Word Association Wednesday: Ringing in My Ears

Sunday’s post had Duke Ellington ringing the rafters with Ring Dem Bells, so for this week’s Word Association Wednesday, we follow the echo straight into the underworld. If Duke rings ’em, somebody’s bound to shout Hell’s Bells! - and that’s our cue to go spelunking through the 78 rpm stacks. We've got five versions, so leave us begin...

1. Art Kassel  - The King’s Writer (1932)

We start at the source: Art Kassel, who not only recorded Hell’s Bells but wrote it and used it as the theme song for his "Kassels in the Air" Band. His 1932 Columbia side is a bit raucous for a polite hotel band, but it’s novelty‑adjacent without ever quite tipping into corn, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.

2. Bob Causer (with Dick Robertson) - The Budget‑Label Surprise (1932)

Next, we flip over to the budget bins for Bob Causer and his Cornellians, featuring ubiquitous session vocalist Dick Robertson. Same year, totally different flavor. Robertson actually sings the “It’s certainly hot…” verse - the one Kassel only plays instrumentally - giving us a glimpse of how the tune played when the full lyric was in circulation. Scrappier, cheaper, and absolutely delightful!

3. Hal Kemp - Elegance with a Sly Grin (1932)

From there, we glide into the satin‑smooth world of Hal Kemp. His instrumental take on Brunswick is airy and lightly syncopated - the kind of thing that makes you imagine a hotel ballroom with perfect lighting and a floor that never squeaks. Kemp takes the tune’s novelty edge and files it down to a chic, urbane shimmer, all while keeping the band’s trademark “typewriter” trumpet sound. But in my in mind, I can definitely imagine Skinnay Ennis singing the lyrics!

4. Jimmie Lunceford - Discipline, Fire, and a Ghostly Shimmer (1937)

Then the door swings open and in marches Jimmie Lunceford, whose 1937 Decca recording turns Hell’s Bells into a precision‑swing showpiece. Sy Oliver is the architect here, and his arrangement gives the track its bite: crisp attacks, sly rhythmic kicks, and that buoyant lift only Lunceford’s band could deliver. Adding a delicious layer of atmosphere is pianist Edwin Wilcox, who slips over to the celeste for a few choice moments — a little chiming shimmer that makes the whole thing feel like a haunted music box.

The slower pace of this version actually makes it spookier. It’s been a staple of my Big Band Halloween playlist for years!

5. Clyde McCoy - The 20‑Year Detour (1952)

And then we leap forward two decades to Clyde McCoy, who finally records Hell’s Bells in 1952 — a tune so perfect for his wah‑wah trumpet that you’d swear it had been waiting for him! Why it took him twenty years to wax it is anyone’s guess, but once he does, it’s a wild, swaggering instrumental that feels like the natural endpoint of every version that came before.

Five versions, five angles, one tune that refuses to stay in its lane. From Kassel’s original to Causer’s budget‑label charm, Kemp’s elegance, Lunceford’s fire, and McCoy’s late‑breaking swagger — which one rings your bells?

Bonus Round: Betty Boop turns up the heat (1934)

And for dessert, we hop from the bandstand to the cartoon studio. In Betty Boop’s 1934 short Red Hot Mamma, Betty — voiced by Bonnie Poe — actually sings Hell’s Bells right in the middle of her infernal adventure. It’s exactly what you’d expect from the Fleischer studio: surreal, spicy, and the kind of cross‑pollination that made early ’30s pop culture such a glorious tangle.

With Betty around, "It's certainly hot..."