[78-L] Mr Goon-Bones

[Steve Wixson]

Brother Bones and Mr. Goon-Bones were contemporaries in the late 40s and
early 50s.  Brother Bones' (Freeman Davis) big hit was 'Sweet Georgia
Brown' (SGB) later picked up by the Harlem Globe Trotters as their theme
song and probably one of the most played records because of that though
most people don't realize he is playing rhythm bones.  He was also a great
whistler.  His songs are now on a CD titled 'Brother Bones and his
Shadows.'

Mr. Goon-Bones' (Ted Goon) big hit was Ain't She Sweet, the B-side to
Sheik of Araby (Crystalette S-1803).  Critics hated it (it used
syncopation and the new electronic echo chamber-maybe one of the first
recordings to use it), and later it was played by a St. Louis disc Jockey
only to take off in popularity. It sold over a million copies when 200,000
was a hit, and rose to 7th on the Billboard jukebox chart.  Ted was a
great rhythm bones player.  He sold 20,000 sets of Goon-bones made of
northern maple and painted black.

As for the confusion about who played on Sweet Georgia Brown, Ted was in
the process of getting a trademark for his Goon-Bones when Tempo
approached him to record SGB.  He told them it would be 3 months before he
could do the recording, and during that time, they found Freeman
whistling, playing bones and shining shoes in LA.  Ted learned of this
while driving one day and hearing it played on his radio.

Mike mentioned that I wrote an article on Ted.  I am a member of the
Rhythm Bones Society (rhythmbones.com), and its newsletter editor.  I
wrote the 2002 article he mentioned, but only now in retrospect realize by
looking at his catalog of recordings how important he is to rhythm bones
history.  I will write a follow on article when I complete my research on
his catalog.  Steve

> Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr. wrote:
>> Steve Wixson wrote:
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>      I'm brand new to the list and not sure how to proceed.  I am
>>> researching the recordings of Ted 'Mr. Goon-Bones' Goon who recorded
>>> in the late 40s and early 50s.
>
> This is very confusing.  The pages that Mark B has linked to discusses a
> different bones player, Freeman "Brother Bones" Davis.  The first page
> quotes a 2003 article by Steve which says "Tempo Records first
> approached another bones player, Ted Goon, known as Mr. Goon-Bones, but
> Ted had a conflict at the time. Before Ted got his conflict resolved,
> Tempo discovered Freeman and his first hit record hit the airwaves."
> (Ted Goon died in 2003 at the age of 92. Ted was an Honorary member of
> the Rhythm Bones Society and lived in California just a few miles from
> the home of Freeman Davis.)"  So who made the record, Ted Goon or
> Freeman Davis??????  I had always thought the Tempo record was by Mr.
> Goon-Bones.  It would take a while for me to find where my copy is.
>
>
>>>  I play rhythm bones so am personally
>>> interested.
>>>
>>>
>
> My father also played the bones.  As we were growing up, he had a set of
> four made of ebony which had a deep sharp tone.  When he lost one,  my
> sister and I bought a set for him but these seemed to be made of redwood
> and had a lousy tone.  We could never find a good old set -- his
> original set had been made before 1920.  When he was dying I realized I
> had no recordings of him playing the bones, and about a month before his
> death I was able to videotape him playing the bones -- still was unable
> to find a good old set.  I wish I had been able to record him while he
> was healthy and had his full strength.
>
>> >Get ready to tap your toe
>> >  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY8de2-UCrY
>
> Maybe this record is worn or just being poorly tracked, but this sounds
> different from what I remember the 78 as sounding.  Tempo made very high
> quality recordings, and this one sounds like crap.
>
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>
>
>>>      I prepared a list from the research that I've done to date.  I
>>> don't
>>> know if it's appropriate to post something that's a couple pages of
>>> double spaced lines.  Help me out.  Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> http://www.bonedrymusic.com/Brother-Bones-Vintage-Records-p/100a2rbb.htm
>> http://www.drumdojo.com/bones_2.htm
>> http://www.globaldogproductions.info/r/republic.html
>>
>>
>
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------------------------------------------------------via webmail----
Steve Wixson
wixson at chattanooga.net