Okay, this is our TENTH ANNIVERSARY for the Naweedna compilations. We decided to honor that occasion with a bonus CD … a little lagniappe, if you will. As you may know, the second year included a bonus CD as well. That was because our library increased significantly between 2001 and 2002, so we had a lot more source material. Although we have accumulated many more tracks over the intervening years, we’ve avoided multiple CDs due to the cumbersome logistics. However, this anniversary seems to warrant something a little extra. Now, what should we include in the bonus CD? After giving it considerable thought, we came to the conclusion: tracks that we love but are not likely to ever be included in a Naweedna compilation. Once the decision was made, the track list pretty much filled itself. It all fit together so well, it seemed to be fate. Hell, even ordering the tracks was drop-dead simple: alphabetical – that’s it. It all works for us; we hope it works for you too.

Several of these tracks are from Dr Demento, which I recorded back in the 80s. There are also several from Prairie Home Companion (PHC) hosted by Garrison Keillor, and there are a couple Flip Wilson monologues. I’ll put the bios for these artists here at the top.

Dr DementoHe was born Barret Hansen, being the proud owner of a master's degree in music from UCLA under that moniker, but he's far better known to millions of radio listeners as "Doctor Demento." In 1995, he celebrated his 25th anniversary of broadcasting the greatest novelty records of all time, both new and old. In that time, he's elevated the novelty record -- in all its myriad styles -- to a high trash culture art form. He's made hits out of 40-year-old records that no one had ever played, and was singularly responsible for the success of "Weird Al" Yankovic, whose song parodies debuted on his show. Hansen's journey from record collector to national personality is the journey of the radio everyman, but one also grounded in a solid knowledge of American music in all its glorious forms.

At the age of 19, Hansen first started broadcasting at Reed College in Portland, OR. He went on the air at the tiny ten-watt campus station with a half-hour weekly blues show, working his way up through the ranks to eventually become the student station manager. An early forerunner of his present-day format was exhibited on a show he hosted at the station called Music Museum. Hansen's love of music's eclectic side led him to briefly edit the Little Sandy Review. The Review had been a hardcore folk music magazine -- one of the first to write about Dylan -- but Hansen's tenure found him writing about eclectic electric rockers like Frank Zappa instead, this literary bent leading him to do record reviews for Rolling Stone as well.

In the late '60s, Hansen found himself gainfully employed by Specialty Records in Hollywood. This was in the days before Specialty had become strictly a reissue label, and Hansen's behind-the-scenes duties included compiling and annotating numerous excellent vinyl releases (among them several fine Little Richard packages and Doo Wop, one of the Doctor's areas of true musical expertise), producing and issuing the decidedly demented Edard Nelson single "Pale Blues," and almost signing an embryonic version of the J. Geils Band to the label.

Sitting in as a guest on a '50s rock & roll oldies radio show on KPPC-FM in Pasadena, CA, in 1970 was the turning point in his broadcasting career, and where his radio character truly began in earnest. When his DJ friend Steven Siegal asked him to bring in some off-the-wall rock & roll singles for the upcoming week's show, the seeds of what would soon become the Doctor Demento Show were sown. He went from on-the-air guest to his own Sunday night shift and, as he quickly noticed, "everybody liked the obscure blues and doo wop records well enough, but every time I played 'Transfusion' by Nervous Norvus, the phones lit up like crazy." Knowing a good thing when it landed in his lap, the good Doctor started experimenting with tunes from an era that was beyond the rock & roll pale. A good example of this was 1947's "Pico and Sepulveda," which would become his show's theme song. The die was cast.

After resigning from Specialty to make a quick U-Haul trip up to San Francisco for a summer's shift at KPPC's sister station, Hansen found himself back at the Pasadena affiliate just long enough to watch himself and the rest of the staff get fired. In December of 1971, Siegal had landed on his radio feet, this time at Los Angeles' KMET-FM. Doing it all one more time, Demento guested on Siegal's show and soon had his own show on the station, broadcasting once again on Sunday nights. While working at Warner Bros. Records -- putting sampler albums of new material together -- he invited his first special guest on the program, his "teenage hero," Frank Zappa. With a solid time slot, interesting guests, the Doctor's upbeat personality, and an arsenal of audio goodies, the show became a huge success in no time flat, and Hansen stayed at KMET for the next 15 years as one of the jewels in its radio crown.

In 1973, Demento found himself with a manager who had an eye for syndicating his show for a national audience. The process was a slow one, starting in March of 1974 with station in Seattle, but by year's end the list of subscribers topped over 100. It was the Doctor's constant programming of a 30-year-old obscurity -- "Shaving Cream" by Brooklyn, NY, native Benny Bell -- that caught the attention of his New York City affiliate, catapulting him to network TV

appearances, national media attention, and the upshot of even more stations signing up for syndication.

In 1975, his profile was high enough that Warner Bros. issued the first collection of selections from his radio show, Dr. Demento's Delights, paving the way for other likeminded compilations on Rhino Records. Hansen has also stayed active with liner note and comp work on such diverse projects as Rhino's John Fahey and Spike Jones collections and the "Weird Al" Yankovic box set on Capitol. With a new syndication company firmly in place and the 2000 release of the Dr. Demento 30th Anniversary Collection: Dementia 2000 set, he showed no sign of slowing down in his pursuit of recorded dementia.

Garrison Keillor A shy, introspective, persona is balanced by a sharp sense of humor, small-town wisdom and love of traditional folk and jazz by Radio Hall of Fame member Garrison Keillor. The host of the popular live radio show A Prairie Home Companion, Keillor is heard weekly on more than 400 National Public Radio stations. Keillor's books, including Lake Wobegone Days, Wobegone Boy, Happy to Be Here and We Are Still Married, have made him a regular presence on the best-selling lists of American authors. An audio version of Lake Wobegone Days was the recipient of a Grammy award in 1985.

Keillor's earliest radio experience came as a student at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated as a journalism major in 1966. Beginning in 1969, Keillor wrote for The New Yorker magazine. While researching an article on the Grand Ole Opry in 1974, Keillor conceived a live radio show featuring traditional music. While the first broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion were heard on Minnesota Public Radio, the show quickly became a national phenomenon. During the first 13 years the show was aired, it received the George Foster Peabody award, the Edward R. Murrow award, and a medal from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Although Keillor's deadpan delivery remained the show's centerpiece, A Prairie Home Companion provided regular airplay for a lengthy list of performers including Greg Brown, Jean Redpath, Bill Staines, Beausoleil, Robin & Linda Williams, Butch Thompson, Prudence Johnson and Michael Cooney. The show was broadcast on the Disney cable-TV station for everal years and received two Ace awards for television broadcast excellence.

In 1987, Keillor announced that he was ending A Prairie Home Companion. Moving to New York, he launched a similar show, The American Radio Company, two years later. Although the new show lasted four seasons, Keillor's fans wished for a return to the original program. In 1993, Keillor relented. Returning to the World Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, he resurrected A Prairie Home Companion.

In addition to his continued involvement as host of A Prairie Home Companion, Keillor hosts a poetry radio show, The Writer's Almanac, broadcast daily and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and The Atlantic magazine.

A deep-voiced vocalist, Keillor has sung many songs on A Prairie Home Companion. Together with the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, he recorded an album of spirituals and hymns in 1992.

Flip WilsonCast in the mold of Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson was one of the most popular comics in the late '60s and early '70s, propelled by frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and talk shows. His star rose to the top with the very successful Flip Wilson Show, which often featured the comedian in the guise of Geraldine, a hip, sassy Black woman. "The devil made me do it" became a major catchphrase at the time. His records highlight Wilson during the early years as well as when his show was popular, with Flip; the Flip Wilson Show and Geraldine; Don't Fight the Feeling, featuring actual skits and guests from the show.

The Playlist and Notes for Naweedna 2010-B(Sides)

01 Cheerio Cherry Lips - Doctor DementoDrD

This, as you might expect, is the intro for the Dr Demento Show … with Laughing Lois.

