm gonna AH-HA! you."

Of course, if you're caught cheating, you immediately cease to be the "AH-HA!"er and become the "AH-HA!"ee.  That's the lesson of the song, apparently.

Those words at the start of the Whiteman version?  Turns out they go, "Once a hero, now a villain," said John Applesauce.  "I have changed because of a gal."  John Applesauce??

I should note that, by the second verse, the two-timing gal has become Mrs. Applesauce, but, despite her promise to love and obey, she's double-crossed him, and "now she has things all her way."  So she's doing the "AH-HA!"ing now.   That's what it says; seriously.

And the next to last line--You said that I meant nothing and I never had a cent, but I've got forty dollars in the bank at four percent, AH-HA!--is hers, not his.

I hope that clears up any and all confusion.

Click here to hear:  Buwa-ha-haaaaa!!!

SLAYLIST

AH-HA!--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1925
AH-HA!--Oriole Orch., vocal: Mark Fisher, 1925
AH-HA!--Freddie "Schnickelfritz" Fisher and His Orch., 1940
Murder (Byron Gay)--Plantation Jazz Orch., 1920
Mystery!--Paul Biese and His Novelty Orch., 1919
Little Nell--Eliot Everett (Joe Haymes) Orch., 1932



Lee

That Hypnotizing Man--Dolly Connolly (1912)

Dolly Connolly was the wife of Percy Wenrich, and her features hardly matched her voice, and vice versa.  Here's what she looked like:

Meanwhile, she sounded like Marjorie Main (who, like Donnolly, started in vaudeville, and around the same time).  If Sarah Silverman had pipes like Sophie Tucker's, she could play the lead in a Dolly Connolly biopic.

Speaking of hypnotizing men, did you know that Dilbert creator Scott Adams happens to be one? And that he considers Donald Trump a "Master Persuader"?  All along, Adams has been convinced Trump will win (and win big)--that is, until the recent video and all the interviews.  Now he considers a Donald victory less than a sure thing, and he blames/credits women.  "Hillary Clinton is all yours, ladies," he recently posted.  "She and her alleged rapist husband are your brand now.  Wear them well."  (Ohhhhhhh-kay.)

I wonder if, two months from now, Adams will claim that he wanted his fans to chuck their Dilbert anthologies into the nearest dumpster, that this was all an experiment in persuasion?  If so, it appears to be working.

That Hypnotizing Man's lyrics are not Hall of Fame material, but they get the job done: When you feel queer and you feel someone whisper in your ear, "Come over here;" Don't make a sound for you'll know that you have found a man to fear.  For example.  And they mostly make sense, unlike the words to the 1925 classic, AH HA!, which we'll be examining next post.

 To the music: That Hypnotizing Man (Lew Brown--Albert von Tilzer)

Dolly Connolly, Columbia A1440 (1912), ripped by me from my collection.


Lee

Voo Doo Magic (1952)--Jimmy Cook and Orch.

Sorry for the late start this Halloween--a number of things have gotten in the way of posting, including an Internet connection that's here one moment and gone the next.  Then here, then gone.  Then here, etc.  Also, I'm starting the third week of my latest migraine--this one refuses to go away.  Most migraine sufferers have the occasional migraine, and then some time off.  But I'm not most migraine sufferers.

Luckily, Voo Doo Magic is just the kind of Halloween novelty I live to find, and therefore an ideal choice for starting the season.  This is a disc that, once heard, will have you asking, "Did I actually hear that?  Did it really happen?"  Yes, it really happened.  And a copy managed to survive these many decades for me to stumble across, marvel over, and post with joy.  Listening to this even has me forgetting about my migraine.  Maybe that's the "Magic" of the title?  Hmm.

I ripped this from a moderately worn Modern label 78 (above).  Modern, of course, is famous for recording folks like Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King, which likely explains why the March 8, 1952 Billboard listed this disc as a Rhythm & Blues release!  In fact, the flip side (If You Don't Hurry Up and Love Me) is possibly the most Guy Mitchell-esque disc ever made by someone other than Guy, so, no, this is not an R&B disc.  I've included it with Voo Doo Magic, because it's almost a Halloween side--dig these lyrics: "I'm going to be forced to die over you, I won't be living to see it through," plus, "And because I'm wanting you, I'll keep on haunting you."  It's not clear how we're supposed to take those.  Possibly the lyricist wasn't sure, either.

To the weirdness: Voo Doo Magic


Voo Doo Magic--Jimmy Cook and Orch., 1952
If You Don't Hurry Up and Love Me--Same.


Lee

Your blogger, getting ready for Halloween 2016!

Ah, the racially sensitive Victorian Era....

A Pears' Soap ad from the May, 1883 issue of the children's magazine, Wide Awake, which I scanned from my copy. Yikes.  What can I say?  (Besides "Yikes," I mean.)

Pears' Soap is still around, but it gets really bad customer reviews on Amazon.  Anyway, it's a buck a bar at Dollar Tree, which is a better deal than any of the eBay (!) offers I'm looking at.

Or you can always get it from your nearest leading druggist.

And here are two different versions of the same ad.


Lee