Check out the 1945 movie: "HOW DOOOO YOU DO!!!" (Part 1 at about the 12 minute mark. It's on You Tube), and you will see again why Ella Mae Morse was the most requested singer on Armed Forces Radio during WWII. When she was at a microphone she was in a place all her own. And she had the chops for acting too. It's a weird insider movie, but it's worth the time watching it just on her account.
Such a great, mature voice for someone her age. This was a time when people expected you to be able to actually sing in order to call yourself a singer.
The original "teen-age queen", whose singing even influenced Elvis Prestley. Where is Ella Mae Morse's star (one of the first), on Hollywood's WALK OF FAME located? Right in the shadow of the CAPITOL RECORDS tower and just off the corner of HOLLYWOOD & VINE. In other words, right where it should be!
Young and hungry, not yet 15 year old Ella Mae Morse to the by then famous Glen Miller--"I can sing better than her." (Miller's lead singer Marion Hutton). Glen Miller to young Ella Mae Morse--"I know you can."
@texascarl In the nearly seventy years since, this music is still very enjoyable, even though it's what my grandparents listened to and my parents as children recall.
Another event that "saved" Capitol Records was the AFM recording ban instituted by James Petrillo 8/1/1942 that was to last one year. The "big three" record companies, Columbia, Victor, and Decca, rushed to record an inventory to use during the ban as the American public, eager for a diversion from grim war news, wanted their music. After the inventory wore down they got their music on independents, such as upstart Capitol Records.
Ella Mae Morse was paid $35 for making the recording that saved CAPITOL RECORDS from going out of business. (And she did it in one take). If you were not a big name with a personal contract, you were just another member of the band. Guess you know, she made a lot more than $35 after that. (No boogie woogie gal from Texas, no TOWER in L.A.
With Jimmy Dorsey's band, singer Bob Eberly said that at first, Ella Mae Morse was "undisciplined" as a stage singer; no doubt because she was so young. (She and her mother lied about her age. Dorsey thought she was 19. She was 14!) But than again, how could the Godmother of rock and roll not be a little undisciplined now and then? lol.
Love it. Just heard her on Fresh Air / NPR 30 secs ago. Did the copy/paste of her name to YouTube search, and hear I am enjoying her talents. WOW- todays technology is great.. Can it get any better? Now, back to the music.
The first hit for Capitol Records in 1942. I wish someone would post "Riffette" by Freddie Slack from 1943. It has a great early electric guitar solo:-)
@the1musiclad Agreed 100%. Just watched both. Dorothy's version has background dancers and overall more gyrations-it's kind of cute. Ella Mae Morse voice and band puts a zing in it. Just another humble opinion.
pretty girl rock made me listen to dorothy dandridge then i typed cow cow boogie and this is what i watched but i liked dorothy better though but still a good video !
Billie Holiday had an upstairs gig and Ella Mae Morse had a downstairs gig in the same New York niteclub. After closing, young Ella Mae jumped in a second taxi and followed Billie Holiday back to her appartment just so she could tell her how much she loved her singing. Turns out, they both loved each other's singing, and spent a lot of time in a restruant talking about music and the music business. Would love to have overheard the conversation.
PART 2---After she finished singing on Armed Forces Radio one night, host Louie Armstrong jokingly said that someone needed to recheck her ancestry! And speaking of her ancestry, her father was a full blooded, transplanted Brit ! But you can eat your hearts out anyway England, she was still All-American!! (grin, grin, grin).
PART 1---Sometime in the 1940's the student-body of a small black college voted Johnny Mercer and Ella Mae Morse as the top male and female black singers of the year!! She said it freaked her right out, in a good way. Said she was always flattered to be mistaken for a black singer, which happened often with people who knew nothing about her except what they heard on the radio or records.
@zbelzanger When I first heard her, I thought she was black, then when I bought her CD I thought I got the wrong one when I saw a white girl on the cover. She is amazing!
@theoriginalbadbob Nope. Loco weed is also known as Jimson weed. A different plant with different properties although it is hallucinogenic, it is also toxic to humans since it contains Tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine, but none of that good TCE.
@BrickPa We are both right, my friend. Down in that neck of the woods, weed grows wild all over the place. I knew a guy who had been born, circa 1914, in Cuero, Texas, the "Turkey Capitol" of the world. He and ALL of his friends started smoking that noxious weed when they were 6 or 7 years old. He was the person who told me that it was called "loco weed." I have just recently found out that one of my doctors was smoking weed, in Oklahoma, in 1940, when he was only 12 years old. He's alive!
Ella sends me, aw reet. They don't sing like that anymore and it's a damn shame. Sweet, mellow and just dripping with 'that certain something'........
