Seeburg 1954 Playing Skokiaan by Ralph Marterie

[allenehrl]

Just an absolutely wonderful song. i don't know how there could possibly be a song ever recorded that was better. It mixes so many different musical styles brilliantly.

[SpeedyNeutrino43]

The Carlings have a great version of this tune, with soprano sax.

[herrjablonski]

nice jukebox

[peasonerf]

This was one of the few 45s my mom and dad had in their little stack. They had a Hi-Fi (high fidelity before stereo existed) record player. My brother and I would listen to their records cranked up high. Tonight I was watching Benjamin Buttons and heard Skokiaan playing in the background. Wow! There was a flood of memories. It came out in '54 and I came out in "53, so I was listening to about 9 year old music when I was 10. Thanks for the memory.

[WhopBobbaLuBop]

You MUST be kidding -- whrrrr, clunk....

[Robbi496]

Wow, the music and the Seeburg both, reminds me of kid days in Chicago!

[999clever]

Sweet!

I found this song in the 1954 chart @ billboardvideos.(net)

[guirexyz]

a year later and I'm bopping!!!!!!!!!!

[le3verita]

Nice !

[ampedleg]

Without a doubt, this recordeing contains the best sax solos I have ever heard.

[SpeedyNeutrino43]

This is an alto saxophone, not a tenor.

[p4o3n]

maaarvelous! Yesterday I ran into a real déja-vue. For some reason I came to think of this old tune I once in my youth (45 yrs ago) was ordered to play in a loud-speaker car announcing somehing that I have forgot. 2 hours later our new choir-leader taught us african songs like this one. creepy. In sweden it is used as a Jingle for a radio quiz program for fifth-graders. I don't think that they know that this is some kind of a hymn to a horrific home-brew, like mush, not even distilled.

[gheehead111]

Sorry that was just so much crap to do to such a good song. Can't believe they did that.

[jerryclick]

There used to be a place called the "Ubangi Burger" that used this as their theme for commercials. Billboards showed native type dude with big lips eating one of their burgers. Would be racist today.

[generationll]

Saratoga Moon radio plays this song in a station ad.I am awfully familiar with the begining of this song.

[ankaaz]

Brings back great memories...sitting on the floor playing 45s on a record player that looked more like a little suitcase. Loved all these old instrumentals like Skokiaan, Theme from Medic (remember that?), etc. Thanks!

[Haleyzz]

the tenor sax player on this rudi pompilli who later joined bill haley & his comets in 1955.

[alexjr28]

Great song, I first heard it in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. So far the Perez Prado version is my favorite.

[malloy12321]

Yes! I couldn't believe it when I heard this song in the movie. I've been a big fan of this song for some time now and hearing it in that movie was a pleasant surprise. However the use of it was a bit of an anachronism being that Perez Prado didn't release his version, like Ralph Marterie, until 1954, and that scene was supposed to take place in post-war NYC in 1946. Never the less it was nice to hear it in the movie.

[guirexyz]

I've been dying to hear Skokiaan for years!!! Thanks, makes me wanna bop!!!!

[highway66mojo]

First record I ever bought as a high school sophomore in Tulsa, 1955. Decca, I think, but did not check. I bought the 78 and still have it. Love it. Thanks for posting this.

[vinylsingleman]

It was on Mercury actually. Great record.

[GOD711]

I knew if I waited long enough someone would post this classic. Thank you.

[vinylsingleman]

Thanks for posting this. Great instrumental! And if you have Marterie's "Shish-Kebab", would you also be able to post that?

[PJAX57]

My uncle had this song on a 78-rpm record with a black label. It sounded very similar to this but I seem to remember more brass. It was in the early 60s and I was very young - maybe 5 or 6 at the time and I played it until someone threw it out with a pile of other 78s to make way for a new record player that only played 45s and 33s. Wonderful song, thanks for posting it!

[MisterSithy]

Perhaps you are remembering the Louis Armstrong version, which also happens to be the best version ever!

[Rome41jm]

One of my favorite hits from 1954