Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?

Subject: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: GUEST,Les B
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 12:26 PM

Our band is considering doing a Medicine show/Wizard oil song/routine for some historical sites we play at in the summer.

I've found the "Wizard Oil" song in Carl Sandburg's Song Bag book - are there any others that Mudcatters have found ??

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: MMario
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 12:44 PM

there's a great patter song from "Pete's Dragon" - listing all the parts of a dragon and what they are good for.

The only ones I know of tout tobbaco as a cure-all - and I don't think you could get away with that these days!

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: GUEST,Les B
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 01:10 PM

MMario - thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to look up the verses to "Tobacco's but an Indian Weed" .

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: MMario
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 02:05 PM

you might find this interesting reading.

snake oil

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: Hollowfox
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 02:40 PM

I can't help much with the songs, but you might want to look up a couple of books by Brooks McNamara:
Step Right Up (University Press of Mississippi, 1995) is about medicine shows, and includes at least one sales monologue.
"American Popular Entertainments: a Collection of Jokes,Monologues, & Comedy Routines" (1983, out of print) might also help.
Doc McConnell of Rogersville, Tennessee has done a medicine show routine for years, but the songs weren't particularly related to the medicine pitch (e.g."I'm Going Down That Road Feeling *Good*" instead of *Bad* is about as close as it gets). He does actually sell small bottles of "tonic" (don't remember what it was, could be anything from sasperilla to water), and small asafetida bags.

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: GUEST,Roll&Go-C
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 02:52 PM

Back in the 1970's there was still a fleet of old trucks that used to hit the smaller towns in mid-Michigan; I think it was called Rosier's Circus and for all I know there's still running. They performed classic vaudville routines, had an old time string band, and I did make a reel-to-reel tape of their performance which would not be impossible to find.

READ 'EM AND WEEP by Sigmund Spaeth has a wealth of such songs from the 19th century, along with great notes; there's also MORE READ 'EM AND WEEP by the same author.

Are you seriously interested in this? Where will you be performing?

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: RWilhelm
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 03:41 PM

Medicine shows tended to be integrated and a number of recording artists in the 20's, both black and white started out in medicine shows. Jimmie Rodgers, Frank Stokes, Jim Jackson, Gus Cannon, and Pink Anderson are a few with quite a bit of recorded music availible.

Pink Anderson, who sold Dr. W.R. Kerr's Indian Remedy early in his career, has a CD called "Medicine Show Man". The songs were recorded in 1961 so the sound quality is pretty good. Included are a couple of songs recently discussed here, "He's in the Jailhouse Now" and "Travelin' Man."

These would be songs from the entertainment portion of the show, though. I haven't heard any recorded songs actually promoting the products.

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: GUEST,Les B
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 05:14 PM

Roll & Go, et al: Thanks, keep 'em coming, there's some great ideas here. I have the Spaeth books, will check them out tonight.

At this point I'm "researching" the idea of doing some sort of a medicine show song/routine with our group. We usually have about three gigs a summer at "Heritage Day" celebrations at Bannack, Virginia City, and the Conrad Kohrs Ranch in Montana - all historic areas that are State or National Park sites.

We sometimes dress in 1860-80's era costumes and sing a variety of "Americana" songs - Civil War, Folk, Cowboy and Bluegrass. Our instrumentation is banjo, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, dobro, bass, guitar, bass, and percussive blandishments, spread across a four, or sometimes five, member group. We're always looking for something new.

Subject: RE: Help: Medicine show/Wizard oil songs ?
From: GUEST,Les B
Date: 28 Mar 01 - 05:18 PM

Sorry, even though it's a stand-up "double" bass we have, I didn't mean to double up on bass in the above post !!