[78-L] 78-L Digest, Vol 127, Issue 18
Dennis Flannigan
dennis.flannigan at gmail.com.invalid
Mon Apr 22 12:39:54 PDT 2019
Great discussion on banned and not banned, on the values and mores of the
time.
Thank you Stephen in Calgary. Is there a vocalist anywhere that hasn't
snuck in a word or phrase to upset someone? Sheet!
Dennis
On Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 11:46 AM <78-l-request at klickitat.78online.com>
wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Today Kate Smith; tomorrow ...? (Elizabeth McLeod)
> 2. Re: Today Kate Smith; tomorrow ...? (David Lennick)
> 3. Everything that traffic will allow (Lloyd Davies)
> 4. Re: Everything that traffic will allow (David Lennick)
> 5. Re: Everything that traffic will allow (David Lennick)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 20:18:08 -0400
> From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl at midcoast.com.invalid>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Today Kate Smith; tomorrow ...?
> To: 78-L <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <D8E28080.109D1%lizmcl at midcoast.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
> I've been following this story as a curiosity more than anything else, and
> what I find most disturbing is that no media outlet that I've been able to
> find has made any effort to investigate the particulars of Miss Smith's
> career. I don't fault the sports teams involved -- what else are they going
> to do when they don't know anything about the popular music industry and
> how
> it operated in the 1930s? But the media outlets covering the story don't
> seem to want to investigate any of it beyond quoting press releases.
>
> There are plenty of people on this list who could provide a detailed
> explanation of the music industry in general in 1931, of how an artist in
> Smith's position didn't choose their own music, and how Smith specifically
> had her music chosen for her by Ted Collins with no say one way or the
> other, and how That Song was written for Everett Marshall in White's
> Scandals of '31 to sing in the most overblown manner possible as a specific
> parody of "Green Pastures," -- with angel chorus girls, yet -- and, as
> noted
> by others, how she was one of dozens to record the song or perform it on
> the
> air. I doubt there was any popular singer over the winter of 1931-32 who
> *didn't* perform it in one venue or another.
>
> So -- has anyone here been contacted? I know I haven't.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>
> On 4/20/19 9:51 PM, "Lloyd Davies" <all_my_linx at yahoo.ca.invalid> wrote:
>
> >
> <<<Sports teams dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' because of her racist
> > songs>>>
>
> I'm not writing as a defender of Kate Smith.? Altho a few of her
> > recordings reveal her lively and emotive stage persona [I'm a big fan of
> > "Somebody loves me" (1941)], most of her career was spent playing it
> safe as
> > milk for her radio audience.? People are currently taking umbrage at a
> couple
> > of her recordings from the early 1930's which a) have fallen out of
> > circulation, and b) were hardly the most cringeworthy discs of their
> > time.
> HonkingDuck is letting me down, so I'm unable to search who else
> > recorded "Pickaninny Heaven", but a simple search shows the other
> offending
> > title "That's Why Darkies Were Born" was recorded by many others,
> including
> > Paul Robeson.
> I'm not claiming that people have no right to look backward with
> > a revisionist lens, but I'm wondering what other artist who is still
> > recognizable today should more fittingly be the subject of boycott.
>
> I would
> > nominate Bing Crosby for his blackface performance of "Accentuate de
> positive"
> > in "Here come the waves" (1944).
>
>
> I also won't object if Admin wants to
> > cancel this thread.
> - Stephen in
> > Calgary
> _______________________________________________
> 78-L mailing
> > list
> 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinf
> > o/78-l
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 22:36:31 -0400
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca.invalid>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Today Kate Smith; tomorrow ...?
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <5fa3688e-6d64-1866-625a-00f5f31e2148 at sympatico.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> This has been covered for the last few days on a couple of Facebook groups
> but
> it's new here. And the stories I read keep referring to Darkies as being
> recorded in 1939, not 1931, so nobody is doing any research, just copying
> each
> other's errors.
