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:: Liberace – Hey, Liberace ::

Liberace had one of the classiest and most successful careers in music
history. Everything about him was completely over the top. Although he
wasn't such a great singer, and his piano playing was ridiculously
extravagant, he was a great entertainer. His shows were part fashion
show & part comedy routine, with musical interludes that jumped from
classical to boogie then back again. Critics hated him, but he just
laughed and raked in the dough.

The part I don't understand is why chicks dug him so much. They
thought he was the shiznit. The bees knees. Yeah, they wanted to jump
his bones and shit. Couldn't they see he was gay? I guess not. I can
understand this back in the '50s, before some people even knew
homosexuality existed, but even in the '80s, women would go to his
shows and swoon.



The song "Mister Sandman", written by Pat Ballard and recorded by the
Chordettes in 1954 namechecked our hero while describing the kind of
guy any normal, everyday female of the '50s might dream about. "Hey,
Liberace" continues along this vein, but this song was written by the
man himself. Obviously intended as an answer song to "Mister Sandman",
as well as a wonderful piece of self-parody, all rolled into a well
intentioned mocking of country music. It all adds up to a delightful
conundrum.

You may notice "Lee" Liberace addressing his brother and bandleader,
George. George went on to establish his own Song Poem company, George
Liberace Songsmiths. How's that for class?


Mike

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 7:39 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.