[78-L] Alpine madness^

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Malcolm Rockwell" <malcolm at 78data.com>
> Naw. That'd be the variation "Yodel-eedle-ay-dee-hoo", not
> "Yodel-ay-ee-hoo."
> Sorry, no cigar.
> Mal
>>> George P. Watson doing "Emmett's Favorite Yodel" on Vi 16968 is just
>>> about to close on oBoy without a bid and it made me think of something.
>>> What tune is responsible for the common yodel phrase "Yodel-ay-ee-hoo"
>>> and was it ever recorded (Surely it was!)?
>>> Mal
>>> _______________________________________________
>> I thought it originated from the guy in Switzerland shouting after the
>> fleeing skier 'You swine, you seduced my daughter!'
>> and back up the mountain came the immortal reply ' Your old lady too!'
>>
Well...we are confusing two TOTALLY different forms of "yodeling"
here!! Folks in Switzerland (and Alpine portions of Germany and
most likely Austria?) had developed a unique style of vocalizing,
which also served as "alp to alp" communication! THIS is from
whence the cliche of "Yo-del-ay-dee-hoo" originated, since
a phrase with a similar sound was often heard...!

Around 1925, Jimmie Rodgers, "The singing brakeman," was
first recorded by Victor. His tunes usually included (and were
titled?!) interludes of "hillbilly yodeling," and that became
standard in country music for several following decades.
The above cliche was OFTEN heard...both in Rodger's
several "Blue Yodels," and in other contemporary c&w
tunes (Hank Snow was first billed as "The Singing Yodeler"
on his first Canadian Bluebird records,,,>!).

Meanwhile, the folks in Oberbayern (upper Bavaria) and
Switzerland were still performing their ancient "traditional"
yodel tunes (albeit no longer using them to communicate?!).

It is the "hillbilly" "yodelers?!" who are most respomsible
for all the cliches! I spent three years in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in the midst of the German Alps...and attended MANY local
festivals/events, which ALWAYS featured a "Blaskapelle"
(traditional Bavarian brass band), usually along with vocalists
performing traditional "yodel" folk tunrs!

There MAY (I'm guessing here...?!) exist a web site explaining
exactly how/why country singers adopted a badly-copied
version of a European music variant...?!

"You and your old lady, too"...?!

Steven C. Barr