Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Mae West: Jack's Hula Lou

MAE WEST sang several songs by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager.
• • Born in Poland during the month of July — — on 6 July 1892 — — Jack Selig Yellen was a year older than Mae. At five years old, little Jackie emigrated with his parents to the United States; he was raised in Buffalo, New York and started to write songs in high school.
• • Jack Yellen [6 July 1892 — 17 April 1991] is best remembered for his collaboration with composer Milton Ager. He and Ager entered the music publishing industry with ownership in the Ager-Yellen-Bernstein Music Company. Yellen also worked with composers Sammy Fain and Harold Arlen.
• • Jack Yellen's collaboration with the rising vaudeville star Sophie Tucker — — for whom he was retained to write special material — — produced one of Tucker's most beloved numbers, "My Yiddishe Momme," a song in English with some Yiddish text. Yellen wrote the lyrics which were set to music by Lew Pollack.
• • Yellin' for Jack on 14 August 2010 in NYC • •
• • You can hear songs by Jack Yellen next month on Saturday, 14 August 2010 when The Gaudy Girls take to the stage for a gaudy, bawdy night of live entertainment at Actors Temple (339 West 47th Street, New York, NY). Reservations are recommended. Join Sophie Tucker and Mae West for a hot time in the big city six weeks from now.
• • Mae West's Hawaiian Eyes • •
• • During her marriage to handsome Guido Deiro — — a popular accordionist also in demand as a recording artist — — Mae became aware of the financial rainbows that brightened the lives of the top singers and musicians. But as her own career prospects continued to sink during 1923 and 1924, and since no record companies pursued her, Mae gamely trouped on and continued to entertain the southwestern wheel of the vaudeville circuit — — trying to sell sheet music with her picture on the front cover. Which swings the conversation around to "Hula Lou."
• • Holy Honolulu! Not for Mae the gooey romantic yearning numbers such as "My Hawaiian Melody" nor "Honolulu Eyes." Nor would she have ever chosen a lightweight love ballad such as "Honolulu Honey" nor a harmless hula tempo such as "Hawaiian Sandman." The girl had gumption and looked for lyrics suitable for a flirt, a self-confident seductress who could put across a sultry kootch onstage. Could any chart-topper be as suitable for the singing comedienne as this come-hither bragging and posing? Here's an excerpt.
• • • • • "HULA LOU" • • • • •
• • Lyrics: Jack Yellen; Music: Milton Charles & Wayne King
• • Copyright 1924 by Ager, Yellen, & Bornstein, Inc., 1595 Broadway, New York City
• • • You can talk all you want about women
• • • Said a sailor known as Dan McCan
• • • And if you really want to know about women
• • • You've got to talk to a sailor man.
• • • Now I don't know how many woman the sailor met
• • • And I hope there isn't that any he'll regret
• • • For if he'd only met me I'd a given him some trimmin'
• • • I'm one gal he'd never forget.
• • • (Band): Well, who are you?
• • • Who am I? I'm Hula Lou.
• • • I'm the gal that can't be true.
• • • I do my nestin' in the evenin' breeze
• • • 'Neath the trees
• • • You oughta see me shake my BVDs.
• • • I never knew
• • • A man who wouldn't hula dance or woo
• • • And sail across the briny blue to who
• • • The lady known as Hula Lou. That's me.
• • • (Rap):
• • • Now you ask any sailor and he'll tell you
• • • That this lady is the greatest dancer he ever knew.
• • • There isn't a ship in the Navy
• • • That I haven't got a friend in the crew.
• • • There's not a cruiser on the waves
• • • Without someone who is my devoted slave
• • • And I don't care how nasty I may be
• • • I'm the one gal the sailors all crave. ...
• • In January 1924 Sophie Tucker discovered this gem and recorded it with Miff Mole on Okeh Records. By herself, Sophie appeared on the sheet music version.
• • On 13 February 1924 The Varsity Eight recorded their version of "Hula Lou."
• • While many vocalists posed on this song sheet, the lyrics are so well-suited to Mae West that it's a shame she didn't sing it in a motion picture so we'd have a record of it in her voice.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1924 • •
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Mae West.

4 comments:

  1. R. Mark Desjardins11:31 AM

    Holy Honolulu indeed! Mae West was featured on at least eight song sheet covers in the early 1920's and yet was never given the chance to record, which is very curious indeed, given the notoriety she had developed as a live performer.
    Susannah McCorkle in an appreciation of West stated "Her reputation as a sex symbol and icon has completely obscured her musical side, but she far outswings every movie star and vaudeville sex symbol on record."

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  2. R. Mark Desjardins9:38 PM

    Holy Honolulu indeed! Mae West was featured on at least eight song sheet covers in the early 1920's and yet was never given the chance to record, which is very curious indeed, given the notoriety she had developed as a live performer.
    Shortly before her death, cabaret singer Susannah McCorkle, in an appreciation of West published in the September 2010 issue of American Heritage, stated "Her reputation as a sex symbol and icon has completely obscured her musical side, but she far outswings every movie star and vaudeville sex symbol on record."

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  3. Anonymous9:14 AM

    I think these are the correct lyrics to the Sophie Tucker version of Hula Lou - Dan McGrew is from the Robert Service poem, The Shooting of Dan McGrew


    You can talk all you want about women
    Said a sailor known as Dan McCan
    And if you really want to know about women
    You've got to talk to a sailor man.
    Now I don't know how many woman the sailor met
    And I hope there isn't that any he'll regret
    For if he'd only met me I'd a given him some trimmin'
    I'm one gal that he'd never forget.

    Band): Well who are you?

    Who am I? I'm Hula Lou
    I'm a gal that can be true.
    I do my dancin' in the evenin' breeze
    'Neath the trees
    You oughta see me shake my BVDs.
    I never knew
    A man who wouldn't shoot a Dan McGrew
    And sail across the briny blue to who
    The lady known as Hula Lou. That's me.

    (Rap):
    Now you ask any sailor and he'll tell you
    That this baby is the greatest dancer he ever knew.
    There isn't a ship in the Navy
    That I haven't got a friend in the crew.
    There's not a cruiser on the waves
    Without someone who is my devoted slave
    And I don't care how nasty I may be
    I'm the one gal the sailors all crave.

    Band): Ha Ha Ha Ha!

    You don't believe me? Eh!

    (Band): No!

    Well you've travelled enough
    You've travelled in the south
    You've travelled back and forth
    You've travelled in the north
    You've seen them shakin' east
    You've seen them shakin' west
    But boys I do my shakin' where the shakins' best.
    I gotta hula smile
    Lots of hula hair
    A little hula here
    A little hula there.
    I've got the cutest eyes
    Never mind what shade they are.
    But lookin' from the road you'll never get very far.
    Cause I'm Hula Lou
    I'm a gal that can be true
    I do my dancin' in the evenin' breeze
    'Neath the trees
    I got more sweeties than a dog has fleas.
    I never knew
    A man who wouldn't shoot a Dan McGrew
    And sail across the briny blue to who
    The lady known as Hula Lou. From Honolou.

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  4. Anonymous11:47 PM

    Tweety Bird croons a short version (accompanying himself on Ukulele) in the Warner Brothers cartoon "Hawaiian Aye Aye". His speech impediment makes it really funny: "She does her dancing in the evening bweeze, beneath the twees, She's got more sweeties than a dog has fweas!"

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