Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Allan Sherman Sings "Taking Lessons" - A Parody of "Making Whoopee"

Allan Sherman dominated the world of song parody during the 1960s and recorded eight albums, starting with My Son the Folksinger.  

Listening to or reading his lyrics is a crash course in pop culture of the 1960s, with Sherman taking satiric swipes at summer camp, psychiatry, fad diets, Hadassah ladies, school dropouts, and upward mobility.

The popularity of his parodies got him many guest appearances on TV variety shows. 

"Makin' Whoopee" is a song first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical.

We just came across a rare video of Sherman singing "Taking Lessons," a parody of "Makin' Whoopee" on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. Here is the video of him singing the song, followed by a video clip of Eddie Cantor singing  "Makin' Whoopee", the basis for Sherman's takeoff.

Enjoy!

 

 

     

#Throwback Thursday      #TBT 

"Tevye's Daughters" from Yiddish "Fiddler" Sing "Making Whoopee" in Yiddish

Rachel Zatcoff and Stephanie Lynne Mason, who are currently playing the roles of Tevye's daughters Tsaytel and Hodel in Joel Grey's Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof, shared the stage last December at a special Folksbiene benefit concert honoring Broadway director Jerry Zaks.

The two singers performed a Yiddish version of Makin' Whoopee, the song made famous by Eddie Cantor in 1929.

Just below the Folksbiene concert video you'll find an excerpt from the film Makin' Whoopee with Cantor singing the song back in the day.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.