>
> dl
>
>
> On 4/21/2019 8:18 PM, Elizabeth McLeod wrote:
> > I've been following this story as a curiosity more than anything else,
> and
> > what I find most disturbing is that no media outlet that I've been able
> to
> > find has made any effort to investigate the particulars of Miss Smith's
> > career. I don't fault the sports teams involved -- what else are they
> going
> > to do when they don't know anything about the popular music industry and
> how
> > it operated in the 1930s? But the media outlets covering the story don't
> > seem to want to investigate any of it beyond quoting press releases.
> >
> > There are plenty of people on this list who could provide a detailed
> > explanation of the music industry in general in 1931, of how an artist in
> > Smith's position didn't choose their own music, and how Smith
> specifically
> > had her music chosen for her by Ted Collins with no say one way or the
> > other, and how That Song was written for Everett Marshall in White's
> > Scandals of '31 to sing in the most overblown manner possible as a
> specific
> > parody of "Green Pastures," -- with angel chorus girls, yet -- and, as
> noted
> > by others, how she was one of dozens to record the song or perform it on
> the
> > air. I doubt there was any popular singer over the winter of 1931-32 who
> > *didn't* perform it in one venue or another.
> >
> > So -- has anyone here been contacted? I know I haven't.
> >
> > Elizabeth
> >
> >
> > On 4/20/19 9:51 PM, "Lloyd Davies" <all_my_linx at yahoo.ca.invalid> wrote:
> >
> > <<<Sports teams dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' because of her
> racist
> >> songs>>>
> > I'm not writing as a defender of Kate Smith. Altho a few of her
> >> recordings reveal her lively and emotive stage persona [I'm a big fan of
> >> "Somebody loves me" (1941)], most of her career was spent playing it
> safe as
> >> milk for her radio audience. People are currently taking umbrage at a
> couple
> >> of her recordings from the early 1930's which a) have fallen out of
> >> circulation, and b) were hardly the most cringeworthy discs of their
> >> time.
> > HonkingDuck is letting me down, so I'm unable to search who else
> >> recorded "Pickaninny Heaven", but a simple search shows the other
> offending
> >> title "That's Why Darkies Were Born" was recorded by many others,
> including
> >> Paul Robeson.
> > I'm not claiming that people have no right to look backward with
> >> a revisionist lens, but I'm wondering what other artist who is still
> >> recognizable today should more fittingly be the subject of boycott.
> > I would
> >> nominate Bing Crosby for his blackface performance of "Accentuate de
> positive"
> >> in "Here come the waves" (1944).
> >
> > I also won't object if Admin wants to
> >> cancel this thread.
> > - Stephen in
> >> Calgary
> > _______________________________________________
> > 78-L mailing
> >> list
> > 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> > http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinf
> >> o/78-l
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 78-L mailing list
> > 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> > http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 04:25:37 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Lloyd Davies <all_my_linx at yahoo.ca.invalid>
> Subject: [78-L] Everything that traffic will allow
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <2012381856.3719892.1555907137787 at mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Here's the post that no one asked for?
>
> I spent today as an amateur philosopher, categorizing the censorship of
> songs:
>
> The themes of censorship seem to have been consistent for the past 100
> years, but the degrees to which a subject gives offense is always
> evolving.? 100 years ago social mores loosened, allowing for discussion of
> alcoholic themes and, starting in wartime, acknowledgement of sexual
> motivation.? [What did Freud listen to on Friday nights?]? Other issues can
> lose their mainstream support and grow increasingly censored, even long
> after the fact.? Sometimes, from our comfortable perch looking backward, we
> wonder "What took them so long to recognize the problems associated with a
> song?"
>
> Censorship is either a reflection of social consensus or a tool of
> political repression.? It doesn't apply evenly across all genres.?
> Consequently, "race" or hillbilly music might be considered more "honest"
> because it is less filtered.
>
> After reading many Internet resources, I think these are the criteria by
> which a song's admissibility would have been judged:
> 1)?? ?Is the performance private or public?
> 2)?? ?If public, is the performance during family time or in the more
> permissive late night?? [Remember when it used to be worthwhile to stay up
> late?]