02 Say Hallelujah - Don ImusDrD

Can you believe this is Don Imus? I didn’t know until just a year or so ago … I think it was Bob “Music Man” Mahoney that had the revelation. We quote passages from this track frequently. I certainly hope no one finds it too offensive.

Don Imus

Don Imus is a different kind of morning radio shock jock, one who mingled with Washington insiders and politicians till a comment he made on air brought his long-running show to a close. Born and raised in California, Imus began his radio career on the West Coast in 1968, bouncing around various stations before moving to Cleveland and WGAR and then New York City and WNBC in 1971. While at WNBC he released two albums on RCA -- 1200 Hamburgers to Go and One Sacred Chicken to Go -- along with one for the Bang label -- This Honky's Nuts. In 1977 he was fired from WNBC thanks in part to his abuse of alcohol and cocaine. Two years back in Cleveland -- this time at WHK -- passed before he was hired back by WNBC. It was there that he met fellow employee Howard Stern and they began their famous rivalry. Over the years Imus would write novels, syndicate his radio show, found the charitable Imus Ranch for children with cancer, move from WNBC to WFAN, and began simulcasting his show on the MSNBC cable television network. In 2007 he made headlines when he referred the Rutgers University women's basketball team with a comment deemed racist. Imus apologized for the "idiot comment meant to be amusing" and eventually met with the Rutgers team but he was still fired, first losing his MSNBC simulcast, then his radio show.

03 1987 Metric Calendar - Garrison KeillorPHC

One of the many fake ads Garrison writes for his PHC show.

04 A Cowboy Needs A Horse - The Rhino BrothersDrD

I still remember the first time I heard this. It brings back vivid memories of those wild Kilbury times. The original tune seems to have come from a 1956 Disney cartoon. However, the Rhino Brothers have changed the words significantly – we think for the better.

05 Baby Blues - Fred NewmanPHC

We didn’t have kids ourselves, but I’ll bet many of you can identify with this track.

Fred Newman

Once a freckled-faced, snaggled-toothed kid making sounds behind teachers backs, Fred grew up at the foot of storytellers in small town Georgia. He eventually grew up and ventured overseas, working for awhile as a street busker, blacksmith and then carpet salesman. He tried to go legit, graduating Harvard Business School and working with Newsweek magazine, and was first heard on A Prairie Home Companion as a guest in 1980 as author of his first version of MOUTHSOUNDS.

He went on to work as an actor, a writer, and a fairly inept puppeteer with Jim Henson, hosting many shows for Nickelodeon and Disney (including the New Mickey Mouse Club) He created voices, music, and sound effects for the long-running Nickelodeon and Disney cartoon series "DOUG" and went on to win Aces, Emmys, Peabodys, Clios, blah, blah...

Fred is the touring SFX-guy for A Prairie Home, and can be seen daily on public television's reading show "Between the Lions”.

His brand new book and CD/CD-ROM of MouthSounds has just been published.

He lives in New York and Connecticut with his wife and two children, a cat, and two surly parakeets. They are all loud.

06 Bad Jokes - John C Reilly & Woody HarrelsonPHC Movie (06)

Supersex … "I'll take the soup." "What do we do with the useless boob?" The toilet brush? "Oh, it works pretty good. But I prefer toilet paper" … We still banter these one-liners back and forth on a regular basis.

Lyrics

A Prairie Home Companion Movie Soundtrack Lyrics

Woody Harrelson & John C. Reilly – Bad Jokes

The blind man's seein' eye dogPissed on the blind man's shoeThe blinds man said, "Here, RoverHere's a piece of beef for you"His wife said, "Don't reward himYou can't just let that pass"The blind man said"I gotta find his mouthSo I can kick him in the ass"

Bad jokesLord, I love 'emBad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for me

You got one, Dusty?I got one, Lefty.Let's hear it.

When God created womanHe gave her not two breasts but threeWhen the middle one got in the wayGod performed surgeryWoman stood before GodWith the middle breast in handSaid, "What do we doWith the useless boob?"And God created man

Bad jokesLord, I love 'emBad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for me

Gramps turned eighty the other dayAnd everybody was thereAnd he was dressed up in a brand new suitSitting in his big armchairWhen a beautiful young naked womanStood up in front of the groupShe offered Gramps some super sexAnd he said, "I'll take the soup"

Bad jokesLord, I love 'emBad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for me

You ready for another one?Yeah, lay it on me.

Ole went to the neighborhood danceAnd he won the big door prizeIt was a toilet brushAnd he took it homeAnd the next week one of the guysSaid, "Ole, how's that toilet brush?The one you won from the neighbors?"Ole said, "Oh, it works pretty goodBut I prefer toilet paper"

Bad jokesLord, I love 'em

Bad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for me

The farmer had a champion bullWho bred 200 times a yearThe farmer's wife said, "200 times?Isn't that wonderful, dear?Maybe you ought to watch himMaybe he'll show you how"The farmer said, "He's a heck of a bullBut it wasn't all with the same cow"

Come on, now, bad jokesLord, I love 'emBad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for me

You've got another one, Dusty?Actually I doDid you hear about the Viagra shipment that got stolen?No, who they think did it?Well, they don't know, but they're on the lookout for hardened criminals.

You got another one?I got another one, Lefty.

Sven said to his friend,"Boy, I think my wife died."His friend said,"Well, what do you mean, you think?""Well, the sex is still the same,but the dishes are stackin' up."

Hey, Dusty.Yeah, Lefty?Did you know that diarrhea was hereditary?No, I didn't.Yeah, it runs in your jeans.

Hey, uh, heh, Lefty?Yeah? Go ahead.Why do they call it PMS?PMS? Why, I don't know. Why?'Cause Mad Cow was already taken.

Hey, Dusty.Yeah, Lefty?What do you get when you cross holy water with castor oil?I don't know, Lefty. What do you get?A religious movement.

Hey, uh... hey, Lefty, what did the elephant say to the naked man?What'd he say?It's cute, but can you really breathe through that thing?

Come on, now.Bad jokesLord, I love 'emBad jokesCan't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad jokes for meBad jokesMan, I love 'emBad jokes

Can't get enough of 'emOoowheeBad...whoo...jokes for me

John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly's has been an actor since he was about 8 years old. He credits the Chicago Park District for his career choice. "They had great after-school programs for kids, woodworking, drama and music and all this stuff." Acting kept young John—who grew up in a rough neighborhood on Chicago's South Side—out of trouble. He graduated from Brother Rice High School, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from DePaul University's Goodman School of Drama, and eventually became a member of Chicago's renowned Steppenwolf Theatre. Reilly's first film was Brian De Palma's Casualties of War in 1989. Since then, he has had roles in dozens of movies, including Days of Thunder, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The River Wild, Boogie Nights, The Perfect Storm, The Thin Red Line, Gangs of New York and Chicago, for which he received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In 2004, he starred with Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, sharing the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast from the Screen Actors Guild. And he appears as Lefty in Robert Altman's new film, A Prairie Home Companion. Reilly frequently returns to his theater roots and recently was seen in the title role of Marty, based on the movie and Paddy Chayefsky screenplay of the same name. In 2000, he appeared in Sam Shepard's Broadway production True West, starring opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and garnering a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actor. His other stage credits include starring with Gary Sinise in the Steppenwolf Theatre productions of The Grapes of Wrath and A Streetcar Named Desire, and producing and playing the title role in Ionesco's Exit the King at the Actors Gang Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2005, he returned to Broadway and A Streetcar Named Desire, this time to tackle the role of Stanley Kowalski to wide acclaim.

07 Chinese Song – UnknownDrD

Yep, this is another one that has contributed many frequently used phrases: Pee King

08 Christopher Columbus - Flip WilsonCowboys&Colored People (67)

Chris gonna find Ray Charles … What you say … You better discover yourself outta here … I love Flip Wilson.

