Sweet band gets hot and scandalized

[Eyeball]

Eddy Duchin lead a society band that very rarely played any type of Swing music, but in 1938 he let loose on 2 sides of a Brunswick recording.

The largely unknown side is a read swinging reading of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea". It was ignored at the time due to the notoriety of the flip side "Ol' Man Mose".

From Wikipedia -
Notoriety

Duchin's 1938 release of the Louis Armstrong song "Ol' Man Mose" (Brunswick Records 8155) with vocal by Patricia Norman caused a minor scandal at the time with the lyric "bucket" being heard as "fuck it." It's a tough call: some listeners analyze the recording and conclude that there is no vulgarism uttered, while others are convinced that Norman does use the f-word (which would explain one of the band members laughing delightedly after Norman seems to chirp, "fuck-fuck-fuck it!").

The "scandalous" lyrics caused the record to zoom to #2 on the Billboard charts, resulting in sales of 170,000 copies when sales of 20,000 were considered a blockbuster. The song was banned after its release in Great Britain. The notorious number can be heard on a British novelty CD, "Beat the Band to the Bar."

I had the Brunswick 78 release of this side and she is absolutely singing "fuck it". I slowed down the record on the turntable and an "f' sound is very audible.

Lots of laffs!

[Eyeball]

And for reasons that no one I know has ever heard an explanation for, Duke Ellington's trumpeter, Bubber Miley turn up on 2 or 3 Leo Reisman circa 1930 or 31.

Reisman had an all white band that played for the society crowd of very wealthy people back in the day. How Bubber Miley came to record with him and possibly play a live gig (never heard this one way or another - pure speculation on my part are a live gig) is unknown to me.
'
The sides are good - Miley gets solo space - Jazz vocalist Lee Wiley is on one or two.

Curious session/s.

[zzzzoom]

http://www.jazz-on-line.com/ram/COLLA1606.ram

Ol' Man Mose - Eddie Duchin and his Orchestra

[Haydn]

Thanks for the tips John. I've come across this band before, but not those tracks, which are excellent. This band was apparently really popular in the 1930s, and listening to them shows what sort of music was in fashion in New York at the time. It's not 'lindy hop' music as we know it, but I love the sound and feeling of tracks like these (available on this CD) -

I Won't Dance
Cheek to Cheek

This band's music is sometimes described as dance music - how would people dance to it?

[Eyeball]

Thanks for the tips John. I've come across this band before, but not those tracks, which are excellent. This band was apparently really popular in the 1930s, and listening to them shows what sort of music was in fashion in New York at the time. It's not 'lindy hop' music as we know it, but I love the sound and feeling of tracks like these (available on this CD) -


This band's music is sometimes described as dance music - how would people dance to it?

Well, you have to keep in mind that a society band like Eddy Duchin was most popular with the society crowd and with people who really liked smooth and showy music that was melodic and pleasant and none too intrusive. It's a nice mellow band and I have one LP by him and that pretty much tides me over. Good listening.

I guess you would be doing some modified fox trot step or the good old box step unless he was playing Latin numbers.

I dont get the impression that he had a younger following like the Swing bands did.

I'll also guess hat he did some Swing style things now and then to let the older crowd have a tatse of what all the buzz was about. Nothing too wild, just bouncy and peppy and lively.

In the film, THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY, in which they used a lot of tunes associated with him, there is a very good version of ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET. I don't know if this was ever recorded by him, but it is pretty good dance band stuff with a beat. It's on the soundtrack LP/CD which is good b/c it is cut short in the film.