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HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH! (1964 Version)
HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH! (A Letter from Camp)
1964 [45 RPM] Sherman recorded the "new 1964 version" of his biggest hit (sometimes called Return to Camp Granada)
in a recording studio with an invited audience. Then a few weeks later —
on May 27, 1964 — he performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where he introduced it by explaining he'd rewritten the lyrics because
he was sick of the old words. It received such a strong reaction that the
already-recorded version was yanked out of production and the Tonight Show
performance was instead released as the single. The picture sleeve drawing by cartoonist Syd Hoff was from a concurrent children's book that illustrated the original
version. The image at right is the obverse side of the 45 RPM release.
  
GUYS AND DOLLS
1964 [LP] In '64, Frank Sinatra launched a series of records called The Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre. The idea was to assemble studio
casts of the best available singers, match them with the best arrangers and record versions of the scores of great Broadway shows. Four were
done in all and the first, Guys and Dolls, gave Sinatra the chance to sing the songs that had gone to Marlon Brando when they co-starred in
the 1955 feature film. Sherman was enlisted to sing Sue Me in a duet with Debbie Reynolds, and he does a nice job of it. (In his
autobiography, A Gift of Laughter, Sherman tells of a particularly humiliating experience when in trying to get some acting work, he
auditioned for the Stubby Kaye role in the touring company of Guys and Dolls. This would have been around 1951, the same year he was
putting out his first comedy record and getting I've Got a Secret on the air. He didn't get the job in the road company so it was
probably quite satisfying for him to later be cast — in one of the leads, no less — among the all-star cast on this record.
ALLAN IN WONDERLAND
1964 [LP] Sherman breaks from the "My Son..." title format and continues his non-Jewish ways with a pretty funny album. The two best cuts were
Skin (a parody of Heart from the Broadway show, Damn Yankees) and a completely original tune called Good Advice.
Given his sudden flurry of singing it on TV shows, one might surmise that Sherman and his publishers felt Good Advice could be a breakout hit,
but it never quite took off.
Skin • Lotsa Luck • Green Stamps • Holiday for States • You Need an Analyst • The Drop-Outs March • I
Can't Dance • Night and Day (with Punctuation Marks) • Little Butterball • Good Advice
SKIN
THE DROP-OUTS MARCH
1964 [45 RPM] Two good songs from Allan in Wonderland get a single release.
GOOD ADVICE
1964 [45 RPM] A track from Allan in Wonderland is split in half and released as both sides of a 45.
MY SON, THE VAMPIRE
I CAN'T DANCE
1964 [45 RPM] In '64, an old and dreadful foreign monster movie comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, was released in the U.S. as My Son,
the Vampire with a title song (not a parody of another tune) by Sherman and a brief, newly-filmed sequence in which he appeared. The film
received only scant distribution and when it later aired on TV, Sherman's scene was usually cut. Still, Warner Brothers Records did issue the
theme song, backed by a tune from Sherman's then-current album.
PETER AND THE COMMISSAR
1964 [LP] The only comedy album ever recorded for the prestigious RCA Red Seal line was Sherman's concert with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston
Pops. Allan plays the piano (he had pieces of tape on the keys with numbers) in Variations on "How Dry I Am" and the distinguished Mr.
Fiedler performs the solo hiccup, getting what Sherman called the longest laugh he ever heard in his life. The whole record is so ambitious and
so clever that you wish more than a few moments — most of them in the rewritten version of Peter and the Wolf — were
funny.
Peter and the Commissar • Variations on "How Dry I Am" • The End of a Symphony
BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH CHA-CHA-CHA
AIDA IN DIXIELAND
1964 [45 RPM] Another single release from Peter and the Commissar. This one excerpted two musical segments that were part of that
album's title track. This 45 was apparently intended for disc jockey play but appears to have received some retail distribution, as well.
 