Lots of Ella Mae's songs were covered by black artist and her versions were on the R&B charts. Also she is the first human being recorded to have used the word "homey" (see house of blue lights.)
This song was actually written by Benny Carter in 1942 - but he had to share credit with De Paul and Raye to get his song into the 1943 movie "Reveille with Beverly".
Way cool. Ella was so slinky and seductive I can't imagine another artist essaying this great, classic song. She was so hot she could probably light cigarettes with her nipples.
Very big in places where Kobi beef is served. (A soundie: Remember the song from my earliest childhood memories. Wouldn't then have known what the 'Harlem touch' was. Thank the Gods I do now. Even have been touched by it many a time. Life is good.
i think is rather funny that its instantly asumed that it must be a black/white cross, when the term "breed" was used to discribe a white/native american child.
This song isn't racist. This is a song about New York and its culture and rural cutlure at that time. There was a large rural population in America in the past and a great deal of discourse was about the difference between the rural dweller and the city "slicker". We've forgotten that today.
During her brief stay with Jimmy Dorsey's band, at age 14 (amazing), one of the musicians told her she sounded a lot like Billie Holiday on a particular song and young 14 year old Ella Mae said: "Who's he?" lol! Before she hit the big time at age 14(!) she auditioned for a singing spot at a local Texas radio station, but the manager said he wouldn't take her because she didn't sound like everyone else!! Louie Armstrong told her, she should have thanked the guy for the compliment Quite a gal.
If any of the people who made remarks took a small amount of time to read Ella Mae Morse history they would understand there was no agenda. She was 14 years old when she made the recording of Cow Cow Boogie, "on the first take". She traveled with the Benny Goodman orchestra until they found out how young she was and sent her back to Texas. Ella Mae had great talent, but did not get the big songs to record, so did not become as big a name as some. She does, however, have enduring fans.
There was a version of this song that TCM used to show, with live animals with animated mouths. Can't find it on you tube..... can anyone help? mtpalmsprings@yahoo.com
Time stood still when they filmed this. How many other romantic boogie woogie ballads (Of all things!) do you know of? And sung by a knockout teenager who had the voice of a 30yr old torch singer; accompanied by one of the best ever boogie piano players. If that were not enough, Ella Mae Morse was also from East Texas; the very region that gave birth to boogie woogie many years earlier. She was the right little gal in the right place at the right time. Film clips like this never die.
@the1musiclad That's interesting - I came to Dorothy first, which I find almost haunting (not quite the right word, but I can't do better)
Dorothy's artistry, it seems to me, is shown on the little gesture she makes on the line "he's what you call a swing half-breed", which Ella doesn't make anything of.
@firestartertwistedfi - Dorothy's "quirks" came from her being a jazz singer with the Dandridge Sisters. Also. at the time of the early 40s she was primarily a novelty act, meaning that little gestures and such like were expected of her (nothing wrong with that btw).
i think this is from movie Reveille with Beverly , i dont think you can find it on dvd but TCM plays it every now and then...........good movie also check out Hollywood Canteen another great movie with ww2 stars.
Elvis cited Ella Mae as an influence. I imagine he would have liked to have got her up in the cab of that Crown Electrical truck and sang along with her. I certainly, would have liked to have had a chance to harmonize with her on any old ditty. If I had a few pennies spare I would buy that box set by Bear records with all her recordings. Capitol Records had some amazing artistes that pre-date rock 'n' roll and show the scope of music in the late 40s and early 50s- this was their first big hit.
PART 2.--She foreshadowed, and then participated in things to come (rock & roll). The little knockout WWII teenage queen of boogie woogie and godmother of rock & roll, who directly influenced the "KING" of rock & roll, and could haved passed as his sister. (And it's not the only coincidence involving her and her career). I'll say again what many others have said: Ella Mae Morse really was special. (And thanks to the internet, still is).
PART 1.--I know I can't be the only one to notice this: Take a good look at 0:15 thru 0:28, and 2:30 thru 2:42. Remember those couple of female singers in the 1950's who promoted themselves as "The Female Elvis"? Well, here is the original "Female Elvis", 10 years before there even was an Elvis! If it weren't for the time differential, they could have passed as brother and sister. (And it dosen't hurt the perception any to know that Elvis said he was directly influenced by her singing).
Hit the wrong button that is why the -2... sorry. Elle Mae is also new to me. She kind of laid the foundation for rock and roll, too, from the other YouTube listings.