09 Civilization (47) - Louis PrimaDrD

One Friday evening back in our early Geneseo years, we were walking from the Idle Hour to the Park House. When we passed the pay phone on Main Street, it started ringing. I could just imagine some students living in one of the second floor apartments watching and calling the number as people walked by … and I was the one walking by this time. Okay, what smart-ass comment can I think of as a retort? How about: “Bongo, bongo, bongo I don’t wanna to leave the Congo oh no, no, no, no …” They hung up immediately.

Lyrics

Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)The Andrews Sisters with Danny Kaye- written by Bob Hilliard and Carl Sigman- as recorded September 27, 1947 in Los Angeles by The Andrews Sisterswith Danny Kaye and Vic Schoen & His Orchestra.

Each morning, a missionary advertises neon signHe tells the native population that civilization is fineAnd three educated savages holler from a bamboo treeThat civilization is a thing for me to see

So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no noBingo, bangle, bungle, I'm so happy in the jungle, I refuse to goDon't want no bright lights, false teeth, doorbells, landlords, I make it clearThat no matter how they coax him, I'll stay right here

I looked through a magazine the missionary's wife concealed (Magazine? What happens?)I see how people who are civilized bung you with automobile (You know you can get hurt that

way Daniel?)At the movies they have got to pay many coconuts to see (What do they see, Darling?)Uncivilized pictures that the newsreel takes of me

So bongo, bongo, bongo, he don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no noBingo, bangle, bungle, he's so happy in the jungle, he refuse to goDon't want no penthouse, bathtub, streetcars, taxis, noise in my earSo, no matter how they coax him, I'll stay right here

They hurry like savages to get aboard an iron trainAnd though it's smokey and it's crowded, they're too civilized to complainWhen they've got two weeks vacation, they hurry to vacation ground (What do they do, Darling?)They swim and they fish, but that's what I do all year round

So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no noBingo, bangle, bungle, I'm so happy in the jungle, I refuse to goDon't want no jailhouse, shotgun, fish-hooks, golf clubs, I got my spearsSo, no matter how they coax him, I'll stay right here

They have things like the atom bomb, so I think I'll stay where I "ahm"Civilization, I'll stay right here!

Louis Prima

A tireless showman and an underrated musical talent, Louis Prima swung his way to icon status thanks to an irresistible, infectious sound whose appeal translated across generations. Nominally a swing artist, Prima's distinctive sound also encompassed New Orleans-style jazz, boogie-woogie, jump blues, R&B, early rock & roll, and even the occasional Italian tarantella. Regardless of what form his music took, it swung hard and fast, with a rolling, up-tempo shuffle beat that helped some of his earlier material cross over to R&B audiences (his songs were also covered by jump blues artists from time to time). His greatest period of popularity coincided with his marriage to singer Keely Smith, whose coolly sophisticated vocals and detached stage manner made a perfect counterpoint to Prima's boisterous presence: mugging, clowning, and cavorting around the stage with the boundless enthusiasm of a hyperactive boy. Prima's band during this time was anchored by tenor saxophonist Sam Butera, whose grounding in jump blues and New Orleans R&B was a perfect match. Perhaps because Prima refused to take his music too seriously, sober-minded jazz critics often dismissed him as a mere entertainer, overlooking his very real talent as a jazzman. He was a capable, gravelly-voiced singer modeled on Louis Armstrong, boasting a surprising range, and was also a fine trumpet player, again in the irrepressible mold of Armstrong; what was more, he wrote Benny Goodman's perennial swing smash "Sing, Sing, Sing." Prima's impact on popular culture was also significant; his pronounced ethnicity made it safe for other Italian-American singers to acknowledge their roots, and he was the first high-profile musical act to take up regular residence in the lounges and casinos of Las Vegas, helping to start the city's transformation into a broader-based entertainment capital. His musical legacy proved long-lasting, as covers of his classics became modern-day hits for David Lee Roth and Brian Setzer; additionally, the '90s swing revival, which sought to re-emphasize the danceability and sense of fun that had largely disappeared from jazz, brought Prima's music back into the limelight (as well as the good graces of critics).

Louis Prima was born December 7, 1911 in New Orleans, LA, to an Italian family who'd emigrated to the U.S. by way of Argentina. He took violin lessons as a youth, but switched to trumpet at age 15 when his older brother went out on tour with a band and left a spare instrument behind. By 17, Prima was playing professionally at a New Orleans theater, influenced chiefly by Louis Armstrong and King Oliver. This was a problem, since the theater was not a jazz venue, and Prima was fired. In the early '30s, he caught on with cornetist Red Nichols for a time, and moved to New York in 1934 at the urging of star bandleader Guy Lombardo, who had been impressed with Prima's trumpet playing. Initially struggling to find work, Prima formed a Dixieland-style backing group called the New Orleans Gang and landed a regular gig at a 52nd Street club known as the Famous Door. The band was a hit, adopting "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" as their signature song, and recorded numerous sides for a succession of labels up through 1939; some of the better-known members included -- at various points -- clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, pianist Claude Thornhill, guitarist George Van Eps, reedman Eddie Miller, and trombonist George Brunies. Prima also traveled to Los Angeles periodically, and made cameo appearances in several Hollywood musicals, starting with the Bing Crosby Western Rhythm on the Range in 1936.

Meanwhile, Prima was composing original material, and in 1937 he completed a song called "Sing, Sing, Sing." Benny Goodman recorded an instrumental version and had a huge smash with it the following year, spotlighting it in his legendary Carnegie Hall appearance; to this day it remains one of the most readily identifiable melodies of the swing era. Prima broke up the New Orleans

Gang in 1939 to form his own big band, which he dubbed the Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra. Following World War II, the band started to take off, landing hits with novelty numbers that often drew upon Prima's Italian background and accent. The first was 1944's "Angelina," a major success that paved the way for titles like "Felicia No Capicia," "Bacciagaloop (Makes Love on the Stoop)," "Please No Squeeza Da Banana," and "Josephina, Please No Leana on the Bell." Prima also made the Hit Parade Top Ten with songs like "Robin Hood" (1944; covered the next year by Les Brown for a bigger hit), "Bell Bottom Trousers" (sung by Lily Ann Carol in 1945), and "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (1947). He also wrote Jo Stafford's 1947 hit "A Sunday Kind of Love."

In 1948, Prima hired a new female vocalist for his band, a 16-year-old Norfolk, Virginia native named Dorothy Keely, who was renamed Keely Smith. Prima parlayed her initial shyness into a stage routine where he attempted to break down her icily reserved façade. The contrast in their styles made for immediate chemistry, and Smith's boyish haircut only added to the duo's distinctive stage presence. Prima broke up the big band in 1949, and continued to work with Smith as a more streamlined nightclub act. They scored a hit in 1950 with their co-composition "Oh Babe!" and toured the country over the next few years. In the summer of 1953, Smith became Prima's fourth wife.

By late 1954, Prima was finding bookings harder and harder to come by. He talked a friend into booking him for an extended stay at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and while passing through New Orleans, he recruited locally popular tenor saxophonist Sam Butera as a possible collaborator if things went well. They did, and Prima called Butera out to Vegas, asking him to bring a few more musicians; the new group debuted at the Sahara on the day after Christmas, and Butera dubbed them the Witnesses during Prima's first on-stage introduction. Their act quickly became a sensation around Las Vegas, and their engagement turned into a residency, billed as "The Wildest Show in Vegas," which ran up to five times a night. Prima and Smith's comic banter was riddled with sexual innuendo, and they sometimes rewrote the lyrics to popular standards in the same spirit; meanwhile, Butera's jump blues/R&B background kept the music equally lively. Even if the music was aimed at older listeners, it shared a great deal of the spirit of early rock & roll.

