Ted Lewis Orchestra - I'm The Medicine Man For The Blues (1929)

Theodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis (June 6,1892 - Aug.25,1971),

was an American entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr. Entertainment"

Born in Circleville, Ohio, Lewis was one of the first Northern musicians to start imitating the New Orleans jazz musicians who came up to New York in the teens. He first recorded in 1917 with Earl Fuller's Jass Band, who were making an energetic if somewhat clumsy attempt to copy the sound of the city's newest sensation, the Original Dixieland Jass Band. At the time, Lewis didn't seem to be able to do much on the clarinet other than trill. (Promoting one recording the Victor catalog stated:"The sounds as of a dog in his dying anguish are from Ted Lewis' clarinet"). He improved a bit later, forming his style from the influences of the first New Orleans clarinetists to reside in New York, Larry Shields, Alcide Nunez, and Achille Baquet.

By 1919 Lewis was leading his own band, and had a recording contract with Columbia Records, which marketed him as their answer to the Original Dixieland Jass Band who recorded for Victor records. At the start of the 1920s he was considered by many people without previous knowledge of jazz (that is to say, most of America) to be one of the leading lights of hot jazz. Lewis's clarinet playing never evolved beyond his style of 1919 which in later years would sound increasingly corny, but Lewis certainly knew what good clarinet playing sounded like, for he hired musicians like Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, and the wonderful (and, unfortunately, largely forgotten) Don Murray to play clarinet in his band. For years his band also included jazz greats Muggsy Spanier on trumpet and George Brunis on trombone. Ted Lewis's band was second only to the Paul Whiteman in popularity during the 1920s, and arguably played more real jazz with less pretension than Whiteman, especially in his recordings of the late 1920s.

Lewis's band got cornier and schmaltzier as the Great Depression wore on, but this seemed to match the general public's taste, as he kept commercially successful during an era when many bands broke up. Through it all he retained his famous catch-phrase "Is everybody happy?". Lewis adopted a battered top hat for sentimental, hard-luck tunes (he called himself "the high-hatted tragedian of song"). Frequently he would stray from song lyrics, improvising chatter around them. This gave the effect of Lewis "speaking" the song spontaneously: "When ma' baby... when ma' baby smiles at me... gee, what a wonderful, wonderful light that comes to her eyes... look at that light, folks..."


Ted Lewis Orchestra, Ted Lewis vocal - I'm The Medicine Man For The Blues (1929)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ted
• Lewis
• 1929
• 10s
• 20s
• 30s

[horarwgt]

@davidglow3 Viewed retrospectively, yes. "The Top Hatted Tragedian of Song" became even more beloved after the 1920s, the decade in which he racked up his first 65 hits (including 26 vocals). It was in 1927 that Ted realized the true value of his camp singing. He sang, tongue-in-cheek, most all his 37 hits in the '30s ("Just A Gigolo," "Lazybones," etc.). Was Ted still beloved in the '50s? Check him out in '56 on "What's My Line" here on YouTube. He died still active in Vegas in 1971.

[davidglow3]

@horarwgt That has to be a minority point of view..He was very astute at giving what the public wanted in 1920s America,but viewed retrospectively????

[davidglow3]

@fromthesidelines Sorry for late reply..My opinion is viewed from an respective point of view..In the 1920s he had what the public wanted..He outsold Whiteman

[horarwgt]

@davidglow3 Lewis' slyly comical, tongue-in-cheek vocals are the best part of his records.

[SchubertamSee]

Seine Stimme ist sehr einnehmend!

[fromthesidelines]

Ted's band COULD play great jazz from time to time {i.e. 1931's "Dallas Blues"}; however, the main attraction was Ted himself, "corny recitations", "hammy" clarinet playing, and all. And people expected that from him, 'david'.

[fromthesidelines]

Recorded on May 26, 1929, and originally featured in his first Warner Bros. "talkie", "Is Everybody Happy?".

[marbleflat]

There is a more 'rock & roll' version of this, though it doesn't appear to be on Youtube yet..

[charliebubblesoar]

I'm cured!

[chasamb]

He probably wouldn't have kept the band together without the daft showmanship. Such interesting music from this source. Well done.