>
> 3a) Is it morally offensive, because of
> ?? ?i.?? ?profanity [I can't think of any examples on 78 rpm, so I'll
> quote the circumlocution "Godfrey Daniels!" ? W C Fields in "The fatal
> glass of beer" (Mack Sennett Comedies)(year:1933)]
> ?? ?ii.?? ?sex [George Formby ? "With my little stick of Blackpool rock"
> (Regal-Zonophone 2431) (year:1937) (banned by the BBC; really?)] [any
> singer ? "Love for sale" (instrumental versions were okay)] [Louis Prima &
> his orch, vocal: Lily Ann Carol & Louis ? "Bell-Bottom Trousers" (Majestic
> 7134)(year: 1945), but not the muted Lombardo, Kyser, Pastor or Colonna
> versions] [Jimmy Boyd ? "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" (Columbia
> 39871)(year: 1952)] [Shirley Bassey ? "Burn my candle" (Philips 558) (year:
> 1956)]
> ?? ?iii.?? ?drug use: [Stuff Smith & his Onyx Club Boys ? "You'se a viper"
> (Vocalion 3201)(year:1936)] [Eddie Calvert ? "Theme from ?The man with the
> golden arm'" (Columbia ?3730) (year: 1956), banned; but not Billy May ?
> "Main title theme" (Capitol 14551)]
> ?? ?iv.?? ?violent aggression [Billie Holiday ? "'Ain't nobody's business
> if I do" (Decca 24726)(year: 1949) (This example hasn't been banned, but is
> due for a revisit.)]
> ?? ?v.?? ?denigration, racial: [Cab Calloway ? "Chinese rhythm" (Brunswick
> 6992) (year:1934)] [Slim & Slam ? "Chinatown, my Chinatown" (Conqueror
> 9056) (year: 1938)]
> ?? ?vi.?? ?denigration, gender: [Jay McShann & orch, vocal Jimmy
> Witherspoon ? "Shipyard woman blues" (Mercury 8014) (year: 1946) (This one
> is similar to "Baby, it's cold outside" because the rationale is that the
> successful woman is hurting the man's pride.)
>
> 3b) Is it politically offensive?
> ?? ?[Anything by the Weavers in the USA after 1952, or by Ewan McColl in
> the United Kingdom.]
> ?? ?[Judy Garland ? "Ding dong! The witch is dead" from "The wizard of Oz"
> soundtrack (MGM) (year: 1939) (This song was banned a few years ago for
> fear that it would tarnish the witch's reputation by association.)
>
> 3c) Is it offensive to religion?
> ?? ?[Don Cornell ? "Hold my hand" (Coral 61206) (year: 1954)] [Billy Fury
> ? "My Christmas prayer" (Decca 11189) (year: 1959)
> 3d) Is it cheap?
> ?? ?i.?? ?Animalistic?!?
> <<<
> During a performance by Nat King Cole [in 1956], members of the White
> Citizen's Council of Birmingham, Alabama, jump on stage and assault Cole.
> The group claims that they are protecting young teen girls and that black
> musicians are part of a plot to "mongrelize" America by bringing out an
> animalism in people through the use of heavy beats in their music.
> >>> (source:
> https://ncac.org/resource/music-censorship-in-america-an-interactive-timeline
> )
>
> ?? ?ii. Does it cheapen high art? [There seems to be many examples of
> popular music using classical themes and being banned as a result : "I'm
> always chasing rainbows" (1918) / "Baubles, bangles and beads" (1953) /
> Nero & the Gladiators - "In the hall of the Mountain King" (Decca 11367)
> (year: 1961)]
>
> 3e) Sensitivities
> ?? ?i.?? ?Too soon? A community may be sensitive after a tragedy, so
> previously innocuous songs may be banned for resurrecting the hurt.? [Dick
> Todd ? "Cecilia" (Bluebird 10677) (year: 1940) (The lyrics have parallels
> with a modern day tragedy in Toronto, so I would ban this happy tune if
> given the chance.]
