"The Crazy Otto Medley" is a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

medley, originally arranged and recorded by the German comic performer

Fritz Schulz-Reichel Fritz Schulz-Reichel (July 4, 1912 – February 14, 1990) was a German jazz and pop pianist. Schulz-Reichel was born in Meiningen. His father was a classical musician, and he began playing piano at the age of six. He developed an unusual technique ...

under the pseudonym of "Der schräge Otto" aka "Crazy Otto". The best-known version is a

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

recording made by pianist

Johnny Maddox Johnny Maddox (August 4, 1927 – November 27, 2018) was an American ragtime pianist, historian, and collector of music memorabilia. Life and career John Sheppard Maddox Jr. was born in 1927 in Gallatin, Tennessee. His interest in the ragtime e ...

. The opening tune in the medley is "Ivory Rag" by

Lou Busch Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lou (German singer) * Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...

and Jack Elliott. The closing song is "Play a Simple Melody" by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

. The songs sandwiched in between these two are pop songs from Germany. The first of them is "In der Nacht ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine" by

Franz Grothe Franz Grothe (17 September 1908 – 12 September 1982) was a German composer, mainly for the cinema. His musicals were outstanding successes. He was required to be a member of the Nazi party (No. 2.580.427).Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritt ...

. The second is "Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores" by Michael Jary. The third is "Was macht der alte Seemann" (Heino Gaze & Günther Schwenn). The Maddox recording of the Crazy Otto Medley entered the ''Billboard'' charts on February 5, 1955, and spent 20 weeks, peaking at #2 for seven weeks. It also became the first million-selling ragtime record in the United States since Del Wood's " Down Yonder" in 1951, and eventually sold in excess of two million copies. Due to its success, the Crazy Otto Medley became synonymous with Maddox in the United States, who became nicknamed "Crazy Otto", the same nickname already used by Schulz-Reichel. The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

song "Ramble on Rose" contains a line about Crazy Otto.

References

External links

Ragtime and Honky-Tonk of the 1950s: Sorting Out the Players
Bill Edwards: (2004) 1955 singles Music medleys Year of song missing {{1950s-single-stub