Monthly Archives: November 2005

I've received and am enjoying My Son, the Box, which is the 6-disc collection of darn near everything Allan Sherman ever recorded in his short but wonderful career singing song parodies. I hope in the next week or so to compile and post a list here of everything that isn't in this collection. It's not a long list.

Rumor has it that the 4,000 limited edition copies that have been issued by Rhino Handmade are going fast. If you'd like to order one, you can use this Amazon link but you'll actually save money at some other sites. CD Universe, for instance, has it for $98.

Allan Sherman's records were very important to me when I was a lad. I played them over and over and over again to the point where I have most of them committed to memory — though perhaps not as well as I'd thought. These new CDs are clearer than my old records and I'm noticing a few lyrics that I'd previously misunderstood. I'm also noticing that Mr. Sherman didn't know some of his lyrics as well as he should have. On My Son, the Folk Singer, there's a short tune that goes, "Mammy's little baby loves matzoh, matzoh / Mammy's little baby loves matzoh balls." In it, Sherman sings…

Stole the skillet
Stole the lead
Stole a lotta balls
Made of Pesach bread
Stole the chicken
Out of the soup
Stole the pot
And made a lot of chicken soup

I always thought it was "Made a Pesach bread." Then again, I'll bet the line after next was written as "out of the coop" and Sherman sang it wrong at the recording. There are a couple of those on his early albums and with someone obviously deciding that the over-all performance was too good to correct.

I'm also learning a few lyrics I had wrong from Robert Sherman's site. Robbie is Allan Sherman's son and we have him to thank for this wonderful boxed set of CDs, and for the fact that it's so complete and so everything Allan Sherman fans could have wanted. Over at www.campgranada.com, he's posted the lyrics to most of the songs in his father's repertoire. Again, I'm discovering that I had a few lines wrong all these years.

And here's one other link of note. You can purchase an Allan Sherman ringtone for your cellular phone here.

For the most part, the material holds up very well. Yes, a lot of the references are dated. But when I first heard and loved My Son, the Folk Singer, I was ten and I didn't get some of the references then, either. David Dubinsky? Olga San Juan? Sherman was just a funny man and we don't have to understand everything he was talking about to enjoy his work. I never have, anyway. I'm very happy with this new collection.

It won't be there much longer but the BBC Radio website is currently offering a half-hour audio documentary on the Sgt. Bilko TV show. To find it, go to this link and look down to where it says You'll Never Get Rich: The Bilko Story. That's where you want to click.

The broadcast makes the not-infrequent error of identifying Larry Gelbart (who is among the interviewed) as having written for Your Show of Shows. It has a quote from a daughter of Phil Silvers who claims her father made up all his dialogue, which I don't believe for a second. I also don't believe the claim that anyone affiliated with the show ever thought of recasting the lead role when Mr. Silvers asked for more money. Otherwise, if one can get past the host's theatrics, it's pretty good. Thanks to Miles Curtis for telling me about it.

It's interesting that You'll Never Get Rich (aka Sgt. Bilko, aka The Phil Silvers Show) was even more popular in England than it was here. It was popular here but not the way it was over there. I am of the opinion that one of the reasons for this is that often when it's been aired on American TV the last few decades, it's been with bad prints that are full of splices and awkward edits. When an old black-and-white show fails to get ratings, execs have a tendency to blame the lack of color and say, "Audiences today won't watch black-and-white." But they do. I Love Lucy has never been off and the early seasons of The Andy Griffith Show are on several times a day in some cities. Those shows have been well-preserved and when it's been necessary to lop a few minutes out to accommodate more commercials, it's generally been done without being obvious or destructive. I think Bilko would play just fine over here if whoever owns the show would treat the episodes like they're worth watching.

As I mentioned eons ago in this post, I used to enjoy a substance called Adams Sour Orange Gum. It was pretty much the only gum I ever liked and when they stopped making it, I stopped chewing gum forever.

I note that while it is still not possible to buy a fresh piece of Adams Sour Orange Gum, the Adams people — or what passes for them these days — have briefly begun making Adams Sour Apple Gum and Adams Sour Cherry Gum again. This is apparently a limited-release thing. They'll make just so much of it and then stop, presumably after everyone who wants some has stocked up via websites like this one. We are waiting and watching to see if they'll do the same thing with the orange variety…not because we're going to buy out the run but just because we want to taste it again. Just once or twice. I have a hunch that it'll be another one of those things that can make me six years old for a little while…like reading old Fox and Crow comic books or watching Huckleberry Hound cartoons or talking to women.

In the meantime, can we get the Russell Stover people to make more of those cashew patties they haven't made since they had to clear shelf space for their "low carb" candy line? The whole idea of "low carb" candy is pretty silly, anyway. I mean, it's like caffeine-free Coke…why the heck bother? It certainly shouldn't be cause to not make a great candy. I largely gave up candy years ago but I always felt better when I spotted a Russell Stover Cashew Pattie at the store and knew that someone was enjoying a wonderful treat.