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22 Jul 09 - 07:37 PM (#2685617) Subject: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa When Smiley Burnett is singing in normal voice and switches to 'frogging', does he really switch like that..or is it a recording trick? I listened to him closely (The Old Barn Dance) and couldn't hear a swallow/crack or anything between his voices so now I'm wondering. Thanks, M |
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22 Jul 09 - 07:41 PM (#2685620) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Zany Mouse What's frogging? R |
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22 Jul 09 - 07:46 PM (#2685623) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Bill D I listened to him as a kid, and that was all him.... He just had that 'voice'. |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:04 PM (#2685639) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa He also had a normal voice. In singing cowboy movies, when he's Autry's sidekick, he mostly uses the frog for the ends of phrases (and punchlines) and I never thought about how tricky it would be to switch between normal/frog until last night. It's probably a made-up name for the sound, ZM. It sounds to me like if bullfrogs would sing cowboy songs in the same voice they say "brawp" around the pond. When Clarence Henry sings "Ain't got no home" he frogs and does a little-girl falsetto..but the voices are in different verses. He has space between normal and frog. It doesn't really matter a whole lot, I just thought maybe somebody here would know whether Smiley Burnett's songs were one take or two. |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:09 PM (#2685643) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: John on the Sunset Coast During the'big band era' there was a fellow named Candy Candido who did a lot of him/her duets with himself. |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:22 PM (#2685649) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: open mike Who's Smiley Burnett? oh--here-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_Burnette he was on the t.v. shows Petticoat_Junction and Green Acres oh did you know that these shows were all created by Paul Henning? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petticoat_Junction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Acres He played accordion on the chicago show national barn dance, hired by Gene Autry. along with writing 400 songs and learning 100 instruments he was also a master chef http://www.smileyburnette.org/Smiley/cookbook/lead-in.html his character was named Frog Millhouse...hence frogging... have yet to see (or hear) anything about that.. does he do it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tblZxn_uIEw more here: http://www.b-westerns.com/pals-sb.htm what a guy I am surprised i did not know about him.. |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:22 PM (#2685650) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa Is he where the he/she costume (one side he, the other side she) and the bit with facing different directions for each gender came from? |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:29 PM (#2685655) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa Thanks, OM! |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:31 PM (#2685656) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: frogprince He appeared as "Frog Millhouse" in at least some of the old westerns. Either Burnette or Pat Butram wrote some decent songs and turned them over to Gene Autry for 5 or 10 bucks. |
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22 Jul 09 - 08:53 PM (#2685665) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa Yes, OM, he frogs at the end of "Ten Gallon Hat" fun song..thanks for finding it! |
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22 Jul 09 - 09:33 PM (#2685679) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: open mike i think he does it a bit here in this cartoon too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJKn6OJpsLE&feature=related Mamma don't allow... |
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22 Jul 09 - 10:10 PM (#2685694) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnett From: Melissa He apparently wrote "Ridin' Down the Canyon" "It's my Lazy Day" All I wanted was to know whether he could switch voices instantly..or whether the switch was made by double-recording. Now I'm interested enough that I'm looking at cds and wishing I had some of his songbooks! |
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23 Jul 09 - 01:33 AM (#2685745) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa http://smileyburnette.org/SBI/index.html near the bottom of the page, there are clickies for mp3 of songs and children's songs. |
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23 Jul 09 - 05:22 AM (#2685813) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: kendall He was in many Gene Autry movies in the 40's. I remember him well, and I don't believe what he did was a trick anymore than yodelling is. |
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23 Jul 09 - 07:26 AM (#2685870) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: GUEST,Tunesmith I don't remember Smiley - but my older brother does. He could even remember the name of his horse: Ring Eye Nellie! |
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23 Jul 09 - 08:24 AM (#2685900) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa I listened to some more of his songs and I think you're right, Kendall. In one song, he yodels AND frogs..which is a combination I never thought of wanting to hear--but it sure was something. I knew his horse was named Nellie..but didn't know she was Ring Eye. She didn't get very many lines in those movies and it's a shame! |
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23 Jul 09 - 05:57 PM (#2686377) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme Cowboy singer, Bob Atcher, who sang on the Barn Dance for quite a while through the 1950s, told me that Smiley Burnett and Gene Autry wrote "Riding Down The Canyon" together. They were in a car's back seat, and on their way to a gig in an Illinois town outside Chicago. Both were with the WLS Barn Dance program then. Art |
