So east to listen too ---

Thanks for the memories, Marilyne. I remember Les and Larry Elgart and danced to the Les Elgart band at one of the ballrooms in Harrisburg. Also, I think I mentioned before that Jim, my sister's husband, was a jazz musician. He served in the Air Force band in Tunisia. Not sure if that was during or just after WWII.

It's too quiet in here.

Here are Les and Larry together.

I'm feeling a bit green today -

Spike Jones and company doing a classic Irish tune from 1949. This was the flip side of "The Clink Clink Polka" in the US and Canada and "Ya Wanna Buy A Bunny?" in the UK. I'm not entirely sure who's singing on this (the label just credits "I.W. Harper and the Four Fifths"), but he was one of Spike's regulars. And of course it wouldn't be Spike Jones without a verse about cowbells...

Proof that Spike Jones could record serious music when he wanted to. As interest in his zany arrangements of popular songs began to fade, he created "Spike Jones and His Other Orchestra" and turned to recording mostly instrumental arrangements of popular tunes instead. This tune is an old Ukrainian folk song known as "Ikhav Kozak za Dunaj", which translates to "A cossack was going across the Danube". It was recorded in English as "Minka" by Harry James in 1941. This version was recorded in 1946, featuring George Rock on trumpet - the man best remembered for doing the vocals on "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

A hilarious spoof on Western ballads such as "Ringo", from 1988 or so. This was originally released as a single in 1980, and this performance is from the short-lived Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which aired in 1988 and 1989.

Michael - The original Smothers Brother's Comedy Hour was in the late 1960's.  It was a very popular show, and quite funny.  The Jim Stafford song you posted was from their show in 1988 or 89? I don't remember that they had a new show twenty years after the first one? Looks like it was pretty good.

I think they got a bit too "bitey" with their political satire towards the end, a little more political than I liked. Didn't they, later on, have some kind of falling out for a while? Or was that for show? I forget. I tried to watch several of the old clips, but I couldn't get into them. They were a riot, though, back then. Very much of their time, I think.

Mars - Yes, I remember that controversy now. After that they started doing comedy clubs for many years, and then had the return TV show in the 80's that flopped.  They're still living, and both are younger than I am!   
https://www.npr.org/2010/10/15/130569467/the-uncensored-story-of-the-smothers-brothers
 

It's been a difficult week here, enduring the never-ending storms.  Here's a happy song to calm us all down!     

That song introduced a lot of people to the music of Louis Armstrong - even decades later when it was used in the Robin Williams movie Good Morning, Vietnam!. Probably his most famous song.

Here's a fun one from the Baja Marimba Band - another project from Herb Alpert that was a further attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the Tijuana Brass. They weren't nearly as successful, but were still quite prolific.

I do find this a bit more calming -

Marilyne..
..i cant see anyone else singing that apart from the great Louis Armstrong...

An unusual find. The lyrics were written by Freddy Morgan, a comedian and banjo player who was a longtime member of Spike Jones' City Slickers group. The music was supposedly written by Hasegawa Yoshida but there is no evidence that anyone by that name actually exists. This was supposedly inspired by a 1954 novel Sayonara, and was originally recorded by Kay Cee Jones in 1955. This version was released in 1976. Haruomi (Harry) Hosono is a Japanese musician, singer and record producer who has been involved in numerous bands and projects over the years. I believe part of this rendition is sung in Japanese but I don't know the language so I'm not sure if it's just that or it's the accent.

I couldn't tell either. It sounded a bit muffled.

I found this one this morning. I remember repeating the "they're coming to take me away" refrain on occasion, but I had no idea from where I had picked it up. I still don't, but this may have be the source. I do not remember ever hearing this before:

That one's a classic novelty tune. It was a big hit on both sides of the pond in 1966. There were even a couple of answer songs - "They Took You Away, I'm Glad, I'm Glad" by Josephine and "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-haaa!" by Josephine XV (unrelated to the other Josephine).

One of the more unusual artists from the 50s and 60s was Peruvian singer Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri Castillo, known by her stage name of Yma Sumac. Her claim to fame was an incredible vocal range, as you can hear on this song from 1955.

I'm usually not a fan of drum solos, but I liked this one. 

No . . . I didn't care for that one.  I prefer a melody, lyrics and some swing.   ("It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing")

You don't like the melody carried on a drum?

Is this a bit better?

Or this -

Leon R is okay - his easy going music kind of puts me to sleep.   Wake up fast, with Ella doing her famous Scat Singing.    She was the best!  (abstract vocalizations - eieio)   

Better days ahead, "On the Sunny Side of the Street"!   

Something a bit different. The classic song "El Condor Pasa" as performed by Peruvian singer Yma Sumac. She had quite an impressive vocal range and was particularly popular in the 1950s. This was recorded in 1971. She died in 2008 at the age of 86. This song dates back to at least the early 1900s, though it became particularly popular after English lyrics were added by Paul Simon in 1970.