What the hullabaloo’s about

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Today’s post features the lyric of the song “So It’s Spring,” written by Tommy Wolf (music) and Wayne Arnold (words). I’d been unable to find the lyric online so I decided to transcribe the words myself, a job which I completed late last night before retiring. The lyric is found below the video in the post, and has also been added to my page on the song, which I’d published about a year ago. That page is here: So It’s Spring.

The earliest recording of “So It’s Spring” that I’m aware of is that released on the 1958 Tommy Wolf album Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most, Fraternity Records F-1010. The album was recorded on 5 & 6 September 1957, and features a trio consisting of Tommy Wolf (piano, vocals), Monty Budwig (bass), and Shelly Manne (drums). Other recordings include the following:

• Jackie & Roy with Bill Holman’s Orchestra, released on the 1958 album Free and Easy!, ABC-Paramount ‎ABC-207
• Carol Lawrence with orchestra conducted by Harry Betts, released on the 1962 album This Heart of Mine, album produced by Jackie Mills and Tommy Wolf
• Ed Vodicka & Friends, released on the 1987 CD album Portfolio, Best Recordings BR89-512

These are actually the only four recordings of the song that I’ve yet found.

Tommy Wolf — from the 1958 album Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most (dr. chilledaire),(Discogs.com), Fraternity Records F-1010; album recorded on 5 & 6 September 1957

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So It’s Spring (Tommy Wolf, Wayne Arnold) lyric

verse:

When the snow and the sleet are done
And the woolens are put away
Everyone shouts hooray!
It’s spring, hooray!

But I never have figured out
What the hullabaloo’s about
Why do the people shout
Hooray! hooray!

I don’t give a tooralay
If it’s April, March, or May
This is what I’ve got to say

chorus:

1
So it’s gonna be spring, so what?
So it’s spring
Is that good?
When I walk through the park
I just walk through the park
And go home to my own little bed

2
So the bird’s on the wing, so what?
I should care
Let it wing
All that passionate cooing
The pigeons are doing
Don’t matter a smidgen
Unless you’re a pigeon
I’m not, and so what if it’s spring

3
Each bud that is bursting in bloom
Unfolds to the delicate bee
And though such hocus-pocus
May tickle a crocus
It’s kind of revolting to me

4
Gee, so it’s gonna be spring, so what?
So it’s spring
Nitchevo
If you’re only a guy with a gleam in his eye
And with no one exciting for hand-to-hand fighting
It might as well be Halloween
See what I mean!
So it’s spring

(repeat 3)
Each bud that is bursting in bloom
Unfolds to the delicate bee
And though such hocus-pocus
May tickle a crocus
It’s kind of revolting to me

(repeat 4, with variation)
Yes, it’s gonna be spring, so what?
So it’s spring
Nitchevo
If you’re only a guy with a gleam in his eye
And with no one exciting for hand-to-hand fighting
It might as well be Halloween
See what I mean
So it’s spring!

~ lyric transcribed by Jim Radcliff (doc), 7 April 2019, from the 1957 Tommy Wolf recording

See also my page Unsung lyrics, transcribed by doc.

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All in vain I’ve wandered the snow lands

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Today’s new page is on the song “Like a Breath of Springtime,” written by Joe Burke (music) and Al Dubin (words). The song was copyrighted on 20 May 1929 and used in the 1929 romance film Hearts in Exile, which is considered a lost film.

1929 recordings include those by Roy Ingraham and his Orchestra, Harold “Scrappy” Lambert, Henry Busse and his Orchestra (vocal: Burt Lorin), Sam Lanin Orchestra (vocal: Marvin Young), Pete Woolery, and Adrian Schubert and his Salon Orchestra (vocal: Scrappy Lambert). “Burt Lorin” is a pseudonym for Scrappy Lambert, so Lambert is the vocalist on three of the seven recordings included in the page. Most, if not all, of these recordings were released under the copyright title “Like a Breath of Spring-Time.” I’ve modified the spelling of the last word of the title to conform with modern usage. Here’s a link to the new page:

Like a Breath of Springtime

A verse is sung in the 15 September 1929 Scrappy Lambert recording, as well as in the Pete Woolery and Sam Browne recordings, preceding the chorus. I’d been unable to find the full verse online, so I made the following transcription on 22 March 2019:

Winter blows its breath on the low lands
Over every green covered glen
All in vain I’ve wandered the snow lands
Looking for the sunshine again, then…