In 1956, Prima inked a new deal with Capitol, which marked the beginning of the most celebrated and influential period of his recording career. His first album for the label was 1956's The Wildest!, which successfully translated the high energy of his live act into a studio recording; it featured many of his best-known latter-day songs, including the "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" medley, "Jump, Jive an' Wail," "Buona Sera," "Oh Marie," and the jive-talking duet "The Lip." Over the next few years, Capitol issued six more Prima albums, highlighted by 1957's The Call of the Wildest and 1958's concert set The Wildest Show in Tahoe. He appeared frequently on The Ed Sullivan Show and other variety programs, and in 1958 he and Smith won a Grammy for their hit version of "That Old Black Magic." In 1959, they appeared in the film Hey Boy! Hey Girl!, which featured their renditions of the title song, "Lazy River," and "Banana Split for My Baby," among others.

While Prima and Smith boasted terrific chemistry on stage, their infidelity-riddled marriage was floundering by the close of the '50s. In 1961, Prima switched from Capitol to Dot Records, and from the Sahara Hotel to the Desert Inn; with his popularity still running high, both deals netted huge sums of money. However, Smith divorced him later that year, scuttling the act and largely negating the deals. Prima returned to Capitol for one final album, 1962's The Wildest Comes Home, and hired a new female vocalist, Gia Maione, who became his fifth wife in 1963. Without Smith, he was never again as popular or prolific on record, but he continued to perform in Las Vegas with Butera and the Witnesses, and toured successfully as well. In 1967, Disney tapped Prima to voice the character of King Louie, ruler of the orangutans, in its animated adaptation of The Jungle Book; his featured number, the swinging "I Wanna Be Like You," ranks among the best-loved Disney songs of its era.

Prima spent much of the late '60s and early '70s playing Vegas casinos and lounges, most notably at the Sands Hotel. With more and more musical acts taking up residence in the city, Prima no longer had the drawing power of old, and in the early '70s he and Butera returned home to New Orleans, where they made a steadier living playing in the French Quarter for the tourist crowd. In late 1975, Prima underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, and fell into a coma; although he survived for nearly three more years, he never regained consciousness, and died on August 24, 1978. Prima's music began to reappear in subsequent years; ex-Van Halen singer David Lee Roth scored the best-remembered hit of his solo career with a carbon-copy version of "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" in 1985, and onetime Stray Cat Brian Setzer scored a Grammy-winning hit with his cover of "Jump, Jive an' Wail." Prima's original version was featured in a Gap commercial around the same time, and the swing-dancing fad of the time helped bring the rest of his music back into the public eye. Meanwhile, Sam Butera continued to perform Prima hits from the golden years on the casino circuits in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

10 Dear Boss - Ed TrickettPHC

Poor Ed forgot the words about halfway through the song. There was a very awkward silence until he got himself together. I recorded this back in the 80s on one of my 10” ReelToReel decks and had to try and cut out the silence. You will be able to identify the splice, if for no other reason than Ed picks up the tempo after recovering from the momentary lapse. I downloaded a few other versions of this tune, but I still prefer Ed Trickett’s rendition – even with the imperfection, or maybe because of it.

Lyrics

Dear Boss I write this note to you to tell you of my plight;At the time of writing I am not a pretty sight;My body is all black and blue, my face a deathly grey.So I write this note to say why Paddy's not at work today.

While working on the 14th floor, some bricks I had to clear;To throw them down from off the top seemed like a good idea;But the foreman wasn't very pleased, he was an awkward sod;And he said I had to cart them down a ladder in my hod.

Now, to clear away these bricks by hand to me seemed very slow;So I hoisted up a barrel and secured the rope below;But in my haste to do the job. I was too blind to seethat the barrel full of building bricks was heavier than me.

So when I had untied the rope, the barrel fell like lead;Hanging tightly to the rope I started up instead;I sped off like a rocket, and to my dismay I foundThat halfway up I met the bloody barrel coming down.

Now, the barrel broke my shoulder as to the ground it sped.When I reached the top I banged the pulley with my head;I held on tight, though numb with shock from this almighty blow,And the barrel spilled out half of it's load, 14 floors below.

Well, when the bricks had fallen from the barrel to the floor,I then outweighed the barrel, and it started up once more;I held on tightly to the rope, as I flew towards the ground,And I landed on the broken bricks that were scattered all around.

As I lay there moaning on the bricks, I thought I'd passed the worst,But when the barrel reached the top was when the bottom burst;A shower of bricks came down on me, I didn't have time to hope,And in all of the confusion, I let go of the bloody rope.

The barrel again being heavier, it started down once more,And landed right ion top of me as I lay there on the floor;It broke three ribs and my left arm, and I can only say,That I hope you understand why Paddy's not at work today.

Ed Trickett

Ed is known as a "song interpeter". On his day job, he is a professor of psychology. He looks for the hidden truths in songs, and sings them to us in a manner that gives us a new meaning to old songs. Usually playing guitar, and singing in a very gentle manner, Ed is also an accomplished piano player. He doesn't consider himself as a "professional" musician, but he is indeed a professional in every sense of the word. The songs he has recorded alone, with Anne Mayo Muir and Gordon Bok, and with other artists are some of the most beautiful ever recorded.

11 Do You Like Boobs A Lot - Holy Modal RoundersDrD

Okay, this was my first introduction to the Holy Modal Rounders. I was so intrigued that I went down to Buzzo’s and bought a double vinyl album. Guess what? None of the tracks bore any resemblance to Boobs A Lot. Nonetheless, they were pretty good and are now featured in our playlist … especially Flop Eared Mule, Mole In The Ground, and Euphoria.

Lyrics

Boobs A Lotoriginally by The Fugspopular demented version by The Holy Modal Roundersavailable on:

* The Fugs First Album, ESP 1018, 1966 * a 45 by The Holy Modal Rounders, Metromedia 0201, 1971 * Dr. Demento's Delights, Warner Bros. BS-2855, 1975 (Holy Modal Rounders version)

Do you like boobs a lot?(Yes, I like boobs a lot.)Boobs a lot, boobs a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)Really like boobs a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)Boobs a lot, boobs a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)

Down in the locker room,Just three boys,Beatin' down the locker roomWith all that noise,

Singin' do you like boobs a lot?(You gotta like boobs a lot.)Boobs a lot, boobs a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)

Do you wear your jock a lot?(Yes, I wear my jock a lot.)Got to wear your jock a lot.(Got to wear your jock a lot.)Jock a lot, jock a lot.(You gotta wear your jock a lot.)Got to wear your jock a lot.(You gotta wear your jock a lot.)

Well, down on the football,Football field,You never can tellWhat a heel can wield,

So you gotta wear your jock a lot.(You gotta wear your jock a lot.)Jock a lot, jock a lot.(You gotta wear your jock a lot.)

If I had a flag-a-long,(If I had a flag-a-long.)If I had a long flag-a-long,If I had a long flag-a-long,If you like boobs a lot, tag along

Bee beep, bop, de boob a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)Boobs a lot, boobs a lot.(You gotta like boobs a lot.)

They're big and round,They're all around.They're big and round,They're all around.

Holy Modal Rounders

The Holy Modal Rounders were almost the very definition of a cult act. This isn't a case of a group that would be described by such clichés as "if only they got more exposure, they would certainly reach a much wider audience." Their audience was small because their music was too strange, idiosyncratic, and at times downright dissonant for mainstream listeners to abide. What makes

the Rounders unusual in this regard is that they owed primary allegiance to the world of acoustic folk -- not one that generates many difficult, arty, and abrasive performers.

The Holy Modal Rounders were not so much a group as a changing aggregation centered around the two principals, Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. When the pair got together in 1961, the intention was to update old-time folk music with a contemporary spirit. As Stampfel told Folk Roots in 1995, "The Rounders were the first really bent traditional band. And the first traditionally based band that was not trying to sound like an old record." They weren't the only musicians in New York thinking along these lines, and Stampfel and Weber contributed heavily to the first recordings by a similar, more rock-oriented group, the Fugs.

