The Chordettes Discography
October 28, 2023 8:31 PM Subscribe
The Chordettes were smart - nay, wise - to include this sound in their musical arsenal.
posted by New Frontier at 8:45 PM on October 28, 2023
posted by New Frontier at 8:45 PM on October 28, 2023
bums lol
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:47 PM on October 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:47 PM on October 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
Their name’s the Chordettes
They came to drop bums
They dropped more bums
Than Tom Green dropped bums.
posted by emelenjr at 5:03 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
They came to drop bums
They dropped more bums
Than Tom Green dropped bums.
posted by emelenjr at 5:03 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
I desperately want a close harmony quartet to perform a straight cover of the whole all-bum Chordettes discography.
posted by Kattullus at 5:15 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Kattullus at 5:15 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
bums what it bums on the bum
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:28 AM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:28 AM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Always thought that they got a bum rap.
posted by eponym at 6:50 AM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by eponym at 6:50 AM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Chordettes were a super-tight vocal group with a smooth female barbershop pedigree, but when it came time for them to do their teen-themed hit, "Lollipop", they went all ragged, so as to sound like a pack of girls hanging around the malt shop. It's a reflection of their incredible skill and versatility. One example of their vocal strengths, is "I Was Born to Be with You" - a bland, uneventful melody that they somehow manage to infuse with a warm, powerful glow of immanence.
Not to be disregarded in the success of the Chordettes is their producer, Archie Bleyer. A kind of genius in his way, Bleyer (the male voice saying "Ye-e-es?" in "Mr. Sandman") always tried to inject novel sounds and catchy effects into his artist's singles. He was the founder of Cadence records, whose artists included Andy Williams and the Everly Brothers - and he produced some of their best work. Moreover, Bleyer was married to Chordette Janet Ertel in 1954. Finally, Janet Ertel's daughter from a previous marriage, went on to marry Phil Everly. I love the Chordettes.
posted by Modest House at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
Not to be disregarded in the success of the Chordettes is their producer, Archie Bleyer. A kind of genius in his way, Bleyer (the male voice saying "Ye-e-es?" in "Mr. Sandman") always tried to inject novel sounds and catchy effects into his artist's singles. He was the founder of Cadence records, whose artists included Andy Williams and the Everly Brothers - and he produced some of their best work. Moreover, Bleyer was married to Chordette Janet Ertel in 1954. Finally, Janet Ertel's daughter from a previous marriage, went on to marry Phil Everly. I love the Chordettes.
posted by Modest House at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
In high school/college (late '80s) I had a friend that was really into this kind of 1930s-40s music. We would get massively stoned on weed in his parents' basement (he burned Greek Orthodox church incense to cover the smell, the room was a miasma and smelled like Byzantine Europe) and would crank the Chordettes and the music of that era — Bing Crosby, Andrews Sisters, Ink Spots — and we would trip out and laugh in a non-ironic, 100% positive way. It's really such fun, beautiful music.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:19 AM on October 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 8:19 AM on October 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
That was a bit of a bummer.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:28 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:28 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
My grandmother really liked Arthur Godfreyʻs TV show, so small-kid time I saw oodles of The Chordettes, Julius LaRosa, Marion Marlowe (of "The Man in a Raincoat" fame - the quintessential Bitter Ballad IMO), Lani from Hawaiʻi, et al, performing live, backed by Archie Bleyerʻs intrepid Orchestra. I had a serious puppy-crush on the winsome Chordette who very much looked, as my babysitting aunt did, like a younger and more lighthearted version of my mom. Have I said too much?
Somewhere, somehow, sometime ago I obtained a compilation CD entitled "The History of Cadence, Volume 1." Chordettes singing "Born to Be With You," Andy Williams crooning "Canadian Sunset," Julius singing "Eh, Compare," Marion singing you-know-what, Bill Hayes singing his best-seller "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (!!!)
Archie included one of his own stuff too -- "The Rockinʻ Ghost." But the compilation didnʻt include my favorite Archie Bleyer song, because, as I just discovered via the magic of the internets, it was released on Columbia Records. Extreme geezers might guess Iʻm referring to "Iʻm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch," wherein band member Sy Shaffer vocalized the unfortunate Petuniaʻs plight in a somewhat Buddy Hackettish manner. If you ʻre intrigued, you can now find it on the YouTubes, as you also can with "The Man In a Raincoat."
posted by Droll Lord at 2:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Somewhere, somehow, sometime ago I obtained a compilation CD entitled "The History of Cadence, Volume 1." Chordettes singing "Born to Be With You," Andy Williams crooning "Canadian Sunset," Julius singing "Eh, Compare," Marion singing you-know-what, Bill Hayes singing his best-seller "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (!!!)
Archie included one of his own stuff too -- "The Rockinʻ Ghost." But the compilation didnʻt include my favorite Archie Bleyer song, because, as I just discovered via the magic of the internets, it was released on Columbia Records. Extreme geezers might guess Iʻm referring to "Iʻm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch," wherein band member Sy Shaffer vocalized the unfortunate Petuniaʻs plight in a somewhat Buddy Hackettish manner. If you ʻre intrigued, you can now find it on the YouTubes, as you also can with "The Man In a Raincoat."
posted by Droll Lord at 2:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
to include this sound in their musical arsenal
No other way they could have included it, surely?
posted by flabdablet at 7:25 PM on October 29, 2023
No other way they could have included it, surely?
posted by flabdablet at 7:25 PM on October 29, 2023
The Chordettes were a super-tight vocal group with a smooth female barbershop pedigree
but now they've hit rock bottom
posted by flabdablet at 7:43 PM on October 29, 2023
but now they've hit rock bottom
posted by flabdablet at 7:43 PM on October 29, 2023
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posted by whatevernot at 8:36 PM on October 28, 2023 [1 favorite]