> ?? ?ii.?? ?Personal sensitivities: when upsetting even one person is
> enough reason not to play a record, usually a mournful one.? [Billie
> Holiday ? "Gloomy Sunday" (Okeh 6451) (year: 1941) / Ricky Nelson ? same
> (Imperial, unreleased) (year: 1958)] [Mark Dinning ? "Teen angel" (MGM
> K12845) (year: 1959)]
> ?? ?iii.?? ?By association: I would ban "The perfect song" because it was
> the main theme of the brilliant and despicable "The birth of a nation"
> (1916) [and, incredibly, the theme for "Amos and Andy" (c.1928-1955)]
>
>
> I have not been careful, and have probably included 45 rpm instead of
> limiting this to 78 rpm.? I have not been clear when I am referring to an
> American label vs an international label.Most of the examples were actually
> banned, but some of them are my own bright idea.? To be clear, I'm not
> advocating that any this music go "down with the Titanic".
> - Stephen in Calgary
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 01:00:11 -0400
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca.invalid>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Everything that traffic will allow
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <ac587535-2d95-b90b-8168-d0fb6081c22e at sympatico.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> Possible profanity on 78s (definite in at least 2 instances):
>
> My Sweet Hunk'a Trash..Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday (Satch appears to
> say
> 'F*ck 'em, baby' and enough people complained about it that Milt Gabler
> edited
> it to make the word sound like something else..can't remember what)
>
> Barnacle Bill the Sailor..Hoagy Carmichael (Joe Venuti is saying what many
> hear
> as 'Said Barnacle Bill the Sh*thead' or 'Barnacle Bill the
> Sh*tter)..nobody
> ever censored this
>
> Trains by Reginald Gardiner..in the quick dialogue bits imitating the
> train
> wheels, Reggie very clearly says 'Suckityourself' and the CBC certainly
> never
> noticed this
>
> Caldonia..Woody Herman..possible profanity during Chubby Jackson's solo.
> (Think
> there's another big band example from this period.)
>
> dl
>
> On 4/22/2019 12:25 AM, Lloyd Davies wrote:
> > Here's the post that no one asked for???
> >
> > I spent today as an amateur philosopher, categorizing the censorship of
> songs:
> >
> > The themes of censorship seem to have been consistent for the past 100
> years, but the degrees to which a subject gives offense is always
> evolving.? 100 years ago social mores loosened, allowing for discussion of
> alcoholic themes and, starting in wartime, acknowledgement of sexual
> motivation.? [What did Freud listen to on Friday nights?]? Other issues
> can lose their mainstream support and grow increasingly censored, even long
> after the fact.? Sometimes, from our comfortable perch looking backward,
> we wonder "What took them so long to recognize the problems associated with
> a song?"
> >
> > Censorship is either a reflection of social consensus or a tool of
> political repression.? It doesn't apply evenly across all genres.?
> Consequently, "race" or hillbilly music might be considered more "honest"
> because it is less filtered.
> >
> > After reading many Internet resources, I think these are the criteria by
> which a song's admissibility would have been judged:
> > 1)? ? ? Is the performance private or public?
> > 2)? ? ? If public, is the performance during family time or in the more
> permissive late night?? [Remember when it used to be worthwhile to stay up
> late?]
> >
> > 3a) Is it morally offensive, because of
> > ? ? ? i.? ? ? profanity [I can't think of any examples on 78 rpm, so
> I'll quote the circumlocution "Godfrey Daniels!" ??? W C Fields in "The
> fatal glass of beer" (Mack Sennett Comedies)(year:1933)]
> > ? ? ? ii.? ? ? sex [George Formby ??? "With my little stick of
> Blackpool rock" (Regal-Zonophone 2431) (year:1937) (banned by the BBC;
> really?)] [any singer ??? "Love for sale" (instrumental versions were
> okay)] [Louis Prima & his orch, vocal: Lily Ann Carol & Louis ???
> "Bell-Bottom Trousers" (Majestic 7134)(year: 1945), but not the muted
> Lombardo, Kyser, Pastor or Colonna versions] [Jimmy Boyd ??? "I saw mommy
> kissing Santa Claus" (Columbia 39871)(year: 1952)] [Shirley Bassey ???
> "Burn my candle" (Philips 558) (year: 1956)]
> > ? ? ? iii.? ? ? drug use: [Stuff Smith & his Onyx Club Boys ???
