Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)

Subject: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Nov 19 - 07:14 PM

And who was Leslie Hutchinson?

"These Foolish Things" performed by Leslie Hutchinson


"Song of Reproduction," from At the Drop of a Hat
by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann,
occasionally name-dropped this cabaret singer:

"At the tone control, with a single touch,
I can make a Caruso sound like 'Hutch' !"

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 07 Nov 19 - 10:07 AM

... and what a pathetic history he had,
especially toward the end of his life.

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Nov 19 - 07:42 PM

How Leslie Hutchinson came across the song
"These Foolish Things" when it was headed for the dustbin ...
and made it immortal.

Cafe Songbook: These Foolish Things

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: Jim McLean
Date: 08 Nov 19 - 02:38 PM

"Hutch" was my mother's favourite singer. I remember him well.

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 10 Nov 19 - 09:05 PM

Hello Keberoxu,
Where did you encounter the lyrics quoted in your post ??
Looking at lyrics sites, I find the following:
Flanders: With the tone control at a single touch,
Swann:    Bel canto sounds like double Dutch.
Both:      But I never did care for music much,
          It's the high fidelity!

My own recollection of the line was ...sounds like Donald Duck.
Haven't any idea what "double dutch" sounds like, or perhaps
the phrase means something different in UK than US (double dutch
was a jump rope game)…..
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI46rsQR83k


Thomas.

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: DaveRo
Date: 11 Nov 19 - 03:38 AM

We had this Flanders & Swann song on a record in the '60s. I remember wondering what or who hutch was - not so easy to find out in those days. Knowing that Caruso sang very low I imagined someone who sang high - like a countertenor (not that that knew that word.) Now I know (and I'm a bit disappointed.)

Here's an interesting piece about the origin of Double Dutch

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Nov 19 - 05:28 PM

Greetings, Thomas Stern,
and for my answer to your question,
you need to open another
Mudcat music thread.

The thread title is
Lyrics Add: "High Fidelity,"    Flanders & Swann,
which of course refers to
"Song of Reproduction."

A couple of posts into the thread,
I have provided a link to the very recording
that features the exact lyrics
referencing "Caruso" and   "Hutch" .
The confusion is understandable:
Two live performances of "At the Drop of a Hat"
appeared on vinyl long-playing albums,
and while the list of songs was nearly identical,
the songs themselves varied
according to which performance it was.

"Song of Reproduction" was one of the pieces
in which one set of words appeared in one performances,
and a different set of words in the other.

"The Reluctant Cannibal" received the same treatment,
especially during the long spoken passages.
Both performances sing:
I won't eat people! Eating people is wrong!

but
only one of those performances, if I recall right,
features Michael Flanders bellowing,
They'll eat you even if they can't digest your opinions!

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 11 Nov 19 - 07:21 PM

Thanks for the information, double Dutch article quite interesting
and new to me. In the USA, there is a section of Pennsylvania
settled by German Amish, Mennonite-Lutheran, German Reformed, Moravian, and other communities - referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch (assume derived from the German DEUTCH).


here are the two versions on youtube:
Song of Reproduction - hutch
Song of Reproduction - doiuble dutch

Subject: RE: Leslie Hutchinson 'Hutch'('30's cabaret)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 11 Nov 19 - 08:51 PM

Talk about hijacking a thread,
and it's nobody's fault but mine ... I apologize.