Rock"n"Roll has very little to do with skin color, it's a attitude,a beat,a move,and a groove,listen up people,this is the early roots of Rock"n"Roll, traveling with Alan Freed in the 50's,doing shows at the Apollo in New York City,and the Fox in Brooklyn,hosted by Murray Kaufman or better known as Murray "The K", it all started with the "Swing Era",and Ella definitely has a "Cool" about her,R.I.P. sweetheart,you are not forgotten. Sincerely,The Original Chevelles.
It's funny what a backseat the guitar plays in this era of music. In just a few years it will begin its domination in popular music for the next 50 years!
Here's a snip about Ella from Wikipedia: "In 1942, at the age of 17, she joined Freddie Slack's band, with whom in the same year she recorded "Cow Cow Boogie". Her work helped lay the foundations for R&B, Rockabilly, Rock & Roll and Rock. We lost her in 1999. I hope her work continues to be appreciated.
Sheesh, Ella Mae's and Dorothy's are two very wonderful takes on a great song.
Ms. Danbridge's is sexier, but if we're going to pick things apart, I'd fault her for her babyish voice on her recording, while Ella Mae is pure adult (even though she was apparently a teenager at this recording)..
It's from the 1944 movie REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY. In the COMMAND PERFORMANCE episode #182, which is also on U Tube, she sings it live, the same way Dorothy Dandridge sings it. Both ways, it's great stuff.
A lot of people don't know she had a younger sister, Flo Handy, who became a well known jazz singer and pianist in her own right, with at least one album to her credit. (And what a great name for a jazz singer: "Flo Handy". It sounds a good as "Ella Mae Morse"). Flo Handy was another little knockout. From the one picture I've seen of her, you can tell she and Ella Mae were sisters.
How super groovy to see Freddy Slack and Ella Mae Morse in their prime! No one played boogie woogie like the late great Mr Slack....and the late great Miss Morse had a perfect voice for songs like these. Those cats knew how to swing, daddy-o! Thanks for sharing this rare 1940's footage with us!
Not sure what you mean. It's still there. Sometimes "Video Unavailable" tags show up for no reason, but if you try again in a few minutes, the video works again.
dURING THE 1940'S, THEY had a thing called "Soundies"which culd be played in certain special Juke Boxes. The leave a wealth of big band videos as result, and through most of the 40"s
@maryjsj from movie Reveille with Beverly , they show it on TCM sometimes, i dont think its on dvd yet. But i think someone sells burned copies of it on ebay.
Check out the 1945 movie: "HOW DOOOO YOU DO!!!" (Part 1 at about the 12 minute mark. It's on You Tube), and you will see again why Ella Mae Morse was the most requested singer on Armed Forces Radio during WWII. When she was at a microphone she was in a place all her own. And she had the chops for acting too. It's a weird insider movie, but it's worth the time watching it just on her account.
zbelzanger 2 weeks ago
Just Great,,, thanks for posting...
BigWheelHawaii 2 weeks ago
who would dislike this
spicolli3100 3 weeks ago
<3 The Farm
effoffutube 1 month ago
Such a great, mature voice for someone her age. This was a time when people expected you to be able to actually sing in order to call yourself a singer.
thecommentmonster 1 month ago 4
"...he was raided on loco weed...he's what ya call a swing half breed..."
rankingtrevor 2 months ago
@rankingtrevor
he was raised on loco weed...just like I wish that my mammy raised me
though god knows she musta smoked it all through my pregnancy, anyway, funny you picked up on that too
Morthund 1 month ago
Back when talent was more important than looks, Ella Mae Morse had both. Good god was she beautiful!
TiredOfTheSoupDuJour 2 months ago 2
sing it again ella, sing it again,great voice and vidio,thanks for posting.
sladedude44 3 months ago
What a swell song :D
coolbluelights 3 months ago 3
The original "teen-age queen", whose singing even influenced Elvis Prestley. Where is Ella Mae Morse's star (one of the first), on Hollywood's WALK OF FAME located? Right in the shadow of the CAPITOL RECORDS tower and just off the corner of HOLLYWOOD & VINE. In other words, right where it should be!
zbelzanger 3 months ago 2
What a beautiful gall, back then they used to know what good music is .
She is SOOOOOOOO HOT
Lindyhopper67 3 months ago 2
What a voice and what a gal! thanks for sharing.
59Napoli 3 months ago
the time when girls were cute and talented
sanan22 3 months ago
the world used to be cool
MrDeerecub1977 4 months ago
In Poland it is not completely known,a pity, because it's a great singer.....!!
commissionershuffler 4 months ago 4
Great post and tune/Carl
Schlager60s 4 months ago
Ella Fitsgeralds has a whole different character, I can't choose!!
HinaMomokox3 4 months ago
Funny little song that was. Thanks for sharing.
