DANNY KAYE: THE BENEFITS OF VERSATILITY

David Daniel Kaminsky (1911-1987), known to the world as Danny Kaye, was an entertainer that could do it all. He was as adept at pathos as he was at antic comedy, and he captivated audiences throughout the 1950s with his magic. His signature patter songs, represented by our first number: Anatole of Paris, were crafted for him by his business partner and wife, Sylvia Fine, and together they made film and Broadway history. This is a fascinating connection that deserves a deeper dive.

Danny resembled my adored uncle Teddy, and I always associated them in my mind. They had similar profiles and hair styles, and I was delighted to discover that his people and mine emigrated from the same town in Ukraine. Throughout my early years Danny Kaye’s warmth and silliness provided a safe harbor against the anxieties of childhood. He was my ideal tutor in the film Merry Andrew, introducing the Pythagorean theory in song.

Early on in his career, in 1934, Danny toured Asia - and it was there that he discovered and developed his skill at entertaining audiences who didn’t speak English, a key to his popularity with kids of all ages.

ANATOLE OF PARIS

This number comes from the 1947 film, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, adapted form James Thurber’s novel about the day dreams of a hen pecked magazine editor. Sylvia Fine worked up this ditty where Danny fantasizes that he is a French milliner who bedecks ladies in ridiculous hats - because, as we find out in the punch line - he hates women.

You can imagine the impish glint in Danny’s eye as he extrapolates on the outrages that he’ll commit to these chapeaux, and that’s one of the secrets of Danny Kaye’s success: the absolute delight he takes in wowing us with his lighter than air articulations.

I WONDER WHO’S KISSING HER NOW

And, here comes the other side of this complex coin - the opening up and sharing of his soulful humanity. This recording, also from 1947, has Danny - ever so tenderly - crooning over a lost love. The song, composed in 1909 by Harold Orlob, for the Broadway play, THE PRINCE OF TO-NIGHT, became a standard.

In the hands of the master, this rumination is akin to listening in on the singer’s private thoughts, as opposed to a performance. As we said in the intro, this artist could do it all, and here is but a sampling of his versatility.

The “Novelty” song has deep roots in popular culture. Masters of the form, like Weird Al Yankovic, Warren Zevon, Tom Lehrer, Spike Jones, and Allen Sherman have illuminated our consciousness and tickled our sense of the absurd. How much WAS that doggie in the window?…., WTF is Marzy dotes and dozy dotes about?…, They’re coming to take me away, Haha…(that one actually scared me). Probably each of us can recall from childhood some goofy ditty that either made you feel smarter, or got stuck inside your head like RFK’s brain worm.

Let’s give thanks to Doctor Demento for archiving and disseminating many of these gems for future generations, and my introduction to Larry Groce’s Junk Food Junkie came from one of his collections. Jerry Blavat’s One More Time, Back to School may not demonstrate the same amount of cleverness, but its delivered lustily by one of the premier DJs of his time.

LARRY GROCE

Junk Food Junkie comes from 1975, and is perfectly in key with today’s anti-woke sentiments. But, Mr. Groce delivers his mockery with such gentleness and good humor that it creates a universal warmth devoid of malice. Yes, he intimates, you can try to be upright and health conscientious, but the reptilian brain in all of us needs to be satisfied - even if it has to happen under cover of darkness. Hypocrisy is the target here, and Mr. Groce, cast as the titular shlemiel, puts himself first in line for ridicule.

JERRY BLAVAT

Jerry Blavat’s “Horatio Alger” story reads like a Martin Scorsese screenplay. His colorful bio, recounting his journey from son of a Philly bookmaker, valet to Don Rickles, mob-connected DJ and club owner, to broadcasting Hall of Fame icon, could be the stuff of a Netflix series. Known as “the Big Boss with the Hot Sauce,” and “the Geater with the Heater,” Jerry swaggered through his bigger than life life like a toreador. But, lest we forget - it was always his love of those Philadelphian musical goodies - that made him a beloved home town super hero.

1965’s One More Time Back to School, on the Cameo Parkway label, is an fascinating glimpse into his inexhaustible energy. It’s delightfully sadistic as the singer declares the end of vacation time fun. Not only that, there is something in the edgy cacophony of its production, with the clanging cowbells, that evokes that end of summer feeling.

What is it about a swing rhythm that sets hearts a flutter? It’s a universal truth. It may have started as an African secret formula, but it was co-opted and catapulted into white western culture by some hip caucasian standard bearers.

Here we’ll examine the psycho-physical connection through two seemingly unrelated musical delicacies: one by the undisputed titan of respectable jazz, and the other by a racially mixed group of Philadelphia teens who barely made it out before the doo-wop death spiral. Bongo Stomp, from 1962, by Little Joey and the Flips, doesn’t even feature real bongos (the drummer Jeff Leonard is simulating the jungle signature on his toms). But, it definitely swings. The other showcases legendary stickman, Gene Krupa, who showed the world his undeniable big swinging dick energy.

BENNY GOODMAN

1938 was ground zero, the big bang, the crossroads of Jazz and its soon to be birthed step-child, Rock n Roll. Benny Goodman and his band played Carnegie Hall and made history. First as a cultural event, and later, when the live recording was released in 1950 as a double album which sold over a million copies.

Bei Mir Bist Du Schöen is a defiantly wonderful conglomeration of Yiddish lyrics delivered by Martha Tilton- (remember, simultaneously, Hitler was ramping up his power in Europe) - and, an irresistible swing rhythm smoothly rendered - which breaks into a kind of super charged klezmer section. It must have been startling in 1938, and it hasn’t lost its power to captivate almost 100 years later.

LITTLE JOEY AND THE FLIPS

By 1962, Doo-Wop was about to be consigned to the dust bin of History, along with the crooners that had dominated the previous decade. The British Invasion was about to begin, which would turn the record business on its head.

But, just prior to that cataclysm, Joseph Hall and his 4 Pendleton wearing compadres arrive, dip dip dipping their striped hearts out, and they release this anomaly on Joy Records, which makes it to 33 on the charts. This was followed by only a couple more tries… then, oblivion.

Maybe it was that swinging “bongo” break that lifted the Frankie Lymon-esque knock-off to its catchy heights?