Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 12th Feb 2019
THE HIPSTER
Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist with Greg Poppleton. The stride and boogie pianist claimed to have invented the word ‘hipster’. His stellar career nosedived in 1946 after he released the drug song ‘Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy’s Ovaltine?’. That same song brought him out of obscurity when ‘discovered’ by Dr Demento in 1985 after which he released three albums.
PHANTOM DANCER
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HARRY ‘THE HIPSTER’ GIBSON
was a jazz songwriter, stride and boogie woogie pianist, who sang in a large style that pitched the story out to his audience.
Born Harry Raab, he began his musical career in the late 1920s playing stride piano in Dixieland jazz bands in Harlem. He added barrelhouse boogie to his repertoire in the 1930s, and was discovered by Fats Waller in 1939. Waller brought him down to 52nd Street Manhattan jazz clubs where he became famous and changed his surname to Gibson.
AHEAD
Gibson’s songwriting was considered ahead of its time in the early 1940s. His singing and piano was also unique, his piano in particular taking on a ‘frantic’ quality.
CLASSICAL
At the same time as playing in 52nd Swing Street clubs, Gibson attended the strictly classical Juilliard School of music where he excelled.
We missed out last week, but on this week’s Phantom Dancer Gibson will play live on a 1944 Blue Network Eddie Condon jazz concert, Bix Beidebeck’s difficult piano pieces ‘Candlelight’ and ‘In a Mist’.
HIPSTER
Gibson grew up near Harlem, New York City. So his use of black jive talk was not an affectation but his uptown New York dialect. In his autobiography, Gibson claimed he coined the term hipster between 1939 and 1945 when he was performing on Swing Street when he started using “Harry the Hipster” as his stage name.
NAUGHTY
On this week’s Phantom Dancer we hear the 1946 Musicraft recording that sent his career plunging – ‘Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine’. His own drug use didn’t help.
BEATLES
In the 1960s Gibson saw the huge success of the Beatles and switched to rock and roll. By the 1970s, he was playing hard rock, blues, bop, novelty songs and a few songs that mixed ragtime with rock and roll. His hipster act became a hippie act. His old records were revived on the Dr. Demento radio show, particularly ‘Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine’, which was included on the 1975 compilation album Dr. Demento’s Delights.
His comeback resulted in three more albums: Harry the Hipster Digs Christmas, Everybody’s Crazy but Me, and Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine (Delmark, 1989). Those two include some jazz, blues, ragtime, and rock and roll songs about reefer, nude bathing, hippie communes, strip clubs, male chauvinists, “rocking the 88s”, and Shirley MacLaine.
In 1991, shortly before his death, Gibson’s family made a biographical movie short on his life and music called Boogie in Blue, published as a VHS video that year.
VIDEO
This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week has Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson give a school music lesson about how to ‘Keep the Beat’ in this 1944 soundie. Pay attention!
12 FEBRUARY PLAY LIST
Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio
Community Radio Network Show CRN #374 |
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107.3 2SER Tuesday 12 February 2019 |
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Set 1
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1944-46 Radio Big Bands | |
Racing with the Moon (theme) + Candy Hop
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Vaughan Monroe Orchestra (voc) VM
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‘One Night Stand’
Blackhawk Restaurant Chicago AFRS Re-broadcast 6 Feb 1945 |
Accentuate the Positive
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Frankie Masters Orchestra (voc) Frankie Masters, Phyllis Miles and the Girl Quartet
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‘Spotlight Bands’
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Blue Network 1945 |
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2
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Freddy Martin Orchestra
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‘One Night Stand’
Cocoanut Grove Ambassador Hotel Los Angeles AFRS Re-broadcast 27 Jan 1946 |
Set 2
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Count Basie Rock’n’Roll | |
(Theme and close) One O’Clock Jump + Little Pony + Why Not? + The Moon is Green + Tpp Close For Comfort (voc) Joe Williams
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Count Basie Orchestra
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‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956 |
Heading Home + As Long As I’m Moving
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Shirley Gunter
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‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956 |
In Self-Defence
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The Flairs
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‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956 |
Set 3
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Woody Herman 1947 – 50s Radio | |
Open + I’ve Got News For You
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Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) WH
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‘Just Jazz’
Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles AFRS Re-broadcast 1947 |
Ad + The Goof and I
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Woody Herman Third Herd
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‘Monitor’
Basin Street WRCA NBC NY 26 Jun 1955 |
Mambo the Most
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Woody Herman Third Herd
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‘All-Star Parade of Bands’
Peony Park WOW NBC Omaha Nebraska 1948 |
Set 4
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Jazz Inspired Arabic Music | |
(Open and Close) Coca Cola Ad
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Unknown
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Cairo 1950
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Rhumba
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Hanan and Fairouz
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Comm Rec
Beirut 1950s |
Swing
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Hanan and Fairouz
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Comm Rec
Beirut 1950s |
Set 5
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Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson 1944 – 46 | |
Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy’s Ovaltine?
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Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
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Radio Transcription
Los Angeles 8 Feb 1946 |
Candlelight + In a Mist
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Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
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‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY 10 Jul 1944 |
Who’s Goin’ Steady With Who?
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Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
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Radio Transcription
Los Angeles 8 Feb 1946 |
Set 6
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Eddie Condon 1944 Blue Network | |
Rosetta
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Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
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‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944 |
Memphis Blues
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Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
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‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944 |
There’ll Be Some Changes Made
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Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole (voc) Red McKenzie
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‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944 |
I’d Do Anything For You
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Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
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‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944 |
Set 7
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1930s Count Basie | |
Texas Shuffle
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Count Basie Orchestra
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Comm Rec
New York City 22 Aug 1938 |
Swing It, Brother, Swing
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Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Billie Holliday
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Aircheck
Savoy Ballroom Harlem NYC 30 Jun 1937 |
Darn That Dream
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Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Helen Humes
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Southland Cafe
WNAC NBC Red Boston 20 Feb 1940 |
St Louis Blues
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Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Rushing
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Chatterbox
Hotel William Penn WCAE NBC Red Pittsburgh 8 Feb 1937 |
Set 8
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1932 Dance Music | |
Gnaedige Frau, komm und spiel mit mir
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Hans Albers
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Movie
‘Quick’ Berlin 1932 |
Try Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
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Don Redman Orchestra (voc) DR
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Comm Rec
New York City 26 Feb 1932 |
Linda
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earl Burtnett Orchestra (voc) Jess Kirkpatrick
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Radio Transcription
Los Angeles 1932 |
On the Alamo / My Ideal / I’ll Get By + Egyptian Shimmy
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Anson Weekes Orchestra
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Radio Transcription
San Francisco 1932 |