Customer Reviews

My Son the Folk Singer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another one of my rare "personal" reviews here.

Unlike most pre-teens of the mid-60s, my earliest musical influences were Broadway soundtracks... and Allan Sherman. Just as I knew every lyric to MY FAIR LADY, BYE BYE BIRDIE, THE PAJAMA GAME or YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, I also committed to memory all the songs of this zany parodist. Over 40 years later, I can still sing these wonderful ditties from start to finish.

His WARNER's debut, MY SON, THE FOLK SINGER is the only Sherman LP I own in stereo. Mine is apparently a very rare album, for even a web encyclopedia claims it as a mono-only work-- nonsense! What is this I hold in one hand while typng with the other? Says STEREO and plays the same! It is true however that all six of his records issued between 1962 and '69 are generally only found in mono. (BTW, if you'd like to own every one of Allan's original recordings in stereo, check out RHINO's spectacular 6-CD set, MY SON, THE BOX).

"My Son, the Folk Singer" was #1 on Billboard's Pop charts, all without benefit of any "singles," although "Sarah Jackman" did receive substantial airplay back then on non-rock AM music stations. Album highlights.... Hey, it's all good! If you remember this one from way back, I'm preaching to the choir here. And I'd wager that --you-- know all the words, too!

We'll close with a bit of sage advice, taken from "Schticks and Stones":
Never make a stingy sandwich
Pile the cold cuts high
Customers should see salami
Comin' t'ru da rye!

PLAYLIST--
SIDE ONE:
The Ballad of Harry Lewis ["Battle Hymn of the Republic"]
Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max ["Dear Old Donegal," aka "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Mike"]
Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal ["Greensleeves"]
My Zelda ["Matilda"]
The Streets of Miami ["The Streets of Laredo"]

SIDE TWO:
Sarah Jackman (with Christine Nelson) ["Frere Jacques"]
Jump Down, Spin Around (Pick a Dress o' Cotton) ["Bale of Cotton"]
Seltzer Boy ["Water Boy"]
Oh Boy [Chiapanecas aka "The Hand Clapping Song"]
Shticks and Stones

"I'm upside down
My head is turning around
Because I gotta sell the house in Levittown..."
--Allen Sherman

Allan Sherman's debut album actually wasn't his debut record (he recorded a song or two in 1951 on a 78rpm record that didn't sell well, to say the least). In any event, Allan is in excellent form here on his official debut album here; his ability to take songs and other ballads mostly in the public domain and poke fun at them using Jewish humor and his own lyrics is remarkable. Allan Sherman had quite a knack for poking fun at the Jewish lifestyle which he knew well being Jewish himself; and his rapport with his admiring audience is quite evident when you listen to this album. The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork incorporates the original artwork from the record album release back in 1962.

There are wonderfully funny songs on this album; and all of them shine in Allan Sherman's capable hands. Of course, I have my favorites as you will, too. The album opens with Sherman's hysterical takeoff on "Battle Hymn of the Republic" which he entitled "The Ballad of Harry Lewis." Every time the audience roars with laughter you will laugh, too--this humor is all THAT good even in our times. "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max" is also very well done; Allan Sherman's ability to create witty lyrics that were particularly cleaver is evidenced when he makes mention of two relatives with the same last name except for the fact that the two names have a difference in how they are spelled--"there's Stein with an `ei' and Styne with a `y.'"

"My Zelda" pokes fun at "Matilda;" listen for that explanation of how Zelda found "her big romance;" it makes me laugh whenever I hear it! There's yet another gem in "Sarah Jackman" which Allan performs with Christine Nelson; this parody of "Frère Jacques" was one of the biggest hits of the album and with just one listen you will know why. "Jump Down, Spin Around (Pick a Dress o' Cotton)" and "Seltzer Boy" have Sherman in the spotlight again; and the album closes with the amazingly funny medley of several short songs being parodied, "Shticks and Stones" is brilliant and proves beyond a doubt that Allan Sherman was a genius.

This is one heck of a CD for any fan of Allan Sherman who didn't get the box set entitled "My Son the Box;" and it makes a fine starter CD for anyone who is just discovering his wit or who enjoys classic Jewish humor. This also brings back fond memories for me as I recall how my parents loved to listen to this album on vinyl over and over again. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

Allan Sherman's gift for parody songs dates back well before his commercial success in the 1960s. As a struggling comedy writer in New York he sang parody songs at parties, and as the successful creator and producer of the television game show I've Got a Secret, his parodies became well-known within the industry. He even recorded a single ("Jake's Song" b/w "A Satchel and a Seck") - a flop - in 1951. He tried again in the mid-50s with a Jewish-humor translation of My Fair Lady (to be called "Fairfax Lady," after the Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles), but failing to gain the original composer's permission, the project was shelved. It wasn't until several years later, after a move to Los Angeles, that his continuing party appearances garnered famous fans who led him to a composer, Lou Busch, and a recording contract with Warner brothers.

Sherman recorded this debut album in 1962 in front of a hand-picked studio audience, and with their laughter supplying the rocket fuel, the album, and it's hit single "Sarah Jackman" (to the tune of Frerer Jacques), crossed over from the borscht belt audience to nationwide acclaim. The keys to Sherman's success are many. His lyrics are both clever and catchy, eliciting spontaneous mid-song applause and sticking memorable lines ("He was trampling through the warehouse / where the drapes of Roth are stored" sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic") in the listener's ears. His comedic timing, augmented by terrific musical accompaniment, is perfectly tuned to his intimate studio gatherings, and the seriousness of Busch's arrangements neatly emphasizes the silliness of Sherman's words. His humor is decidedly Jewish, even old-timey, but exalting an old-time tailor and using an accent to rhyme "fourth" with "cloth" is funny whether or not you're of the tribe.

