FRANK CRUMIT A GAY CABALLERO
Singer and Entertainer His 25 Finest 1925-1935
RETROSPECTIVE RTR 4317
TOTAL PLAYING TIME:
[79:32]
1. A Gay Caballero (2:56)
2. Abdul Abulbul Amir (2:54)
3. Ukulele Lady (2:57)
4. I Married The Bootlegger’s daughter (3:08)
5. I’m Sitting on Top Of The World (2:50)
6. Thanks for The Buggy Ride (3:03)
7. The Girl Friend (3:16)
8. Mountain Greenery (2:59)
9. Get Away, Old Man, Get Away (3:01)
10. Pretty Little Dear (2:57)
11. High, High, High Up In The Hills (3:26)
12. Crazy Words, Crazy Tune (3:17)
13. Frankie And Johnny (3:30)
14. ‘S Wonderful (3:28)
15. The Song of the Prune (3:34)
16. Granny’s Old Armchair (3:27)
17. Little Brown Jug (3:24)
18. Donald The Dub (3:36)
19. Down By The Railroad Track (3:21)
20. What Kind Of Noise Annoys An Oyster? (2:58)
21. Three Little Words (2:42)
22. Would You Like to Take A Walk? (2:46)
23. They’re Always Together (2:44)
24. The Pig Got Up And Slowly Walked Away (3:02)
25. There’s No One With Endurance Like The Man Who Sells Insurance (2:41)
Frank Crumit (1889-1943) was a popular and well-loved American singer and
composer who made his mark in the entertainment world as a vaudeville star
and radio entertainer. Born in Jackson, Ohio, he first performed on
Broadway in the 1918 musical Betty Be Good. Frank began making
records in 1919 for American Columbia using the acoustic or “horn” method
of recording. His first release, My Gal, came in May 1920. Frank
had an easy, relaxed singing style and pleasant tenor which unfortunately
was not always well-captured with the horn. Some of his early records
tended to sound a bit distant and thin, as the acoustic method generally
favored a stronger, richer voice. Frank began recording for Victor Records
in 1923. When Victor introduced their new Orthophonic electronic recording
process in 1925, Frank put away the horn and switched to the microphone,
which greatly improved the tone, resonance and quality of his recordings.
Frank recorded over 100 songs in his career and had over 31 hit records,
with 25 included on this disc. He specialized in novelty songs, and
composed some zany ones himself. Frank wrote The Song of the Prune
with Harry De Costa and recorded it in April 1928 for Victor Records,
accompanying himself on guitar and joined by the talented team of violinist
Lou Raderman, clarinetist Andy Sannella, pianist Ed Smalle, and Jack
Shilkret on the piano accordion. Frank teamed up with co-writer Billy
Curtis to compose the bouncy classic What Kind Of Noise Annoys An Oyster?, recorded in November 1930
for the Victor label. He is accompanied by Leonard Joy and His Orchestra
and mandolinist Tony Colicchio. His biggest hit was the title track A Gay Caballero, composed in 1928 by Frank with co-writer Lou
Klein and recorded on the Decca label in 1934. Another of his
hits, Abdul Abulbul Amir, was recorded during the same session.
The two were released together as Decca F 5385, and sold more than four
million copies. One of my favorites in this collection is Would You Like To Take A Walk, written by Harry Warren, Mort Dixon
and Billy Rose for the 1930 musical Sweet And Low. The charming
give-and-take duet is sung by Frank and his wife Julia Sanderson. The two
were known as the Singing Sweethearts and had their own radio show in New
York City for many years.
This is a fine collection of tunes, a mix of seldom-heard novelty tunes,
standards and a few from the world of vaudeville that are hard to label.
They are all enjoyable. A 10-page booklet is included, with notes and
comment by Peter Dempsey. Music was compiled by Ray Crick, and restored and
remastered by Martin Haskell.
Bruce McCollum
See also review by Jonathan Woolf