TimelordR 4 months ago
Smooth as Fifteen year old Scotch......what's not to love?
cribpointcritter 5 months ago
Oh my, she's good! Great arrangement and nice production as well.
bluerailroad 6 months ago
Young and hungry, not yet 15 year old Ella Mae Morse to the by then famous Glen Miller--"I can sing better than her." (Miller's lead singer Marion Hutton). Glen Miller to young Ella Mae Morse--"I know you can."
zbelzanger 6 months ago
Dorothy? Don't think so. Ella? Hell ya!!!
peetee1000 6 months ago
Fabulous!
mojojee 7 months ago
She's got the pipes!
texascarl 7 months ago 2
@texascarl In the nearly seventy years since, this music is still very enjoyable, even though it's what my grandparents listened to and my parents as children recall.
surfinwax58 5 months ago
Hey I spent real money buying Morse's Best-of album on CD on the strength of this. Go Youtube!
marbleflat 7 months ago 9
Yeahbut...Why was the drummers face carefully blurred?
Xychk 7 months ago 2
Her beauty is absolutely stunning. It wasn't only the men that made hers "the greatest generation."
8House 7 months ago 3
Another event that "saved" Capitol Records was the AFM recording ban instituted by James Petrillo 8/1/1942 that was to last one year. The "big three" record companies, Columbia, Victor, and Decca, rushed to record an inventory to use during the ban as the American public, eager for a diversion from grim war news, wanted their music. After the inventory wore down they got their music on independents, such as upstart Capitol Records.
411Rocco 7 months ago
i love her
hieraxhideo 8 months ago 2
Ella Mae Morse was paid $35 for making the recording that saved CAPITOL RECORDS from going out of business. (And she did it in one take). If you were not a big name with a personal contract, you were just another member of the band. Guess you know, she made a lot more than $35 after that. (No boogie woogie gal from Texas, no TOWER in L.A.
zbelzanger 8 months ago 3
Finally! Cowboy music I can get behind!
TimReedMusic 9 months ago
OMG! Meredith Wilson SO stole this bass line for his "Marian the Librarian" in "Music Man"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheJagman1450 9 months ago
@TheJagman1450
Ha! I second that emotion! I never noticed that until now! Thought that sounded familiar! You have an EXCELLENT ear! CHEERS! :-)
JubalCalif 8 months ago
I think she was nervous
BigTMoney121 10 months ago
3 people are Re*****a Bl**k fans. :-(
dariowestern 10 months ago
Comment removed
byoungpublic 7 months ago
@dariowestern
LOL!!
byoungpublic 7 months ago
check out -Carol Bruce and Larry Clinton
conchman4 10 months ago
Can't she control her eyes ??
Kramnosnits 10 months ago 2
@Kramnosnits :DDDD u made me laugh.
Marmuzele 10 months ago
@Kramnosnits she had a lazy eye, but boy, was she hot.
Holdthesausage 1 week ago
With Jimmy Dorsey's band, singer Bob Eberly said that at first, Ella Mae Morse was "undisciplined" as a stage singer; no doubt because she was so young. (She and her mother lied about her age. Dorsey thought she was 19. She was 14!) But than again, how could the Godmother of rock and roll not be a little undisciplined now and then? lol.
zbelzanger 11 months ago
@zbelzanger
Well said and well put !!!
:-)
JubalCalif 8 months ago
Introducing Capitol Recording artist, Ella Mae Morse...
SFConifer 11 months ago
Love it. Just heard her on Fresh Air / NPR 30 secs ago. Did the copy/paste of her name to YouTube search, and hear I am enjoying her talents. WOW- todays technology is great.. Can it get any better? Now, back to the music.
MrVideogreg 11 months ago
she looks like my grandma when she was young. oh, nostalgia.
palutubevideos 11 months ago
i love the way she looks around
reminds me of betty boop
redshark618 11 months ago 2
The first hit for Capitol Records in 1942. I wish someone would post "Riffette" by Freddie Slack from 1943. It has a great early electric guitar solo:-)
patoman881 11 months ago
Everyone needs to know about Ella Mae Morse and Anita Ellis.
unclealand 1 year ago
How can anyone think Dorothy's version of this is better? Don't get me wrong, Dorothy is brilliant BUT this version is perfect.
the1musiclad 1 year ago
@the1musiclad Agreed 100%. Just watched both. Dorothy's version has background dancers and overall more gyrations-it's kind of cute. Ella Mae Morse voice and band puts a zing in it. Just another humble opinion.
MrVideogreg 11 months ago
pretty girl rock made me listen to dorothy dandridge then i typed cow cow boogie and this is what i watched but i liked dorothy better though but still a good video !
himandeanda 1 year ago
Dorothy Dandridge's is better :)
mrravensymone 1 year ago
Billie Holiday had an upstairs gig and Ella Mae Morse had a downstairs gig in the same New York niteclub. After closing, young Ella Mae jumped in a second taxi and followed Billie Holiday back to her appartment just so she could tell her how much she loved her singing. Turns out, they both loved each other's singing, and spent a lot of time in a restruant talking about music and the music business. Would love to have overheard the conversation.
zbelzanger 1 year ago 3
....Omg she moves her eyes so much. Makes me stare for some reason.
javjav303 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I get horny watching her, I assume you guys do too. Let's talk dirty about her.
theburdcotter 1 year ago
*sigh*... that must have been such a fun time to be alive :)
TheVigilantOne1111 1 year ago
After Ella Mae sang "COW COW BOOGIE" , there was no need for another version !!
MrRJDB1969 1 year ago
All these years I thought it was caca boogie.
dkw12002 1 year ago
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kalanamutthu 1 year ago
J'aime!
Folbold 1 year ago
She doesn't sound black to me, but she's got a great voice. Still, I prefer the low-key, sexy Dorothy Dandridge version better!
murraymae 1 year ago 2
PART 2---After she finished singing on Armed Forces Radio one night, host Louie Armstrong jokingly said that someone needed to recheck her ancestry! And speaking of her ancestry, her father was a full blooded, transplanted Brit ! But you can eat your hearts out anyway England, she was still All-American!! (grin, grin, grin).
zbelzanger 1 year ago 2
PART 1---Sometime in the 1940's the student-body of a small black college voted Johnny Mercer and Ella Mae Morse as the top male and female black singers of the year!! She said it freaked her right out, in a good way. Said she was always flattered to be mistaken for a black singer, which happened often with people who knew nothing about her except what they heard on the radio or records.
zbelzanger 1 year ago 2
@zbelzanger When I first heard her, I thought she was black, then when I bought her CD I thought I got the wrong one when I saw a white girl on the cover. She is amazing!
dothejive 1 year ago 3
THIS IS AWESOME:)
ludovica36 1 year ago 2
OK, people, loco weed is wild-growing marijuana. That's the fact, Jack.
theoriginalbadbob 1 year ago
@theoriginalbadbob Nope. Loco weed is also known as Jimson weed. A different plant with different properties although it is hallucinogenic, it is also toxic to humans since it contains Tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine, but none of that good TCE.
BrickPa 1 year ago
@BrickPa We are both right, my friend. Down in that neck of the woods, weed grows wild all over the place. I knew a guy who had been born, circa 1914, in Cuero, Texas, the "Turkey Capitol" of the world. He and ALL of his friends started smoking that noxious weed when they were 6 or 7 years old. He was the person who told me that it was called "loco weed." I have just recently found out that one of my doctors was smoking weed, in Oklahoma, in 1940, when he was only 12 years old. He's alive!
theoriginalbadbob 1 year ago
Ella sends me, aw reet. They don't sing like that anymore and it's a damn shame. Sweet, mellow and just dripping with 'that certain something'........
budgienation 1 year ago 2
Lots of Ella Mae's songs were covered by black artist and her versions were on the R&B charts. Also she is the first human being recorded to have used the word "homey" (see house of blue lights.)
redtony58 1 year ago
looks like shes watching a fly fly around her head lol its a nice song though
RSdaymen 1 year ago
@RSdaymen lmao!
Trashfished 1 year ago
This song was actually written by Benny Carter in 1942 - but he had to share credit with De Paul and Raye to get his song into the 1943 movie "Reveille with Beverly".
jazmaan 1 year ago
Way cool. Ella was so slinky and seductive I can't imagine another artist essaying this great, classic song. She was so hot she could probably light cigarettes with her nipples.
problem49 1 year ago
motownmaniax, it was "locoweed", actually. Later censored to read "local ways" ;-)
esuurmaa 1 year ago
Very big in places where Kobi beef is served. (A soundie: Remember the song from my earliest childhood memories. Wouldn't then have known what the 'Harlem touch' was. Thank the Gods I do now. Even have been touched by it many a time. Life is good.
AryeDirect 1 year ago
Wish I lived in the 40's...
calif562 1 year ago
"He was raised on local weed"....love that line. ~lol
motownmaniax 1 year ago
i think is rather funny that its instantly asumed that it must be a black/white cross, when the term "breed" was used to discribe a white/native american child.
bedobeth 1 year ago
This song isn't racist. This is a song about New York and its culture and rural cutlure at that time. There was a large rural population in America in the past and a great deal of discourse was about the difference between the rural dweller and the city "slicker". We've forgotten that today.
kecheen1 1 year ago
During her brief stay with Jimmy Dorsey's band, at age 14 (amazing), one of the musicians told her she sounded a lot like Billie Holiday on a particular song and young 14 year old Ella Mae said: "Who's he?" lol! Before she hit the big time at age 14(!) she auditioned for a singing spot at a local Texas radio station, but the manager said he wouldn't take her because she didn't sound like everyone else!! Louie Armstrong told her, she should have thanked the guy for the compliment Quite a gal.
zbelzanger 1 year ago 2
If any of the people who made remarks took a small amount of time to read Ella Mae Morse history they would understand there was no agenda. She was 14 years old when she made the recording of Cow Cow Boogie, "on the first take". She traveled with the Benny Goodman orchestra until they found out how young she was and sent her back to Texas. Ella Mae had great talent, but did not get the big songs to record, so did not become as big a name as some. She does, however, have enduring fans.
dscpinc 1 year ago 3
@dscpinc
Well said, fellow hep cat! If you any more cool, you'd be frozen, daddy-o!
JubalCalif 1 year ago
girl, just watch straight outa the camera !!! -.-
I am gonna crazy biatch
lembatt 1 year ago
she looks like the female that takes the part of Ilaine benes on the reruns of seinfeld!!!
sladedude44 1 year ago
There was a version of this song that TCM used to show, with live animals with animated mouths. Can't find it on you tube..... can anyone help? mtpalmsprings@yahoo.com
MrPSMark 1 year ago
What a strong confident voice.
eotto2001 1 year ago
@VerticalSmiIe
Actually, the song refers to a guy from Harlem who sings a cowboy song when he's high on marijuana.
That doesn't really make him a cowboy ... urban or otherwise.
Rajamuttu 1 year ago
I started loving this song after I heard it in The Aviator!! :D
MissLanaDawson 1 year ago 3
Have you seen this video version?
reconstitutedteen.multiply(.)com/video/item/3
Remove the parentheses.
davidls11 1 year ago
Time stood still when they filmed this. How many other romantic boogie woogie ballads (Of all things!) do you know of? And sung by a knockout teenager who had the voice of a 30yr old torch singer; accompanied by one of the best ever boogie piano players. If that were not enough, Ella Mae Morse was also from East Texas; the very region that gave birth to boogie woogie many years earlier. She was the right little gal in the right place at the right time. Film clips like this never die.
zbelzanger 1 year ago
It was a DITTY he learned in the city !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
singing his cow cow boogie
he was raised onlocal weed
05Toamasina1938 1 year ago
if you like this, check out dorothy dandridge's version
firestartertwistedfi 1 year ago
@firestartertwistedfi - Granted Dorothy's absolutely brilliant but Ella's voice is just perfect for this type of music. Can't be beaten.
Dorothy was better at the quicker tempo big band swing whereas Ella had a more soulful country/rockabilly sound.
the1musiclad 1 year ago
@the1musiclad That's interesting - I came to Dorothy first, which I find almost haunting (not quite the right word, but I can't do better)
Dorothy's artistry, it seems to me, is shown on the little gesture she makes on the line "he's what you call a swing half-breed", which Ella doesn't make anything of.
firestartertwistedfi 1 year ago
@firestartertwistedfi - Dorothy's "quirks" came from her being a jazz singer with the Dandridge Sisters. Also. at the time of the early 40s she was primarily a novelty act, meaning that little gestures and such like were expected of her (nothing wrong with that btw).
the1musiclad 1 year ago
Ella Mae was just too cool... Her rendition of this song is the BEST!
MissGoldenDreams13 1 year ago
i think this is from movie Reveille with Beverly , i dont think you can find it on dvd but TCM plays it every now and then...........good movie also check out Hollywood Canteen another great movie with ww2 stars.
troynov1965 1 year ago
I don't know about you guys, but, I really dig this song..That piano's kickin' butt, man..!
zipper179 1 year ago
i like her style
5T3V1L 1 year ago
Elvis cited Ella Mae as an influence. I imagine he would have liked to have got her up in the cab of that Crown Electrical truck and sang along with her. I certainly, would have liked to have had a chance to harmonize with her on any old ditty. If I had a few pennies spare I would buy that box set by Bear records with all her recordings. Capitol Records had some amazing artistes that pre-date rock 'n' roll and show the scope of music in the late 40s and early 50s- this was their first big hit.
NickRatnieks 1 year ago
Wow- Great Thanks for posting!!!
RockabillyWilly1 1 year ago
DAMN! i'm impressed! 5!
marselus88 1 year ago
Dandridge for the moves. Ella Mae for the chops.
