It seems very few of Oscar Brand's songs are in the DT. Pity. There are some nice ones out there.

One of my favorites would have to be Appendectomy, Country Style (The McBurney Square), a rollicking square-dance number where the lyrics tell you how to perform - that's right - an appendectomy! It's named for Dr. Charles McBurney and is on the 1960 album For Doctors Only. He used to play it on his radio show from time to time and would mention how he heard the song once guided someone through this life-saving operation!

Anyway, the entire album is on YouTube, and is definitely worth a listen:

Oscar Brand - For Doctors Only

Track List:

1. How To Be A Doctor
2. Appendectomy, Country-Style (The McBurney Square)
3. The Ob-Gyn
4. Charming White Caps
5. Television Doctors
6. Miracle Drugs
7. My First Day at Med School
8. The Old GP
9. Here Comes the AMA
10. Conventional Behavior
11. Surgery
12. Doctor's Wife
13. Medical Life Calypso
14. Conquest of Disease

A note to Mrrzy (who posted earlier in this thread): Sadly, my mother had no real stories to tell about their days at Brooklyn College; she said that they knew each other only casually and were not close, personal friends. I believe she said they may have had one or two discussions about music (she was a folkie), but nothing much more than that. She told me this over 40 years ago, and it was at a time when folk music had receded a bit from my life, so I didn't question her any further (she died in 1987). Oh, I could kick myself in retrospect for not following up on this, because I remember her also mentioning in passing, "Oh, and I saw The Almanac Singers, too..." Aaaargh!!

I still have her college yearbook. Several years ago, I contacted Oscar Brand via email, related the above story and sent scans of the pages with my mom's picture and his. His response was quite cordial and he said he had many happy memories of that time in his life.


Jay