11/7/22
Newletter151
The Crack of Dawn
When my sister Pam was five or six my Grandma Julia gave her a 78rpm record of Rosemary Clooney’s 1951 #1 hit, Come On-a My House. Pam played the record so many times that we had to have a family intervention and take it away from her (I still have it). We would have to repeat this process a few more times with Pam, specifically with Venus by Shocking Pink and Love is Blue by Paul Mauriat.
Come On-a My House is a very interesting song. It was written for a long-forgotten play called The Son by the Armenian uncle and nephew, William Saroyan and Ross Bagdasarian.
William Saroyan is one of the most highly venerated writers of the 20th century, winning the Pulitzer Prize for his play, The Time of Your Life (James Cagney loved the play so much he became a producer just to make a film out of it, which he starred in, and it sucks). William Saroyan’s only other movie credit was The Human Comedy (1943) starring Mickey Rooney, for which Saroyan won the Oscar for Best Story (they don’t give that Oscar anymore). Louis B. Mayer said that The Human Comedy was his single favorite film that MGM ever produced. I think the film is brilliant in its conception. William Saroyan found what I (and Louis Mayer) believe was the strongest presentation of the horrors of WWII, without showing any of the war and no bloodshed. Mickey Rooney is a Western Union delivery boy in a small town who delivers telegrams on his bicycle. 1943 was the height of the war. Every day Mickey Rooney delivers telegrams from the War Department informing families that their child has been killed. This story is able to pull at your heart strings twenty times. The film is also in early Technicolor, which is a draw for me, and has a terrific performance by Frank Morgan (the wizard in The Wizard of Oz).
Ross Bagdasarian is fondly remembered for several reasons. First, for co-writing Come On-a My House, which really was the smash-hit of 1951. The song launched Rosemary Clooney’s career (she’s George Clooney’s aunt), but is so wonderfully, cleverly, metaphorically dirty, it’s still “shocking” in its own way, and I don’t think anyone would cover the song now.
Come on-a my house my house, I'm gonna give you candy
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give a you
Apple a plum and apricot-a too eh
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house I'm gonna give a you
Figs and dates and grapes and cakes eh
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you candy
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you everything
Come on-a my house my house, I'm gonna give you Christmas tree
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you
Marriage ring and a pomegranate too ah
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house I'm gonna give a you
Peach and pear and I love your hair ah
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you Easta-egg
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you
Everything - everything - everything
Come on-a my house-a!
But what Ross Bagdasarian, who used the stage name, Dave Saville, was best known for was as the creator of Alvin & the Chipmunks. Bagdasarian not only performed all of the voices, but to achieve the chipmunk sound, he invented half-speed mastering, an important invention in the history of recording.
With this schtick Ross Bagdasarian managed to have two more giant hit novelty songs, Witch Doctor in 1958 (the year I was born), which was such a big hit that I remember we all sang it on the bus going to and coming from summer camp. I never knew it was called Witch Doctor.
Ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang walla walla bang bang
Ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang walla walla bang bang
Doh, doh, doh, doh, doh, doh, doh
Ross Bagdasarian’s second song with the Chipmunks was The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) became a number one hit, sold 4 million records, topped the Billboard charts for six weeks, and won three Grammy Awards at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards on May 4, 1959. The song was the 23rd most performed Christmas song of the 20th century.
Have a splendid day.