The Rounders began recording in the mid-'60s for Prestige as an acoustic duo. Even at this early stage, they were not for everybody. Although clearly accomplished musicians, and well-versed in folk traditions, they were determined to subvert these with off-kilter execution and strange lyrics that could be surreal, whimsical, or just silly. They outraged folk purists by simply changing melodies and words to suit their tastes on some of their cover versions of old standards; Stampfel once wrote in the liner notes that "I made up new words to it because it was easier than listening to the tape and writing words down."

On their 1967 LP Indian War Whoop, Stampfel and Weber added other musicians, including playwright Sam Shepard on drums (Shepard also wrote some material). The resulting chaos was just as inspiring, but both material and performance improved on 1969's Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders. This addled combination of folk and psychedelia was their most inventive work, and featured their most famous song, "If You Wanna Be a Bird" (which was used on the Easy Rider soundtrack).

The haphazard style of the Rounders perhaps militated against any sort of stable lineup (Jeff Baxter, later to play with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, was one of the musicians who passed through the group briefly in the 1960s). Good Taste Is Timeless, in the early '70s, was engineered in Nashville by legendary Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, and generated one of their most renowned songs, "Boobs a Lot." Shortly afterward, Stampfel and Weber separated for a time, although they reunited in 1976 for Alleged in Our Own Time on Rounder. By this time, the Rounders were more of a concept than an ongoing group, and 1979's Last Round was recorded with various musicians who had been part of the group at some point. 1981's Goin' Nowhere, billed just to Stampfel & Weber, was their last recorded joint partnership.

Stampfel has been much more visible as a solo recording artist than Weber, acting as a key contributor to Michael Hurley's critically lauded Have Moicy! in 1976. He's been recording on his own since the mid-'80s, sometimes with the Bottlecaps, in a fashion that keeps the spirit of the Holy Modal Rounders alive without sounding embarrassingly revivalist.

12 ESPN - David Buskin & Robin BatteauPHCAlthough this dates back to the 80’s, it is, unfortunately, true today. ESPN, you’re the reason I’m single again. Seminal lyrics.

13 Gasoofaday - Garrison KeillorPHC

Oh yeah, we’ve all been there: We’re never gonna do that again. But then, after the passage of time, we do it again and again and again …

14 Hoodlin' – UnknownPHC

Okay, now you see if you can do it …

15 Huggin' And Chalkin' - Clancy HayesDrD

We actually have three versions of this tune. One by the original writer, Hoagy Carmichael; one by Johnny Mercer; and this one by Clancy Hayes, We prefer the Clancy Hayes version. Hope you like it.

Lyrics

Artist: Hoagy Carmichael lyricsTitle: Huggin And Chalkin Lyrics to Huggin And Chalkin :

I gotta gal that's mighty sweet, With blue eyes andtiny feet. Her name is Rosabelle Magee, and she tipsthe scale at three o three, Oh!Gee- but ain't it grand to have a girl so big and fatthat when you hug'erYou don't know where you're at youHave to take a piece of chalk in your hand andhug a way and chalk a mark to see where you began,

One day when I was a huggin and a chalkin and a chalkinand a huggin a way. When I met another fella withsome chalk in his hand, Com-in' around the other way 'roundthe mountain. Comin' around the other way.

Nobody ever said I'm weak. My bones don't ache and my jointscreak. But I grow absolutely limp, Ev-'ry time I kiss mybaby blimp, Oh!

One day I had a yen for some one leaner, she was meaner than amink in a pen. So I left her now I'm happy as a fella could beHuggin and chalkin in once a gain 'round my RosieHuggin and chalkin in once again.

One day I was a huggin and a chalkin and a beggin' her to be my brideWhen I met another fella with some chalk in his handComin a round the other side of the mountainComin around the other side.

Clancy Hayes

Clancy Hayes was one of the finest vocalists of the Dixieland revival movement, much better than the typical musician who feels compelled to sing. He was a steady fixture in San Francisco from 1927 on, appearing regularly on the radio and in clubs. He hooked up with Lu Watters in 1938, performing with Watters' big band for two years, and then ten with the Yerba Buena Jazz Band, mostly as a rhythm banjoist and occasionally on drums. He gained his greatest fame while singing with Bob Scobey's group (1950-1959). In the 1960s, Hayes worked with the Firehouse Five Plus Two, Turk Murphy, an early version of what would be the World's Greatest Jazz Band, and with his own groups. Clancy Hayes recorded as a leader for Verve (1950), Audio Fidelity (1960), Good Time Jazz (1963), Delmark, ABC-Paramount, and Fat Cat Jazz (1969), and helped make songs such as "Oh by Jingo," "Ace in the Hole," and his own "Huggin' and A-Chalkin'" popular in the trad jazz world.

16 I's A Muggin' - Jack TeagardenBBGR

Okay, can you do the 7s? I know I can’t. Janie does a tolerable job but … this is just nuts.

Jack Teagarden

One of the classic giants of jazz, Jack Teagarden was not only the top pre-bop trombonist (playing his instrument with the ease of a trumpeter) but one of the best jazz singers too. He was such a fine musician that younger brother Charlie (an excellent trumpeter) was always overshadowed. Jack started on piano at age five (his mother Helen was a ragtime pianist), switched to baritone horn, and finally took up trombone when he was ten. Teagarden worked in the Southwest in a variety of territory bands (most notably with the legendary pianist Peck Kelley) and then caused a sensation when he came to New York in 1928. His daring solos with Ben Pollack caused Glenn Miller to de-emphasize his own playing with the band, and during the late-'20s/early Depression era, "Mr. T." recorded frequently with many groups including units headed by Roger Wolfe Kahn, Eddie Condon, Red Nichols, and Louis Armstrong ("Knockin' a Jug"). His versions of "Basin Street Blues" and "Beale Street Blues" (songs that would remain in his repertoire for the remainder of his career) were definitive. Teagarden, who was greatly admired by Tommy Dorsey, would have been a logical candidate for fame in the swing era but he made a strategic error. In late 1933, when it looked as if jazz would never catch on commercially, he signed a five-year contract with Paul Whiteman. Although Whiteman's Orchestra did feature Teagarden now and then (and he had a brief period in 1936 playing with a small group from the band, the Three T's, with his brother Charlie and Frankie Trumbauer), the contract effectively kept Teagarden from going out on his own and becoming a star. It certainly prevented him from leading what would eventually became the Bob Crosby Orchestra.

In 1939, Jack Teagarden was finally "free" and he soon put together a big band that would last until 1946. However, it was rather late to be organizing a new orchestra (the competition was fierce) and, although there were some good musical moments, none of the sidemen became famous, the arrangements lacked their own musical personality, and by the time it broke up Teagarden was facing bankruptcy. The trombonist, however, was still a big name (he had fared quite well in the 1940 Bing Crosby film The Birth of the Blues) and he had many friends. Crosby helped Teagarden straighten out his financial problems, and from 1947-1951 he was a star sideman with Louis Armstrong's All-Stars; their collaborations on "Rocking Chair" are classic. After leaving Armstrong, Teagarden was a leader of a steadily working sextet throughout the remainder of his career, playing Dixieland with such talented musicians as brother Charlie, trumpeters Jimmy McPartland, Don Goldie, Max Kaminsky, and (during a 1957 European tour) pianist Earl Hines. Teagarden toured the Far East during 1958-1959, teamed up one last time with Eddie Condon for a television show/recording session in 1961, and had a heartwarming (and fortunately recorded) musical reunion with Charlie, sister/pianist Norma, and his mother at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival. He died from a heart attack four months later and has yet to be replaced.

17 John & Marsha – Stan FrebergVinyl

Do I really need to put the lyrics in? Well, since they are posted …

Lyrics

JOHN AND MARSHAStan Freberg

This song consists of a woman's voice calling "John" and a man's voice calling "Marsha". The intonation, emphasis, pronunciation, and other characteristics of the voices tell a story, starting with a young couple's love, going through quarrels, making-up, etc. and finishing with the voices of a very elderly couple. A very imaginative song, but the lyrics would just be "John...Marsha...John...Marsha...John...Marsha..."