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23 Jul 09 - 09:55 PM (#2686486) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa I sure would like to hear recordings of the Barn Dance program. Thanks, Art. I was surprised to see Burnette had written so much and even more surprised to find some on the list that I sing. I thought 'Lazy Day' and 'Ridin down the Canyon' were both Autry's since he's the one I heard doing them. I would have liked to catch a lot of early radio and some of those singing cowboy movies the first time around. Thank goodness for reruns and computers...and online conversational mentions of unfamiliar (to me) names. Thanks, everybody. |
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23 Jul 09 - 10:49 PM (#2686505) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Jerry Rasmussen The other famous cowboy sidekick, Gabby Hayes, had his own tv show. I had to laugh when I saw that his shows are out on DVD now. Who's next? Trigger? I must say, I don't ever remember Gabby singing, though? Jerry |
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23 Jul 09 - 10:55 PM (#2686511) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme Melissa, When I was quite young, in the late 1940s or early '50s, Gene Autry with the Wonder-horse, Champion, came to the Oriental Theater in downtown Chicago. They did a stage show after a great film, The Strawberry Roan, ended. I tell the story of what happened at that show on my recent CD that I called "Chicago Town And Points West." It was pretty hilarious, and Gene even recounted it in his biography I think. The CD is on Folk Legacy Records. www.folklegacy.com Best regards, Art |
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23 Jul 09 - 10:59 PM (#2686514) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: fumblefingers Yes, he could change his voice instantly. I know several other guys who can imitate him. |
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23 Jul 09 - 11:12 PM (#2686527) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa I don't remember Gabby singing..I guess I don't remember anybody besides Roy Rogers singing much in his movies? Eck..a set of Trigger dvds doesn't sound like anything I'd be interested in seeing! If it was Champion, I'd have to think about it before opting out..but Trigger isn't my favorite. Autry/Burnette are the combination I like best. *** Bob Atcher and Loretta Young apparently had the first #1 recording of "You are my Sunshine" He also had "Why don't you haul off and love me" |
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23 Jul 09 - 11:45 PM (#2686533) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa Was Champ funny, Art? You sure are full of neat stories..bet you'd be neat to hang out with (unless you're a lot more surly than your posts make you seem) |
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24 Jul 09 - 12:28 AM (#2686547) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme Melissa, Gene rode Champ right out onto the stage and us kids went nuts. It was kind of like, maybe, Harry Potter being there in person.----Actually, Champ was hilarious. Gene got him to rise up on his back legs, got him to lie down and roll over, got him to pray--or so Gene said. Then Gene walked over to the microphone---while Champion lay a huge pile of "stuff" on the stage. But Gene never noticed! He just grabbed the mike and said, "Well, now that Champ has done his show, I guess it's time for me to do mine!" ---- We all expected Mr. Autry to drop his pants and do what champ had done. The mothers were covering up the kid's eyes---and some guy came out with a shovel to remove the stuff. ------- Then Gene sang "Riding Down The Canyon" -- I can see it vividly in my mind. I couldn't've been more than ten or 12... Art |
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24 Jul 09 - 12:37 AM (#2686548) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa Ha! I guess Champ saw his chance to steal the show and went for it. That must have been one of the few shows Champion was allowed to create his own script.. |
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24 Jul 09 - 01:01 AM (#2686553) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Seamus Kennedy Champion had his own show in the '50's produced by Gene Autry's Flying A Productions. It starred Jim Bannon (who was one of many movie Red Ryders) a Uncle Sandy and Barry North as Ricky. The Theme song was sung by Frankie Laine.. "Like a streak of lightnin' flash across the sky, Like the swiftest arrow whizzin' from a bow, Like a mighty cannonball he seems to fly, You'll hear about him everywhere you go... The time will come when everyone Will know the name of Champion....the Wonder Horse." And Ol'Smiley was a very talented musican, singer, songwriter and comedian. His last singing cowboy to whom he was sidekick was Rex Allen. Seamus |
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24 Jul 09 - 01:07 AM (#2686555) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Seamus Kennedy I have a recording of Gabby Hayes singing with Roy Rogers; in fact I believe there's a Youtube video of Roy and the ol' Gaberoo singing in one of Roy's movies. Boy I miss all the old sidekicks; the Andys - Clyde and Devine; the Fuzzys - Knight and St. John; the Pats - Buttram and Brady; Tonto, Pancho, Dick West, Little Beaver; Chill Wills, Slim Pickens and many more. You shouldn't have got me started. Seamus |
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24 Jul 09 - 01:17 AM (#2686558) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa is it the song/dance with something about birds where one jumps in and one jumps out? A group singing and playing? (dang hazy memory! I can't even think of how the song goes) ah..but now that you're started, Seamus, it might be best to keep on going. I'm picking up all kinds of stray tidbits as this thread rolls along. |
