You have no idea how much this record brings back memories to me.....my dad had this on a 45 single that I used to play over and over.....brings tears to my eyes now to hear this.....thanks so much for posting this song.....
I am 76, an Australian, and recall every word.. I still have the 78 somewhere along with the Tom Leherers and The Spaniard that Blighted my Life. Wonderful humor, sadly missing today.
Thank you for posting this. We heard it last Saturday on a request program on a New Zealand wireless station--we understand it was a big hit there. We also have it here on a long-playing gramophone recording.
My mum had this album and I loved it; the record is long gone but thankfully mum is still here with us and we still talk about the record. I will let her know about this as she will love it, many thanks for kindling the heart with great memories
As a child in the 50's I actually attended a Horace Heidt show where Johnny Standley did this routine. I'll always remember another part of his routine where he tells the congregation to " turn to page 99 - if the page isn't in your book, turn it upside down and go to page 66 ... Now, let's all sing"! Cracked me up!
I also remembered this song after watching 'The Last Picture Show' ..... reminds me of being a little girl, our whole family laughed at this! My dad would play the record when friends came over!
A classic from 1952. My mom had a copy of the 78. I guess it sold anywhere from over one million to seven million. The first million-selling comedy record. I LOVE IT!! Thanks to YouTube's MoleDFigg for great post! Enjoy!
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
ITS IN THE BOOK WAS A HIT RECORD WHEN HORACE HEIDT AND HIS GROUP DID A LIVE SHOW AT THE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM(LOUISIANA HAYRIDE SITE)...HE DID THE THE RECORD AT THE SHOW....ONE OF THE LINES I ESPECIALLY REMEMBER "TURN TO PAGE 222 AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE 222...TURN TO PAGE 111 TWICE."..NEVER FORGOT IT....NEVER HEARD THE RECORD AGAIN UNTIL POSTED ON YOU TUBE...COMEDY RECORDS WERE BID IN THOSE DAYS...ANDY GRIFFITH....STAN FREBERG...PHIL HARRIS...ARTHUR GODFREY...RED BUTTONS...ETC....THANKS
this and Jazzbo's three little pigs were two 45's used to play as a kid over and over..I have been thinking about these for years (I have no idea were the 45's are) ..It is so good to hear this again.
I am now 40. As a young boy of 7 or so, I used to listen to this 45 in my mother's basement in Wisconsin. The lye soap story was so sadistic to me, I never forgot it. I thought I would never hear it again. Thank you so much for restoring this memory to me. I am now listening to that song for the first time in 33 years or so!
You gotta love YouTube! For some reason, I woke up with this rattling around in my head. My grandfather had this on a 78 rpm and I used to play it when I visited. Hadn't even thought of this song in many, many years.
Anyway, I decided to check YouTube and of course, here it is!
Thank you for this reminder of the many times I listened to this during the 50's when I was but a young lad growing up. The times I have enjoyed this are numerous and none of the humour or wit is lost even 50 odd years later. Thank you again for the sheer nostalgia.
goofy humor from the late '40s early '50s. I don't know if even Dr. Demento was daffy enough to play this. My uncle had it, or else I may never have heard it. Standley later did a bit about rock'nroll music, had to be around 1959 because he mentioned the song "Purple People Eater." This is flat-out funny.
I was a freshman at Indiana University in the fall of 1952 and this song was a smash hit oh the jukebox in the Quad cafeteria on campus. I remember there was always a group of football players sitting around a large round table near the jukebox, laughing and clapping and stomping their feet in time to the chorus. I still get a kick out of hearing it and fondly remember those college days.
I remember listening to a radio station that played the top 40 hits every Saturday. They wouldn't play this song just mention the name. Not even the shorter version.
Thank you. I too have been trying to find this forever as our family's copy of the record is "lost" in my parents' house. We were thrilled to find this and can now recite and sing along and laugh with your YouTube posting. Thanks again.
We had this recording when I was a child. My dad would get tickled every time he heard it. So did my husband when my dad played it for him. Thanks for bringing back some very sweet memories.
I'm looking for an album that has this on it and it also had a comedy skit called "The Beatnik". I performed "It's in the Book" in a 7th grade speech contest and won 1st place. The judges were falling out of their chairs. It's a very special memory for me. Does anyone know what the album is called that has both of these on it? Two other comedies on there were "John and Marsha" and one that had Jackie Kennedy giving a tour of the whitehouse. I appreciate any help finding it.
My mom used to do a pantomime of this...I'm still hoping one of my kids will use this for speech/declamation and humorous monologue. I think it's riotously funny.
