Friday 11 May 2012

You Crazy Fruit!


Something a little different this week: a record I genuinely believe to be one of the best things ever committed to vinyl. You may, of course, disagree but I love it.

I originally discovered Banana – What A Crazy Fruit! at Rockin’ Jeff’s Junk Shop Juke Box, one of the many vinyl blogs I frequent, and I immediately went off both to search of my own copy (I just had to own it, you understand) and to discover more about the artists – Rusty Canyon and the Banana Boys.

Born in 1922, Rusty Canyon was one of the many noms de plume of Gerald Emmett Teifer who, during a long and varied career in music, went intermittently by the names Rusty Canyon, Jerry Teifer, Bob Bundin, Gerry Teifer and Mickey Moon. A former insurance agent, Teifer’s first big break in the music business came in 1952 when he sold his song Full Time Job to Country-Western singer Eddy Arnold. Credited to Gerry Teifer, the song was later re-recorded by Doris Day, Johnnie Ray and many others.

He moved from his home town of Muskegon to New York in the 1950s where he soon started to build up a bit of a reputation. He released several singles on Wing (including Lady Love/Ten Times in 1955, which was also issued in Europe by Mercury) and Epic Records including the minor hit Poco A Poco (1963), and Heartaches/Blue Brazil (1965) all of which highlighted his whistling prowess. Teifer has performed with Leon Redbone (that’s him whistling on Redbone’s 1977 recording of Shine On Harvest Moon), his song I Don't Care (As Long As You Care For Me) was performed regularly on the Liberace TV show  and he even co-wrote the New York Yankees theme song.

An army paratrooper during World War II and a touring table tennis champion, during his career in the music industry Teifer became the first General Manager of the CBS publishing company April/Blackwood Music, President of Metromedia Music, President of RCA Records publishing division Sunbury-Dunbar Music in New York and Vice-President of the ATV Music Group. An unusual claim to fame is that, in 1965, Gerry Teifer successfully pitched a live talent search show to Columbia Records, years before Simon Cowell was to do the same thing for Sony which – of course – is one and the same company.

In 1958 he wrote the incidental music for the Broadway play Tall Story, a comedy about college basketball which ran for 108 performances in the first five months of 1959. It was around this time that he met Joe Hornsby and Ben G. Allen, who wrote the songs for that play as well as composing both sides of this 45. A real oddity, it appears to have been the only 45 issued on the Teenerama label, and although promo copies feature the song King Size Kisses as its B-side all of the stock copies I’ve come across feature the rather banal kiddie song The Storyman by Rajah Leo and the Banana Boys. I guess it’s possible that these songs were composed for another Broadway outing, but I’ve yet to discover if that was the case or not. Incidentally, Joe Hornsby also co-wrote Stop, Look And Whistle, the B-side to Poco A Poco and Teifer and Hornsby appeared together on legendary TV host Jack Parr’s 45 Blue Wiggle.

Gerry/Jerry retired to Dunedin, Florida where he passed away, in 2004, at the age of 82. Thankfully he left us with this – released, I believe, around 1958 – and easily one of the most fun 45s ever.

Enjoy!

Download Banana here

15 comments:

  1. 5/11/12
    RobGems.ca wrote:
    What a rare find! I found this obscure banana song 45 in my current home town of Oxford/Orion Township Michigan at the local Broadway Records store run by Dick McGlashen. So many interesting stuff I found in his store for over 20 years, though I haven't been to his new store much lately since he had a disasterous fire at his old record store back in March 2004, which started next door to him at the Cantina Mexican Restaraunt kitchen. Anyway, this record is by far one of the most off-the -wall records I ever found that Dr. Demento/Barrett Hanson must've discovered when he was still a boy when it was released (1958), and he probably later played on his radio show of nothing but novelty and comedy recordings.the lyrics are corny (You bet on a horse, and you win a.....banana)(!?WTF?!!),but such fun stuff. If there are any other releases on this obscure label "Teenarama"(a subsidary of the low-budget label Spin-O-Rama,perhaps? That was run by the el cheap-o Synthetic Plastics from the mid 50's until around 1966.)

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  2. actor Mickey/Michael Calin has a Teenerama 45 too Cool b/w Unsure {as I Don't have 45 right here} #1005

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  3. The Teenerama #1005 belongs to DJ Michael Ace of WVUD

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  4. Teenerama #1005 B-side is "Cuddlin"

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  5. Gerry Teifer was my grandfather. Very cool to find this. Thanks!
    -Elizabeth Teifer
    Menckensaid@gmail.com

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  6. Hi Elizabeth. I LOVE this record: your grandfather was a very talented individual. I hope that the information I have given about his life is correct!

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  7. Wow, this is so cool to read! Gerry was my grandfather as well (Elizabeth is my cousin). I didn't know him that well so it's nice to learn more about him and his music career.

    -Lydia

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  8. I will chip in as another of Gerry's grandchildren, cousin of Elizabeth, and brother of Lydia. Wonderful finding this, thank you!

    Dylan Teifer
    teifer@oswego.edu

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  9. Hi Elizabeth, Lydia and Dylan. I'm really glad you like the post: I adore your grandfather's record, it's easily one of my favourites!

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  10. My sister won this in 1958, followed it up the charts to maybe the eighties, let me have it. I traded it to a friend and have been trying for years just to prove it's a real song! It's so bad it's good. Harold W

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    Replies
    1. Hi Harold. I've re-upped the track and provided a download link. Enjoy!

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    2. Hi Harold. I've re-upped the track and provided a download link. Enjoy!

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  11. Love this song! When I was a kid in rural Colorado I entered a Chiquita Banana contest and this 45 record was my prize. I really wish I had kept it! So happy to find this download.

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  12. My Dad had this record when I was a kid. He just passed away and I couldn't find the record so I googled it and lo and behold! Other people knew about this record too. How can you listen to this and not laugh.

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    Replies
    1. I'm really glad that I was able to help you rekindle fun memories, Melinda! Best wishes.

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