''My Son, the Celebrity'' is a musical

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

album by

Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

, released in the United States by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in January 1963. The album was the second of three straight albums by Sherman to reach #1 on the Billboard

album charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. It reached #1 on Billboard's Top 150 Best Selling LPs (Monaural) chart for the week ending March 9, 1963. It was released less than three months after ''

My Son, the Folk Singer ''My Son, the Folk Singer'' is an album by Allan Sherman, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1962. On the album sleeve, the title appears directly below the words "Allan Sherman's mother presents." The album, recorded before a live audience, ...

'', which reached #1 on the same chart in December 1962. ''My Son, the Celebrity'' followed the same template as ''

'', mixing comic parodies of popular songs with cultural references and Jewish humor. Lou Busch once again provided orchestration.

Track listing

Side One

# "Al 'n' Yetta" (" Alouette") # "Barry is the Baby's Name" / "Horowitz" / "Get on the Garden Freeway" (" Mary is a Grand Old Name", " Harrigan", "

Give My Regards to Broadway "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Americ ...

") # "

Mexican Hat Dance Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous peopl ...

" ("

Jarabe Tapatío ''Jarabe tapatío'', often referred to as the Mexican hat dance, is the national dance of Mexico. It originated as a courtship dance in Guadalajara, Jalisco, during the 19th century, although its elements can be traced back to the Spanish '' zamb ...

") # "The Bronx Bird Watcher" (" Willow, tit-willow (On a tree by a river)") # "The Let's All Call Up A.T.&T. and Protest to the President March" # "Harvey and Sheila" ("

Hava Nagila Hava Nagila ( he, הָבָה נָגִילָה, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora. History ...

Side Two

# "Won't You Come Home, Disraeli" (" Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey") # "No One's Perfect" (to the tune of a well-known alma mater, "

Far Above Cayuga's Waters "Far Above Cayuga's Waters" is Cornell University's alma mater. The lyrics were written circa 1870 by roommates Archibald Croswell Weeks (Class of 1872), and Wilmot Moses Smith (Class of 1874), and set to the tune of "Annie Lisle", a popular 1 ...

") # "When I Was a Lad" (to the tune of the same name from ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

'') # "Me" ("

Torna a Surriento "Torna a Surriento" () is a Neapolitan song composed in 1894 by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. The song was copyrighted officially in 1905, and has become one of the mos ...

") # "Shticks of One and a Half a Dozen of the Other" (medley)

Chart positions

Songs

As with ''My Son, The Folk Singer'', almost all the songs on the album contain some Jewish reference, or at least a main character or characters with apparently Jewish names. * "Al 'n' Yetta" - References to TV shows of the day * Cohan medley: **"Barry is the Baby's Name" **"Horowitz" **"Get On The Garden Freeway" * "The Bronx Bird Watcher" - A talking / singing bird with a Jewish accent. * "Harvey and Sheila" - Filled with alphabetical references: IBM, PTA, GOP, USA, etc. * "When I Was a Lad" - Recast as the story of a young man who succeeds at an advertising agency: ''So I thank old Yale / And I thank the Lord / And I also thank my father / Who is chairman of the board.'' * "Shticks of One and Half a Dozen of the Other" is a stylistic followup to "Shticks and Stones", another medley of short parodies, some Jewish-oriented, some not. For example: ** New words to "

Molly Malone "Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") is a traditional song set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become its unofficial anthem. A statue representing Molly Malone was unveiled on Grafton Street by then Lo ...

", describing her as "Cockeyed and muscle-bound". ** ''On top of Old Smokey / All covered with hair / Of course I'm referring / To Smokey the Bear'' (

On Top of Old Smoky "On Top of Old Smoky" (often spelled "Smokey") is a traditional folk song of the United States. As recorded by The Weavers, the song reached the pop music charts in 1951. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 414. History as folk song ...

) ** ''When you go to the delicatessen store / Don't buy the liverwurst'' (

Down by the Riverside "Down by the Riverside" (also known as "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" and "Gonna lay down my burden") is an African-American spiritual. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War, though it was first published in 1918 in ''Plantation ...

)

References

{{Authority control 1963 albums Allan Sherman albums Warner Records albums