"Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)" is a "country-boogie"-style blues song, with music was written by
Don Raye
Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Th ...
, and lyrics were written by
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
and
Gene De Paul
Gene Vincent de Paul (June 17, 1919 – February 27, 1988) was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.
Biography
Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II. He was married to Billye Louise Files (Novem ...
. The song was written for the 1942
Abbott & Costello
Abbott may refer to:
People
*Abbott (surname)
*Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist
*Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act
Places Argentina
* Abbott, Buenos Aires United States
* Abbott, Arkansas
* ...
film ''
Ride 'Em Cowboy'', which included
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
as a cast member.
Background
The song utilizes the folklore of the singing cowboy in the American West. In the lyrics, the cowboy is from the city and tells his "dogies" (motherless calves) to "get hip."
First recording
The first recording was by
Freddie Slack
Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader.
Life and career
Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...
& his Orchestra, featuring vocalist
Ella Mae Morse in 1942. The record was the second release by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...
and their first million-seller/ number one on the charts record. Morse learned the song from hearing Fitzgerald on a soundtrack she had acquired, even though the song had been cut from the movie. Morse also recalled recording the song in a single take, which she had thought was only a rehearsal.
Other recordings
*The November 3, 1943 collaboration between
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ac ...
and Ella Fitzgerald resulted in a number-one hit on the
Harlem Hit Parade and a number-10 hit on the pop chart.
*
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...
(1961) (included in the Bear Family 9-CD set ''Rawhide'')
*
The Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...
- for the album ''San Antonio Rose'' (1961).
*
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...
covered the song for his album ''
Misty (Ray Stevens album)
''Misty'' was Ray Stevens' twelfth studio album as well as being his seventh and final for Barnaby Records. It was released in 1975. This album contains primarily cover versions of various songs that were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s, thoug ...
'' (1975).
*
Mel Torme - included on the album ''
Mel Tormé, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass
''Mel Tormé, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass'' is a 1986 studio album by Mel Tormé, accompanied by Rob McConnell's ''Boss Brass'' Big band. Tormé and McConnell's follow up album, '' Velvet & Brass'' was released in 1995.
Track listing
# ...
'' (1986).
*Mother-daughter duo
The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most succes ...
recorded the song for their 1987 album ''
Heartland
Heartland or Heartlands may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution
* Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States
* Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization ...
''.
Popular culture
*The Ella Mae Morse version was later re-recorded as a "
soundie," an early form of music video.
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Songs written for films
1942 songs
Ella Fitzgerald songs
The Ink Spots songs
Songs written by Don Raye
Songs with music by Gene de Paul