Recordings included in the page::

• Roy Ingraham and his Orchestra — recorded on 5 August 1929; issued on the 78 rpm single Brunswick 4544, b/w “Deep in the Arms of Love” (w.m. Lou Davis, Roy Ingraham)

• Harold “Scrappy” Lambert — recorded 15 September 1929 and issued on the 78 rpm single Brunswick 4556, c/w “When The Real Thing Comes Your Way”

Scrappy Lambert links: Wikipedia, JazzAge1920s.com, Discography of American Historical Recordings, Discogs.com, archive.org

audio file (4.9 MB, VBR MP3) from the Harold Scrappy Lambert Collection 1925-1935 at archive.org:

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• Henry Busse and his Orchestra, vocal: Burt Lorin (pseudonym of Harold “Scrappy” Lambert) — recorded on 20 September 1920; issued 8 November 1929 the 78 rpm single Victor 22140, b/w “Since I Found You” (m. Ray Perkins, w. Herman Ruby) — In the UK, the recording was issued in January 1930 on the B-side of HMV B 5751, the A-side being a recording of “Sunny Side Up” by Johnny Hamp’s Kentucky Serenaders.
• Sam Lanin Orchestra, vocal: Marvin Young (pseudonym of Irving Kaufman)– recorded on 26 September 1929 (Columbia matrix W149055); issued on the 10-inch 78 rpm single Harmony 1018-H, c/w “Melancholy”
• Pete Woolery, accompanied by violin and piano — recorded on 9 October 1929 (Columbia matrix W149069); issued on Columbia 2004-D, c/w “Deep in the Arms of Love” (w.m. Lou Davis, Roy Ingraham)
• Adrian Schubert and his Salon Orchestra, vocal: Harold “Scrappy” Lambert — recorded on 1 November 1929; issued on the following US singles (all except Banner 507, c/w the Irving Berlin song “To Be Forgotten”):
  • Perfect 15247 – as Adrian Schubert and His Salon Orchestra, acc. to Henry König’s Perfect 1928-1934 catalog at http://musiktiteldb.de; as Adrian Schubert’s Salon Orchestra, acc. to 78discography.com
  • (US) Pathe 37066 – as Adrian Schubert and His Salon Orchestra, acc. to Henry König; as Adrian Schubert SO, acc. 78discography.com
  • Domino 4447 – as Russ Carlson and His Dance Orchestra, acc. to Henry König, as Adrian Schubert Society Orchestra, acc. 78discography.com
  • Banner 507 – as Russ Carlson and His Dance Orchestra, acc. to Henry König; as Russ Carlson’s Dance Orchestra, acc. to 78discography.com — c/w “A Waltz That Brings a Memory,” by Willie Creager and his Orchestra

also issued on the French Pathé ‎label on the following single:

• • Pathé ‎X. 6300, b/w “Lady Luck” (Ray Parkins) – as House Orchestra
• Sam Browne — issued on 30 October 1930 on the 78 rpm single (UK) Edison Bell Radio 1388, as the B-side of “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes” (m. Joe Burke, w. Al Dubin)

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Other recordings that I haven’t found yet include those by Dr. Eugene Ormandy’s Salon Orchestra, OKeh 41319, 17 September 1929; Debroy Somers Band, (UK) Columbia CB 90, 2 June 1930; as well as several others by British dance bands and vocalists.

Bewitchin’ to beggar and king

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Today I published a short page on the song “In the Spring of the Year,” with music by Alec Wilder and words by Lee Kuhn, including the only four recordings of the song that I’ve found so far. According to WilderWorld podcast 129 the song was written in 1947. However, the copyright date is 20 April 1949. I’ve included a transcription of the lyric that I did today using the 1951 Lee Kuhn recording. In other versions, the order of sections vary, as do the number of times certain sections are sung. Here’s a link to the new page:

In the Spring of the Year

Recordings included in the page:

• Joe Graydon Orchestra with Four Hits and a Miss – recorded on 25 March 1949 (matrix L 4945); released on the single Coral 60068, c/w “Amarillo”
• Lee Kuhn sings, with piano accompaniment (pianist unidentified) — 1951 Associated Recording Studios recording

• • WilderWorld podcast 129, 8 April 2008
• Mabel Mercer – from her 1958 album Once in a Blue Moon, (US) Atlantic Records 1301, SD 1301

