This ten-track budget compilation includes musical parodies made popular throughout the 1950s by satirist
Stan Freberg
. Not only was he a
Capitol Records
recording artist, he hosted his own criminally short-lived show during the final vestiges of the golden age of radio and was the last person to have a
comedy
series on
CBS Radio
.
Freberg
was joined by some of the most notable voice-over talents of the time --
Daws Butler
,
June Foray
and
Peter Leeds
, not to mention the top-shelf accompaniment of
Billy May
-- were all regulars. The program became an outlet for many of
's million-selling Top 40 singles, such as his spoof of
Jack Webb
's deadpan delivery on
"St. George and the Dragonet"
as well as
"Little Blue Riding Hood,"
where he likewise announces that "only the color has been changed to protect the innocent." The classic soap opera send-up
"John & Marsha"
rings eternally true, as does his pokes at
Lawrence Welk
on the send-up
"Wun'erful, Wun'erful,"
the
Elvis
lampoon
"Heartbreak Hotel"
and the
"Banana Boat Song (Day-O)"
calypso
put-on. Similarly, the decidedly demented take of
Cole Porter
's
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
proves that no icon is sacred. For the uninitiated,
Greatest Hits
(1993) is a fine point of departure. That said,
Capitol Collectors Series
(1990) has over twice as much material, including everything found here. But the die-hard enthusiast will most certainly want
Tip of the Freberg: The Stan Freberg Collection 1951-1998
(1999), as the multi-media box set boasts four CDs and a VHS tape. ~ Lindsay Planer