Thanks to Lin in Kansas, who found another recording by Bill Schontz on his album "The Day I Read A Book," which seems to be a kids' album meant to promote reading. Obviously, he has tinkered with the lyrics a bit. He does a good imitation of Durante starting with the chorus.

Lyrics transcribed from a 2-minute sound sample at CD Baby:

VERSE: When I look back through life, I find
Lots of memories remain.
Certain days stay in my mind
And keep running through my brain.
I remember the day that Armstrong took a walk upon the moon.
I remember Jimmy Durante when he first sang this old tune.
Hot-cha-cha-cha!
I remember it like yesterday though it was years ago.
I still can hear him singin' it I know.
What a voice!

CHORUS: I'll never forget the day I read a book.
It was contagious,
Seventy pages.
There were pictures here and there,
So it wasn't hard to bear,
The day I read a book.
It's a shame I don't recall the name of the book.
It wasn't a history. I know because it had no plot.
It wasn't a mystery, because nobody there got shot.
The day I read a book--I can't remember when,
But one o' these days, I'm gonna do it again.

SPOKEN: Ah, lit'rature! There's nothing like sitting home nights at the fireplace with a blanket, a dog, and a good book at your feet. But if you walk into my house, you'll see loads o' books, and believe me, they're not there just for appearance. I press an awful lot of flowers. My literary appetitus is stupendious. They don't write 'em quick enough for me. The book of the month didn't come out fast enough, so I read the....