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

Hear this week’s Phantom Dancer (after 12 Feb) and past Phantom Dancers at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

harry the hipster gibson

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’.

harry the hipster gibson

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

107.3 2SER Tuesday 12 February 2019
After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT)
National Program:
ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm
and early morning on 24 other stations.

Set 1
1944-46 Radio Big Bands
Racing with the Moon (theme) + Candy Hop
Vaughan Monroe Orchestra (voc) VM
‘One Night Stand’
Blackhawk Restaurant
Chicago
AFRS Re-broadcast
6 Feb 1945
Accentuate the Positive
Frankie Masters Orchestra (voc) Frankie Masters, Phyllis Miles and the Girl Quartet
‘Spotlight Bands’
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Blue Network
1945
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2
Freddy Martin Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Cocoanut Grove
Ambassador Hotel
Los Angeles
AFRS Re-broadcast
27 Jan 1946
Set 2
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
Count Basie Orchestra
‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY
16 Jun 1956
Heading Home + As Long As I’m Moving
Shirley Gunter
‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY
16 Jun 1956
In Self-Defence
The Flairs
‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’
WCBS CBS NY
16 Jun 1956
Set 3
Woody Herman 1947 – 50s Radio
Open + I’ve Got News For You
Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) WH
‘Just Jazz’
Shrine Auditorium
Los Angeles
AFRS Re-broadcast
1947
Ad + The Goof and I
Woody Herman Third Herd
‘Monitor’
Basin Street
WRCA NBC NY
26 Jun 1955
Mambo the Most
Woody Herman Third Herd
‘All-Star Parade of Bands’
Peony Park
WOW NBC Omaha Nebraska
1948
Set 4
Jazz Inspired Arabic Music
(Open and Close) Coca Cola Ad
Unknown
Cairo 1950
Rhumba
Hanan and Fairouz
Comm Rec
Beirut
1950s
Swing
Hanan and Fairouz
Comm Rec
Beirut
1950s
Set 5
Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson 1944 – 46
Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy’s Ovaltine?
Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
8 Feb 1946
Candlelight + In a Mist
Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY
10 Jul 1944
Who’s Goin’ Steady With Who?
Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
8 Feb 1946
Set 6
Eddie Condon 1944 Blue Network
Rosetta
Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY
16 Sep 1944
Memphis Blues
Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY
16 Sep 1944
There’ll Be Some Changes Made
Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole (voc) Red McKenzie
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY
16 Sep 1944
I’d Do Anything For You
Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
WJZ Blue NY
16 Sep 1944
Set 7
1930s Count Basie
Texas Shuffle
Count Basie Orchestra
Comm Rec
New York City
22 Aug 1938
Swing It, Brother, Swing
Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Billie Holliday
Aircheck
Savoy Ballroom
Harlem NYC
30 Jun 1937
Darn That Dream
Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Helen Humes
Southland Cafe
WNAC NBC Red Boston
20 Feb 1940
St Louis Blues
Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Rushing
Chatterbox
Hotel William Penn
WCAE NBC Red Pittsburgh
8 Feb 1937
Set 8
1932 Dance Music
Gnaedige Frau, komm und spiel mit mir
Hans Albers
Movie
‘Quick’
Berlin
1932
Try Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Don Redman Orchestra (voc) DR
Comm Rec
New York City
26 Feb 1932
Linda
earl Burtnett Orchestra (voc) Jess Kirkpatrick
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
1932
On the Alamo / My Ideal / I’ll Get By + Egyptian Shimmy
Anson Weekes Orchestra
Radio Transcription
San Francisco
1932

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