7.19.2005
Cholley-Oop
Hong Kong White Sox Cholley-Oop 45 (Trans-World, 196???)
Offended? Sure, how could you not be? Consider this a history lesson about not only what you could "get away with," but what was deemed acceptable to civil society. I'm not gonna lecture you about how this record is bad and why it is wrong. You are all grown-up enough to figure those things out yourself. But do remember that not only was this stereotyping once part of the status quo of pop music, our culture still uses like images today. Think not? Pick up any gangsta rap album and the cartoon mockery drips. How much is reality and how much is some college educated, middle class MBA of whatever race churning out more stereotypes for mass consumption and much money? How many of the Italian-Americans that you know personally are in the Mafia? As many as in the movies and on TV? Listen to this and you fool yourself that we've come a long way.
I have a lot of stereotype records: Some are like this, White people playing upon popular images of "the other." Some, such as Iceberg Slim's spoken word LP, come from the community where the artist lives. In either case, I learn more about the way people view each other and themselves in these "novelties" than I do from some Pete Seeger song. Plus Pete Seeger songs never make me wince, cringe, laugh, or guffaw. In other words, Pete Seeger songs don't make me think.
So, you got the sermon, time for cookies and punch. Sorry, I'm afraid you aren't getting much. I don't know exactly when this was made, but it had to be recorded after the Hollywood Argyles' Alley-Oop, so let's say mid 1960s. I have no idea who the Hong Kong White Sox are or where they are from. Hong Kong? Chicago? Los Angeles, where the record label is from? The flip is by Brumley Prunk and is notable only for the artist's name. So if you know more about this than I do, please chime in.
# posted by Scott Soriano : 21:14
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I've seen this one pop up on eBay a couple of times and wondered what it was like. Thanks for the chance to hear this.
Maybe Kim Fowley did this, after all:
a) he did the original "Alley Oop" and
b) he's an asshole who would probly be delighted to hear he did something offensive.
This one's a keeper for me alright.
a) he did the original "Alley Oop" and
b) he's an asshole who would probly be delighted to hear he did something offensive.
This one's a keeper for me alright.
Brumley Prunk was Buddy Mize, a Bakersfield peer of Dallas Frazier who wrote "Alley Oop."
Mize, the first president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, was the Hong Kong White Sox (an argyle is a sock).
Bryce
Mize, the first president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, was the Hong Kong White Sox (an argyle is a sock).
Bryce
# posted by 
: 04:10
: 04:10
Alley-Oop hit the charts in mid-1960, and Cholley-Oop, the parody followed soon after.
# posted by : 16:30
: 16:30
Many black groups wrote oriental inspired doowop songs in the 50s....I suggest that the black/white divide probably inspired this trend...even though blacks were Americans they felt they were disconnected from society as though they were some far away land and naively wrote these songs that could offend (and so this style become the norm)....Sun Ra took this to another level and claimed he was from Saturn...
Great song though! :)
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Great song though! :)
# posted by : 01:12
: 01:12<< Home