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24 Jul 09 - 01:40 AM (#2686563) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Rapparee Anyone remember the name of Pat Bertram's horse? |
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24 Jul 09 - 01:47 AM (#2686566) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa was his jeep was named Nelly Belle..? |
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24 Jul 09 - 04:16 AM (#2686614) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Will Fly And let's not forget Tex Ritter. Tex |
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24 Jul 09 - 04:28 AM (#2686621) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Will Fly Sorry to be off-topic, but I just caught this on YouTube and wondered if anyone might know the band playing at around 6':00" in... |
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25 Jul 09 - 12:29 PM (#2686857) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Gene Here is a link to hundreds of songs the fantastically talented Smiley Burnette wrote and didn't turn over to Gene Autry for 5 or 10 bucks... Smiley Burnette's income from his movies with various top cowboy stars of the day and his song writing made him a very wealthy man. http://www.smileyburnette.org/Smiley/songs.html G |
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25 Jul 09 - 02:28 PM (#2686950) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Bill D Funny...I remember Smiley's work with Gene Autry of course, but what clicks in my mind is his time with Charles Starrett in "The Durango Kid" movies. Smiley used his own name in the series. |
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25 Jul 09 - 03:03 PM (#2686965) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: RangerSteve In addition to his singing, Burnette also frogged while he was speaking in his films. The transition is too smooth to have been spliced in, and Autry's movies were pretty low budget - I doubt they would film two versions of a scene and splice in the frogging where they wanted it. |
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25 Jul 09 - 03:06 PM (#2686966) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme Seamus, Yes, for sure certain, Butram and Burnette and Gabby were real fine psychics. But I bet none of 'em ever foresaw Gene owning a baseball team! ;-) Art |
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25 Jul 09 - 07:25 PM (#2687132) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Gene |
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25 Jul 09 - 07:36 PM (#2687137) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Gene OOPs! left off the links... More about Smiley Burnette. http://www.b-westerns.com/pals-sb.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/smiley-burnette |
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25 Jul 09 - 08:36 PM (#2687180) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa I don't know who the guys six minutes into Will Fly's clicky are..but I like them! |
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26 Jul 09 - 12:30 AM (#2687253) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: GUEST,Gene Perhaps you will like this video Melissa... http://www.heylookanimals.com/2009/04/steve-martin-and-cowboy-monkeys.html G |
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26 Jul 09 - 09:55 AM (#2687285) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: catspaw49 Someone noted that Smiley Burnette did "Petticoat Junction" which is true but that showed had a spin-off.....the even more popular "Green Acres." Smiley did that one too (both shows as train engineman Charley Pratt). THere is a Gene Autry connection here because a co-star on Green Acres was Pat Buttram who played the ever "helpful" Mr. Haney. I don't recall Pat Buttram's horse's name but let me clear something up.......Pat Buttram was an Autry sidekick.....Pat BRADY was Roy Roger's sidekick on the TV show. Roy was a founding member of the "Sons of the Pioneers" and Pat Brady (his real name) was a longtime bass player and singer in the group as well. Pat Brady's jeep was named Nellybelle which rumor has it was the name of the tank he drove with Patton's 3rd Army in WWII. Roy (Leonard Slye) and PAt were both from Ohio. I find it continually amazing that any of us give a particular shit about this stuff............ Spaw |
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26 Jul 09 - 11:11 AM (#2687324) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Gene Well SPAW, maybe you hit the nail right on the head! Like George Jones, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" ...and Bill Anderson, "Where Have All Our Heroes Gone?" G |
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26 Jul 09 - 02:56 PM (#2687476) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Melissa I figure I can either be interested in the things I can afford..or I can mope around, concerned with the things I can't. Giving a shit about stuff like this falls quite easily within my budget and it's kind of fun to be enchanted by their hokey optimism. When 'Outsider Cool' becomes trendy, we'll get the satisfaction of knowing we were ahead of the times and that's a Glory money can't buy. Until better times, I can be content with a wealth of wandering trivia--and a day that begins with fluking into catching the Trigger song on tv..and ends with the video Gene linked..was probably a day worth living. At the moment, I'm interested in Burnette/Autry. I might wake up one day and decide I might be interested in some of the others..and this thread is giving me a head start in case that day ever happens. It's all good. |
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26 Jul 09 - 03:07 PM (#2687485) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Gene ENJOY another bit of Hokum Melissa....by two country greats. http://utube.smashits.com/video/H1EJ0KxKvW0/merle-haggard-marty-robbins-unusual-video.html G |