> "You'se a viper" (Vocalion 3201)(year:1936)] [Eddie Calvert ??? "Theme from
> ???The man with the golden arm'" (Columbia ???3730) (year: 1956), banned;
> but not Billy May ??? "Main title theme" (Capitol 14551)]
> > ? ? ? iv.? ? ? violent aggression [Billie Holiday ??? "'Ain't nobody's
> business if I do" (Decca 24726)(year: 1949) (This example hasn't been
> banned, but is due for a revisit.)]
> > ? ? ? v.? ? ? denigration, racial: [Cab Calloway ??? "Chinese rhythm"
> (Brunswick 6992) (year:1934)] [Slim & Slam ??? "Chinatown, my Chinatown"
> (Conqueror 9056) (year: 1938)]
> > ? ? ? vi.? ? ? denigration, gender: [Jay McShann & orch, vocal Jimmy
> Witherspoon ??? "Shipyard woman blues" (Mercury 8014) (year: 1946) (This
> one is similar to "Baby, it's cold outside" because the rationale is that
> the successful woman is hurting the man's pride.)
> >
> > 3b) Is it politically offensive?
> > ? ? ? [Anything by the Weavers in the USA after 1952, or by Ewan McColl
> in the United Kingdom.]
> > ? ? ? [Judy Garland ??? "Ding dong! The witch is dead" from "The wizard
> of Oz" soundtrack (MGM) (year: 1939) (This song was banned a few years ago
> for fear that it would tarnish the witch's reputation by association.)
> >
> > 3c) Is it offensive to religion?
> > ? ? ? [Don Cornell ??? "Hold my hand" (Coral 61206) (year: 1954)]
> [Billy Fury ??? "My Christmas prayer" (Decca 11189) (year: 1959)
> > 3d) Is it cheap?
> > ? ? ? i.? ? ? Animalistic?!?
> > <<<
> > During a performance by Nat King Cole [in 1956], members of the White
> Citizen's Council of Birmingham, Alabama, jump on stage and assault Cole.
> The group claims that they are protecting young teen girls and that black
> musicians are part of a plot to "mongrelize" America by bringing out an
> animalism in people through the use of heavy beats in their music.
> >>>> (source:
> https://ncac.org/resource/music-censorship-in-america-an-interactive-timeline
> )
> > ? ? ? ii. Does it cheapen high art? [There seems to be many examples of
> popular music using classical themes and being banned as a result : "I'm
> always chasing rainbows" (1918) / "Baubles, bangles and beads" (1953) /
> Nero & the Gladiators - "In the hall of the Mountain King" (Decca 11367)
> (year: 1961)]
> >
> > 3e) Sensitivities
> > ? ? ? i.? ? ? Too soon? A community may be sensitive after a tragedy,
> so previously innocuous songs may be banned for resurrecting the hurt.?
> [Dick Todd ??? "Cecilia" (Bluebird 10677) (year: 1940) (The lyrics have
> parallels with a modern day tragedy in Toronto, so I would ban this happy
> tune if given the chance.]
> > ? ? ? ii.? ? ? Personal sensitivities: when upsetting even one person
> is enough reason not to play a record, usually a mournful one.? [Billie
> Holiday ??? "Gloomy Sunday" (Okeh 6451) (year: 1941) / Ricky Nelson ???
> same (Imperial, unreleased) (year: 1958)] [Mark Dinning ??? "Teen angel"
> (MGM K12845) (year: 1959)]
> > ? ? ? iii.? ? ? By association: I would ban "The perfect song" because
> it was the main theme of the brilliant and despicable "The birth of a
> nation" (1916) [and, incredibly, the theme for "Amos and Andy"
> (c.1928-1955)]
> >
> >
> > I have not been careful, and have probably included 45 rpm instead of
> limiting this to 78 rpm.? I have not been clear when I am referring to an
> American label vs an international label.Most of the examples were actually
> banned, but some of them are my own bright idea.? To be clear, I'm not
> advocating that any this music go "down with the Titanic".
