Word Association Wednesday: Mountain Music

It was a pretty short trip on my train of thought from Duke’s “Old Man Blues” to the 1932 song “The Old Man of the Mountain.” Once that title popped into my head, the rest of today’s playlist practically assembled itself.

The Straight Shoot: Cab Calloway (1932)

Let’s start off with Cab Calloway’s budget-label recording. Cab sings the vocal relatively straight here - almost restrained by Cab standards - which lets his great band stretch out and show off those crisp early-’30s choruses. Even on a bargain imprint, they sound like a million bucks.

The Harmony: The Mills Brothers (1932)

Next up are The Mills Brothers, who bring their signature early-1930s blend of vocal harmony and uncanny instrument imitations. 

We're fortunate that The Mills Brothers were captured on film singing "The Old Man of the Mountain" as featured in the 1933 Paramount short "The Little Broadcast":

That's pretty awesome! The emcee is Roy Atwell, perhaps the preeminent exponent of spoonerisms prior to Doodles Weaver!

The Studio Oddity: Victor Young, The Boswells & The Mills Brothers

Things get even more interesting with this next record. It brings back The Mills Brothers, but also includes Connee Boswell and The Boswell Sisters, plus Fran Frey, all backed by Victor Young (who co-wrote the song). It’s a true crossover before crossovers existed. The “Lucky” designation likely ties it to the Lucky Strike radio shows. If anyone has the deep discographical scoop on this one, I’m all ears!

I like how Connee (still "Connie" at this point) gets a solo chorus and solo billing but also gets a hot chorus with sisters Martha and Vet! (I put this sentence in Helvetica font as a little wink to Helvetia Boswell!)

The Curveball: Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians

Now for a fun one: Fred Waring on Victor, with session singer Chick Bullock and drummer Poley McClintock chiming in as the Old Man himself. 

Waring made some wonderfully oddball novelty sides in this era - playful, tightly arranged, and just a little unhinged. It's hard to believe this is the same Fred Waring who, after a decade-long break from recording, would reemerge as the patron saint of square respectability in the 1940s!

The Visual: Betty Boop & Fleischer Surrealism

Of course, no discussion of The Old Man of the Mountain is complete without the Betty Boop cartoon. This is where the song goes full pre-Code surrealism. Through rotoscoping, Cab becomes the Old Man—slinky, supernatural, and just a little dangerous. It’s fascinating how the character shifts from a harmless hermit in the song to something far more sinister on screen.

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So that’s today’s trek - from budget labels to animated cliffside shimmies. Does the Old Man feel like a friendly neighbor to you, or does that Fleischer rotoscoping make him a little too "Mountain King" for comfort?