AF2Z 1 year ago 20
this ok..but dorthy's was so much better
SoNgTrEsS93 1 year ago
@SoNgTrEsS93 yep
reeseleebaby 1 year ago
PART 2.--She foreshadowed, and then participated in things to come (rock & roll). The little knockout WWII teenage queen of boogie woogie and godmother of rock & roll, who directly influenced the "KING" of rock & roll, and could haved passed as his sister. (And it's not the only coincidence involving her and her career). I'll say again what many others have said: Ella Mae Morse really was special. (And thanks to the internet, still is).
zbelzanger 2 years ago 2
PART 1.--I know I can't be the only one to notice this: Take a good look at 0:15 thru 0:28, and 2:30 thru 2:42. Remember those couple of female singers in the 1950's who promoted themselves as "The Female Elvis"? Well, here is the original "Female Elvis", 10 years before there even was an Elvis! If it weren't for the time differential, they could have passed as brother and sister. (And it dosen't hurt the perception any to know that Elvis said he was directly influenced by her singing).
zbelzanger 2 years ago 2
I love Freddie Slack's smoothe easy &precise playing style. I like his hand flourishes too!
bIueguise23 2 years ago 12
bIueguise23, I agree.Top drawer stuff here. And classy too.
blackflstj 2 years ago 6
What do you know about Freddie Slack? That is just beautiful sound.
eotto2001 2 years ago
I grew up listening to Freddy Slack on my Dad's 78's, & I agree bIueguise23. Why so testy?
OofIoom 2 years ago 3
I didn't know that I was being testy. I like Freddie Slack but don't remember hearing him before.
eotto2001 2 years ago
@eotto2001, Freddy Slack was perhaps the premier Boogie Woogie player of his era.
StinkFingerr 2 years ago
Hit the wrong button that is why the -2... sorry. Elle Mae is also new to me. She kind of laid the foundation for rock and roll, too, from the other YouTube listings.
eotto2001 2 years ago 2
This is my Great Aunt! (My dad's-mom's-sister,lol)
This is so so wonderful to see old footage thank you for posting!!
osummer 2 years ago
Very awesome and who knows, maybe we are distant relatives?
radiovixen76 2 years ago
@osummer
wow!
LocoMole 2 years ago
Others can argue about who the Godfather was, but right here is the Godmother of rock and roll.
zbelzanger 2 years ago 2
Bogart says sing it again ella, sing it again!!!!.
sladedude44 2 years ago
I think i'm in love...Mmmmm.....what a dish!
0001943 2 years ago 3
Rock"n"Roll has very little to do with skin color, it's a attitude,a beat,a move,and a groove,listen up people,this is the early roots of Rock"n"Roll, traveling with Alan Freed in the 50's,doing shows at the Apollo in New York City,and the Fox in Brooklyn,hosted by Murray Kaufman or better known as Murray "The K", it all started with the "Swing Era",and Ella definitely has a "Cool" about her,R.I.P. sweetheart,you are not forgotten. Sincerely,The Original Chevelles.
cwbruni 2 years ago
@cwbruni
Shoot man, you and i might be the only two left that remember Alan Freed or Murray Kaufman. Or at least are willing to admit it!
But damn I like Ella Mae's work and I can't thank clotho98 enough for posting this!
BrickPa 2 years ago 2
Tons of people do covers and different versions of many songs. Who cares if they're black or white?
kenaco2009 2 years ago 8
Haha, I love this song.
kenaco2009 2 years ago
wow that was super cute. i love boogie
MsGinger92 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Ah ok, dorothy dandridge sang it in a movie in 1942.. interesting.
chimera15 2 years ago
is she lip syncing?
onthinice766 2 years ago
I Love this version and I love all of her work, wow! What an artist, the best.
djflyingv 2 years ago
It's funny what a backseat the guitar plays in this era of music. In just a few years it will begin its domination in popular music for the next 50 years!
sintrade 2 years ago
Here's a snip about Ella from Wikipedia: "In 1942, at the age of 17, she joined Freddie Slack's band, with whom in the same year she recorded "Cow Cow Boogie". Her work helped lay the foundations for R&B, Rockabilly, Rock & Roll and Rock. We lost her in 1999. I hope her work continues to be appreciated.
BrickPa 2 years ago 3
Pity they don't write music like this any more ... it's got to be my favourite
TheScrabblenut 2 years ago
perfect i love this lady
supibella 2 years ago
I have no oppinions. Does anyone have Ella's (Ella Fitzgerald) version? I'd love to see that.
strangeromance1 2 years ago
Real talent and beauty. Outstanding!
blacksunfish 2 years ago
Dorothy please
Geezyone 2 years ago
dear lord, please allow me to wake up in the mornin and be her...
haleyleey 2 years ago 4
So catchy, thank you for sharing
^_^
xoxodolphinloverxoxo 2 years ago 2
oh my god, she's SO cute!!!
princesscageface 2 years ago 6
Sheesh, Ella Mae's and Dorothy's are two very wonderful takes on a great song.