> > - Stephen in Calgary
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 78-L mailing list
> > 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> > http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 01:28:14 -0400
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca.invalid>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Everything that traffic will allow
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <de7a80d7-9797-53d7-cef4-5e6ba9fa9021 at sympatico.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> Party records, of course, are another kettle o' fish altogether and like
> early
> porn, existed as far back as the 1890s on cylinders (Archeophone issued an
> entire CD of very early naughty recordings). And Armstrong's words became
> "How
> come, baby?" when the song was reissued on lp but are clearly something
> else on
> the 78.
>
> dl
>
>
> On 4/22/2019 1:00 AM, David Lennick wrote:
> > Possible profanity on 78s (definite in at least 2 instances):
> >
> > My Sweet Hunk'a Trash..Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday (Satch appears
> to say
> > 'F*ck 'em, baby' and enough people complained about it that Milt Gabler
> edited
> > it to make the word sound like something else..can't remember what)
> >
> > Barnacle Bill the Sailor..Hoagy Carmichael (Joe Venuti is saying what
> many hear
> > as 'Said Barnacle Bill the Sh*thead' or 'Barnacle Bill the
> Sh*tter)..nobody
> > ever censored this
> >
> > Trains by Reginald Gardiner..in the quick dialogue bits imitating the
> train
> > wheels, Reggie very clearly says 'Suckityourself' and the CBC certainly
> never
> > noticed this
> >
> > Caldonia..Woody Herman..possible profanity during Chubby Jackson's solo.
> (Think
> > there's another big band example from this period.)
> >
> > dl
> >
> > On 4/22/2019 12:25 AM, Lloyd Davies wrote:
> >> Here's the post that no one asked for???????
> >>
> >> I spent today as an amateur philosopher, categorizing the censorship of
> songs:
> >>
> >> The themes of censorship seem to have been consistent for the past 100
> years, but the degrees to which a subject gives offense is always
> evolving.?? 100 years ago social mores loosened, allowing for discussion
> of alcoholic themes and, starting in wartime, acknowledgement of sexual
> motivation.?? [What did Freud listen to on Friday nights?]?? Other issues
> can lose their mainstream support and grow increasingly censored, even long
> after the fact.?? Sometimes, from our comfortable perch looking backward,
> we wonder "What took them so long to recognize the problems associated with
> a song?"
> >>
> >> Censorship is either a reflection of social consensus or a tool of
> political repression.?? It doesn't apply evenly across all genres.??
> Consequently, "race" or hillbilly music might be considered more "honest"
> because it is less filtered.
> >>
> >> After reading many Internet resources, I think these are the criteria
> by which a song's admissibility would have been judged:
> >> 1)?? ?? ?? Is the performance private or public?
> >> 2)?? ?? ?? If public, is the performance during family time or in the
> more permissive late night??? [Remember when it used to be worthwhile to
> stay up late?]
> >>
> >> 3a) Is it morally offensive, because of
> >> ?? ?? ?? i.?? ?? ?? profanity [I can't think of any examples on 78
> rpm, so I'll quote the circumlocution "Godfrey Daniels!" ???????? W C
> Fields in "The fatal glass of beer" (Mack Sennett Comedies)(year:1933)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? ii.?? ?? ?? sex [George Formby ???????? "With my little
> stick of Blackpool rock" (Regal-Zonophone 2431) (year:1937) (banned by the
> BBC; really?)] [any singer ???????? "Love for sale" (instrumental versions
> were okay)] [Louis Prima & his orch, vocal: Lily Ann Carol & Louis ????????
> "Bell-Bottom Trousers" (Majestic 7134)(year: 1945), but not the muted
> Lombardo, Kyser, Pastor or Colonna versions] [Jimmy Boyd ???????? "I saw
> mommy kissing Santa Claus" (Columbia 39871)(year: 1952)] [Shirley Bassey
> ???????? "Burn my candle" (Philips 558) (year: 1956)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? iii.?? ?? ?? drug use: [Stuff Smith & his Onyx Club Boys
> ???????? "You'se a viper" (Vocalion 3201)(year:1936)] [Eddie Calvert
> ???????? "Theme from ???????The man with the golden arm'" (Columbia
> ???????3730) (year: 1956), banned; but not Billy May ???????? "Main title
> theme" (Capitol 14551)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? iv.?? ?? ?? violent aggression [Billie Holiday ????????
