Monday Side-Session: Whoopee! It’s Duke!

Following up on yesterday’s look at the definitive East St. Louis Toodle-oo, I wanted to share how that same song—and that same band—turned up under a completely different name just a few months later.

In 1928, if you walked into a record shop and bought a disc by The Whoopee Makers on the Pathé label, you were actually taking home the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

The "Dope" on the Alias

Because Duke was under contract with Irving Mills and the Vocalion/Brunswick labels, they often used "The Whoopee Makers" as a pseudonym to record for other companies. It was the same growling brass and the same "Jungle" rhythm, just wearing a different hat!

Let's look at this Pathé pairing:

Side A: East St. Louis Toodle-oo: 

I find it fascinating to compare this version to the Vocalion one we heard yesterday. Even with a wacky name on the label, that Bubber Miley trumpet is unmistakable.

Side B: Jubilee Stomp:  

This is one of the ultimate "hot" records of the era. It’s the band firing on all cylinders, showing that they could move from the dark "Toodle-oo" mood to a high-energy "stomp" without breaking a sweat.

Note also that the composer credit includes quote marks around "Duke," which you don't see too often!

The Collector's Corner

For me, the joy of these Pathé records is the "secret" nature of them. It’s like finding a treasure map where "X" marks the Duke.

Which side of this Whoopee Makers disc do you prefer: the familiar growl of the Toodle-oo or the frantic energy of the Jubilee Stomp?

It’s hard to imagine the sophisticated Edward Kennedy Ellington calling himself a "Whoopee Maker," but the budget labels didn't care.

I’ve always felt that manager Irving Mills was the architect of this chaos. He knew that "Duke Ellington" was for the elite, but "The Whoopee Makers" were for the people who just wanted to dance and pay less for a record by a wackily named group rather than a “name” artist. Either way, the music holds up!