Happy Turkey Day!
Okay, so this isn't really a Thanksgiving song; technically it's a Christmas song. But hey, any song with the lyrics "Everybody gather round the table / Dig in, dinner's being served / Eat all the turkey you are able" is going to feel awfully Thanksgiving-y, right? So here's "Turkey Lurkey Time" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as sung by Margo Sappington, Baayork Lee, and Donna McKechnie in Promises, Promises:
Video posted by Broadway Classics
You will note that the song is awful. I mean, it's really awful--but in the context of the show, it was supposed to have been written by three secretaries as entertainment for the office Christmas party, so. (It also explains why the dance and orchestration say "1960s" so relentlessly.) But at least it gives us a turkey song!
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As I mentioned in my tribute to Neil Simon, the songwriters for Promises, Promises were both Jewish, even if Burt Bacharach, as a child at least, "didn't want anybody to know about it."
Bachrach started his music career as a pianist and conductor for various pop singers, interspersed with similar jobs in the Borscht Belt. He then became part-time music director for Marlene Dietrich's nightclub shows, which gave him time for songwriting. That's when he met up with Hal David (also Jewish) in the Brill Building, and the two of them became songwriting partners, writing well over a hundred songs together, including "Walk on By," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, "What the World Needs Now," "That's What Friends are For"--and of course "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," which, like "Turkey Lurkey Time" was from Promises, Promises.
You will note that the song is awful. I mean, it's really awful--but in the context of the show, it was supposed to have been written by three secretaries as entertainment for the office Christmas party, so. (It also explains why the dance and orchestration say "1960s" so relentlessly.) But at least it gives us a turkey song!
As I mentioned in my tribute to Neil Simon, the songwriters for Promises, Promises were both Jewish, even if Burt Bacharach, as a child at least, "didn't want anybody to know about it."
Bachrach started his music career as a pianist and conductor for various pop singers, interspersed with similar jobs in the Borscht Belt. He then became part-time music director for Marlene Dietrich's nightclub shows, which gave him time for songwriting. That's when he met up with Hal David (also Jewish) in the Brill Building, and the two of them became songwriting partners, writing well over a hundred songs together, including "Walk on By," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, "What the World Needs Now," "That's What Friends are For"--and of course "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," which, like "Turkey Lurkey Time" was from Promises, Promises.
Fun 😀
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the silliness!
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