Allan Sherman

Allan Sherman ( born November 30, 1924 in Chicago as Allan Copelon, † November 20, 1973 in Los Angeles ) was an American musician, parodist, satirist, and television producer. His biggest success was the song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp ). Sherman is considered the forerunner of other parodist as Weird Al Yankovic, who expressly calls him on his first album as an inspiration.

Author

Allan Sherman began his career in the entertainment industry in the late 1940s as a writer for Joe E. Lewis and Jackie Gleason.

TV producer

From 1949 he appeared as a producer of various television series, such as The Herb Shriner Show ( 1949 ), Masquerade Party ( 1952 ) or Hobby Lobby (from 1959). He developed the concept of the American TV series " I've Got A Secret", whose producer, he was from 1952 to 1958. After his release, which resulted from a failed episode of the series in June 1958, he worked until 1961 as a writer and producer of the Steve Allen Show.

Musician

1962 Sherman signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records. He wrote, produced and sang in the following years numerous so-called novelty songs, so parodies of familiar songs and classics. Sherman retained the melodies of the songs but changed the lyrics.

His first album, " My Son, the Folk Singer" (Dec 1962), which self-written parodies of familiar songs and classics. For best known song of this album Sarah Jackman, was a parody of the French children's song Frère Jacques, in which a phone caller with Sarah Jackman as to the whereabouts (common ) inquires relative. Sherman built the song in a question -and-answer form: The caller ( Sherman) asked for a person, and the person being called ( sung by Christine Nelson) then told in verse current family gossip ( Sherman: "How your uncle Nathan? " Sarah: " Him I got no faith in " Sherman. " What's your sister Rita? " Sarah: " A regular Lolita "). This song was supposedly sung by the then U.S. President U.S. President John F. Kennedy in a hotel lobby. The album also contained a parody of Harry Belafonte's Matilda, which was at Sherman to My Zelda. The album " My Son, the Folk Singer" has sold 1.2 million units at a surprise success. It was until then the fastest selling record of pop music.

In March 1963 was followed by the album " My Son, the Celebrity " and then " My Son, the Nut" ( October 1963 ), included the additional Novelty songs and also achieved successful chart positions. From " My Son, the Nut" Sherman published in advance in August 1963 as a single Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp ), which became his best-known song, penetrated up to rank 2 of the U.S. pop charts and the million seller developed; only two weeks after its publication 300,000 copies were sold. The song deals with the letter of a boy from the fictional summer camp "Camp Granada " to his parents in which the little one complains about bad weather, bad food and bad supervisory staff. As the weather gets better, all complaints are invalid. The song is an adaptation of the composition of Amilcare Ponchielli Dance of the Hours, which was known in the U.S. primarily through their use in the Disney film Fantasia. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh received a Grammy Award.

It was followed by the LPs Allan In Wonderland (May 1964), Songs For Swinging Livers Only ( January 1965 ) and My Name Is Allan ( January 1966 ), but Sherman's successes did after. Observers attribute this to a change in mood in the U.S., which had become more serious after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and had only had little interest in humorous songs.

After the LP togetherness ( April 1967 ) Allan Sherman took no more records. Although he still came to live in Las Vegas but also reached here no more success.

Sherman died in 1973 at the age of 48 depleted of emphysema.