DU Album of the Day: "The United States of America Vol. 1" Stan Freberg

[gratuitous]

Before Steven Colbert. Before Jon Stewart. Before "Weird" Al Yankovic. Before Garrison Keillor. Before Cheech and Chong. Before the Smothers Brothers, Mel Brooks, Johnny Carson, heck, even before Steve Allen, there was Stan Freberg. Quite possibly the Father of Topical Humor, along with Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg turned from a pretty good career on Madison Avenue thinking up slogans and writing commercial jingles ("Who put those eight great tomatoes in that itty-bitty can? You know who, you know who, you know who&quot to try his hand at a live radio show in the late 1950s. To his everlasting surprise and delight, he found that he could make a living having the time of his life in front of a live microphone.

In 1961, Freberg came out with a comedy/musical album about the early years of the United States. As the liner notes tell it, some sharpie from Capitol Records persuaded him the concept could work, and so Volume 1 came out. Like Mel Brooks' "History of the World Part 1," subsequent volumes and parts never quite made it to production. More's the pity.

So, for Washington's Birthday, the DU Album of the Day brings you Stan Freberg and the absolutely, positively nearly true story of the discovery and settling of the North American continent by Europeans, and the founding of the United States. Ably assisted by voice work from June Foray (perhaps better known as Rocky the Flying Squirrel), Paul Frees, Jesse White (Old Lonely, the Maytag Repair Man) and a host of others, Freberg sings and jokes his way through 300 years of history, from a fast-talking Christopher Columbus to a fussy George Washington who can't quite make up his mind about the right watercraft to cross the Delaware River.

1 Overture
2 Columbus Discovers America : "It's A Round, Round World"
3 Pilgrim's Progress : "Take An Indian To Lunch"
4 The Thanksgiving Story (Under The Double Turkey)
5 The Sale Of Manhattan : "Top Hat, White Feather, And Tails"
6 The Boston Tea Party
7 Declaration Of Independance : "A Man Can't Be Too Careful What He Signs These Days"
8 The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere
9 Betsy Ross And The Flag : "Everybody Wants To Be An Art Director"
10 The Discovery of Electricity
11 Washington Crosses The Delaware (Command Decision)
12 Yankee Doodle Go Home (Spirit Of '76)
13 The Battle Of Yorktown
14 Finale : "So Long, Friend..."

[gratuitous]

1. Well, that died a quick and quiet death

I hope I learned my lesson.

[haele]

2. My dad used to use that record when he was substitute teaching American History to middle schoolers.

Back in the early 1970's.
It was pretty politically incorrect back in the day. Nowdays, a song like "Top Hat, White Feather and Tails" might be taken wrong.

His History of America volume 2 was not as good; it was more like a compelation of radio bits rather than a cohesive narrative, and many of the references were not as universal - a bit more topical towards the 1950's as they were in the first album.
If anyone is interested, here's a link with some recordings:

http://freberg.westnet.com/hear_it.html#USA2

His Yellow Rose of Texas and St. George and the Dragonet were favorites when I was a teen.
On edit - How could I forget John and Marsha!

(Yes, I'm old...)

Haele

[Bryan]

3. "Surly to bed, and surly to rise..."

It's a classic.

[gratuitous]

4. Let's have a little drink-o and fill the quill

It sounds a little pink-o to me, but still . . .