THE END OF A SYMPHONY
1964 [45 RPM] A single from Peter and the Commissar which preceded the release of the album by several weeks. The joke about how long
the number takes to end is perhaps enhanced when it's cut in two so you have to turn the record over to hear the conclusion. This was probably
one of the first times that the RCA Red Seal line, reserved for the classics, issued a 45
RPM single...with a picture sleeve, no less. There were
others later, most of them spotlighting conductor Arthur Fiedler.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM
1964 [LP] To promote Peter and the Commissar, RCA Records issued an "open-end" album for disc jockeys. The way these work is that the
record consists of the star — Mr. Sherman, in this case — being interviewed but with the questions omitted. The deejay receives a
script so he can ask the questions, the star's answers (most of which promote his new project) can be played, and listeners can think the station
actually landed a one-on-one interview with the celebrity. These aren't done much any more and this is the only known one with Allan Sherman.
FOR SWINGIN' LIVERS ONLY
1964 [LP] Sherman was trying to remake his image with a diet and, shortly after the above record cover was shot, a more dashing hair style. But
he was also trying to recapture his original audience by ratcheting up the "Jewish" content of his records...so the answer was to do a cover which
would put chopped liver in a romantic context. Sales on this album were not strong and Sherman thereafter turned more to what he called
"goyishe" (i.e., not-ethnic) humor.
Grow, Mrs. Goldfarb • Your Mother's Here To Stay • Pills • Shine On, Harvey Bloom • J. C. Cohen • Pop Hates
The Beatles • Beautiful Teamsters • Kiss of Myer • America's a Nice Italian Name • The Twelve Gifts of Christmas • Bye Bye,
Blumberg
POP HATES THE BEATLES
GROW, MRS. GOLDFARB
1964 [45 RPM] Two cuts from For Swingin' Livers Only. The Beatles song — to the familiar tune of Pop Goes the Weasel
— was one of two almost back-to-back recordings that Sherman did, taking the POV of a parent who hates the music that is then popular with
kids.
CRAZY DOWNTOWN
THE DROP-OUTS MARCH
1965 [45 RPM] Petula Clark's recording of Downtown was the number one song around the world for several weeks in '65. About the time it
started to cool down, Sherman debuted his version, making the rounds of rock and roll TV shows (like NBC's Hullabaloo) to promote it.
The result was his second highest-selling single of all time, and one of his best, but he pretty much dropped the "angry parent" act after
that. Rumor has it that it was necessary to make an exorbitant royalty deal to procure parody rights to Downtown, which dissuaded
Allan from
including it on any of his American albums or from doing many more parodies of current hits.
MY NAME IS ALLAN
1965 [LP] Sherman retreats again from Jewish-themed songs but it's a pretty good album with especially good lyrics on It's a Most Unusual Play
and Chim Chim Cheree, the latter a song filled with references to TV commercials of the day. The album title and cover are a spoof on
Barbra Streisand's then-recent album, My Name is Barbra.
It's a Most Unusual Play • The Laarge Daark Aardvark Song • That Old Back Scratcher • Call Me • Peyton Place,
U.S.A. • The Drinking Man's Diet • Secret Code • The Painless Dentist Song • Chim Chim Cheree • Go to Sleep, Paul Revere!
• An Average Song
THE DRINKING MAN'S DIET
THE LAARGE DAARK AARDVARK SONG
1965 [45 RPM] The Drinking Man's Diet, dealing with a health fad that was then in the news, was the most popular tune from My Name is
Allan, but it failed to sell anywhere near the levels of Sherman's earlier single hits. The Laarge Daark Aardbark Song
(the only song on the album not recorded in front of a live audience) represents
Sherman's attempt to work in David Seville's corner of the business, using a sped voice to create an animal character. A cartoon version of The
Laarge Daark Aardvark was designed but the song did not garner the expected
attention, and the project never went forward.
 
THE BEST OF ALLAN SHERMAN
1965 [LP] A British album that was rushed to market when Sherman's version of Downtown was high on the charts over there.
Won't You Come Home, Disraeli? • The Bronx Bird Watcher • Skin • Mexican Hat Dance • Crazy Downtown • Hello
Muddah, Hello Fadduh! • Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal • Green Stamps • Little Butterball • You Went the Wrong Way, Old King Louie
THE VERY BEST OF ALLAN SHERMAN
1965 [LP] Another British album collecting material from Sherman's
previous records.
That Old Back Scratcher • Your Mother's Here To Stay • Sarah Jackman • Shine On, Harvey Moon • The Painless Dentist Song • Second Hand Nose
• Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! • The Twelve Gifts Of Christmas • Mexican Hat Dance
• My Zelda • A Waste Of Money • Bye Bye Blumberg
WHY IS THERE AIR?
1965 [LP] Sherman is again credited as one of the producers of a Bill Cosby comedy album. And once again, he didn't have much to do with
it.
 
WON'T YOU COME HOME, DISRAELI?
1965 [EP] An odd, hard-to-find EP with primarily British distribution.
It contains one cut from My Son, the Celebrity, one from My Son, the Nut, one
from Allan in Wonderland and one that wasn't on any album.
Won't You Come Home, Disraeli? • Green Stamps • You Went the
Wrong Way, Old King Louie • Crazy Downtown
MUSIC TO DISPENSE WITH
1966 [LP] One of the rarest of all Allan Sherman LPs is this promotional album
he recorded for the "Container Division" of the Scott Paper Company. The
intended audience was people in the business of making and selling paper cups so
the songs are filled with "inside" humor.
Makin' Coffee • Vending Machines • There Are Cups • That's How The Change Is Made • The Wonderful Tree in the
Forest • Scott Cups
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