maandag 17 april 2017

There Is A Tavern In The Town (1883) / There's A Tavern In The Town (1917) / Head Shoulders Knee and Toe / Hoofd Schouders Knie en Teen / Animaniacs Theme (1993)


"Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" is a very famous children's song, common in primary schools.
Children touch the parts of their bodies that are mentioned in the song.

It’s not known who first composed the song, but it was printed in "The Children’s Friend" for September 1912, in the Kinston (NC) Free Press on September 27, 1922 and in the Allentown (PA) Morning Call on June 1, 1929.

"Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" is often sung to the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town".




The oldest sheet I could find of "There Is A Tavern In The Town" is from "Student's Songs" (1883) compiled and edited by William Henry Hills (Published by Moses King, Cambridge, Mass.)
 


The next sheet music is dated between 1877 and 1884 (roud number 18834)





But the next 1891 sheet music credits this piece to F. J. Adams.




The earliest recording of this song I could find:

(o) London Concert Orchestra (1906) (as "There's A Tavern In The Town")
Released on Edison Bell Cylinder #10008



Listen here:




(c) Peter Dawson (1917) (as "There's A Tavern In The Town")
Released July 1917 on Zonophone # 1777



Listen here:




(c) Kenneth Walters (1924) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")





(c) Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees (1934) (as "The Drunkard Song")
Recorded on September 7, 1934 in New York
Released on Victor 24721


Listen here:




(c) Gracie Fields (1938) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")


Listen here:




(c) The Bar-X Cowboys (1938) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")






(c) Judy Garland and Dick Haymes (1944) (as "There's A Tavern In The Town")
Recorded July 11, 1944 for an Autolite radio commercial





(c) Wally Cox (1953) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")



Listen here:




(c) Four Aces (1955) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")
Recorded December 10, 1954
Released on Decca 29395


Listen here:




(c) Burl Ives (1959) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")


Listen here:




(c) Sammy Davis Jr (1961) (as "There Was A Tavern In The Town")


Listen here




(c) Connie Francis (1962) (as "Tavern In The Town")



Listen here:




(c) Nat King Cole (1963) (as "There Is A Tavern In The Town")


Listen here:




(c) Brothers Four (1961) (as "The Tavern Song")


Listen here:




(c) Sam Hinton (1967) (as "The Tavern In The Town")


Listen here:




(c) Ashley Hutchings (1977) (as "Tavern In The Town")



Listen to a sample here:




(c) The Warners (1993)  (as "Animaniacs Theme song")

The Animaniacs series theme song, performed by the Warners, was a very important part of the show. In the series' first season, the theme won an Emmy Award for best song. Richard Stone composed the music for the title sequence (heavily inspired by "There Is A Tavern In The Town") and Tom Ruegger wrote the lyrics.



Watch it here:






According to Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle of Fresno University, Alan Lomax calls "Hard Ain't It Hard" a reworking of this piece, Personally I don't see the connection with "Tavern in the Town".



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