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:: Liquor Is Our Business ::

:: Tipsy #3 ::

:: Dyin' For A Dry Martini ::

Irving Taylor was a songwriter who gave us many great songs: "Swing, Mr. Charlie" by Judy Garland, "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" from the 77 Sunset Strip TV show, and best of all (to me) the theme from "F Troop". During the late 50s he found employment churning out whimsical albums for the fledgling Warner Bros. label. "The Garbage Collector in Beverly Hills" is a fine example of one of these, as is this one, "Drink Along With Irving".

Born in 1914, Irving's music was informed by the styles of the early jazz age, and in the late '50s he easily cashed in on Roaring 20s Charleston nostalgia. His high school chum, Vic Mizzy (The Addams Family, Green Acres) turned into a songwriting collaborator, so it's no surprise that humor was at the top of the agenda. Although much of it seems corny now, you can easily imagine your grandparents having a chuckle with this record during cocktail hour.

Irving wrote all the material on this album, and obviously had all of the musical talent at WB studios at his disposal. Yep, that's Mel Blanc as the hapless liquor store owner on "Liquor Is Our Business". Elsewhere, the voice of Betty Rubble, Bea Benaderet, makes a couple of appearances. The vocal on "Tipsy #3" is credited to, "The Chumps", while the mock Sons of the Pioneers warbling on "Dyin' For A Dry Martini" is provided by Rick Maver and the Posse.

It's all in good fun, and fun it is. I wouldn't listen to this if you're drunk though. It just doesn't work.


Mike

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 5:49 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.