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• Joyce Breach with The Keith Ingham Trio — from the 2003 CD album Remembering Mabel Mercer – Volume Two, Audiophile ACD-326

In the Spring of the Year (m. Alec Wilder, w. Lee Kuhn)
~lyric transcribed by doc on 30 March 2019, from the 1951 Lee Kuhn recording

In the spring of the year
All of a sudden
The bloomin’ and buddin’
Get into your blood ‘n’ you sing
Not a sigh do you hear in the spring
Of the year

In the spring of the year
Some hocus-pocus
Induces the crocus
To blossom and grow ’cause it’s spring
There’s a magic that’s queer in the spring
Of the year

Birds are singier
Vines are clingier
Bells are ringier too
The sun is sunnier
Bees are honeyer
Rabbits are bunnier too

In the spring of the year
Folks get an itchin’
For wooin’ and hitchin’
Bewitchin’ to beggar and king
For the fling of the year in the spring
Of the year

Trees are sappier
Wings are flappier
Laughs are laughier too
The moon is moonier
Tunes are tunier
Dreams are balloonier too

(repeat section 4)

And buttercups come peeping through the snow

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Howdy folks. Today I published a page on the song “When You’ve Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart,” which was written, words and music, by Harry Woods. The song was copyrighted on 28 December 1933 and introduced by Jessie Matthews in the musical film Evergreen, which was released in April 1934 in the UK, 31 December 1934 in the US, and in 1935 in other countries.

Seven of the following nine recordings are included in the page, which can be viewed here:

When You’ve Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart

early recordings:

• 1934
  • Jessie Matthews with Orchestra conducted by Bretton Byrd
  • Bertini & The Tower Blackpool Dance Band, vocal: Maurice Elwin
  • Ray Noble and his Orchestra, vocal: Al Bowlly
  • Jack Payne and his Band, vocal: Jack Payne
  • Joe Loss and his Band, vocal: Harry Case
  • Roy Fox and his Band, vocal: Denny Dennis
• 1934-1935
  • Geraldo and his Sweet Music, vocal: Cyril Grantham – (part of an “Evergreen” medley) issued c. 1934-1935
  • Billy Merrin and his Commanders, vocal: unidentified – issued in 1934 or 1935
  • Louis Levy and his Gaumont British Symphony, vocal: Janet Lind — part of a medley of movie music recorded on 10 September 1936

recent recording:

• The Pasadena Roof Orchestra — 2013

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The other two recordings will be added when they become available. Here’s a more detailed list of the nine recordings that I’ve indentified:

• Jessie Matthews with orchestra conducted by Bretton Byrd — issued on the 78 rpm single (UK) Columbia DB 1404, b/w “(a) Tinkle, Tinkle, Tinkle ; (b) Over My Shoulder”
• Bertini and The Tower Blackpool Dance Band, vocal: Maurice Elwin — recorded in London on 22 May 1934 (matrix JW 1891-2); issued on the single (UK) Eclipse 750, c/w “Hot Punch” — “Bertini” was the stage name of the violin-playing, British dance band leader Bertram Harry Gutsell.

audio file from the British Dance Band sound files at Mike Thomas’ website (mgthomas.co.uk):

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• Ray Noble and his Orchestra, vocal: Al Bowlly — recorded on 2 July 1934; issued in the UK on the 78 rpm single HMV B.6504, and in the US on the single Victor 24720, c/w “Over My Shoulder” (Harry Woods) in each case
• Jack Payne and his Band, vocal: Jack Payne — recorded in April 1934 or July 1934; issued on the 78 rpm single (UK) Rex 8227, b/w “Over My Shoulder”
• Joe Loss and his Band, featuring Chick Henderson, vocal: Harry Case — recorded in London on 31 August 1934; issued on (UK) Regal Zonophone MR 1417, c/w “Over My Shoulder” — available on various compilations including the 1982 two-disc LP Hits Of The Thirties
• Roy Fox and his Band, vocal: Denny Dennis — issued in 1934 in the US on the 78 rpm single Decca 275, as the B-side of “Over My Shoulder”
• Geraldo and his Sweet Music, vocal: Cyril Grantham — part of an “Evergreen” medley issued c. 1934-1935 on the singles (UK) Columbia DB 1408, and (US) Columbia 3007-D

• Billy Merrin and his Commanders, with unidentified vocalist — recording date unknown (British Homophone Company matrix S-3919); issued in 1934 or 1935 on the single (UK) Sterno 1474, c/w “Over My Shoulder” — also issued in 1934 or 1935 on the single (UK) Plaza P-305, under the pseudonym Al Gold and his Band — Credited to Billy Merrin & His Commanders, the recording is also available on the 2012 Amazon digital album Just a Crazy Song.

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• Louis Levy and his Gaumont British Symphony, vocal: Janet Lind — part of a medley of movie music recorded on 10 September 1936; issued on the single (UK) Columbia FB 1545 on side 1: “Music From The Movies–Medley, Part 1,”  b/w “Music From The Movies–Medley, Part 2”
• The Pasadena Roof Orchestra — from the 2013 album Ladies And Gentleman, (Germany) Herzog Records 901038 HER

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sources:

• Mike Thomas’ website (http://mgthomas.co.uk)
• r2ok ! – a website dedicated to British pre-pop popular music (http://www.r2ok.co.uk/) – source of some of the photos of bandleaders and vocalists
• 78 rpm Collectors’ Community (https://www.78rpmcommunity.com)
• Henry König’s Musiktiteldatenbank (http://musiktiteldb.de)
• The Online Discographical Project, created by Steven Abrams and Tyrone Settlemier (http://www.78discography.com)
• Discogs.com (https://www.discogs.com)
• 45worlds.com
• Movie Ramble: British Cinema – Jessie Matthews page (http://brianmatthews60.blogspot.com/p/british-cinema-jessie-matthews.html)
• Getty Images — photos of Jessie Matthews in the 1934 film Evergreen
• YouTube

Aida Overton Walker theatrical photos by White Studio, NY, c. 1902-1912

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c. 1902-1904

W1 (probably by White Studio)

W2a

W2b

W3a

W3b

W4

W5

W6

W7 (probably by White Studio)

1907

W8a

W8b

W8c

W8d

1908-1912

W9a

W9b

W10a

W10b

W10c

Identifying and dating the White Studio, NY, images, including arguments for the most likely year of creation:

• W1
  • 1902 — The image was used on the cover of the sheet music for “I’d like to be a Real Lady.” The song was copyrighted in 1902, and according to the Library of Congress, the sheet music featuring image W1 was created and published in 1902.
• W2a,b — Image 2b was added to my main Aida Overton Walker page in 2016. Image W2a is a new edit of that image created on 3 March 2019.
  • 1902 – The hairstyle or wig resembles that worn in image W1, which was used on the cover of the sheet music for “I’d like to be a Real Lady,” published in 1902.
  • 1904 — The image was used on the cover of the sheet music for “Why Adam Sinned,” published in 1904.
• W3a, b — White Studio #84 — I recently found the image that I’ve labeled W3a at the Beinecke Digital Collections of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
• Image W3b (source unknown) is a smaller copy of the same photograph, which I’ve had on my main Aida Overton Walker page since June 2012.
  • 1902 – The hairstyle or wig resembles that worn in image W1, which was created no later than 1902.
  • 1904 — The hairstyle or wig resembles that on the 1904 “Why Adam Sinned” sheet music cover.
• W4
  • 1902 – The hairstyle or wig resembles that worn in image W1, which was created no later than 1902.
  • 1904 — The dress, pearl necklace, hairstyle/wig, and earrings worn by Aida each appear to be the same worn in image #3. The hairstyle seems to be the same as that in the photo used on the 1904 “Why Adam Sinned” sheet music cover. The hat/headdress appears to be the same as that worn in images W5 and W6.
• W5 — White Studio #63 — source unknown; added to my main Aida Overton Walker page in March 2013
  • 1901 — The luxurious, ruffle adorned, white dress worn in images W5 and W6 resembles the dress worn in the illustration on the cover of the sheet music for “Miss Hannah from Savannah,” published in 1901.
  • 1902 – The hairstyle or wig resembles that worn in image W1, which was created no later than 1902.
  • 1904 — The hairstyle seems to be the same as that in the photo used on the 1904 “Why Adam Sinned” sheet music cover. Also, the elaborately decorated hat or headdress seems to be the same one worn in image 4, which is one of the three “pearl necklace” photos (images W3a, W3b, W4, and W7), all of which I’ve tentatively dated 1904 because the hairstyle in each seems to the same as that in the photo used on the 1904 “Why Adam Sinned” sheet music cover.
• W6 — White Studio #64 — I recently found this image, which I’ve labeled W6, at the Beinecke Digital Collections of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
  • 1901-1904 — (See image W5)
• W7 — This image is an edit by me of an image found in the Flickr photo stream of Bluesy Daye on about 1 March 2019.
  • 1902 — The hat looks like it might be the same one worn in image W1, which was created no later than 1902, and the hairstyle/wig also resembles that worn in image W1.
  • 1904 — The hairstyle or wig appears to be the same as that in images W2-W6, which may have been created in 1904.
• W8a,b,c,d — Images W8a,b, and d are my own edits of images recently found in Yale University’s Beinecke Digital Collections.
  • 1907 – One of the two inscribed photos in the cardboard photo holders is dated 1907, the other 1908. I’m guessing that the photo was taken around 1907. It certainly was no later than that year.
    • W8a – inscribed “To Mr. & Mrs. [Nora] Holt with love, Aida Overton Walker 1907.”
    • W8b – inscribed “Yours from Bandana Land Aida Overton Walker 1908.”
    • W8c – uninscribed edit from unknown source, posted on my main AOW page years ago
    • W8d – evidently cropped from the image used for W8a
• W9a,b — Image 9a was recently found in the NYPL Digital Collections, where it is dated 1911. Image 9b is an edit by me of that image, made by simply removing the brown tint.
  • 1908 — In the article “Black Salome: Exoticism, Dance and Racial Myths,” by David Krasner, which appears as chapter 10 (in part III) of the book African American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader, edited by Harry J. Elam, Jr., David Krasner (2001), pp. 192ff., on pp. 203-205, the author claims that what I’ve labeled image W9 shows Overton Walker in the costume that she wore in the Salome dance that she performed with Bert Williams in the 1908 musical revue Bandanna Land, and that for her more modern interpretation of the dance in 1912, she wore a loose-fitting gown, similar to those commonly worn by Isadora Duncan. If Krasner is correct in dating image W9 1908, then image W10 is also from 1908. If correct, the date of 1908 for images W9 and W10 might also help to explain why Overton Walker looks younger in these images than she does in some of the images of her found on the covers of sheet music published in 1910-1911, and in newspaper articles published in those years.
  • The biography of Ada [sic] Overton Walker in the online Performing Arts Encyclopedia of the Library of Congress says:
    • In 1908 Overton Walker was featured in Williams and Walker’s Bandanna Land, and her dancing continued to draw attention for its gracefulness. Soon after Bandanna Land opened, a new solo, “[T]he Dancing of Salome,” was added for her.
      
  • This explains why IBDb does not list that number among the opening night songs of Bandanna Land, which had a run of 89 performances on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre from 2/03/1908 to 4/18/1908.
  • The book Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923 Volume 1 by John Franceschina (2017?), on p. 1907, says that the music for the Bandanna Land number “The Dancing of Salome” was composed and arranged by Joe Jordan.
    • The Wikipedia page on Joe Jordan says: “In New York, Jordan wrote a couple of songs for Ada Overton Walker, first “Salome’s Dance” and then in 1909 “That Teasin’ Rag”.”
  • 1911 — The date 1911 attached to image 9a at the New York Public Library Digital Collections may be incorrect.
  • 1912 — Overton Walker performed her latest interpretation of the dance of Salome at the Paradise Roof Garden of Hammerstein’s Victoria Theatre in a production that opened in August 1912.
• W10a,b,c — I’ve had these images, source unknown, in my main AOW page since 2012, though a couple of them were updated in 2017.
  • 1908 — See the explanation regarding this date for image W9.
  • 1910 — The date 1910 attached to the image at NYPL Digital Collections may be incorrect.
  • 1912 — Overton Walker performed her latest interpretation of the dance of Salome at the Paradise Roof Garden of Hammerstein’s Victoria Theatre in a production that opened in August 1912.

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Selected reference

book and article

• Moving Performances: Divas, Iconicity, and Remembering the Modern Stage by Jeanne Scheper (2016), Chapter 1: “The Color Line is Always Moving: Aida Overton Walker,” pp. 22-60
• “Black Salome: Exoticism, Dance and Racial Myths” by David Krasner, which appears as chapter 10 (in part III) of the book African American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader, edited by Harry J. Elam, Jr., David Krasner (2001), pp. 192ff.

photograph and image sources

• New York Public Library Digital Collections
• Beinecke Digital Collections of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library