Mickey Katz became famous for his off-kilter Yiddish-flavored versions of 50s hits, turning How Much Is That Doggie in the Window into How Much Is That Pickle in the Window, Kiss of Fire into Kiss of Meyer, and Walkin' My Baby Back Home into Schleppin' My Baby Back Home ("Gee but it's fun, but this girl weighs a ton"). These versions often included klezmer-style breaks from Katz' crack crew of instrumentalists.
Katz and his cronies also recorded this all-instrumental album of American-Yiddish folk music and dances, and it is just a delight, with strong contributions from Katz' clarinet and Manny Klein's trumpet.
The album cover is by an artist named McArvin, who also worked on the Mel Blanc LP shared here a while back.
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7 comments:
You never cease to surprise me. And this is an album of Katz's I didn't even know existed. I only wish Capitol would issue a comprehensive collection of his pop parodies. There's a decent-quality bootleg available in England but no official release. Thanks for this. And, yes, Mickey is one helluva clarinet player.
Hi David,
And speaking of surprises, I just filed this record and discovered an LP of his earliest recordings, done for RCA. Forgot I had it. I'll transfer that one as well if this one is popular.
My God - as well as Michael Katz does not sing! Thank you!
Nice post Buster. I won't be downloading it since I have all these cuts elsewhere. I'd just like to say that trumpet virtuoso Mannie Klein gave Harry James a very good run for his money.
David, if you want a comprehensive collection of Mickey Katz' pop parodies, e-mail me at
mel468 at gmail dot com.
The pics of the band members on the back of the sleeve are fascinating! I'd heard their names all my life, but never knew what any of them looked like.
Love this album! Such happy music, brilliantly played. Thanks.
Buster .. - any chance to re-up this record?
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