Stan Freberg

Hip and irreverent, Stan Freberg was the last network radio comic, a trailblazing satirist whose work greatly expanded the vocabulary of the comedy form. While most postwar comedians used radio and records merely as a springboard for more lucrative film and television gigs, Freberg pushed the envelope in both mediums, creating high-concept musical comedies and sound collages that revolutionized the audio format while setting the stage for the hallucinatory sonic visions of the Firesign Theatre and the National Lampoon troupes.

Born in Pasadena, CA, in 1926, Freberg broke into performing with work in children's puppet shows; while still in his teens, he hopped a bus to Los Angeles and won an audition at the famed Warner Bros. cartoon studios. In short time he was working (albeit uncredited) alongside voice-over genius Mel Blanc on characters like the Goofy Gophers and Pete Puma. Additionally, he contributed to Bob Clampett's puppet series Time for Beany, the precursor to the animated favorite Beany and Cecil.

By the age of 16, Freberg graduated to regular work as a radio, a path he continued for the remainder of the decade. In 1951 he signed to Capitol and released his first novelty single, "John and Marsha," a scathing satire of romantic treacle. After a handful of other releases, in 1953 he issued "St. George and the Dragonet," a painstakingly accurate and lavishly produced parody of the Jack Webb series Dragnet; far more advanced than any similar other record to date, "St. George" became the era's fastest-selling single, eventually topping the charts.

In 1957, Freberg was tapped to take over Jack Benny's CBS radio program while Benny took the summer months off. Although radio comedy was in its death throes, Freberg made every conceivable attempt to resuscitate the form; his show was visionary, taking full advantage of the broadcast medium's capabilities to create elaborate comic pastiches that pushed the boundaries of vocal and sound effects use. The series, which ran for 13 weeks, won critical raves and immediate legendary status; due to the ascendancy of television, it was also the final original network radio comedy show ever broadcast.

After the 1958 single "Green Chri$tma$," a highly controversial swipe at holiday commercialization, Freberg moved to the LP format for 1961's Presents the United States of America, a full-length vaudeville-style musical comedy written especially for the recorded medium. A wildly ambitious satiric history of American life, the album won widespread acclaim, and remains a pivotal landmark in the evolution of recorded comedy. However, after the follow-

up, Pay Radio, Freberg flirted with Broadway before shifting the majority of his energies to the lucrative advertising industry, a longtime sideline that became his primary focus as the 1960s wore on. Largely credited with introducing the concept of the "funny" commercial, he continued working in advertising for several decades; perhaps his most famous campaign -- and, sadly, his most abysmal -- was a series of cloying late-'80s TV spots hawking Encyclopaedia Britannica that featured his rather obnoxious son.

In 1988, Freberg published his autobiography, It Only Hurts When I Laugh. Two years later, he returned to broadcasting with Freberg Here, a long-running series of two-minute daily commentaries produced for National Public Radio. On Thanksgiving 1991, NPR aired The New Stan Freberg Show, a one-hour special that marked his first return to long-form comedy in decades; finally, in 1996 he released Presents the United States of America, Vol. 2: The Middle Years, the long-awaited sequel to his most popular work. A four-disc box set, Tip of the Freberg: Collection 1951-1998, followed three years later.

18 Linda Wertheimer (10.20.2001) - Tim Russell & Sue ScottPHC

I think we all know where we were on 9/11. I know I do. After the shock wore off … and the tedium set in … I started wondering how long it would be before Garrison Keillor mentioned the incident. Well, we only needed to wait a little over a month. They broadcast a series of reports from Donundastan, Hotdogastan, and Yomammabad. It was a relief. If you can’t laugh … well, let’s just laugh and get on with it.

19 Loving You Has Made Me Bananas - Guy MarksDrD

This track has driven me bananas since I first heard it back in the early 80s. It is one of the very few songs whose lyrics I can remember. Hmmm, what does that mean you suppose?

Lyrics

Loving You Has Made Me Bananas(Words and Music by Guy Marks)

Oh, your red scarf matches your eyes.You closed your cover before striking.Father had the shipfitter blues.Loving you has made me bananas.

Oh, your red scarf matches your eyes.You closed your cover before striking.Father had the shipfitter blues.Loving you has made me bananas.

Oh, you burned your finger that eveningWhile my back was turned.I asked the waiter for iodineBut I dined all alone.

Your red scarf matches your eyes.You closed your cover before striking.Father had the shipfitter blues.Loving you has made me bananas.

Guy Marks

A TV actor/comedian who was a popular guest on many shows in the' 60s, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Merv Griffin Show.

20 Mermaid - Oscar BrandDrD

Ah, the power of what isn’t said. I don’t think this is the actual name of the tune, but it conveys the essence. Naweedna 2003 had a similar tune (Mermaid by John Allan Cammeron) and that’s what comes up when I search for lyrics.

Oscar Brand

Oscar Brand is one of the stalwart American folksingers, writers, and interpreters. Over the course of his 60-some-year career he has released 93 albums. He roamed the country with Woody Guthrie, concertized with Leadbelly, promoted folk of all kinds like Pete Seeger, and has hosted the Folksong Festival program on New York's WNYC for over 60 years. Many of his recordings contain parodies on single subjects such as holidays, car songs, or political satire. He is well known for his many collections of bawdy songs. Generally the recording style is simple; Brand and his guitar and a few backup players. Brand's records are totally directed toward the songs.

21 Midget - Flip WilsonCowboys & Colored People (67)

Another Flip track … just to fill in … not as good in general as Christopher Columbus (or some of the others on the record) but just the right length …

22 Nun Names - Tommy Sharp & The Sharp TonesDrD

Okay, how many can you remember? I, of course, didn’t grow up Catholic – or anything for that matter – but I can still enjoy Sister Mary Black & Decker and Sister Mary Coach …

23 Programmer Blues - Kevin BarnesPHC

Another fake commercial from PHC … back in the 80s. Kevin Barns was the lead singer in Stony Lonesome … the PHC house band back in that time. Ah, Kate MacKenzie – what a voice.

Stony Lonesome

Stoney Lonesome consists of Kate MacKenzie (guitar, vocals), Chris Kaiser (mandolin, lead guitar, vocals), Kevin Barnes (banjo, dobro, vocals), Brian Wicklund (fiddle, vocals), and Patty Shove (bass). The group first gained attention by appearing frequently on Prairie Home Companion during the '80s. In the early '90s, the quintet began releasing albums on Red House Records, starting with Lonesome Tonight in 1991 and followed by Blue Heartache the next year.

24 Song On The Porch - Garrison KeillorPHC

Where’s my hammock? This song inspired us to visit the Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls. As it turned out, the brewery was closed because that happened to be the day of the company softball tournament. Now that’s what I call putting your priorities in the right place. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Garrison’s tune.

25 State Fair Food Song - Greg BrownPHC

This is a tune Sue Boyle requests every time she visits. Well, here you go, Sue, you have your very own digital copy now. We like Greg Brown, but prefer his older (80s PHC) stuff to his more recent offerings. He’s a gifted songwriter and great performer. I believe he’s responsible for Early, Iowa … one of our PHC favorites and inspiration for the Lake Wobegone anthem.

Greg Brown

With his sandpaper-coarse but sensitive baritone, Greg Brown offers keen insights into the realities and foibles of modern life tinged with a hefty dose of common sense. He is the son of an electric guitar-playing mother and a Pentecostal preacher and was raised listening to gospel music in rural Iowa. He began singing around age 18 in New York where he ran hootenannies at Gerdes Folk City. A year later he began writing for Buck Ram (of Platters fame) and his production company. After that he worked with a band for a few years and eventually returned to Iowa to marry. There, he worked for the Iowa Arts Council where he performed for children, mentally challenged people and hospital patients; he also played in many Midwestern coffeehouses and clubs. From there he worked with Garrison Keillor on the Prairie Home Companion live radio program. It was an exciting period for Brown, who enjoyed performing with a wide variety of musicians.

