So Meschugge (Yiddish fox) - Harmony Boys, Berlin c. 1930

[MANJAsupporters]

heute sind wir wieder :

[CarinaRosenberg]

ITs not jiddisch but german!!

[aliasable]

Discographic information:

Berthold Leimbach: "Tondokumente der Kleinkunst und ihre Interpreten 1898 - 1945", Göttingen 1991

Die Humoresk Melodios

So meschugge (Lyrics: Charles Amberg, Music: Monaco)

Grammophon Gr 10 110 (mx. not registered)

[Vitanola]

This is a german translation of the 1931 American hit song "Crazy People!". "Crazy people! Crazy People! Crazy people like me go nutty over people like you..."

[jonjamg]

This matches exactly to a recording I have have attributed to Die Fidelios (harmonists)

[lotov83]

this isn't yiddish

[Olma4142]

Spitze, danke fürs hochladen!!

[TheGapminder]

Well, as I'm living in Berlin I can say that the first building in this clip is not the "Neue Synagoge", if you refer about the Synagogue at the Oranienburger Strasse. Mr/Mrs prenzlbaer is very right in his/her statement. But in Potsdam there also used to exist a "Neue Synagoge". Maybe the first picture in this clip referred to it. I don't know original pictures of it though.

[prenzlbaer]

Sorry for another comment to this wonderful song: Impressing pictures, too, but: The first bulding is not the "Neue Synagoge" in Berlin (built 1859-1866, partly still standing). The "Neue Synagoge" has not been destroyed, but was protected by the police during the "Reichskristallnacht" or "Reichspogromnacht" 1938. It was severely damaged by british bombs on November 23rd in 1943 und has partly been rebuilt now.

But in fact a wonderful song and a nice video!

[prenzlbaer]

Thank you for this wonderful song!

But: The song is NOT sung in Yiddish. "Meschugge" is the only yiddish word in the text and still is widely used in Germany for "crazy, confused" (and most people don't know that it's originally yiddish - that's why the song was published with this title!). The group started 1932 with songs from the "Comedian Hamronists" and divided in December 1933 into the "Humoresk Melodios" (later "Melodios") and the "Melodisten".

[bigscorpio5]

Wir haben alle schon ein kindliches Gemüt...

jaja...

Super Video!

[macKotti36]

Klasse!!!

[alexanderlinden]

Cool song!

[nedsparks]

What a wonderful group! Just like the Comedian Harmonists, they have modeled themselves after the American group known as the Revelers. The song is "Crazy People," with music by James (You Made Me Love You) Monaco and the original American lyrics are by Edgar (For Me and My Gal) Leslie, copyright 1932 by Leo Feist, Inc. An excellent recreation of the Boswell Sisters version (uploaded by user name JeriLynnKarr) can be found on YouTube.

[kr103]

Please do that - I don't mind in the least. If you are interested, I have some additional material such as some photos of the group, as one of the former "boys" (now age 94) lives not too far away ...

[kr103]

"So meschugge" was a kind of poisoned parting gift for their record company and their last published disc (recorded October 24). Ironically, it was also their best selling effort. They were very amused the company obviouly did not get the Jewish implications of the title at that time. Leuschner and Doege later formed "Die Melodisten", whereas Bergau, Meitzner and Rössler started the "Humoresk Melodios", two of the most exellent German vocal groups of the 1930s.

[kr103]

The Harmony Boys were founded in 1932 when four of the five members were still in school. The group made their first recordings at the end of the year, later securing a contract with "Deutsche Grammophon" for 20 sides. Their forced name-change to "Fidelios" did not appease the officials, who thought the boys were making fun of Beethoven's opera! The group disbanded on December 31st, 1933.

[dairyman716]

The Harmony Boys & Fidelios were the same group. They changed the name in 1933 from Harmony Boys into the none english/more german name Fidelios as they got a contract with the Deutsche Grammophon. In may 1932 Heinz Raetz left the group and Erich Bergau became the new baritone.

[dairyman716]

Harmony Boys & Fidelios

Werner Doege (Piano)

Olaf Meitzner (1. Tenor)

Wolfgang Leuschner (2. Tenor)

Heinz Raetz (Bariton)

Werner Rössler (Bass)

[kspm01]

No information found about them; I tend to second jurek46pink's opinion that this was a one (or several) session(s) studio ensemble.

[dzheger]

Meschuggely entertaining! Especially when one is aware of the aversion that 'Yekkes' (German Jews, as they are called by Yiddish speakers) had towards the Yiddish language which they viewed as a ravaged German. Meshugge derives from the Hebrew 'mad' - very non-German. If my father had heard this! G, where did you dig this pearl up from?

[barbcard]

I applaud your very touching comment about your father. From a meshugganeh non-Yekke...

[jurek46pink]

I will not indetify, I may only say that there were many seasonal groups - vocal, instrumental, created for one short period, for a dozen of sides recorded. Some of them in that way were..."virtual" (at that time !), consisting of artists gathered 'ad hoc'.

[barbcard]

Amazing photo of menorah juxtaposed with swastika; leads to all kinds of thoughts, maybe a future poem.

[canegrace]

Kann leider nicht helfen.

Aber es klingt sehr nach: ich möchte ich wehre ein Huhn.

So meschugge, so meschugge wie wir kann einer ganz alleine nicht sein ...

Sie sagen doch man soll mitsingen lol lol lol.

Danke