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26 Jul 09 - 03:19 PM (#2687491) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: DougR Gene Autry owned half interest in the CBS Television station in Phoenix with Tom Chauncy and he was in town quite often. I was a great fan of his. I, too, saw Gene and Champion who appeared on state at a movie theater in Waco, Texas in the early 1940's. He owned a ranch (The Lightening C was the name as I recall) near Dublin, Texas, which is not far from where I grew up. I saw him perform at the Dublin Rodeo in about 1943 with the Cass County Boys, and he was in his Warrant Officer uniform when he performed in the arena. Art: The story I heard about "Riding Down the Canyon" was Gene and Smiley were riding through Oak Creek Canyon, here in Arizona, and that Smiley wrote the song as they headed south to Phoenix. I don't know if Mudcatters are familiar with that area of Arizona, but many "B" Western movies were filmed there because of the unusual beauty of the red rocks that abound. When I heard the story, I never doubted it because the song so clearly describes that area. I have no reason to doubt your view of the story though. DougR |
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26 Jul 09 - 05:13 PM (#2687563) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme DougR, I'm sure tales build, as we know, over time. The truth is somewhere in there I bet. ;-) Also: Bob Atcher was an early resident of a small town North of Chicago--Schaumburg, IL. After sort of retiring from music, he ran for mayor there. He won---and served in that position for the next twenty years. In the early 1980s or late '70s I was playing a gig in Schaumburg and I stopped at his house---one of the oldest in that area. I wanted to give him a copy of my second LP which had just been released. Bob told me to wait at the door a minute; he had something to show me. A few minutes later he came back and showed me a copy of the same album; he already had it. I was just amazed. Then Maggie, his wife, came to the door and invited me in for coffee. We had a fine talk that day. Art |
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26 Jul 09 - 05:17 PM (#2687566) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Jerry Rasmussen As a kid, the arguments raged about who we wanted to be when we played cowboys and native Americans. Roy Roger's Achille's Heel was Dale Evans. If you decided to be Roy, you risked the possibility that a neighborhood GURL would insist on being Dale Evans. Yuck!!!! Jim you take the left side and I'll take the right My guns are ready-loaded and I'm itchin' to fight There'll be a few less hombres live to see tonight When we get down to the Hitching Post Better load up you guns and take your holsters down Round up all the boys, we're heading in to town And the first man that moves we're going to cut him down When we get down to the Hitching Post We'll meet Hoppalong Cassidy and Lash Larue Roy and Gabby said that they would be there too When we get together there's nothing we can't do When we get down to the Hitching Post With our cap guns blazing it gets hard to hear But when the shooting's over and the smoke has cleared We'll have Jordan Almonds and a cold root beer When we get down to the Hitching Post When we're back at the bunkhouse and the fighting is done We'll all be swapping stories how the battle was won And though the fighting gets tough, we've never lost a man When we go down to the Hitching Post When the sun goes down and all the Mothers call You better hang your holster back up on the wall 'Cause you never know when you're going to get the call To go down to the Hitching Post The Hitching Post - words and music by Jerry Rasmussen The Hitching Post was a run-down old movie theater in my home town that should double features of cowboy movies. It was low-ceilinged, and all us kids would bring our cap guns to the theater and help Roy or Gene out in the gunfights. The smoke would hang down from the ceiling, making the low balcony seem like it was in the clouds. Jerry |
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26 Jul 09 - 05:18 PM (#2687568) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme FOLKS, Carol and I are sitting here laughing our butts off! I put the last message through the spell-check and got two suggestions for words to use instead of Schaumburg. Get ready: Scumbag and Schmuck Art |
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26 Jul 09 - 05:26 PM (#2687577) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme Jerry, For the life o' me, I don't think in all the many years we wrote long letters to each other, I do not think that you ever told me about that theater. Pretty amazing!! Art |
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26 Jul 09 - 07:26 PM (#2687642) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: catspaw49 Scumbag and Schmuck Sounds like a cheap law firm....... Spaw |
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31 Jul 09 - 09:10 AM (#2691007) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Uncle Phil In those thrilling days of yesteryear, before teevee, we'd go to high school auditorium on Saturday mornings for a 15 cent spree that included a cowboy feature, a cartoon, popcorn, and something red and sticky to drink. If you are ever in Gene Autry, Oklahoma (yeah, right) be sure to visit the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum. I was pleasantly surprised when I visited. They have room after room of singing cowboy memorabilia. They have a film and music festival around Gene's birthday that sounds like fun. It's the week after Winfield so I've never gotten to go. - Phil http://www.geneautryokmuseum.com/Pages/gene_autry_oklahoma_museum.htm |
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31 Jul 09 - 04:43 PM (#2691249) Subject: RE: Smiley Burnette From: Art Thieme It's obvious to me. Smiley Burnette had a frog in his throat. (Caused by "Post Nasal Drip!" -- I used to think that was a breakfast cereal! But it's not. It's snot! Wow, I sure got a ton of mileage out of those lines on nights I had to sing with a cold. Then I'd attribute the song to the pop-folk group called the New Crusty Nostrils. Art Thieme (Then I'd play the nose flute.) |