"Jingle Bells" - Part 66 - Hezzie is Ready!

All this hillbilly talk surrounding "Jingle Bells" makes me think that one version has not gotten its due: the 1936 recording by the Hoosier Hot Shots!

We did hear their version for Vocalion Records back in 1936, but here it is again:

I think that's a lot of fun, as are all their records!

They had this interesting take on the whole hillbilly music thing on this record, also from 1936:

And here's another cut from 1936, just in time for the World Series:

As befitting the group's name, the nucleus of brothers Ken and Paul "Hezzie" Trietsch and Otto "Gabe" Ward were from Indiana. 

They were very popular in the Midwest, with many appearances on the "National Barn Dance" radio show out of Chicago:

They also made a number of movie appearances:

Gabe played clarinet and Ken played guitar and banjo while Hezzie played the slide whistle and a wacky, souped-up washboard known as the Wabash Washboard. They had different bass players to round out the sound, starting with Frank Kettering.

Ken would often kick of a number by asking, "Are you ready, Hezzie?" And he always was!

Here's an interesting video of them back in the day, which shows off their skills:

Corny, but fun! Could have featured more of the boys, though, I think!

As we're always in the Christmas spirit around here, we definitely need to give a listen to their popular Christmas single from 1938:

I think that's a lot of fun and I always enjoy a unique recording like that, as in I don't know if any other act ever recorded that song. 

It was actually quite a few years from when I had learned there was a Christmas record by the Hoosier Hot Shots called "The Man with the Whiskers" and I was almost worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations when I would hopefully someday finally hear it.

Glad to find out that it's awesome!

The two seasonal sides were each released with non-holiday flipsides, but they were joined together as two sides of a Conqueror single in 1939, which is cool: 

There were so many labels in the Vocalion family that it's hard to keep track of all the releases!