I first heard this piece of ancient but still witty vaudeville thanks to Allen Lowe’s massive CD box set, THAT DEVILIN’ TUNE . . . and although my emotional life is far more tranquil and gratifying, this is one of my favorite recordings. Perhaps it appeals to my deep inner silliness; I find it ingenious all the way from the introduction to the two singers in harmony for a few seconds at the end.
And what’s just as remarkable is the flexible, varied, lightly swinging stride piano accompaniment by C. Luckeyeth Roberts — Luckey to those more casual — that is as light, bright, and sparking as anything Fats or James P. ever recorded. (It has the same lovely distracting quality of a Jess Stacy accompaniment, pulling my attention away from what is supposed to be the main event.) Early on: December 17, 1923.
Enjoy this little frolic — first for the mock-serious indignation of Hunter and Rogers, then for the lacy twining of the piano — delicious and never over-done.
Here, courtesy of the Library of Congress and the “National Jukebox,” is a comic swinging pleasure. Remember to “make a wush”!
May your happiness increase.
