A short post this morning, partly because I’m a little
short of time but also because I know very little about this particular oddity.
Released originally in the US on MGM (DJ copies also
exist) and later in several other countries including Australia, Mildred, Our Choir Director by the
otherwise unknown Rollo and Bolliver
is one of the most peculiar records I’ve ever come across. When I first heard
it I assumed it came from the mid-60’s, and would have appeared at about the
same time as the slew of other campy takes on British life which America seemed
so fond of, but it seems that Mildred (and it’s equally confusing B-side, the
Dr Seuss-inspired The Hoobaschnob
Machine) was actually issued way back in 1958, and re-issued (according to
a brief review in Billboard) in November 1960, presumably to try and catch the lucrative
Christmas Market.
Sayeth Billboard: ‘Mildred, poor gal, is screaming as she
hangs from the cliff but the boys have little interest as they drink their tea’.
There’s not a lot to add to that, other than this is one of the funniest things
I’ve heard in ages. It is clearly a novelty release, which is something I normally avoid here, but does it also rate as a ' bad' record? Well, I guess that all depends on your point of view. It's certainly in bad taste.
I assume that Rollo
and Bolliver are pseudonyms for the composers Marvin Moore and Bob Davis (or, more correctly it seems Bob Davie), who also wrote the classic Green Door, but I can’t be sure. I can
tell you that Elvis owned a copy,
but that’s about it. No doubt one of you will have some more info on this
peculiar little record. A hat tip to one of my favourite record blogs Lord of the Boot Sale
Enjoy!
11/30/12
ReplyDeleteRobGems.ca wrote:
Another interesting oddball offering from the 1950's on a major label (M-G-M was considered one of the Top five labels in the U.S. until Mike Curb came along, and wore it down during the 1970's.)I haven't found a particular copy of this yet, but I have heard of it as far back as 1988, when Barry "Dr. Demento" Hanson played this wacky tune on his radio show direct from his studio at the time (Westwood One radio network, Hollywood, California airwaved towards to East Tawas, Michigan where I was living with my late Grandmother Ruby Meyers in the 1980's) Hanson played a few selected novelties in a row at the time (including aside from this tune, "Horrible Breath" by the British satrical group Fresh (and composed by Marc Bolan),"The Adventures Of Ikie & Mikie", a ;late-1940's "blue" humor tune by the late Yiddish comedian Benny Bell,"Yuppie Drone #2", a late-1980's Office worker saga by a comic group named The Pharamones, and finally, an unknown woman singer (I forgot her name that Hanson mentioned on the radio at the time) who wails about messing her hair up titled "I Don't Know What To Do With My Hair"(probably a 1988 release), and I managed to capture all five of these tunes, along with a bunch of other Demento Delights on Side Two of an old TKD Cassette Tape. Nearly 25 years has passed since then, and I still have that old cassette tape in one piece with all of these funny songs still sounding in good condition, including the "Mildred" ditty. I never heard of Marvin Moore (who I won't confuse with the late American cartoon voice-over Marvin Miller, but Bob "Hutch" Davie, on the other hand, has had a long, industrious career in music starting in the late 40's as a piano & harpischord player,and concluding into the mid 1970's, eventually becoming a partner of Bob Crewe in the 1960's, arranging music for the Canadian-American, Dyno-Voice, Dynamic Sound, Caprice, New Voice, & Crewe Record Labels under the name "Hutch" Davie. He's worked with dozens of artists from The Four Seasons to Santo & Johnny, to James Ray, to Mitch Ryder (The Legendary bad "pop" album "What Now My Love"(1967)& even had Atco Records issue a few singles and a album of his own piano playing("Much Hutch", Atco#33-105,1958.) From these Atco sessions came his only charting hit as a solo pianist, the honky-tonk styled "Woodchopper's Ball"(#46 Billboard, 1958.) A funny record and a great rare find,thanks M-G-M Records, and Dr. Demento, and thank you, Mr. Bullock for bringing it all back to me 25 years later. Now, I'm going to try to seek out a copy of this if I can.
Thanks for sharing it..
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