I first became aware of this satirical gem when I was about eight or nine years old. As I aged, I became more appreciative of his wit and humor. And then one day, in October of 1988 I bumped into Mr. Freberg at Bob's Big Boy in Century City. Although I had never approached a celebrity before, I overcame my reluctance and introduced myself shortly after he seated himself at the counter. We had a short but great conversation and he treated me as if he had known me for years. A year later, I was shopping at Brooks Brothers in Century City when I discovered him at the cashier's stand. To my surprise, he remembered me and our conversation from the previous year. What a delightful man!
Ha I ran into him at the little grocery I think on Beverly in Bev Hills! Back in the early 90s. I went up to him to express my decades long fandom and think I scared the poor old guy!
I remember playing this on my morning radio show every year on Thanksgiving. The first year I did, some liberal wacko called and claimed he was speaking for the Native American population and was outraged. I pointed out to him that Freberg was given an award by the American Indian Movement for this very routine.
As a kid when this record was new, I played it incessantly. 60 years later, it's just as sharp and funny. Jesse White was hilarious here, as usual, long before he settled into the Maytag Man commercials. That's what brought him the most recognition, despite using the smallest portion of the comedic brilliance he brought to so many films and sitcoms. And kudos to narrator Paul Frees for sounding so much like Orson Wells.
"Well, we could run down to Carnegie Wigwam on Sunday afternoons, hear Flying Birdstein explain the ceremonial dances" For those who don't know, that referred to the televised Young People's Concerts, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, who explained the basics of classical music. They've been issued on DVD, and you can find videos of them online.
Stan Freberg made commercials fun to listen to - stirring up controversy in many cases. Thankfully. His career touched many bases; he was uniquely talented. Those of us who are old enough recognize many of the voices in the skits from radio and early TV. I wish he was still with us...can't you just imagine his take on the annoying medical ads with the unending disclaimers. If you love this Thanksgiving blurb excerp, buy the entire CD.....it should be played in America's history classes, it might invite an interest in our history....if nothing else? put it into believable perspective given the times.
Some references for those who may not recognize them. 1:11 This refers to the 1960 presidential election. Some people objected to JFK, a Catholic, who would be the first non-Protestant president. They claimed he might take orders from the Pope. 4:31 the first excerpt of music is from the middle section of a march by Josef Wagner titled "Under the Double Eagle". The second is, as you probably know, "Turkey in the Straw". 5:25 This refers to the televised Young People's Concerts, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, who explained the basics of classical music. They've been issued on DVD, and you can find videos of them online. He'd occasionally refer to pop/rock music that used elements found in classical music and play them on the piano and sometimes singing brief excerpts.
This stuff reminds of the late-nite comedy hour on local radio when I was a kid. Nothing cozier with your transistor by the bed back in the day with my earphone plug so my parents thought I was fast asleep.
What's the joke about "Dick" and "we use any more and we'll have to pay a royalty?" - I'm re-listening as an adult, hoping to catch references like that, but I still don't get that one.
Dick is almost definitely Richard Rodgers, who wrote "Manhattan" with Lorenz Hart. The song begins with "we'll have Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island too;" if the real estate agent had used any more lyrics, he would've been breaching copyright laws. That's also why the line about Baubles, Bangles, & Beads would have opened the chief and the agent up "for another phone call." Hope this helped!
