Freddie Fisher (11 June 1904 – 28 March 1967) was an American musician, leader of a band variously known simply as the Freddie Fisher Band, Freddie Fisher and His Schnickelfritz Orchestra (The word schnickelfritz is an affectionate term of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

origin for "a mischievous little boy"; comparable to ''scamp''.), or Colonel Corn and His Band.. Retrieved 14 August 2011. The band, which first made its name in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, was essentially a

novelty act "Novelty Act" is a short story by Philip K. Dick. It involves a dystopian future in which the characters' lives are based on entertaining the First Lady of the United States with "novelty acts." Many of the ideas developed in the story were r ...

, influenced by such

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performers as Clayton, Jackson, and Durante.Music: Schnickelfritz
''Time'' magazine, 6 September 1937. Retrieved online 14 August 2011. His deliberately corny approach to songs was a precursor to

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

. Hits in ''Billboards early (pre-1944) country music charts include "Horsey, Keep Your Tail Up", "Sugar Loaf Waltz" and "They Go Wild, Simply Wild Over Me". Fisher was born in 1904 in Lourdes, Iowa (near

Garnavillo, Iowa Garnavillo is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 763 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, up from 754 in 2000. History Garnavillo once served as county seat of Clayton Cou ...

) and died in 1967 in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mounta ...

. He appeared in at least nine films between 1938 and 1949. The latter part of his life was lived in Aspen, where he ran a repair shop called Fisher the Fixer and played in a band that included his son King Fisher.Mary Eshbaugh Hayes
Freddie Fisher
, ''The Aspen Times'', 3 July 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2011. "Cornstars: Rube Music in Swing Time", a biography from author/filmmaker

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

, has been an Amazon best-seller and earned the prestigious Certificate of Merit for “Best Historical Research in Recorded Popular Music” from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

Films

*Turkey in the Straw (1941), a

soundie Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical ge ...

Notes

External links

*
Fan site
including link to authorized online copy of ''Fisher the Fixer''. 1904 births 1967 deaths American bandleaders American comedy musicians American parodists Parody musicians 20th-century American musicians Comedians from Iowa 20th-century American comedians {{US-musician-stub

Films

Notes

Further reading

External links