OMIGOSH!!!! When I was a little girl my parents used to take me to their adult parties. Normally I had to stay upstairs with the children of the people who were having the party or by myself. There was a man, Eggie, who used to do a pantomime of this and it was the ONLY time that I was allowed to be in the room with the adults. It was the funniest thing that I ever saw even to this day. Thank you!!
Back in the early 50's my Mom lip synced this recording for various community minstrel shows in rural Maryland. At 4'11" tall, she dressed in an antique top hat and tails, braving the stage to our stunned delight! How the world has changed since those best / worst of times. Thank you, Clive, for bringing this recording (and memories of my remarkable mother) to youtube.
I didn't know of this title until I was looking up records that were # 1 during the month of my birth. I promtply listened to it here and before reading your comment, thought it might be perceived as a mockery of religious conventions so therefore be controversial.
Is this the reason for the censorship of it in your community?
I performed a version of this a a village concert many years ago! It brought the house down! Thank you for posting this excellent piece of nostalgia. I first heard it on an LP called Comedy Caravan when I was a child - over 50 years ago!
Hey, thanks for posting this - I haven't heard this since my childhood (a long, long time ago!!). Such simple humour by today's standard but all the better for it. Wonderful,wonderful, wonderful - many thanks again.
I love this! My grandfather used to play this for me all the time when I was a kid. I had it memorized from beginning to end. It was on a compilation album with songs like "Coming in on a wing and a prayer", "The Gypsy" and "Looking over a 4 leaf clover". Anyone know the name of this album? I'd love to find it again!
I still have this record. I remember when they acted this out on Your Hit Parade. My mother and father and my sister and I would roar with laughter. Times were simpler then and I loved it.
Leave them alone..Leave Britn ey Alone, Leave them alone, they did nothing you, Crhis Crocker channelling Johnny Standley says so! Johnny, on a serious note, appears to have been with 1930s-40s sweet-bandleader Horace Heidt, who backs him on this record. It's 6 minutes long, 3 on each side.
I had this record when I was growing up and my brother and I loved it. One day I left it on my bed and the sun shone in and warped it. My brother never let me forget that stupid act. Today, for the first time in decades, I heard Grandma's Lye Soap and am thrilled. I can now send it to my brother and he can enjoy it again, too.
At least it's not illegal to walk backwards after sunset like in conneticut. Plus thank us for tv: the vacuum tube in the old versions are from here. Oh well. It's a strange little city.
I had forgotten all about this until I was watching The Last Picture Show tonight and it was playing on the radio in the closing scenes. This ranks right up there with some of the Spike Jones classics.
I was about to put this recording on youtube thinking I might have the only surviving copy. Mine is on a 45rpm Capitol record and maybe noisier than yours but it will play withoug skipping. My parents bought a copy at a church party in the early 50s and I still have it.
My father and I used to listen to this on a 45rpm record. It was one of his favorites. I haven't heard it in 40 years. The internet is truly an amazing thing. And it's still clever and funny. Thanks for posting.
How I love this piece! It was part of my childhood, too, and as an adult performed it many times in my bluegrass band. It never failed to bring down the house!
you don't happen to have another of his records, about the slippery elm being the onliest tree man can't climb do you? I think it was titled rock-a-bye baby. If so, could you possibly post? Thanks for the memories...my mothers' husband use to do both of them when he had his tv show years ago
Thanks for the reply. I searched everything I could find yesterday, but no luck. May have been no one knows the song...funny little piece tho. Enjoy what you have posted...keep it up.
@MoleDFigg Had two 78s that I used to listen to in the 60s as a kid, so they were available,last time I saw them they had broken 78s broke very easily
Used to listen to It's in the book at my Grand Mothers in the 50's in Warwick Queensland , it was a 78rpm record that came from the local radio station 4WK. I still have the record although it is unplayable now my brother and I loved Grand Ma's Lye Soap still do! Rossco
@bddmeiler It certainly was available in the UK! I remember it as a kid - we had it on 78. The abiding phrase I remember was "And oh what a gooey mess!". I shall endeavour to find it - watch this space!
oh my gosh........this was such a part of my happy childhood...would listen to it until tears ran down my face and I was only like 7-8thanks for posting it!!!!
When I was 4 I sat in my mums wardrobe and in a bad mood, I snapped all here 45's over my knee and played frisbee. Now that I am now 35, I appreciate what I did, and I am trying to get my hands on it, but dont have a clue where to start. Does anyne know where I could download or buy this?
been looking for this since it was popular. for some reason i had irwin corey as the speaker. in the 50s the radio at camp lejeune nc played this almost continuously. at some reunions i have attended we used to talk about it and try to figure how to find it.
just returned from a meeting of marines that were in 2 wars and it came up again.
thank you i will carry it to the next one if there is one--we are getting old.
According to BILLBOARD MUSIC WEEKLY (now, BILLBOARD), the Top Ten bestselling records in the USA, on November 22, 1952, were: 1.- It's in the Book...John Standley 2.- Glow Worm...Mills Bros. 3.- I Went to Your Wedding...Patti Page 4.- Why Don't You Believe Me?...Joni James 5.- You Belong to Me...Jo Stafford 6.- Jambalaya...Jo Stafford 7.- Because You're Mine...Mario Lanza 8.- Trying...The Hilltoppers 9.- Yours...Vera Lynn 10- Wish You Were Here...Eddie Fisher/Hugo Winterhalter Orch.
My mother-in- law just loved this. Everytime we visited her in So. Dak. we would hear this record. Loved it!!!!!!So glad to have had the chance to hear it again. Thanks sooo much.
This is still funny every time I hear it! I found by accident a CD released by Sony (I think) back in the early nineties that has this on it. It has been re-mastered and sounds very good. If I ever get around to it I'll try to remember to put it on. Do you know of any other recordings of his that may exist? He's very funny. Many thanks for putting this on.
i have been trying to find this forever. i listened to this in the fifty's when i was a kid. thank you so much. this is going on my favorite list. thank you again.
This record was so popular that the sermon & song were published as sheet music. I managed to find a copy of it somewhere or other. If only I could play the piano well enough to perform it!
When I was a student, I was in a community Gilbert & Sullivan group, and the class clown of the group always did this at closing night parties. He & the others in the group were old enough to remember when it first came out. I was the youngest there, but I knew every word because I collect novelty records.
Thanks, I have the 45 of this but it's pretty scratched up. I remember listening to this with my family in the 50's and early 60's....we laughed each time we heard it.
Thanks for posting this! It went to #1 on the best seller charts. Amazing that it got enough airplay, as in the early '50s it was considered taboo to make fun of or parody preachers.
Is there anyone out there who are into "old" 45 records, could help me find a song called "copy cat" or "me too". It was song by a female, during the early 50s on a 45 record. (I remember some of the words such as: "I want to take a rocket to the moon, me too........: Thank you.
I would like to thank you for posting this. I think that I still have the 78. I know it from, in England, Jack Jackson's famous late-night programme back in the late '40's early 50's. I would also like to thank whosoever it was who thought of Youtube. Long live the excentrics.
A classic piece of Americana. I too thought I'd never hear it again although I could replay it almost exactly in my head. It was a hit in New Zealand too, and we used to play the thing over and over. (Funnily enough, I can't find a single person from my generation who can even remember it.) When we moved house in 1963 my dad threw out all of my mother's 78's, and this disappeared too. Amazing to hear it after all these years!
A classic to be heard by everyone. Well over fifty years old and it still makes me lol. Thanks for posting this ageless piece. If I remember correctly, this made it to #1 on the hit parade.
This was my favorite Record - With "Proud New Father", when I was a kid. Thanks for posting this - GREAT!
pixieduster914 1 week ago
so damn funny you cry
stjoelawyer 2 weeks ago
You have no idea how much this record brings back memories to me.....my dad had this on a 45 single that I used to play over and over.....brings tears to my eyes now to hear this.....thanks so much for posting this song.....
doug4bears 2 weeks ago
illegal to be played in the state of indiana :P
ladyilyenasunhair 2 weeks ago
The Fifth Beatle????
Dion1957 2 weeks ago
I am 76, an Australian, and recall every word.. I still have the 78 somewhere along with the Tom Leherers and The Spaniard that Blighted my Life. Wonderful humor, sadly missing today.
Ian
1935Ian 1 month ago
I could not understand a single word!
LordFhalkyn 1 month ago
This was banned in Ft Wayne Indiana.
rhill54 1 month ago
Brilliant! Made my Mum laugh a lot - thanks Uncle Brian!
BigCatPenny 2 months ago
This brought back memories of listening to that recording. I knew it by heart, and surprisingly, I still do! Thank you so much for this!
whodatoldman 5 months ago
Thank you for posting this. We heard it last Saturday on a request program on a New Zealand wireless station--we understand it was a big hit there. We also have it here on a long-playing gramophone recording.
MrGramophone 5 months ago
Good lord. Like Dion 1957 I was reciting and singing right along. Amnazing what you remember and what you don't.
MsSoundguy 5 months ago
I'm 63 and still remember every word! I love this!!!
Dion1957 5 months ago
My mum had this album and I loved it; the record is long gone but thankfully mum is still here with us and we still talk about the record. I will let her know about this as she will love it, many thanks for kindling the heart with great memories
ocossa 5 months ago
As a child in the 50's I actually attended a Horace Heidt show where Johnny Standley did this routine. I'll always remember another part of his routine where he tells the congregation to " turn to page 99 - if the page isn't in your book, turn it upside down and go to page 66 ... Now, let's all sing"! Cracked me up!
Murphypaws 6 months ago
I also remembered this song after watching 'The Last Picture Show' ..... reminds me of being a little girl, our whole family laughed at this! My dad would play the record when friends came over!
paulettefrost 6 months ago
Oh boy.. where did you dig these up from.. i thought our family was with the only copy. we played this since 73...
ptz593443x 6 months ago
I came here from The Last Picture Show.
devonnigelreedtube 8 months ago
Brings back such sweet memories of my cousin and me listening to this in our Granny's living room--and we were laughing!!!
sids1sis 8 months ago
A classic from 1952. My mom had a copy of the 78. I guess it sold anywhere from over one million to seven million. The first million-selling comedy record. I LOVE IT!! Thanks to YouTube's MoleDFigg for great post! Enjoy!
THEBAYCITYROLLERMAN 9 months ago
I haven't heard this since I was a little girl - a very long time ago! Many thanks for posting and giving everyone such pleasure.
kwassagirl 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
\
joedub6 10 months ago
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
i looked this up, because in Fort wayne Indiana (where i live) there is an old law prohibiting the sale or broadcast of this audio track/album...some old weird law
joedub6 10 months ago
I've loved this for years. Have it on a 45 and now on my iPad. So glad to find it here where I can share it.
FlindyandDoc 10 months ago
Thanks for posting this! I have this on mp3 - it is addicting! I searched and found your video so I could share the fun with a freind. X
XEvolutionist 11 months ago
ITS IN THE BOOK WAS A HIT RECORD WHEN HORACE HEIDT AND HIS GROUP DID A LIVE SHOW AT THE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM(LOUISIANA HAYRIDE SITE)...HE DID THE THE RECORD AT THE SHOW....ONE OF THE LINES I ESPECIALLY REMEMBER "TURN TO PAGE 222 AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE 222...TURN TO PAGE 111 TWICE."..NEVER FORGOT IT....NEVER HEARD THE RECORD AGAIN UNTIL POSTED ON YOU TUBE...COMEDY RECORDS WERE BID IN THOSE DAYS...ANDY GRIFFITH....STAN FREBERG...PHIL HARRIS...ARTHUR GODFREY...RED BUTTONS...ETC....THANKS
SHJOBR 11 months ago
Thank you for your video it reminds me of my trips to my grandmothers where I would play that record until she would tell to stop
central924 1 year ago
this is great, thanks .. mom used to sing this all the time
MrWazzup987 1 year ago 2
this and Jazzbo's three little pigs were two 45's used to play as a kid over and over..I have been thinking about these for years (I have no idea were the 45's are) ..It is so good to hear this again.
eahazell 1 year ago
I am now 40. As a young boy of 7 or so, I used to listen to this 45 in my mother's basement in Wisconsin. The lye soap story was so sadistic to me, I never forgot it. I thought I would never hear it again. Thank you so much for restoring this memory to me. I am now listening to that song for the first time in 33 years or so!
treetoptop 1 year ago
I haven't heard this in years... great find... thanks for posting!
louswire 1 year ago
this is just great..as a little kid maybe 6 or 7 i listened to this over and over thought i'd never hear this again...whoever put this on thanks
frankie di nunzio
hershey, pa.
TheFrankieDee 1 year ago
You gotta love YouTube! For some reason, I woke up with this rattling around in my head. My grandfather had this on a 78 rpm and I used to play it when I visited. Hadn't even thought of this song in many, many years.
Anyway, I decided to check YouTube and of course, here it is!
GerryLincoln 1 year ago
Thank you for this reminder of the many times I listened to this during the 50's when I was but a young lad growing up. The times I have enjoyed this are numerous and none of the humour or wit is lost even 50 odd years later. Thank you again for the sheer nostalgia.
copnorboy 1 year ago
in fort wayne indiana its illegal to broadcast this on the radio...
Obeyuralaina 1 year ago
goofy humor from the late '40s early '50s. I don't know if even Dr. Demento was daffy enough to play this. My uncle had it, or else I may never have heard it. Standley later did a bit about rock'nroll music, had to be around 1959 because he mentioned the song "Purple People Eater." This is flat-out funny.
musicmandon1 1 year ago
I was a freshman at Indiana University in the fall of 1952 and this song was a smash hit oh the jukebox in the Quad cafeteria on campus. I remember there was always a group of football players sitting around a large round table near the jukebox, laughing and clapping and stomping their feet in time to the chorus. I still get a kick out of hearing it and fondly remember those college days.
TheHoosierguy52 1 year ago
Thank you. I heard this on the radio when I was a kid (in the 70s) and thought it was hilarious how he said, "it's i-n-n-n-n the b-o-o-o-o-o-k!"
incub8 1 year ago
Just marvellous, I used to love this years ago and it still cracks me up. Thank you.
Philggw 1 year ago
I remember listening to a radio station that played the top 40 hits every Saturday. They wouldn't play this song just mention the name. Not even the shorter version.
Georgewos 1 year ago
It's illegal to play this song on the radio in Indiana. wtf
No13DGfan 1 year ago
@No13DGfan
It wasn't illegal in 1952 that's when I first heard it-IN INDIANA. And why in the world you think that it's banned there?
TheHoosierguy52 1 year ago
The trembling voice is priceless!
VictrolaJazz 1 year ago
Sweet!
I found this song in the 1952 chart @ billboardvideos.(net)
999clever 1 year ago
WHEN DID IT COME OUT , WAS IT LATE 50'S
grandpopful 1 year ago
@grandpopful
1952
TheHoosierguy52 1 year ago
Thank you. I too have been trying to find this forever as our family's copy of the record is "lost" in my parents' house. We were thrilled to find this and can now recite and sing along and laugh with your YouTube posting. Thanks again.
punzoid 1 year ago
We had this recording when I was a child. My dad would get tickled every time he heard it. So did my husband when my dad played it for him. Thanks for bringing back some very sweet memories.
dancingbutrfli 1 year ago
The original recording of ''It's In The Book (Parts 1 & 2)'' by Johnny Standley hit no. 1 on the charts the third week of November 1952.
PublicRadioWorldWide 1 year ago
omg my sisters and i found this old record in a dairy covered in dust. we used to play it on a gramaphone. laugh...
missfranceslouise 1 year ago
I'm looking for an album that has this on it and it also had a comedy skit called "The Beatnik". I performed "It's in the Book" in a 7th grade speech contest and won 1st place. The judges were falling out of their chairs. It's a very special memory for me. Does anyone know what the album is called that has both of these on it? Two other comedies on there were "John and Marsha" and one that had Jackie Kennedy giving a tour of the whitehouse. I appreciate any help finding it.
jumpnjil 1 year ago
@jumpnjil I think the Jackie Kennedy bit you mention was on a record called 'The First Family' by Vaughn Meader.
Frogman11223 1 year ago
Used to hear this on Dr. Demento...ahhh, the memories.
speeddammit 1 year ago
First heard this on the Dr. Demento Show. LOVE IT!
lunablu63 1 year ago
Thanks for this sharing this classic....
My father talked of this and hearing it during in the Military during the Korean War.
PzCommander 1 year ago
Thanks for hearing this classic memory again....my Father had stories of this during his Military Years during the Korean War....
PzCommander 1 year ago
I just spent an hour converting this to an MP3 from a real live record and then I find it on YouTube!
JeffDeWitt 1 year ago
I can't believe I'm hearing this. The last time I heard this was in our garage on the radio in the early 70's.
remuswolfrocket 1 year ago
My mom used to do a pantomime of this...I'm still hoping one of my kids will use this for speech/declamation and humorous monologue. I think it's riotously funny.
mamatoto193 1 year ago
OMIGOSH!!!! When I was a little girl my parents used to take me to their adult parties. Normally I had to stay upstairs with the children of the people who were having the party or by myself. There was a man, Eggie, who used to do a pantomime of this and it was the ONLY time that I was allowed to be in the room with the adults. It was the funniest thing that I ever saw even to this day. Thank you!!
katb723 2 years ago
Wow!! I remember my parents playing this record for their friends, and all of them laughing till their sides hurt. Thanks for the memory!!
jhugenroth 2 years ago
My father, God rest his soul, had this on a 78. Thanks for the memory.
iamwazzam 2 years ago
This youtube is like an incredible museum full of things I never thought I'd see or hear again...this is one.
alstrand 2 years ago 2
Back in the early 50's my Mom lip synced this recording for various community minstrel shows in rural Maryland. At 4'11" tall, she dressed in an antique top hat and tails, braving the stage to our stunned delight! How the world has changed since those best / worst of times. Thank you, Clive, for bringing this recording (and memories of my remarkable mother) to youtube.
chrismaiermusic 2 years ago
Comment removed
user92126 2 years ago
Funny I was a kid in Fort Wayne the first time I heard this record....guess my folks were rebels.
bjbruckner 2 years ago
I actually had the good fortune to see Horace Heidt and Johnny Standley in person. He was very funny. I'll never forget him.
xmetbass 2 years ago
This record is banned in my town. You can't buy it or broadcast it on the radio. XD
ElvanLady 2 years ago
@ElvanLady
Hi,
I didn't know of this title until I was looking up records that were # 1 during the month of my birth. I promtply listened to it here and before reading your comment, thought it might be perceived as a mockery of religious conventions so therefore be controversial.
Is this the reason for the censorship of it in your community?
Thank you.
Neptunesque 1 year ago
@Neptunesque I honestly have no idea if it is or not. Fort Wayne is known as the city of churches or something, so maybe.
ElvanLady 1 year ago
It is good to hear this after 50 years as its the funniest I have heard in this time and thanks for putting this on you tube.
I have searched on this site and assumed it was under the title "little bo peep" and I had no luck.
Keep up the good work Clive.
John(Liverpool, England)
jahoppy 2 years ago
Johnny Standley died june 2, 1992,at 79 years old.He died in Calif.He was born in Oklahoma City.
brcr29 2 years ago
I performed a version of this a a village concert many years ago! It brought the house down! Thank you for posting this excellent piece of nostalgia. I first heard it on an LP called Comedy Caravan when I was a child - over 50 years ago!
lincsposter 2 years ago
Wonderful! Thanks for posting this.
ktcat1 2 years ago
Hey, thanks for posting this - I haven't heard this since my childhood (a long, long time ago!!). Such simple humour by today's standard but all the better for it. Wonderful,wonderful, wonderful - many thanks again.
Starman5491 2 years ago
I love this! My grandfather used to play this for me all the time when I was a kid. I had it memorized from beginning to end. It was on a compilation album with songs like "Coming in on a wing and a prayer", "The Gypsy" and "Looking over a 4 leaf clover". Anyone know the name of this album? I'd love to find it again!
bparker727 2 years ago
Look up Johnny Standley on Amazon. You can buy this song as a single download.
ktcat1 2 years ago
I still remember this from when I was a kid (I'm 66). I still know most of the words! Hee hee!!!
Largo64 2 years ago
I still have this record. I remember when they acted this out on Your Hit Parade. My mother and father and my sister and I would roar with laughter. Times were simpler then and I loved it.
bill1174 2 years ago
o thank whoever put this here!!!!!
how i recall...how we laughed!!
bravo!!!
mrgencih 2 years ago
This is illegal in fort wayne , in tho sell or play on the radio.
awsomescience 2 years ago
glad to hear it. remember it from 1953
frabear 2 years ago
My parents had this when I was a kid & we all thought it was hilarious. I never thought I'd hear it again, thanks so much for posting this!
leeleeWel 2 years ago
Leave them alone..Leave Britn ey Alone, Leave them alone, they did nothing you, Crhis Crocker channelling Johnny Standley says so! Johnny, on a serious note, appears to have been with 1930s-40s sweet-bandleader Horace Heidt, who backs him on this record. It's 6 minutes long, 3 on each side.
SteveCarras 2 years ago
Hallelujah! Thanks so much for posting this great memory! :-)
61550LizziE 2 years ago
Thanks for posting a great childhood memory (I'm 59), even the scratchiness of the old long lost 45 is there, GREAT WORK!
DBKTube 2 years ago
Looks to me like that may be a 78. The spindle hole to that of a 78. I recall that 45 records had a large hole,
ChucKC8YTA 2 years ago
No, it was a one of those new fangled 45s, even had that fat spindle adapter to stack on the records on our console stereo, a fine piece furniture!.
DBKTube 2 years ago
The 'Congregation' is laughing......
Maybe you can find humor in things too????
Cobbels 2 years ago
Thanks for the memories!
BZanderized 2 years ago
I had this record when I was growing up and my brother and I loved it. One day I left it on my bed and the sun shone in and warped it. My brother never let me forget that stupid act. Today, for the first time in decades, I heard Grandma's Lye Soap and am thrilled. I can now send it to my brother and he can enjoy it again, too.
Tyberious123 2 years ago
I know is sounds crazy, but it is illegal to sell or play this song in my home city!
iucolin5 2 years ago
What city and why is it illegal?
idelozier 2 years ago
Fort Wayne, Indiana; to be honest i will not pretend to know why at all it is illegal, but it is still written in our law to this day.
iucolin5 2 years ago
Comment removed
lincsposter 2 years ago
At least it's not illegal to walk backwards after sunset like in conneticut. Plus thank us for tv: the vacuum tube in the old versions are from here. Oh well. It's a strange little city.
ElvanLady 2 years ago
Fantastic! I haven't heard this one in years! Thanks for sharing.
PhillipCreeper 2 years ago
thanks for posting this great old classicc!
jaemagomez 2 years ago
I used to know this verbatim when I was a teenager. Thanks for posting.
dickintexas 2 years ago
I had forgotten all about this until I was watching The Last Picture Show tonight and it was playing on the radio in the closing scenes. This ranks right up there with some of the Spike Jones classics.
Moose4u 2 years ago
My aunt gave me a copy of this years ago but stupidly I didn't keep it. I'm so glad to have found it again! Thanks for posting!
Rondaria 2 years ago
Fabulous fun. Great. Thanks heaps.
trantor41 2 years ago
I was about to put this recording on youtube thinking I might have the only surviving copy. Mine is on a 45rpm Capitol record and maybe noisier than yours but it will play withoug skipping. My parents bought a copy at a church party in the early 50s and I still have it.
wb5oxq 2 years ago
LOL!!! Brought back a bunch of great ol' memories. Thanks!!!
meekerralph88 3 years ago 2
Does any body know the song Suzanna's a funny ol man, may be from Johnny Standley would love to hear where to get it. Cheers.
1mathew123 3 years ago
LOL!!!!! Thanks for sharing. My dad referred me to this :)
ThePipersNicks 3 years ago 2
My father and I used to listen to this on a 45rpm record. It was one of his favorites. I haven't heard it in 40 years. The internet is truly an amazing thing. And it's still clever and funny. Thanks for posting.
f1r2e3d4y5t6 3 years ago 8
I haven't heard this in years!! Glad to hear it again.
Trainbrain1949 3 years ago 5
Oh thanks for this one Clive, one of my all time favourites from the fifties, wonderful.
jphar 3 years ago 3
it's illegal to sell or play this recording in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
MusicDude86 3 years ago
my daughter put them on for me... ENJOY!!
hayley1963 3 years ago
i have proud new father and clap your hands by johnny standley..anyone want them send me a message i dont know how to put them on here
hayley1963 3 years ago
i got this on ebay wonderful!!!!
hayley1963 3 years ago
Oh, my dad had this record and played for me when I was a kid! I loved it!!!
secpd 3 years ago
Holy cow... I haven't heard this since I was a little kid! I had it totally memorized, and I'd go to school to recite it in front of the class!
Far out... thanks for putting these up, man!
CaptainRetro 3 years ago
How I love this piece! It was part of my childhood, too, and as an adult performed it many times in my bluegrass band. It never failed to bring down the house!
rhowynob 3 years ago
you don't happen to have another of his records, about the slippery elm being the onliest tree man can't climb do you? I think it was titled rock-a-bye baby. If so, could you possibly post? Thanks for the memories...my mothers' husband use to do both of them when he had his tv show years ago
bddmeiler 3 years ago
Sorry, I can't help you there. I don't think that recording was played here in the U.K.
Glad you found this posting!
MoleDFigg 3 years ago
Thanks for the reply. I searched everything I could find yesterday, but no luck. May have been no one knows the song...funny little piece tho. Enjoy what you have posted...keep it up.
bddmeiler 3 years ago
@MoleDFigg Had two 78s that I used to listen to in the 60s as a kid, so they were available,last time I saw them they had broken 78s broke very easily
dinger40 1 year ago
@dinger40
Used to listen to It's in the book at my Grand Mothers in the 50's in Warwick Queensland , it was a 78rpm record that came from the local radio station 4WK. I still have the record although it is unplayable now my brother and I loved Grand Ma's Lye Soap still do! Rossco
Trakka10001 1 year ago
@MoleDFigg This was Phil Harris
tonyeadonmills 1 year ago
@tonyeadonmills
No it wasn't !!!
MoleDFigg 1 year ago
@MoleDFigg There is obviuosly some confusion here, because I am listening to it right now...by Phil harris.
" There is a tree that grows near our house, it's been there quite some time,
Now that there tree is a slippery Elm tree, and it's awful hard to climb, etc., etc.,"
Mine is a compelation by Phil Harris of all his greats.
Could Johnny Standley also have recorded it?
tonyeadonmills 1 year ago
@tonyeadonmills
Sorry Tony, my posting IS Johnny Standley (look at the record label).
O.K., it may have been recorded by others, but this is the ORIGINAL.
