wacky tacky Tunes: Reg Kehoe & His Marimba Queens

For as much time as I fritter away writing this blog, I am actually terrible at using the internet to its full, time-wasting capacity; I can maneuver decently within the three or four websites on my bookmarks bar (which I only learned how to use within the last year) but the full possibilities continue to evade me.  It is a sad fact that I relate all too well with that senior citizen on the insurance commercial who saves time posting things directly to the wall of her living room and "unfriending" people face-to-face.  I regularly stare at the Google home page at a complete loss for what to do.  Furthermore, unless a newsworthy item or interesting bit of information appears in the "Top Stories" of my Facebook newsfeed, I am liable to stay completely uninformed.

Lucky for me, I had seen this little gem (part of a musical film short) as it made the rounds on social media; when a friend posted it directly to my wall, however, I knew I had to share it here.  Without even listening, I could see that between the maracas, the bevy of matching '40s gowns, an enthusiastic bass player, and a whole mess of marimbas, this was a surefire hit!  I needed a pick-me-up this week and this definitely did the trick!

"A Study in Brown" - Reg Kehoe & His Marimba Queens get HOT!!!

(See the entire film short here.)

Reg Kehoe & His Marimba Queens was a Pennsylvania-based novelty band that spent nearly two decades touring in the midwest and eastern United States.  After watching this video about one-thousand times, I was, of course, dying to find more.  Unfortunately, it appears that this performance of "A Study in Brown" was the only remaining film footage of Reg and the gang.  Well, thank heavens that it does remain - and thank heavens for internet-savvy friends!

I was so thrilled by the Marimba Queens and the frenzied, bass-slapping stylings of Frank DeNunzio, that I made a promise I really couldn't keep; I swore that I could listen to this song all day, every day, for the rest of my days.  Surely, I wouldn't want to be held to that promise; I need more than the magical musicality of the marimba.  Nevertheless, along with "Holiday for Strings," "Jaan Pehechaan Ho," and the works of Leroy Anderson, Reg Kehoe's "A Study in Brown" really rounds out the wacky tacky soundtrack-y! 

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny