Thursday, November 29, 2018
Slim Whitman - (1984) Angeline LP
At his worst, Whitman, 60 (in 1984), sounds like a cross between Tiny Tim and a coyote whose paw is caught in a trap. At his best, he sounds like a cross between Tiny Tim and a coyote who is happy his paw isn't caught in a trap. On the other hand, he has made 70 or so albums, which is rather more than your average former mailman, shipyard worker and baseball player have done. On this LP, produced by Nashville veteran Bob Montgomery, he seems to have toned down the yodelly stuff that let him in for so much ribbing on the SCTV comedy series, though there's more than enough of it on Cry Baby Heart and Blue Bayou (Roy Orbison and Linda Ronstadt have nothing to worry about). He also does such old hits as Dreamin', A Place in the Sun and Scarlet Ribbons. (He has said, astonishingly enough, that he has heard only one previous recording of Scarlet Ribbons, by the Browns in 1959. Does the name Harry Belafonte mean anything to you, Slim?) Whitman's son Byron wrote another of the tunes, Blue Memories; it includes the lines "Teardrops keep fallin' like rain/ Pictures only add to the pain," which provide an idea of how imaginative it is. When he's not high-pitching it, Whitman is a marginally competent singer. All of which leaves more or less unanswered the burning question of how he has managed to sell more than 50 million records?!
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Holy shit, this is SO fucking good! 80's synthy country.
Thanks to Andy Kaufman for introducing me to Slim:
Slim Whitman - (1963) Yodeling LP
Mr. Whitman, the country crooner with the weather-beaten face, velvet voice and sentimental lyrics, was often the object of humor, almost always good-natured. In the early 1980s a disc jockey offered Slim Whitman makeup kits “complete with receding hairline, furry black eyebrows and a cream to make your upper lip quiver.” In 1997 Rush Limbaugh whimsically suggested that when Mr. Whitman’s songs were played backward, the Devil’s voice could be heard. (It couldn’t.)
He recorded more than 500 songs, made more than 100 albums and sold more than 70 million records. In the 1970s his recording of “Rose Marie” was No. 1 on the British pop charts for 11 weeks, a feat the Beatles never accomplished. Michael Jackson named Mr. Whitman one of his 10 favorite vocalists. George Harrison credited him as an early influence. Paul McCartney said Mr. Whitman gave him the idea of playing the guitar left-handed.
Elvis Presley, in his first professional appearance in Memphis in 1954, opened for Mr. Whitman. Mistakenly billed as Ellis, he was paid $50; Mr. Whitman got $500. Mr. Whitman later let Presley borrow his trademark white rhinestone jacket.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Friday, November 16, 2018
Johnny Puleo - (1959) Johnny Puleo And His Harmonica Gang Vol. 4 LP
An American musician and actor, who specialized in playing the harmonica.
Born (October 7, 1907) a dwarf in Washington, DC (he stood 4 feet 6 inches or 1.37 meters as an adult), he worked as a newspaper seller until being discovered at a contest in Boston held by bandleader Borrah Minevitch, of The Harmonica Rascals. Soon he joined a comedy variety act, during which time he learned the art of pantomime that has contributed so much to his success. He then joined The Harmonica Rascals, with whom he toured the world.
In 1941 Johnny tried to leave the The Harmonica Rascals and start his own group. The entire new group moved in with Johnny's parents, living and rehearsing in the basement. It did not last long, though, because Borrah Minevitch found them and got them working for him again.
After Minevitch's death in 1955, Puleo formed his own band, Johnny Puleo And His Harmonica Gang. He recorded various albums with the Gang and solo on the Audio Fidelity label, as well as acting in several films, most notably Trapeze (1956). The Harmonica Gang appeared at top supper clubs throughout USA, including the famous "Latin Quarter" (nightclub) in New York and Miami Beach; The “Riviera” in Las Vegas; “Palmer House” in Chicago; “The Roosevelt” in New Orleans and “Twin Coaches” in Pittsburgh and venues like the Moulin Rouge and London Palladium overseas.
Johnny also appeared in Milwaukee Wisconsin where he met local band leader Conrad Johns and upon meeting Puleo, Conrad's 5-year-old son Steven said "Hey, I'm as tall as you." Johnny just smiled and said, "And that's as tall as you're ever going to get if you keep crackin' jokes like this."
Puleo and his five-member band released a series of high-energy light-pop LPs on the Audio Fidelity label. His first album was the first LP to released in a single-tone-arm stereo format in 1958. More (at least seven) Audio Fidelity albums followed well into the 1960s. One of his (and their) best performances is "Sabre Dance."
He died of a heart attack at Holy Cross Hospital in his native Washington D.C. on May 3, 1983.
Born (October 7, 1907) a dwarf in Washington, DC (he stood 4 feet 6 inches or 1.37 meters as an adult), he worked as a newspaper seller until being discovered at a contest in Boston held by bandleader Borrah Minevitch, of The Harmonica Rascals. Soon he joined a comedy variety act, during which time he learned the art of pantomime that has contributed so much to his success. He then joined The Harmonica Rascals, with whom he toured the world.
In 1941 Johnny tried to leave the The Harmonica Rascals and start his own group. The entire new group moved in with Johnny's parents, living and rehearsing in the basement. It did not last long, though, because Borrah Minevitch found them and got them working for him again.
After Minevitch's death in 1955, Puleo formed his own band, Johnny Puleo And His Harmonica Gang. He recorded various albums with the Gang and solo on the Audio Fidelity label, as well as acting in several films, most notably Trapeze (1956). The Harmonica Gang appeared at top supper clubs throughout USA, including the famous "Latin Quarter" (nightclub) in New York and Miami Beach; The “Riviera” in Las Vegas; “Palmer House” in Chicago; “The Roosevelt” in New Orleans and “Twin Coaches” in Pittsburgh and venues like the Moulin Rouge and London Palladium overseas.
Johnny also appeared in Milwaukee Wisconsin where he met local band leader Conrad Johns and upon meeting Puleo, Conrad's 5-year-old son Steven said "Hey, I'm as tall as you." Johnny just smiled and said, "And that's as tall as you're ever going to get if you keep crackin' jokes like this."
Puleo and his five-member band released a series of high-energy light-pop LPs on the Audio Fidelity label. His first album was the first LP to released in a single-tone-arm stereo format in 1958. More (at least seven) Audio Fidelity albums followed well into the 1960s. One of his (and their) best performances is "Sabre Dance."
He died of a heart attack at Holy Cross Hospital in his native Washington D.C. on May 3, 1983.
AFSD – 5919
Johnny Puleo - (1958) Johnny Puleo And His Harmonica Gang Vol. 3 LP
Audio Fidelity – 5883
Filmography:
Actor (6 credits)
Comedy Tonight (TV Series) 1970
Cameo
- Episode dated 19 July
Trapeze 1956
Max (as John Puleo)
Always in My Heart 1942
Short Harmonica Rascal (uncredited)
Rascals 1938
Harmonica Rascal (uncredited)
One in a Million 1936
Johnny Puleo (uncredited)
I Scream (Short) 1934
Sgt. Clark (uncredited)
Self (13 credits)
SCTV Network (TV Series) 1982
Himself
- Pre-Teen World Telethon (1982) ... Himself (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series) 1966-1971
Himself / Himself - Harmonica Player
- Episode #10.132 (1971) ... Himself - Harmonica Player
- Episode #8.53 (1968) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
- Episode #5.90 (1966) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
The Hollywood Palace (TV Series) 1964-1968
Himself - Harmonica Player / Himself / Himself - Singer
- Episode #6.3 (1968) ... Himself - Harmonica Player (as Johnny Puleo's Harmonica Gang)
- Episode #4.15 (1966) ... Himself - Harmonica Player (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang):
- Episode #2.10 (1964) ... Himself - Singer
- Episode #1.3 (1964) ... Himself - Harmonica Player
The Milton Berle Show (TV Series) 1966
Himself
- Episode #1.4 (1966) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo's Harmonica Gang):
Himself / Guest
- Episode #17.8 (1965) ... Himself
- Episode #13.33 (1961) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
- Episode #10.30 (1958) ... Himself
- Episode #10.11 (1957) ... Guest
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) 1962-1965
Himself / Music Group Leader / Harmonica Player
- Episode #18.16 (1965) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
- Episode #16.27 (1963) ... Music Group Leader (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
- Episode #15.25 (1962) ... Harmonica Player
The Jack Paar Program (TV Series) 1964
Himself
- Episode #2.20 (1964) ... Himself
The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams (TV Series) 1959
Himself
- Episode #2.2 (1959) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (TV Series) 1957
Themselves
- Episode #3.3 (1957) ... Themselves
The George Gobel Show (TV Series) 1957
Himself
- Episode #3.23 (1957) ... Himself (as Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang)
Texaco Star Theatre (TV Series) 1948-1954
Himself - Harmonica Player / Himself / Himself - Musician
- Episode #6.26 (1954) ... Himself
- Episode #3.1 (1950) ... Himself - Harmonica Player
- Episode #2.12 (1949) ... Himself - Harmonica Player
- Episode #1.20 (1948) ... Himself - Musician
The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter (TV Series) 1950
Himself - Harmonica Player
- Frances Langford, Larry Storch, Borrah Minevitch's Harmonica Rascals (1950) ... Himself - Harmonica Player
Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals (Short) 1933
Himself - Harmonica Player (uncredited)
Archive footage (1 credit)
Heroes of Comedy (TV Series documentary) 2002
- Sidney James (2002)
Monday, November 12, 2018
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