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:: The Merry Macs - Pop! Goes The Weasel ::

I didn't know who the Merry Macs were when I bought this. To me it was just another '50s era Capitol record, and that was good enough for me. Turns out I've heard the Merry Macs many times during my childhood as my Dad owned a few of their 78s from the '40s. They were a vocal quartet, originally 3 brothers (Joe, Judd and Ted McMichael) and a woman named Cherry Mackay, who up with their name similarly to how Fleetwood Mac got their's. What a rip. Their close harmonies were a model for the Manhattan Transfer, but I'm not suggesting you should run out and buy a bunch of Manhattan Transfer records.

The group started up in the mid-20's, and hit their stride in the '40s with songs like "Mairzy Doats" and "Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition!". Cherry left in the mid-30's and was replaced by a series of female vocalists, settling in 1941 on Marjorie Garland. By the '50s, their style was passe and brother Joe had passed away. Marjorie married Judd, and the group stayed together until finally retiring in the mid-60s.

I love the picture on the cover of this record. For one thing, Marjorie looks kinda hot with her stylized silver hair, and the guy on the end, Dick Baldwin (who took over for Joe) looks kind of gay. Also, you can't see where Judd's hands are, which is apropos considering he's Marjorie's husband.

The conductor on this album, Frank DeVol is a bit of a hero to me. For one thing, he wrote the themes to My Three Sons and The Brady Bunch, among many others. DeVol did bit character parts in films and TV as well. In the late '70s, he appeared on the nightly talk show parody, "Fernwood 2 Nite" as Happy Kyne, the show's bandleader. This is where I first became aware of him. He was hilarious as the clueless, hopelessly square leader of "The Mirthmakers". The band consisted of top L.A. session dudes such as Tommy Tedesco who shredded on guitar night after night. Happy owned a fast food restaurant in Fernwood called Bun n' Run, which show host Martin Mull made fun of but the jokes went straight over Happy's head. I've got a Frank DeVol record from the early 60s, but it's just kinda muzaky. But anyway, he rules.

I think most of the songs on this Merry Macs record are re-recordings of past glory moments. A lot of the titles are downright nonsense, like "A Ruble A Rhumba", "Vol Vistu Gaily Star" and "Ho Sa Bonnie", and some of those are among their big hits. I have to say I like Frank DeVol's arrangements which are mostly spare with lots of vibes and percussion. You might think this is cornball smiley face crap, and it is, but I like it. So there.


Mike

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 6:23 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.