''Think Ethnic!'' is the third comedy album of the
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...
, released February 15, 1963 on
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. It reached number 27 on the
''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart in 1964.
Track listing
#"Soap" (0:30) - A song about "eight bars"...
#"
Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair" (3:04) - Turned into "Black Is the Colour of My Love's True Hair"
'But only her Hairdresser knows--/("Does she or Doesn't she?")--/Only her Hairdresser knows!'' (a play on the advertising 'tag line' at that time for
Clairol
Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong frien ...
hair-coloring products).
#"
The Fox" (6:17) - Tom decides that this song about a fox throwing a duck across his back would be enhanced by quacking, but Dick disagrees.
#"I Never Will Marry" (3:05)
#"Venezuelan Rain Dance" (6:50) - In which the Venezuelans pray to the rain god, Shane, to "come back." (The tune is "
Hava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" (, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly ...
")
#"Daniel Boone" (1:16) - Who was "a trailer and a tractor" according to Tom; naturally, Dick had just stated that
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
was "a trader and a trapper."
#"My Old Man" (3:17) - In which Tom warns Dick not to make a mistake about his old man who is a "cotton-pickin' finger-lickin' chicken plucker", after he had (purposely) stumbled through lines about his old man being a refrigerator repairman ("refriraterpairmn").
#"The Wreck Of The Old 49" (2:14) - Not a folk song, but a song written by
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...
.
#"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (0:25) - according to Tom, he is not.
#"The Saga Of John Henry" (8:50) - Before Tom is able to get the song going properly, there are two false starts, both relating to Tom's questions about what
John Henry
John Henry most commonly refers to:
*John Henry (folklore)
John Henry may also refer to:
People
Artists and entertainers
* John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor
*Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...
, the steel driving man, could have done when he was "just a little baby." From Tom's dramatic narration between verses, we learn that John Henry apparently did a lot of hitting and spitting.
#"Mary Was Pretty" (2:07) - Dedicated to Dick's then-wife (named Linda). In the list of girls in the song, Linda was the last, thus the best.
Personnel
*Dick Smothers – vocals, double bass
*Tom Smothers – vocals, guitar
Chart positions
External links
Complete Smothers Brothers discography
{{Authority control
1963 albums
Smothers Brothers albums
Mercury Records albums