The Hokey Pokey

Ray Anthony - The Hokey Pokey
Ray Anthony - The Bunny Hop

I reckon today's offering will be the last in this series of songs used in John Waters films, but maybe the most fun. I bought this record especially, and somehow accidentally ended up with a re-issue, which other vinyl collectors might be able to sympathise with. For the purpose of this post, however, it doesn't make a lick of difference. This version of The Hokey Pokey was used in a hilarious dance scene in 2004's Dirty Shame, where Tracey Ullman's character really gets into it in a retirement home.

Of course, Ray Anthony isn't the singer, that's Jo Ann Greer; Anthony is the bandleader. The flipside track, The Bunny Hop, is a cool tune too -- an easy paced big band swinger from 1953. It was featured in another Waters film, Cry Baby, making this post is a real two-for-one.

Go, Jim Dandy!

LaVern Baker - Jim Dandy
LaVern Baker - Tra La La

This record is what I refer to as a double-sider. Both sides are great. LaVern Baker captures the 50s Atlantic Rhythm & Blues sound, which is very close and related to Rock'n'Roll. Today's selection came out in 1956 and Jim Dandy, written by Lincoln Chase, climbed to #1 on the R&B charts. It has the basic beat of a swinging Rockabilly track and was used in the trashy (in a good way) John Waters flick, Pink Flamingos.

In case you missed it, I'm posting a series of tunes featured in the film oeuvre of John Waters in the lead up to a Waters inspired evening event, Emerald Fontaine's Dirty Shame, which I'll be playing records at this Thursday. As well as several cabaret and burlesque performances, Pink Flamingos will be up on the big screen. It all should be a lot of fun.

Come on and do the fly with me

Chubby Checker - The Fly

Here's one from Hairspray, the 1988 John Waters original version. The Fly was released in 1962, around the time Chubby Checker's uber-hit, The Twist, entered and then topped the charts for a second time as the twisting dance craze got crazy again (after it's initial burst in 1960). I just learned that Checker's name, it's a stage name, is a play on words on Fats Domino. Wow! Anyway, I dig this tune for the buzz and the drums. Enjoy.

Jungle Drums

Earl Bostic - Jungle Drums

I like it when I google a record and it brings up an old Billboard magazine entry. This from 24 April 1954: "It started off strong in New York, Buffalo, St. Louis and Cincinnati, and was also reported good in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Nashville and Atlanta." It doesn't say anything about Baltimore, but Earl Bostic's Jungle Drums is another tune featured in John Waters' Cry Baby. The record was actually released in 1953 and has Bostic on alto sax and a young Stanley Turrentine on tenor.

I'm just a Bad Boy

The Jive Bombers - Bad Boy

Next week, I'll be DJing as part of an evening dedicated to the filmmaker John Waters. Inspired by that, I've been digging out some of the records featured in his films. Since they've been gathered together at the front of my record box, several are going to pop up here in the next little while, starting right now.

Doo-wop group The Jive Bombers had their biggest success with today's selection, which was later used in the musical flick, Cry Baby. The song, originally entitled Brown Girl, was written and recorded in 1936 by Lil Hardin Armstrong, the second wife of Louis Armstrong. An earlier incarnation of The Jive Bombers recorded a version called Brown Boy for Coral in 1949. So, by the time they were recording their first single for Savoy in 1956, I guess they knew the tune pretty well. They also had the sense to change its title to the more politically correct, Bad Boy.

Teen Queens

The Teen Queens - Eddie My Love

And now for a slow dance. As their name implies, Betty and Rosie Collins were just 16 and 14 respectively when Eddie My Love was released in 1956. Their elder brother, Aaron -- a founding member of West Coast doo-wop group The Cadets -- originally wrote the song (for his sisters) as a tribute to Johnny Ace -- the R&B singer who tragically, fatally and accidentally, shot himself in the head. There had been a spate of girls singing songs about Johnny, but Aaron eventually decided that the time for Johnny tributes had passed, so the song became an ode to Eddie instead.

Pretty Little Angel Eyes

Curtis Lee - Pretty Little Angel Eyes

More super-fun doo-wop for you today. This time from Curtis Lee, a young singer who made a trip from Arizona to New York City in the late fifties to become a recording star. With the help of his songwriting partner, Tommy Boyce, and an up-and-coming record producer named Phil Spector, Lee achieved just that with Pretty Little Angel Eyes -- it went all the way to number 7 in 1961. The snappy beat, honking sax and glorious back-up vocals -- courtesy of The Bronx's The Halos -- give this track all it needs to capture that innocent 1950s malt-shop jukebox vibe. It might as well be the theme song from Happy Days.

Pretty Little Angel Eyes is a love dedication going out to my better half. Although she never finds the time to read this blog, I'm led to believe that she has finally subscribed via email. Now, every time I publish, she'll receive the post in her inbox. If that sounds appealing, you too can do the same; simply click Subscribe and enter your preferred email address.

Don't Hang Up

The Orlons - Don't Hang Up

Here's a great doo-woppy track from 1962. The Orlons started off as an all-girl quintet in a school in Philadelphia, but had morphed into a three-girls-one-guy quartet by the time they left. According to Wikipedia, they took their name from a brand of synthetic, acrylic textile fibre, as a tongue-in-cheek nod to another group at their high school, The Cashmeres. It's this sense of fun that comes shining through on Don't Hang Up, helping it reach number 4 on the pop charts way back when. With a couple of original members, they are still performing almost 50 years later. The Orlons must be as wrinkle resistant as the material they named themselves after!