> "'Ain't nobody's business if I do" (Decca 24726)(year: 1949) (This example
> hasn't been banned, but is due for a revisit.)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? v.?? ?? ?? denigration, racial: [Cab Calloway ????????
> "Chinese rhythm" (Brunswick 6992) (year:1934)] [Slim & Slam ????????
> "Chinatown, my Chinatown" (Conqueror 9056) (year: 1938)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? vi.?? ?? ?? denigration, gender: [Jay McShann & orch, vocal
> Jimmy Witherspoon ???????? "Shipyard woman blues" (Mercury 8014) (year:
> 1946) (This one is similar to "Baby, it's cold outside" because the
> rationale is that the successful woman is hurting the man's pride.)
> >>
> >> 3b) Is it politically offensive?
> >> ?? ?? ?? [Anything by the Weavers in the USA after 1952, or by Ewan
> McColl in the United Kingdom.]
> >> ?? ?? ?? [Judy Garland ???????? "Ding dong! The witch is dead" from
> "The wizard of Oz" soundtrack (MGM) (year: 1939) (This song was banned a
> few years ago for fear that it would tarnish the witch's reputation by
> association.)
> >>
> >> 3c) Is it offensive to religion?
> >> ?? ?? ?? [Don Cornell ???????? "Hold my hand" (Coral 61206) (year:
> 1954)] [Billy Fury ???????? "My Christmas prayer" (Decca 11189) (year: 1959)
> >> 3d) Is it cheap?
> >> ?? ?? ?? i.?? ?? ?? Animalistic?!?
> >> <<<
> >> During a performance by Nat King Cole [in 1956], members of the White
> Citizen's Council of Birmingham, Alabama, jump on stage and assault Cole.
> The group claims that they are protecting young teen girls and that black
> musicians are part of a plot to "mongrelize" America by bringing out an
> animalism in people through the use of heavy beats in their music.
> >>>>> (source:
> https://ncac.org/resource/music-censorship-in-america-an-interactive-timeline
> )
> >> ?? ?? ?? ii. Does it cheapen high art? [There seems to be many
> examples of popular music using classical themes and being banned as a
> result : "I'm always chasing rainbows" (1918) / "Baubles, bangles and
> beads" (1953) / Nero & the Gladiators - "In the hall of the Mountain King"
> (Decca 11367) (year: 1961)]
> >>
> >> 3e) Sensitivities
> >> ?? ?? ?? i.?? ?? ?? Too soon? A community may be sensitive after a
> tragedy, so previously innocuous songs may be banned for resurrecting the
> hurt.?? [Dick Todd ???????? "Cecilia" (Bluebird 10677) (year: 1940) (The
> lyrics have parallels with a modern day tragedy in Toronto, so I would ban
> this happy tune if given the chance.]
> >> ?? ?? ?? ii.?? ?? ?? Personal sensitivities: when upsetting even one
> person is enough reason not to play a record, usually a mournful one.??
> [Billie Holiday ???????? "Gloomy Sunday" (Okeh 6451) (year: 1941) / Ricky
> Nelson ???????? same (Imperial, unreleased) (year: 1958)] [Mark Dinning
> ???????? "Teen angel" (MGM K12845) (year: 1959)]
> >> ?? ?? ?? iii.?? ?? ?? By association: I would ban "The perfect song"
> because it was the main theme of the brilliant and despicable "The birth of
> a nation" (1916) [and, incredibly, the theme for "Amos and Andy"
> (c.1928-1955)]
> >>
> >>
> >> I have not been careful, and have probably included 45 rpm instead of
> limiting this to 78 rpm.?? I have not been clear when I am referring to an
> American label vs an international label.Most of the examples were actually
> banned, but some of them are my own bright idea.?? To be clear, I'm not
> advocating that any this music go "down with the Titanic".
> >> - Stephen in Calgary
> >>
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>
>
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>
> End of 78-L Digest, Vol 127, Issue 18
> *************************************
>
--
*Flannigan&Friends*
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