Brown had founded his own record label, Red House, a few years back, and had issued the albums 44 & 66 and Iowa Waltz, but had turned over control to Bob Feldman to concentrate on writing and performing. He recorded his first widely available album, In the Dark With You, in 1985 to widespread critical acclaim. The next year, he released Songs of Innocence and Experience, comprised of William Blake's poetry set to music and featuring Beausoleil founder

Michael Doucet on fiddle. With his own songwriting, Brown expresses many moods in a variety of styles and with vivid imagery. Many of his songs tell stories, both humorous and sad. In 1993, he and East Coast folk singer Bill Morrissey teamed up to record the tradition-based Friend of Mine. In addition to recording folk albums for adults, Brown has also recorded an intelligent children's album, Bathtub Blues, featuring songs he wrote in conjunction with elementary school students. Brown's profile increased through the '90s with such acclaimed albums as Dream Cafe (1992), Poet Game (1994), Further In (1996), and Slant 6 Mind (1997). Covenant followed three years later.

26 Susanna Was A Mighty Fine Ham - Baldwin SistersPHC

Garrison was introducing the Baldwin Sisters when this topic came up. Of course, Garrison asked them to sing it … and they did … and here it is … snort. As JenM says, “if you ain’t gonna snort, why even laugh?”

Baldwin Sisters

Soprano Jennifer Baldwin Peden is a frequent performer on music and theater stages throughout the Twin Cities. At the Guthrie Theater, she performed the roles of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and the Diva in Comedy of Errors. With Theatre de la Jeune Lune, she has appeared in productions of The Ballroom, Carmen, Figaro and Così fan tutte. She also sang the soprano solo in Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony with the Saint Mark's Music Series and served four years with The Minnesota Opera Chorus. Peden's film credits include Drop Dead Gorgeous as one of the pageant contestants. She holds degrees in vocal performance from DePaul University and the University of Minnesota, and is also an amateur contortionist. She makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut with these performances.

Mezzo Christina Baldwin holds degrees in vocal performance from Lawrence University and the University of Minnesota. A frequent guest with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Baldwin has appeared in Carmen, Circus of Tales, Figaro, The Man Who Laughs and Così fan tutte. She also performed the role of Edith in the Guthrie Theater's production of The Pirates of Penzance. Other appearances have included North Star Opera, Great American History Theatre and Ex Machina Baroque Opera Ensemble. Baldwin has also done commercial and voice-over work, and in her spare time enjoys knitting and hiking. These concerts mark Baldwin's Minnesota Orchestra debut.

27 Taliban (Jihad) (11.27.2001)- Tim Russell & Sue ScottPHC

This irreverent piece was performed a month after the Linda Wertheimer piece and is the last of the theme – as far as I know. Still pretty good …

28 The Q5 Piano Song - Spike MilliganDrD

Lyrics, what lyrics, there are no lyrics, right? It’s just one of those little ditties that stick with me … so you got it now.

Spike Milligan

One of two comic geniuses nicknamed "Spike" whose work was wildly successful in several mediums -- the other, of course, was Spike Jones -- Spike Milligan was also not the only brilliant comedian to suffer from mental instability. Others included the Americans W.C. Fields and Jonathan Winters, but in all three cases these problems caused only temporary interruptions in the flow of madcap hilarity. To many listeners, Milligan is best known as part of the triumvirate that headed up the Goons, starring on The Goon Show over the British Broadcasting Corporation for nearly a decade beginning in 1952. He was also a wonderful writer, responsible for a string of books that may seem at first superficial but are quite deep, influencing such later British creative spirits such as Billy Childish and Peter Blegvad. In terms of material to slap on the record or CD player, all of the Milligan writings were recorded by the artist himself as audio books, while the complete history of the Goons on radio has been released more than once in a confusing series of reissues.

Milligan was born in India to a father who was an Irish captain in the British army. Milligan lived in India until he was 15, an experience that later came in quite handy when he and Goons co-star Peter Sellers began the tradition of dueling Bengali accents. That Milligan more than held his own in the company of Sellers is an obvious tribute to the former man's comic gifts. The third main Goon was Sir Harry Secombe, a great musical and comic talent who is sometimes mistakenly called the group's straight man; but make no mistake about it, there was nothing straight at all

about The Goon Show. When his family moved back to England, Milligan's proclivity for entertaining came to the surface, beginning with an interest in jazz that he never lost, eventually even contributing liner notes to a Stan Getz album. Milligan spent much of his youth playing trumpet in various jazz bands. He joined the British Army at the outbreak of the Second World War, serving in the Royal Artillery through the North African and Italian campaigns, where he wound up hospitalized for shell shock. Following the war, he joined the Goons at a time when the British nation was collectively wondering whether it would ever be able to laugh again. The show became a huge success, but created enormous pressures for Milligan, who was writing the lion's, or the loon's, share of the scripts as well as doing the enormous weekly work of editing in sound effects.

In 1953, these deadlines were blamed for a mental breakdown that resulted in his hospitalization. He was diagnosed with manic depression and became a patron of the Manic Depressive Fellowship. Looking back over his career in television, films, novels, memoirs, and poetry, it can hardly be said that the disease caused him much of a handicap. He was the favorite comic of Prince Charles despite the fact that upon accepting the British Comedy Award for Lifetime Achievement he referred to the prince as a "groveling little bastard" on live television. Milligan is often referred to as the godfather of alternative comedy, his activities with and without the Goons paving the way for just about any kind of anarchic comedy, from Monty Python's Flying Circus to South Park. Following the end of The Goon Show, he went on to write and star in the television sketch series entitled Q. Several characters from The Goon Show also appeared in a film he made with Sellers, The Muckinese Battlehorn. In his later years, a more serious side emerged as Milligan became a vocal supporter of environmental issues and vegetarianism.

29 There Is A Tavern In The Town - Rudy ValleeBBGR

Ever try to listen to or watch someone laughing - someone who completely lost it and is now suffering uncontrollable laugh-spasms? Apparently, that’s what happened to Rudy Vallee on this track. According to Wikipedia: “One of his record hits was "The Drunkard Song," popularly known as "There Is a Tavern in the Town." Vallée couldn't stop laughing during the first take, and managed a second take reasonably well. The "laughing" version was so infectious that Victor released both takes.” I know I lose it every time I hear this track.

Rudy Vallee

One of the most popular entertainers of the '30s, Rudy Vallée was one of the few vocalists to begin crooning before the advent of Bing Crosby. Famed for singing through a megaphone and introducing his performances with a salutary "Heigh-Ho, Everybody," Vallée recorded into the mid-'40s and enjoyed a renaissance during the '60s after high-profile appearances on Broadway.

Born in Vermont, though he grew up in Maine, Rudy Vallée learned to play the alto saxophone and clarinet. He joined the Navy at the age of 16, but was dismissed after it was discovered he had lied about his age. He studied at Yale and the University of Maine, then took a year off during the mid-'20s to play with the Savoy Havana Band at London's famous Savoy Hotel. Vallée was leading his first band (the Connecticut Yankees) by 1928, though he avoided taking vocals. A stint at the exclusive Heigh-Ho Club in New York gave him his first widespread exposure (and his introductory catch phrase, "Heigh-Ho Everybody"). During the following year, he gained a large audience through radio, vaudeville appearances, and a feature film, The Vagabond Lover. He'd begun recording that year, and burst out of the gate with the immensely popular singles "Marie," "Honey," and "Weary River." Also in 1929, he began hosting the radio show The Fleischmann Hour, a top-rated program for over a decade that introduced into the radio world stars including Burns & Allen, Edgar Bergen, and Frances Langford.