MoleDFigg 1 year ago
i have it. proud new father. send me a message
hayley1963 3 years ago
@bddmeiler It certainly was available in the UK! I remember it as a kid - we had it on 78. The abiding phrase I remember was "And oh what a gooey mess!". I shall endeavour to find it - watch this space!
Quarkman0 1 year ago
@bddmeiler Just found it! In the column on the right under the title "Proud New Father"!
Quarkman0 1 year ago
I thought I would never hear this again thank you
marian3088 3 years ago
oh my gosh........this was such a part of my happy childhood...would listen to it until tears ran down my face and I was only like 7-8thanks for posting it!!!!
renettalf 3 years ago
When I was 4 I sat in my mums wardrobe and in a bad mood, I snapped all here 45's over my knee and played frisbee. Now that I am now 35, I appreciate what I did, and I am trying to get my hands on it, but dont have a clue where to start. Does anyne know where I could download or buy this?
leslee05 3 years ago
been looking for this since it was popular. for some reason i had irwin corey as the speaker. in the 50s the radio at camp lejeune nc played this almost continuously. at some reunions i have attended we used to talk about it and try to figure how to find it.
just returned from a meeting of marines that were in 2 wars and it came up again.
thank you i will carry it to the next one if there is one--we are getting old.
cwoblm 3 years ago
renew2day 3 years ago
My mother-in- law just loved this. Everytime we visited her in So. Dak. we would hear this record. Loved it!!!!!!So glad to have had the chance to hear it again. Thanks sooo much.
heupiedupey 3 years ago
This is still funny every time I hear it! I found by accident a CD released by Sony (I think) back in the early nineties that has this on it. It has been re-mastered and sounds very good. If I ever get around to it I'll try to remember to put it on. Do you know of any other recordings of his that may exist? He's very funny. Many thanks for putting this on.
114Pilot 3 years ago
i have been trying to find this forever. i listened to this in the fifty's when i was a kid. thank you so much. this is going on my favorite list. thank you again.
rodgermac 3 years ago 3
My pleasure, glad it brought back memories!
MoleDFigg 3 years ago
This record was so popular that the sermon & song were published as sheet music. I managed to find a copy of it somewhere or other. If only I could play the piano well enough to perform it!
When I was a student, I was in a community Gilbert & Sullivan group, and the class clown of the group always did this at closing night parties. He & the others in the group were old enough to remember when it first came out. I was the youngest there, but I knew every word because I collect novelty records.
OofusTwillip 3 years ago
Thanks, I have the 45 of this but it's pretty scratched up. I remember listening to this with my family in the 50's and early 60's....we laughed each time we heard it.
alyoops9 3 years ago
Thanks for posting this! It went to #1 on the best seller charts. Amazing that it got enough airplay, as in the early '50s it was considered taboo to make fun of or parody preachers.
vinylsingleman 3 years ago 2
Is there anyone out there who are into "old" 45 records, could help me find a song called "copy cat" or "me too". It was song by a female, during the early 50s on a 45 record. (I remember some of the words such as: "I want to take a rocket to the moon, me too........: Thank you.
sandymill46 3 years ago
I would like to thank you for posting this. I think that I still have the 78. I know it from, in England, Jack Jackson's famous late-night programme back in the late '40's early 50's. I would also like to thank whosoever it was who thought of Youtube. Long live the excentrics.
OCK18ANS 3 years ago 2
Oh yes, I had forgotten Jack Jackson's name, you are absolutely right!!
Gladyou liked it,
Clive.
MoleDFigg 3 years ago
A classic piece of Americana. I too thought I'd never hear it again although I could replay it almost exactly in my head. It was a hit in New Zealand too, and we used to play the thing over and over. (Funnily enough, I can't find a single person from my generation who can even remember it.) When we moved house in 1963 my dad threw out all of my mother's 78's, and this disappeared too. Amazing to hear it after all these years!
clive1550 3 years ago
Nice to hear your comments, I'm glad it brings back memories!
MoleDFigg 3 years ago
I laugh so hard my side hurts , I can remember seeing this performed on T V,I'm not sure what show it was , but sure funny Thanks
nedah1944 3 years ago
Glad you liked it!!
I can't help re: the T.V.show, but it made the 'Top Ten' in the U.K. radio performances in its day :-)
MoleDFigg 3 years ago
A classic to be heard by everyone. Well over fifty years old and it still makes me lol. Thanks for posting this ageless piece. If I remember correctly, this made it to #1 on the hit parade.
GOD711 3 years ago 5
Thanks for this - I never thought I'd hear it again!
COLYERFAN 3 years ago 2