Ms. Danbridge's is sexier, but if we're going to pick things apart, I'd fault her for her babyish voice on her recording, while Ella Mae is pure adult (even though she was apparently a teenager at this recording)..
RockRobT01 2 years ago 3
u rite
Cecilyification 2 years ago
i agree and u c evry body wana give u a thumbs down dorothy put moe soul into it and made u think she met a man who was sanging this song 4real
Cecilyification 2 years ago
I don't know why people gave me a thumbs down either. All you have to do is watch Dorothy's performance and see the difference.
dewayne408 2 years ago
and y on dis video her eyes was all da way at da top of her eye hole
Cecilyification 2 years ago
Cecilyification, why are you talking like a slave?!
dewayne408 2 years ago
Ella........forever the pride of Mansfield, Texas!
gootenslog 2 years ago 2
It's from the 1944 movie REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY. In the COMMAND PERFORMANCE episode #182, which is also on U Tube, she sings it live, the same way Dorothy Dandridge sings it. Both ways, it's great stuff.
zbelzanger 2 years ago 2
What year is this video from?
Luckynumber78 2 years ago
Ok, so who did this song first; Ella Mae or Dorothy Dandridge?
dewayne408 2 years ago
I have this movie!
wuzzlesAgogo 2 years ago
C O O L
henryfire 2 years ago
He was a swing half breed,raised on Loco Weed.
StinkFingerr 2 years ago 2
In the 1950s and beyond, the lyric was censored from "Loco weed" to "Local ways" - a lousy subsitute that doesn't rhyme!
songplugger 2 years ago
She's so good. But why is she rolling her eyes?
k8sl 2 years ago 3
That's ecstacy.
thrummer1953 2 years ago 5
They didn't have Ecstasy in the 40s. Oh, sorry...
hymiehymie 2 years ago
hymiehynie,
The emotion,not the drug.Jeesh!
thrummer1953 2 years ago 6
Yes - I was kidding.
hymiehymie 2 years ago 2
hymiehynie,
Glad to hear that.
thrummer1953 2 years ago 3
She was just following the beat.
ajajajakom 2 years ago 4
Would have have been better without superflous band. Just piano and voice would have been so much better..
mrgbennet 2 years ago
The band is hot. This is classic western swing and I love the way the band handles the key changes towards the end
bill9786 2 years ago 3
You mean like the version Dorothy Dandridge did?
dewayne408 2 years ago
A lot of people don't know she had a younger sister, Flo Handy, who became a well known jazz singer and pianist in her own right, with at least one album to her credit. (And what a great name for a jazz singer: "Flo Handy". It sounds a good as "Ella Mae Morse"). Flo Handy was another little knockout. From the one picture I've seen of her, you can tell she and Ella Mae were sisters.
zbelzanger 2 years ago
"...he was raided on loco weed...he's what ya call a swing half breed..."
Basically he was a toke'n cowboy!
Shamagogue 2 years ago 3
How super groovy to see Freddy Slack and Ella Mae Morse in their prime! No one played boogie woogie like the late great Mr Slack....and the late great Miss Morse had a perfect voice for songs like these. Those cats knew how to swing, daddy-o! Thanks for sharing this rare 1940's footage with us!
JubalCalif 2 years ago 6
JubalCalif, you know it Pal!
StinkFingerr 2 years ago
I'm in love!
StinkFingerr 2 years ago 2
gosh! i never heard of Ella Mae Morse, but that's a great voice! thanks for posting!
moonlightorchid99 2 years ago 2
My grandfather wanted this soung played at his funeral!
stickbooth 2 years ago 7
why was this video taken off? Can anyone shed some light?
maryjsj 2 years ago
Not sure what you mean. It's still there. Sometimes "Video Unavailable" tags show up for no reason, but if you try again in a few minutes, the video works again.
clotho98 2 years ago
dURING THE 1940'S, THEY had a thing called "Soundies"which culd be played in certain special Juke Boxes. The leave a wealth of big band videos as result, and through most of the 40"s
glennloura 2 years ago
@maryjsj from movie Reveille with Beverly , they show it on TCM sometimes, i dont think its on dvd yet. But i think someone sells burned copies of it on ebay.
troynov1965 1 year ago
Thanks for the info and your perspective on Ella