100 years ago: “Pack Up Your Troubles” hit #1

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile Knickerbocker Quartet

Writer(s): George Powell (aka Charles Asaf) (w), Felix Powell (m) (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 14, 1917 Peak: 15 US, 2 GA, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

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About the Song: This World War I marching song was published in 1915 in London. Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell wrote the words under the pseudonym of George Asaf and his brother Felix Powell composed the music. It was one of many music hall numbers aimed at boosting British morale and recruiting troops during the war. WK However, the song became even more popular in the United States. JA The song was first performed live in 1915 by the Harlequinders. SH Stanley Kirby first recorded the song on December 22, 1915 and released it in January 1916. SH The song was featured in the American operetta Her Soldier Boy, which opened in December 1916. WK The chorus, with its message to “smile and not worry” has become the second favorite of World War I veterans behind “Madameoisse from Armentiers” (aka “Inky Pinky Parley Vous”). LW It was used in multiple movies, including Laurel & Hardy’s Pack Up Your Troubles (1932), High Pressure (1932), Varsity Show (1937), The Shopworn Angel (1938), For Me and My Gal (1942) starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, Darling Lili (1970), All That Jazz (1979), and Private Peaceful (2010). The character of Schroeder plays the song in the 1966 animated Peanuts television special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. WK In 1917 and 1918, the Knickerbocker Quartet, the Victor Military Band, Reinald Werrenrath, Helen Clark, and Oscar Seagle & the Columbia Stellar Quartet all charted with top-10 versions of the song. PM The most successful, however, was the chart-topping rendition by the Knickerbocker Quartet. PM The vocal group led by Lewis James PM featured baritone singers James F. Harrison and Frederick J. Wheeler. LC They recorded their version in New York City on December 13, 1916. LC Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Knickerbocker Quartet JA David A. Jasen. (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Pages 154-55. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 38. LC Library of Congress SH SecondHandSongs.com PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 260 and 565. WK Wikipedia First posted 10/23/2022; last updated 11/24/2022.

100 years ago: Sophie Tucker charted for the first time with “Some of These Days”

Some of These Days Sophie Tucker

Writer(s): Shelton Brooks (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 8, 1911 Peak: 2 US, 13 GA, 14 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 (sheet music), 1.0 US (1927 version with Ted Lewis) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

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About the Song: This has been called “the most important turning point in Tin Pan Alley history” because it was completely different than other popular music of the day. RCG Canadian songwriter Shelton Brooks Overheard a conversation between a couple in which she said, “some of these days, you’re gonna miss me, honey” and matched the phrase to a song. TY2 He composed this blues number as a waltz, but integrated jazz into the song’s loose structure. As such, jazz musicians had a wide-open pallet on which to improvise. RCG Brooks brought the song to Sophie Tucker, TY2 a vaudeville singer and comedienne known as “The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas.” Born Sonia Kalish in Russia in 1884, she got started as a singing waitress at her father’s Connecticut restaurant and became a star on Broadway, in movies, with her own radio show, and via TV appearances as part of her nearly fifty-year recording career. SS Tucker was so taken with the song that she performed it the next day. She introduced “Days” in 1910 at Chicago’s White City Park. It became her lifelong theme song, PM showcasing “emotional poser that matched her volume and visceral stage presence.” SS Tucker had chart success with “Some of These Days” twice. She reached #2 with the song in 1911 and in 1927 her rerecorded version with Ted Lewis & His Band went to the top of the charts and became a million seller. PM Three other acts charted with the song – the American Quartet (#3 – 1911), the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (#5 – 1923), and Bing Crosby (#16 – 1932). PM Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Bobby Darin, Judy Garland, and Paul Whiteman are among the others to record the song. It has also been performed in numerous movies and Broadway revues. RCG Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sophie Tucker DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Ted Lewis RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland.Page 9. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 152-3. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 424. Last updated 2/24/2023.

50 years ago: “Yes! We Have No Bananas” hit #1

Yes! We Have No Bananas Billy Jones

Writer(s): Frank Silver, Irving Cohn (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 1, 1923 Peak: 15 US, 12 GA, 15 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.43 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Frank Silver and Irving Cohn wrote this “classic comic novelty song” DJ and published it on March 23, 1923. Silver explained that when his orchestra was playing at a hotel in Long Island, he would stop at a fruit stand owned by a Greek who began every sentence with “Yes,” even when he didn’t have the requested item. SM As Silver said, “The jingle of his idiom haunted me…Finally, I wrote this verse and Cohn fitted it with a tune.” WK The fruit seller was likely affected by a banana shortage as a result of an outbreak of Panama disease, which wiped out much of the banana crop at the time. GR The song re-emerged in 1932 as a rallying cry in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the Outdoor Relief Protests, a movement “dedicated to securing social security and welfare benefits.” GR The song title was often displayed in UK fruit shops during World War II because of rations and bans. GR The song was introduced by Eddie Cantor in the revue Make It Snappy. The song is said to have borrowed from other tunes, including Handel’s Messiah. TY1 The first recorded of the song was by Edward Furman and William Nash, SM but it didn’t chart. However, there were five versions of the song which charted in 1923 – Billy Jones (#1), Ben Selvin’s Orchestra featuring Irving Kaufman (#1), the Great White Way Orchestra featuring Billy Murray (#3), Benny Krueger (#8), and Sam Lanin (#15). PM Jones’ version was the first and most successful. It was also one of 37 top-20 hits, 27 of which were with partner Ernest Hare. Jones also lent his vocals to the version by Krueger’s orchestra. WK Spike Jones & His City Slickers revived the song in 1950. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Billy Jones GR GreekReporter.com (10/17/2022). “The 1920s Song Inspired by Greek Fruit Sellers That Became a Hit” by Anna Wichmann DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 220. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. Quill: New York, NY. Page 26. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 615. WK Wikipedia First posted 11/20/2022; last updated 1/29/2023.