Better Than Coffee: Benny Bell
Have I mentioned lately that Archive.org is the sh…
…aving cream? It really is. You could stand to spend more time over there, trust me.
Avid listeners of Dr. Demento will recognize this song by Benny Bell. I’m too young to boast that I listened to Dr. D back in the day, when he first brought about the Jewish-American singer/songwriter’s revival. However, I was lucky enough to live down the block from one Mister Goodman, a charming alcoholic widower with a portable record player. On balmy late summer afternoons, he’d sit on his front porch nursing a tall glass of “ice water” and playing old LPs. Naturally, Benny Bell’s relentlessly juvenile double-entendres were a huge hit with the neighborhood kids.
Mr Goodman was more than happy to play us classic Bell ditties like “Without Pants”, “A Goose For My Girl” and “My Grandfather Had a Long One” over and over again, provided we promised never to sing them in front of our parents. We were more than happy to hang out on his lawn for hours, sipping cans of 7-UP and shouting “SSSSSHHHHHAVING CREAM” at appropriate (and inappropriate) intervals until Mr. Goodman fell too far into his cups and started muttering darkly about Korea. At which time we’d all claim we heard our mothers calling and head home for dinner.
Anyhoo. Archive.org’s got a ton of Bell’s material available for legal download, for free. Cheers.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am
i’m peeing myself. over this song, and this post. ! i’ve been a long-time avid archive.org visitor as it feeds many of my addictions, from their extensive library of obscure old books on just about any subject you can conjure, to the mountains of old time radio programs available to feed your little pink eaurrs. happiness happiness! to see this little site get some recognition. :)
September 8th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Excellent. Some fellows of mine would sing this at the bar just before last call. Great for getting everyone to sing along.
September 8th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I am so happy that I’m not the only one with childhood memories of rousing renditions of this song.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
That’s awesome, you guys rarely fail to find an artist I’ve not heard of yet but definitely should’ve.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:10 am
There is a fantastic new book about Benny Bell called “Grandpa Had a Long One: Personal Notes on the Life, Career & Legacy of Benny Bell,” written by his grandson. All fans MUST buy it. It’s part bio and part memoir–sort of like a “Tuesdays with Morrie,” though from a different world. Check out the website at http://www,bennybellbook.webs.com. There’s also a YouTube video about it that you can see by typing “Benny Bell book” into the search bar. Enjoy!
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Jon, that’s awesome! Thanks for the heads up!