Three selections for Christmas...
1 Jim Gaerhart - Clarence The Geoduck (5:53)
This is a holiday promotional 45, both in English and Japanese for the Russell Company - home of the Russell 2000 Index, and obviously made long before the company had billions of bucks. I love it.
2 Tacoma Women's Choir - Ronnie Gave To Me (3:25)
A parody of 12 Days of Christmas, and by the Tacoma (Washington) Women's Choir - recorded at a concert.
3 Al Kelly & Del Sharbutt - An Exclusive Interview With Santa (5:31)
RCA Promo (HO7H-0933) distributed to stations.
And... welcome to your ears to a CD I produced this year, "Previously Unreleased" - featuring Bryan Bowers, Jim Page and Evan Purcell. Recorded at ContactCreate studio in Snohomish county (Washington) Saturday, December 1. A live from the Northwest gift filled with music, chatter, holiday stories, questionable jokes, and good spirits. The best of all the holidays and a happy new year to each of you listening.
01 Dennis, Jim, Evan and Bryan - Enter, stage left (1:15)
02 Dennis, Jim, Evan and Bryan - Best Christmas Gift Ever (5:20)
03 Jim Page - Going to Boston (6:56)
04 Evan Purcell - Christmas Heart and Soul (2:08)
05 Bryan Bowers - Good King Wenceslas (1:11)
06 Bryan Bowers and Jim Page - Change From Within/Brandy (3:04)
07 Jim Page - Interlude (0:42)
08 Bryan Bowers - Angel on a Christmas Tree (4:55)
09 Jim Page - Pretty Boy Floyd (2:58)
10 Evan Purcell - Mistletoe (2:57)
11 Jim Page - A Reindeer Man (3:38)
12 Bryan Bowers - Hot Buttered Rum (3:03)
13 Evan Purcell - Two Angels (3:39)
14 Jim Page - Great Calamity (4:33)
15 Jim Page - Jesus and the Laughing Deity (6:37)
16 Bryan Bowers - Joy to the World (2:33)
17 Jim Page - And I Never Learned to Sing the Blues (5:05)
18 Bryan Bowers - Mance Lipscomb (2:33)
19 Evan Purcell - I'm on My Way Back Home (3:06)
20 Dennis, Jim, Evan and Bryan - Exit, stage right (1:15)
21 Ellen Norton with the Evan Purcell band - Christmas Heart and Soul (3:38)
Image: Slimline CD Cover [PDF]
- Contributed by: Dennis Flannigan
It seems that the song credited to Jim Gaerhart's promotional 45, "Clarence The Geoduck" for the Russell Company is actually a regional favorite.
Many sources credit the "Gooey Duck Song" to Ron Konzak and Jerry and Judy Elfendahl and performed by the group Pierymplezak. It was popular in the Seattle area, and often reproduced in Cub Scout song books.
There is a google video using the same same song you have credited to "Jim Gaerhart" actually claimed to be: "by harpmaker-storyteller Ron Konzak of Washington State, along with Judy and Jerry Elfendahl, © 1972 Acme Music. All rights reserved. Jerry is a diver who is part of a new industry that harvests the geoduck commercially in the Pacific Northwest."
Watch and listen to the video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4559591603016770617
Ron Konzak's web page is at:
http://www.konzak.com/index.html
Refer to:
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiGOOEYDUK;ttGOOEYDUK.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck#Geoducks_in_culture
The "Gooey Duck Song" also was covered on the album "Fred Penner's Place":
http://www.amazon.com/Fred-Penners-Place-Penner/dp/B00000DGMG
The Gooey Duck Song : KIDSFAMILY: Kid Friendly MP3
http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1450023-Music-Lite-Sounds
Posted by: Taro at news.3yen.com (Tokyo) | December 22, 2007 at 04:35 AM
The song credited as Jim Gaerhart's "Clarence The Geoduck" for the Russell Company is actually a regional favorite called the "Gooey Duck Song" by Ron Konzak and Jerry and Judy Elfendahl and performed by the group Pierymplezak on Acme Records. It was popular in the Seattle area, and often reproduced in Cub Scout song books.
Posted by: Taro at news.3yen.com (Tokyo) | December 22, 2007 at 04:38 AM
Thank you for the information on Ron Zonkak & erry and Judy Elfendahl's version of, "Dig a Duck a Day," a long time Northwest favorite -- though seldom sung in Japanese and English. I've had the record for probably 20 years and there was no credit provided on the singers. I'll give credit in the future.
df
Posted by: Dennis Flannigan | December 22, 2007 at 01:18 PM
As The WFMU person with the most Autoharps (7 or so), I salute any Bryan Bowers recordings.
Remember: You hear _more_ autoharp music on WFMU!
Posted by: Webhamster Henry | December 22, 2007 at 03:06 PM
GREAT JUMPIN' ICEBERGS!!! Al Kelly was a famed comedian who specialized in double talk and Yiddish nonsensical talk - all at the same time!
After many years on the vaudeville circuit and finding no luck in Hollywood, Kelly found success on the new medium of television.
Al first cut his teeth on the old Ed Sullivan "Toast Of The Town" show back in 1949 and bounced around many television variety shows of the day - most notably with Ernie Kovacs in the late 1950s!
This is truly an amazing find - thank you for sharing this!
Posted by: Capt | December 25, 2007 at 10:51 PM