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My grandfather, Benny Bell, had one goal in life: to make people laugh. He knew he couldn't live forever--but he also knew that music can, enabling him, in a way, to continue to pursue his goal even after he was gone. And that's why he gave me hundreds of records and documents and notes and papers and asked me to make sure that his goal lived on. That's why I put togther "Another Close Shave." This one's for you, Grandpa. One of the funniest, wackiest, craziest, busiest and most resilient comedians ever to come out of Vaudeville and the Borscht Belt, Benny Bell, who passed away in 1999, is back with this new compilation of ten classic novelty songs (and two hilarious "updated" bonus cuts that Dr. Demento has already played on his show). When Benny Bell's signature song, "Shaving Cream," originally recorded in 1946, was re-released in 1975, it became the most requested record in the history of WNBC radio in New York, drawing even more requests than the Beatles. Recently, broadcasting legend Joe Franklin, on whose TV show Benny appeared several times, was quoted as saying, "I loved that guy. Somebody should do a tribute to him." Radio jock Bruce Morrow (Cousin Brucie) and novelty broadcaster Dr. Demento echoed Franklin's sentiments. This new CD is one small tribute. Born in 1906 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, my grandfather was making people laugh from an early age. His own father would have liked for him to become a rabbi or cantor, but Benny had other ideas. In 1922, at the age of 16, he wrote "Sweet Violets," which later became a popular novelty item. Three more of his songs, "Pincus the Peddler," "Shaving Cream" and "Take a Ship for Yourself," were jukebox hits in the 1940s. Like his idol, Irving Berlin, Benny also wrote several elegant ballads and poignant war-time tunes, such as "Ship Ahoy, Sailor Boy," recorded by Rose Marie, famous for her role in "The Dick Van Dyke Show." In all he wrote more than 600 songs, most of them of the risqué/novelty variety. In 1975, both Dr. Demento and Cousin Brucie on WNBC in New York played "Shaving Cream" on the air for the first time in a long time, and a new career was born. With "Benny Bell: Another Close Shave," it is being reborn once again. Track List: 1. Without Pants 2. Everybody Loves My Fanny 3. Chitty Biddy Bim Bum 4. The Ballad of Ikey and Mikey 5. Six Feet Samba 6. Shish-ka-Bob 7. The Nuts and Bolts of Love 8. My Grandpa Had a Long One 9. Shaving Cream 10. Shaving Cream Redo 11. Jerk of all Trades 12. Another Jerk of all Trades Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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