One year later, he paid tribute to his alma mater and gained the biggest hit of his career. "Stein Song (The University of Maine)" spent more than two months as the most popular song in America, and later became the official theme song for the school. He continued to appear in films during the '30s, including the major successes George White's Scandals and Gold Diggers in Paris. By the time of 1942's The Palm Beach Story though, Vallée had moved from romantic lead to a talented, eccentric character actor. He led a Coast Guard orchestra during World War II, and found his last big hit -- thanks to the film Casablanca -- with 1946's "As Time Goes By," a song recorded more than 15 years earlier.

After the war, Vallée returned to Hollywood for work in film, radio, performance and later, television. The biggest acting part of his career came in 1961, when he portrayed a bombastic company president in the Broadway hit How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (he reprised his role for the 1967 film as well). Vallée continued to appear in films until the mid-'70s, and performed around the country up to his death ten years later.

30 We'll Be There - Garrison Keillor & Peter OstroushkoPHC

Ha, you can’t come … changed my mind. Garrison has done at least four versions of this tune. This is the oldest we have … and the best. Sort of reminds me of my formative years rife with inadequacies and self-doubt. Like that’s changed much … Did you like it? Really, really like it? What exactly did you like about it?

31 Who's On First – Abbot & CostelloDrD

Let’s let Wikipedia describe this:

Who's on First? is a vaudeville comedy routine made most famous by Abbott and Costello. In Abbott and Costello's version, the premise of the routine is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team to Costello, but their names and nicknames can be interpreted as non-responsive answers to Costello's questions. In this context, the first baseman is named "Who"; thus, the utterance "Who's on first" is ambiguous between the question ("which person is the first baseman?") and the answer ("The name of the first baseman is 'Who'").

The names given in the routine for the players at each position are: * First Base: Who * Second Base: What * Third Base: I Don't Know * Left field: Why * Center field: Because * Pitcher: Tomorrow * Catcher: Today * Shortstop: I Don't Care/I Don't Give a Darn/I Don't Give a Damn

The name of the shortstop is not given until the very end of the routine, and the right fielder is never identified. At a point in the routine, Costello thinks that Naturally is the first baseman (because naturally, Who would get the ball if it was thrown to first base). It is possible that Naturally is the right fielder, as an errant ball to first base could be fielded by the right fielder. However, in the board game, the right fielder's name is "Nobody".[4] The skit serves as a climax for an Abbott and Costello radio broadcast which begins with Costello receiving a telegram from Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio explains that he is recovering from an operation on his foot and asks Costello to take over for him. One could infer that Costello is the unmentioned right fielder, and that the unnamed team is the New York Yankees.[5] However, in several versions of the skit, Costello is described as the catcher.

Abbott's explanations leave Costello hopelessly confused and infuriated, until the end of the routine when he finally appears to catch on. "You got a couple of days on your team?" He never quite figures out that the first baseman's name literally is "Who". But after all this he announces, "I don't give a darn!" ("Oh, that's our shortstop.") That is the most commonly heard ending, which varied depending on the perceived sensibilities of the audience. The even milder "I Don't Care" was used in the version seen in the film The Naughty Nineties. A recording of the obvious "I Don't Give a Damn" has also turned up on occasion.

Abbot & Costello

The world is split into two factions: those who laugh at Abbott & Costello and the other half who watch the first half and shake their heads and wonder why. As one of the most popular comedy teams of all time, they never possessed the outrageous class of the Marx Brothers, nor the heart-tugging empathy of Laurel & Hardy. True, they never developed their characters past their original stage personas, and this was truly the Achilles heel, the great flaw, that kept them from achieving believability with their audience.

But as case-hardened veterans of the vaudeville and burlesque circuit, by the time America caught on to them, they had their classic nonsense patter sketches down so cold that nobody could top their comedic timing. In short, they were just plain funny, and at their best could leave you on the floor laughing like a hyena at jokes and sight gags so old you'd think the script was chiseled in stone by Fred Flintstone himself. To paraphrase the old saying, nobody liked them but the people, and the people loved them. They came from immensely diverse backgrounds, Bud Abbott's parents being circus folks who worked for the Ringling Brothers operation, with their son finding work as a race car driver, manager, lion tamer and box office attendant. Lou Costello (born Cristillo) came from Patterson, New Jersey -- Lou's hometown being interjected into almost every A&C routine that needed a name of a city -- excelling at sports and winning a college scholarship to Cornwall-on-Hudson military school for his efforts. The two met after Costello came

to the West Coast, doing stunt work in silent pictures, doubling falls for everyone from Tim McCoy to Dolores Del Rio. When the talkies came in, Lou found work in vaudeville and burlesque, teaming with Bud one night -- as legend has it -- when his regular straight man failed to show.

They honed their rapid fire patter act throughout the 1930s on the New York burlesque circuit, finally becoming big enough to seek greener pastures and better offers, a world away from Minsky's. Among the better offers was a national radio hookup on the top-rated Kate Smith show, where they scored big enough to be added as regulars. Their classic baseball patter routine, Who's on First, became so famous that Bud and Lou cut a special gold record of it for inclusion into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The movies came calling soon after that, with the team becoming part of the national consciousness in the wake of their second film, Buck Privates, released in 1941, just as the United States was entering World War II. The material couldn't have been grooved any better to match the country's mood at the time and this low-budget musical featuring the Andrews Sisters was enormously successful. By years' end, there were three more Abbott & Costello movies rushed into general release and the duo ranked number three in the movie polls of top box office draws. But by the mid-'40s, due to either the lack of character growth (their characters, with Abbott as the domineering bully and Costello as the gullible 'patsy,' hadn't really developed past their vaudeville days), too much of a good thing or just a formula wearing itself out, the duo had gone into a slump, seldom reaching the heights of popularity they had enjoyed a mere five-years earlier. Teaming up with Universal's stable of 'monsters' produced one great film, Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein, but soon even this novel idea was quickly reduced to formula in succeeding films. But if their hot streak in movies was getting colder, Bud and Lou had a new field to consider: television. After a successful TV debut on the Colgate Comedy Hour, they decided to join the burgeoning field of filmed television comedy.

Bud and Lou cranked out all 52 episodes of their television series between 1952 and 1953, virtually one a week, as if they were doing two-reelers. Of course, that's just about what they were; with Sidney Fields (who plays Mister Fields, the mean-spirited, bald-headed landlord) fashioning situation comedy scripts out of ancient burlesque blackout staples, Bud and Lou's old stage act patter, and lifting whole A&C movie routines all based around a simple premise that may or may not reach a logical conclusion within the half-hour format, these 52 episodes stand as a link between the best two-reel short-subject comedies of the '30s and '40s and situation comedy television in a very embryonic form. They went right back to making movies after that, but their tenure as the big boys of Universal's comedy stable were quickly coming to an end. Bud and Lou had really benefited from the Hollywood studio system, but in the early '50s, it was a system that was quickly becoming outdated. After cranking out films for almost 14 years, Abbott & Costello were dropped by Universal. They did one more film together (released independently through United Artists), Dance With Me Henry, lacking all of the old fire and magic. Lou started appearing as a solo act in 1957, and soon the word was all over show business that Abbott & Costello were no longer a team. The split was an amicable one, with Bud happy to let Lou continue to work as a single while he took it easy.

Costello went on to do dramatic work in television, make numerous guest appearances on variety and comedy shows and made one last film, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, before succumbing to a heart attack on March 3, 1959. Abbott & Costello may have lacked depth and a certain artistic viewpoint, but -- to their eternal credit -- they never pretended to be anything but what they were, two journeymen comics who could make you laugh, even if you felt guilty about it. The fact that their work has survived over the decades to reach new audiences is testimony enough to the success of their endeavors.

32 Yellow Bus Ad – UnknownPHC

Just a nice Garrison commercial to end the set. She’s packed my lunch for the next nine months … I’m moving on.