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Isn't Life Terrible

Friday, September 21, 2007

The Humphrey Bogart Rhumba, et al

I have a theory. I can't prove it. But here it is: You know how songs sometimes "quote" other songs for a few seconds? You see the Eiffel Tower in a movie and a few notes from "La Marseillaise" get woven into the background music. That kind of thing.

Here's the theory: the song most quoted in other songs is... "The Sailor's Hornpipe." Every time you see a ship, a body of water, a guy in a navy uniform, or Bert and Alf, you hear a little piece of the Hornpipe. The prize goes to an old TV sitcom with Jackie Cooper as a Navy doctor and Abby Dalton as his nurse. Sonny Burke was not content to quote "Sailor's Hornpipe" in the "Theme from Hennesy." He stole it!

That is music you (probably) won't hear anyplace else. I try to put some here on Isn't Life Terrible from time to time. Theme From WKRP In Cincinnati. See, I just did it again. But I'm an amateur at this - let me direct you to a pro.

Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else is a blog by Lee Hartsfeld that I highly recommend to you if your taste in music is... well, basically, there are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music. If you love both kinds, you'll enjoy Lee's site.

Every couple of days, like clockwork, Lee makes new songs available. They are most definitely songs you (possibly) won't hear any place else. Songs like:

The Humphrey Bogart Rhumba by The Freddy Martin Orchestra
The Hayseed Rag by The Dizzy Trio (Sounds like a Mickey Mouse Cartoon!)
Miss America by Johnny Desmond
Funny What You Learn From Women by Jack Paar
You're Bound To Look Like A Monkey (When You Grow Old) by Bob Crosby's Bob Cats

... as well as songs very much not like these. Lee transfers 'em from his own collection of vinyl and shellac, cleans them up as needed (but never more than needed), and then shares the results with the world. You never know what you'll find at Lee's, except on Sundays, which are always devoted to religious music.

Scattered in with the songs are posts where Lee talks about politics, religion, and what his cats kill and drag home. Lee, the owners of 160 gig iPods thank you for helping us fill those babies up... and for giving us the opportunity to be listening to music that (possibly) no other iPod owners are listening to.

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3 Comments:

  • Thanks for the shout-out! I appreciate it.

    But... but none of my music is bad. Er, is it?

    Seriously, I loved your write-up. At the moment, I have some good, bad (and ugly) Halloween fare ready to go.

    And thanks for giving me credit for the "Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" file, but that's my first time hearing it! Now I know the name of the Looney Toons theme. Seems that Freddy Cannon, Dick Jurgens, Shep Fields, and Jimmie Lunceford recorded that, as well. I didn't know that.

    I have no excuse for not having known that.

    Lee

    By Blogger Lee Hartsfeld, At September 28, 2007 at 2:46 AM  

  • I love Lee's site, his generosity, his smarts, his smart-ass, his humor...Oh, hell, I'll say it, I love Lee!

    By Blogger CrimsonCrow, At September 28, 2007 at 6:39 AM  

  • Agreed. Lee's great; his site is highly recommended. Always something fascinating over there -- unusual music, and great commentary too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At September 28, 2007 at 6:16 PM  

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