"Don't Bring Lulu" is a 1925

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

song.

Background

''Don't Bring Lulu'' was first published by Jerome H. Remick, based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, in 1925. It is the 63rd most covered song from 1925. "Lulu" in the song is a 1920s

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

. The

song lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

include a reference to the traditional nursery rhyme and

singing game A singing game is an activity based on a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. As a collection, they have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists, and psychologists and are seen as important part of ...

for parties, "''

London Bridge Is Falling Down "London Bridge Is Falling Down" (also known as "My Fair Lady" or "London Bridge") is a traditional English nursery rhyme and singing game, which is found in different versions all over the world. It deals with the dilapidation of London Bridge ...

''". The sheet music is credited to Billy Rose,

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

, and Ray Henderson. It was originally a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

and was often recorded by male singers in a comic style, including Billy Jones and

Ernest Hare Ernest Dudley Hare (5 December 1900, Highgate, London - 1981, London) was an English stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional ...

for example, with additional dialogue. A praised recording was the 1960 single by

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...

, backed by Whisper Song. She also performed the song for the American television series '' The Roaring 20's'', which was aired during 1960–1962.

Recordings

The following performed and recorded the song in the year it was first published (1925): *

and Billy Jones * Billy Murray (1925) *

Van and Schenck Van and Schenck were popular American entertainers in the 1910s and 1920s: Gus Van (born August Von Glahn, August 12, 1886 – March 12, 1968), baritone, and Joe Schenck (pronounced "skenk"; born Joseph Thuma Schenck, (June 2, 1891– June ...

* Nathan Glantz and His Orchestra (vocals: Chick Straun) * Hall and Ryan * The Little Ramblers (vocals: Billy Jones) *

Jan Garber Jan Garber (born Jacob Charles Garber, November 5, 1894 – October 5, 1977) was an American violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Garber was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He had his own band by the time he was 21. He became known as "The ...

and His Orchestra (instrumental) *

Benny Krueger Benny Krueger (June 17, 1899 – April 29, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist. After a short stint with Ross Gorman's band, Krueger's joined the Acme Sextette in New York, which included Miff Mole on trombone, Ernie Holst on violin, and Edw ...

's Orchestra (vocals: Billy Jones) *

Sam Lanin Samuel Charles Lanin (September 4, 1891 – May 5, 1977) was an American jazz bandleader. Lanin's brothers, Howard and Lester, were also bandleaders, and all of them had sustained careers in music. Lanin was one of ten children born to Benjamin ...

and His Orchestra (vocals:

) * The Gilt-Edged Four (instrumental) * Jeffries and His Rialto Orchestra (vocals: John Thorne) The following performed and recorded the song in later years: * Frank Sinatra and

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

(radio transcript) (1946) *

Tiny Hill Tiny may refer to: Kane Places * Tiny, Ontario, a township in Canada * Tiny, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the US * Tiny Glacier, Wyoming, US Computing * Tiny BASIC, a dialect of the computer programming language BASIC * Tiny Encryp ...

and His Orchestra (vocals: Tiny Hill) (1953) *

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

(with Billy May's Orchestra) 1958) *

Bobby Short Robert Waltrip Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist, who interpreted songs by popular composers from the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold ...

(1959) * "Big" Tiny Little (instrumental) (1959) *

(featured in the television series '' The Roaring 20's'') (1960) *

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

with

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

and His Music (1960) * Kay Barry (1961) * Clinton Ford (1961) * Victor Silvester and His Ballroom Orchestra (instrumental) (1961) *

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

and The Gang (1962) * Gery Scott (1962) *

Mrs Mills Gladys Mills (; 29 August 1918 – 24 February 1978), known as Mrs Mills, was an English pianist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s, and who released many records. Her repertoire included many sing-along and party tunes made popular in the ...

(instrumental) (1962) * The Buffalo Bills (1965) * The Billy Vaughn Singers (1969) * The Oxcentrics (1976) *

Bobbysocks! Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song " La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreass ...

(1985) * Adam Swanson (piano, vocals: Frederik Hodges, additional modern lyrics) (2009) * The Oxcentrics (2020, in

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

) Other recordings include: *

Ted Black Edward Black (18 August 1900, Birmingham – 30 November 1948, London) was a British film producer, best known for being head of production at Gainsborough Studios in the late 1930s and early 1940s, during which time he oversaw production of t ...

and His Orchestra *

Stan Boreson Stan Boreson (May 5, 1925 – January 27, 2017), the "King of Scandinavian Humor," was a Norwegian-American comedian, accordionist and singer from Everett, Washington. Boreson was an early local TV star in the Seattle area, with a career that includ ...

and Doug Setterberg *

Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number on ...

* Graham "Smacka" Fitzgibbon *

Ugly Dave Gray Graham David Taylor (born 26 December 1933), known better as Ugly Dave Gray, is an English Australian actor, television personality, comedian, game show host, and radio host. Early life Born Graham David Taylor, he transposed his first and mid ...

* Stan Foster and His 1920's Impression *

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

and His Orchestra *

Hanne Krogh Hanne Krogh (born 24 January 1956) is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever and is internationally well known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with Elisab ...

* Mike Mercado * Benny Strong and His Orchestra

References

{{authority control 1920s jazz standards 1925 compositions 1925 songs Dixieland jazz standards American jazz songs Songs about dancing Songs with music by Ray Henderson Songs with lyrics by Lew Brown Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose Frank Sinatra songs Max Bygraves songs Flappers

Background

Recordings

See also

References