78tk-Hillbilly-SWING 101-Roy Lee Brown-Musical Brownies-(Ice Man Song/Weeping)
$
75
$ 75
Sold For
Apr 30, 2021
Sold Date
Mar 4, 2021
Start Date
1
Number Of Bids
USA
Country Of Seller
eBay
Sold at
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
This record grades about E- condition... RARE early Western Swing. see bio.
Roy Lee Brown on Swing 101
Roy Lee Brown and His Musical Brownies - Ice Man Song / Weeping Willow (Swing 101)
"Ice Man Song" (Swing 101-A)
If this record is any guide, the free and easy spirit of 1930s western swing didn't begin to fade in Fort Worth until the war -- the Korean war, not WWII. For all intents, "Ice Man Song" sounds like something straight out of 1937, helped by a plethora of crude sexual metaphors and hot solos (though nobody present here would be mistaken for Cecil Brower or Bob Dunn). It being 1947, it hadn't quite dawned on the band that they need to only record songs that are "safe" for radio play -- this was done for the jukebox trade only, so anything goes. If the Musical Brownies had tried this just a few years later, they probably would have been subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities for the crime of corrupting Texan youth.
The song comes from a highly unlikely source: Fred Waring, the ultra-square orchestra leader who specialized in nice waltz music for great-grandmothers. In 1926, Waring recorded an innocent, dumb song about an ice man (a common sight in those pre-refrigerator days) called "Any Ice Today, Lady?" whose first verse Roy Lee follows closely:
Any ice today, lady? It's nice today, lady;
How about a little piece today?
Oh, it's only a quarter,
You know that you oughter
Get a little before it melts away
But then it veers swiftly off-course, with a couplet found nowhere in Waring's original:
We wouldn't try to fool you, you're smart as a fox If you want a bigger piece, well, how big is your box?
The rest of the song is merely an excuse to use "box" and "piece" as double-entendres as many times as possible. This is pretty hot stuff for 1947. Take that, Fred Waring!
The band recorded four songs which were pressed on their own, very cool "Cow Town" label. A picture of the label design for the other Cow Town release can be seen here.
But, with or without the band's knowledge, it was also pressed on the Swing label. Swing (usually misidentified as "Swing With The Stars," which was its slogan, not the actual label name) was a record company/pressing plant run out of Paris, Texas, by disc jockey/songwriter/entrepreneur Jimmy Mercer. The Swing label lasted a couple of years, but since Mercer was pressing on highly fragile shallac (perhaps recycled from old discs in some cases), not much on this label has survived these 60+ years later. There were a couple of releases by Homer Clemons (more on him later), a few blues items bought from Gold Star, and a few miscellaneous country releases like this one. Mercer had better luck with his Royalty label, which do turn up occasionally ("Benzedrine Blues" on Royalty is singled out for praise in Nick Tosches' Country), but he couldn't sustain his shoestring operation past 1950, when he shut his doors and moved to Illinois.
Roy Lee's band continued playing for several years, but he didn't record again until the 1980s. He is best known for assisting Cary Ginell with his essential book, Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing. And no, by that time, Roy Lee certainly didn't want to be reminded of the "blue" material he'd recorded a lifetime before.
* Fred Waring's original version can be heard on this YouTube video here.
Posted 22nd August 2009 by Unknown Reply Reply All Forward
all 78s are originals..
These are my grades ,E-,VG++,VG+,VG,VG-,G+......Highest to lowest for 78s.I only use E or E+ when the record looks almost new and unplayed or near perfect. E- or indeed VG++ are very nice copies and will be more than satisfactory to discerning collectors.
IMPORTANT: ...Do not pay until you receive an invoice unless you are paying for single items. Multiple wins need shipping adjustments.
All records from auction and/or set sale are guaranteed and may be combined with other records won to save on shipping. Records are packed securely wrapped between cardboard squares and surrounded by insulation to guarantee safe delivery. Our promise to you is that your records will arrive in good condition.See our feedback for more information.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING charges apply to 78 single records... For album sets and or sleeves, please inquire as rates change...
Usually, one 78 runs $27, additional items 2-5 run $8 each extra and 8-10 or more may run about $75-85 depending on weight,, IF shipping is less than estimated , we will REFUND excess shipping after payment
price rating
