White lightnin', more likely--
See, I don't suffer earworms, I hunt 'em down. With chains and elephant guns.*
So when the early-Sixties folk-pop Walk Right In, Sit Right Down popped up on my mental playlist, I figured on a short hunt: gotta be some of that beatnikesque forgettable-folk stuff that was duking it out on the charts with early rock'n'roll, right? Very much of the time, pre-hippie lyrics and all....
...Not exactly. Oh, the song absolutely was a hit for the Rooftop Singers, two weeks at #1 in 1963, and they even get a little songwriting credit for their sparkling-clean version--
But the original was old even then: in 1929, Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers recorded Walk Right In with considerably more complexity -- and a kazoo solo!
Wikipedia tells me by the time the Rooftop Singers hit the chart, Gus Cannon had already pawned his banjo to pay the heating bill. His share of the songwriting royalties -- and a new recording contract -- was a welcome and well-deserved surprise.
Seriously, I almost missed out on a world-class kazoo solo? Gotta hunt those earworms!
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* Oh, the gun is the easy part, just a wearable rig with sideways-periscope sights, though you would not believe the size of a trunk-adapted trigger guard. It's the earplugs that are difficult, and they refuse to shoot without them.
That is real "Feel Good" music!
ReplyDeleteYes it is! :)
ReplyDeleteI have a mix of old stuff on my phone and this song is on the Forest Gump soundtrack and I listened to it this week. I had no idea the song went back to 1929 because I first heard it in college in 1963 and although it was a folk song I had no idea about the origins. And it makes me happy to have good eagworms going in my old brain. Thank you ever so much for sharing the original with us.
ReplyDeleteSome of the most groundbreaking music was recored when our grandparents were toddlers. Thanks for the share!
ReplyDeleteLex Luthier