You’ve Got to Have a Gimmick

Sometimes, no matter how silly an idea is, you just have to go for it. Sell it like you mean it, brother, and there’s no telling how far your idea might go.

We were recently musing on how committing to a concept can pay off as we listened to a song we’re fond of, though we can’t deny it’s sheer fluff.

“‘Way Back Home” was written in 1935—the corny but infectious lyrics are by Al Lewis (not the actor who played Grandpa on The Munsters, but he did write the lyrics for “Blueberry Hill”) and music by Tom Waring, Fred‘s brother—and though it uses the same lyrical idea over and over and over, it is one catchy ditty.

You may not think so at first listen, but believe us, the gimmick grows on you.

To prove it, we’re offering five versions of the song. Listen to them all, and believe us, you’ll be hooked but good.

We start you off with a recording by Irving Aaronson and His Commanders, featuring Skippy Carlstrom on vocals. This one’s nice and bouncy and relatively straightforward.

Next up are the Boswell Sisters, and they were never straightforward, but they did include the intro verses in their version of the song.

Ambrose and His Orchestra, with Jack Cooper on vocals, recorded the third among the renditions we’re sharing with you, followed by the Decca All-Star Revue, which is a two-sided recording featuring the Victor Young Orchestra, with Bob Crosby, Ella Logan, Johnny ‘Scat’ Davis, Cleo Brown, and the Tune Twisters taking turns on vocals.

The final recording is the Victor Young Orchestra again, this time with Milton Watson on vocals.

Which one’s your favorite?

Irving Aaronson and His Commanders—‘Way Back Home

The Boswell Sisters—‘Way Back Home

Ambrose and His Orchestra—‘Way Back Home

The Decca All-Star Revue—‘Way Back Home

Victor Young and His Orchestra—‘Way Back Home

* * * * *

‘Way Back Home

Intro:
I wrote a little song, a homesick little song,
About a place I never should have roamed from;
Skies are just a little brighter there,
Hearts are just a little lighter there.

A wanderer am I, beneath a foreign sky,
A lonely soul among a world of strangers;
From the pages of my memory,
I can hear a voice reminding me.

The roads are the dustiest; the winds are the gustiest;
The gates are the rustiest; the pies are the crustiest;
The songs, the lustiest; the friends, the trustiest,
‘Way back home!

The trees are the sappiest; the days are the nappiest;
The dogs are the yappiest; the kids are the scrappiest;
The jokes, the snappiest; the folks, the happiest,
‘Way back home!

Don’t know why I left the homestead, I really must confess.
I’m just a weary exile, singing my song of loneliness.

The grass is the springiest; the bees are the stingiest;
The birds are the wingiest; the bells are the ringiest;
The hearts, the singiest; the arms, the clingiest,
‘Way back home!

The sun is the blaziest; the fields are the daisiest;
The cows are the graziest; the help is the laziest;
The boys, the wittiest; the girls, the prettiest;
‘Way back home!

The pigs are the snootiest; the owls are the hootiest;
The plants are the fruitest; the stars are the shooiest;
The grins, the funniest; the smiles, the sunniest,
‘Way back home!

Don’t know why I left the homestead, I really must confess.
I’m just a weary exile, singing my song of loneliness.

The food is the spreadiest; the wine is the headiest;
The pals are the readiest; the gals are the steadiest;
The love, the liveliest; the life, the loveliest,
‘Way back home!

We’re having a great time, thanks

Bless Royal Caribbean’s little corporate hearts. They seem to have a Cladrite kindred spirit or two involved in creating their advertising campaigns. We wonder if the people responsible know about our humble little operation—here’s hoping.

Many of you will recall that in February, RC ran a campaign that featured the Hal Kemp Orchestra‘s rendition of “It’s Winter Again,” a relatively obscure song from 1932 with lyrics by Arthur Freed and a lovely melody by Al Hoffman and Al Goodhart.

We were already featuring the lyrics to the song at the bottom of each page here at Cladrite Radio, and when the commercial featuring the Kemp recording of it, with Skinnay Ennis on vocals, began to run frequently, our traffic shot right up. Folks were Googling the lyrics trying to find out more about the song and/or the recording and were finding their way here (more on that here).

Which suited us just fine, as you might imagine.

February came and went, as did winter and, therefore, that particular commercial, but the good folks at Royal Caribbean are now running a television spot that features another relatively obscure song from the Cladrite era, “Are You Havin’ Any Fun?“. We thought the spot might be using a 1941 recording by Joe Loss and His Orchestra, but we began to suspect that it was, in fact, a modern-day recording, just made to sound old (which this story about the commercial confirmed.)

So we thought we’d share the lyrics and a couple of recordings of the song with our readers and listeners. When you’ve got a sympatico relatiionship with a company like Royal Caribbean, you might as well prolong it.

Are You Havin’ Any Fun?
Hey fellow with a million smackers
And nervous indigestion
Rich fellow, eats milk and crackers,
I’ll ask you one question,
You silly so and so,
With all your dough…

Are you havin’ any fun?
What you getting out of livin’?
What good is what you’ve got
If you’re not havin’ any fun?

Are you havin’ any laughs?
Are you getting any lovin’?
If other people do,
So can you, have a little fun.

After the honey’s in the cone,
Little bees go out and play.
Even the old grey mare down home
Has got to have hay. Hey!

You better have some fun.
You ain’t gonna live forever.
Before you’re old and gray, feel okay.
Have your little fun, son!
Have your little fun!

Why do you work and slave and save?
Life is full of ifs and buts.
You know the squirrels save and save,
And what have they got? Nuts!

Better have a little fun.
You ain’t gonna live forever.
Before you’re old and grey, still okay,
Have your little fun, son!
Have your little fun!
Are you havin’ any fun?

“Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” was composed by Sammy Fain (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics) for a Broadway show called “George White’s Scandals of 1939.” The Scandals were an Ziegfeld Follies-esque revue that was produced on an annual basis from 1919-1939.

Tony Bennett had a hit with the song in the late 1950s, but the version heard on the Royal Caribbean ad has more of a late ’30s/early ’40s feel to it, and the versions we’re sharing below date from that era.

“Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” — Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

“Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” — Ella Logan

“Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” — The Hoosier Hot Shots