This initial batch of songs threads archetypical Jewish characters - overbearing families, the merchant class, dealmakers, Floridians, gossipers, kvetchers and bargain hunters - into then-familiar melodies. He sings the praises of seltzer water, and in the closing "Shticks and Stones" traipses through six minutes of brilliantly segued slices of stereotypical Jewish life, including business problems, hospital bills, kosher foods and aging. Incredibly, rooting his songs so deeply in the Jewish-American experience somehow produces humor that's universally funny and nearly fifty years later, Sherman's humor and craft stand on their own, entertaining to even those who don't know the original tunes. Collectors' Choice straight-up reissue includes new liner notes by Dr. Demento. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

My parents had this album - along with a few other comedy classics like the Smothers Brothers and Bill Cosby - and probably 30 years later, I still remember most of the words to these songs. I'm sad that I can't get this particular album on CD or download (unless I spring for the whole boxed set, which I might do) because it's the only one that has the songs I really remember - Pick a Dress of Cotton stands out in my memory. I also Love Sarah Jackman - that song made me ask my mother what a Lolita was. It was many years before I got a satisfactory answer I think.

Hello Mudda, Hello Faddah is the quintessential Sherman song - we still sing it at the summer camp where I've worked for many years. That song is easy to get lots of places though. The other stuff on this album is great, but alas, not as easy to come by.

When I grew a bit older, I discoverd Dr. Demento when I slept over my friends' houses on the weekends, and we'd be exposed to more of this type of entertainment. But this is the album where I cut my teeth, combining two of my loves - folk music and comedy - in one place. The title is great, the album is better!

Another one of my rare "personal" reviews here.

Unlike most pre-teens of the mid-60s, my earliest musical influences were Broadway soundtracks... and Allan Sherman. Just as I knew every lyric to MY FAIR LADY, BYE BYE BIRDIE, THE PAJAMA GAME or YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, I also committed to memory all the songs of this zany parodist. Over 40 years later, I can still sing these wonderful ditties from start to finish.

His WARNER's debut, MY SON, THE FOLK SINGER is the only Sherman LP I own in stereo. Mine is apparently a very rare album, for even a web encyclopedia claims it as a mono-only work-- nonsense! What is this I hold in one hand while typng with the other? Says STEREO and plays the same! It is true however that all six of his records issued between 1962 and '69 are generally only found in mono. (BTW, if you'd like to own every one of Allan's original recordings in stereo, check out RHINO's spectacular 6-CD set, MY SON, THE BOX).

"My Son, the Folk Singer" was #1 on Billboard's Pop charts, all without benefit of any "singles," although "Sarah Jackman" did receive substantial airplay back then on non-rock AM music stations. Album highlights.... Hey, it's all good! If you remember this one from way back, I'm preaching to the choir here. And I'd wager that --you-- know all the words, too!

We'll close with a bit of sage advice, taken from "Schticks and Stones":
Never make a stingy sandwich
Pile the cold cuts high
Customers should see salami
Comin' t'ru da rye!

PLAYLIST--
SIDE ONE:
The Ballad of Harry Lewis ["Battle Hymn of the Republic"]
Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max ["Dear Old Donegal," aka "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Mike"]
Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal ["Greensleeves"]
My Zelda ["Matilda"]
The Streets of Miami ["The Streets of Laredo"]

SIDE TWO:
Sarah Jackman (with Christine Nelson) ["Frere Jacques"]
Jump Down, Spin Around (Pick a Dress o' Cotton) ["Bale of Cotton"]
Seltzer Boy ["Water Boy"]
Oh Boy [Chiapanecas aka "The Hand Clapping Song"]
Shticks and Stones

There are very few original WARNER's stereo pressings of MY SON THE FOLK SINGER (I do own one, on a gold label). As Product Details on this COLLECTOR's CHOICE re-release don't specify "stereo" and the VINYL link is to a monaural gray label LP, that may be what you're getting.

(BTW, if you'd like to own every one of Allan Sherman's original recordings in stereo, check out RHINO's spectacular 6-CD set, MY SON, THE BOX.)

"My Son, the Folk Singer" was #1 on Billboard's Pop charts, all without benefit of any "singles," although "Sarah Jackman" did receive substantial airplay back then on non-rock AM music stations. It was a popular record in the JFK White House and in many American homes (including mine). Album highlights.... Hey, it's all good! If you remember this one from way back, I'm just preaching to the choir. And I'd wager that you still know all the words, too!

We'll close with a bit of sage advice, taken from "Schticks and Stones":
Never make a stingy sandwich
Pile the cold cuts high
Customers should see salami
Comin' t'ru da rye!

Allan Sherman was a funny man and we are lucky to have him forever at our finger tips, if you have never heard him it is now time. Some folk singers wanted to change the world, Allan exposed the world.

I have a friend with the vinyl album - and it would appear that the mp3 album of My Son, The Folk Singer is missing several songs. Quelle disappoint.

I've been looking for this album for a very long time. Very funny songs, but probably not timely for today. My family grew up with these songs and it's great to be able to share them. Until know only the "owner" of the vinyl could listen.

Harry Lewis perished in the service of the lord
He was trampling through the warehouse
where the drapes of Roth are stored

that's all you need to know to buy this classic album. Hysterical from start to finish.