A be-bop recitation from the 'Fifties

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, Wilson.  You'll be pleased to know that HDAS now and again cites B.G.'s memoir, _I Paid My Dues_ , read about 35 years ago.

  Of course, I was in kindergarten then....

  ...Hey, wait a minute !  That's still not so great !

  JL

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: A be-bop recitation from the 'Fifties
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I should have warned you about the hassle with the dating. I, too,
have been unable to find the date. Even after consulting my usually
Velcro-like memory, the best that I can come up with, with absolute
certainty, is that the Fable was recorded no later than 1956-57. I'm
still working on getting a dating a bit more meaningful than that.
Wish me luck!

Gonzales recorded at least one other such recitation, which I intend
to post as soon as I can transcribe it from the oldies CD. What with
my essential tremor - Parkinson's disease's good twin - the
transcription is a real pain in the hand, but
it's a labor of love. Needless to say, the original 78 is long gone.
However, I do remember the name of the label. Maybe that'll turn out
to be helpful.

-Wilson

On 6/7/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> Subject: Re: A be-bop recitation from the 'Fifties
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Groovy, Gate. Do you know the date ? (I checked today, but the 'Net don't say.)
>
> JL
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: A be-bop recitation from the 'Fifties
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A Manhattan Fable
> by
> Babs Gonzales
>
> About a deuce of long black-&-whites ago, a stud from the Natural
> Lowlands made it to The Apple. He copped him a hame as a delivery cat
> on Lenox Avenue. Everything was fine as wine until he cut into
> Hollywood eyes. My man Eddie, he dug her all the way. But, after
> lamping her quit the scene daily in the King of Shorts, he figured
> that he'd cool until his greens was long enough for him to sound her.
> One bright, about a deuce of ticks, he laid his story on a Harlem
> acquaintance named "Congolene Freddie." He pulled Freddy's coat about
> his big eyes for the chick and how he'd pay any kind of dues to cop
> some long greens. Freddie, being a post=graduate and a six-year New
> York man, knew the pig when he saw it. So, he yessed the boob for a
> few blacks and then laid down his spiel.
>
> During the next set of sevens, Eddie was so gone over the three yards
> that he hadlaying in the bin that he failed to dig Nab stashe behind
> the scene while he paid his delivery dues.
>
> After one semester of double deliveries, one for The Man and a deuce
> for Congolene Freddie, Eddie lamped his bread and dug that he was now
> ready to cool by the pad of the crazy chick in style. He thanked
> Freddie for his pulling his coaat to the long green on the Apple
> scene. But, he had to quit it now, as he had a inkling in the back of
> his thinking cap that he'd better put a period tp delivering them
> small packages for which he was gassed with huge lootie-bonds.
>
> Freddie, he was cool. He had no hard feelings. And, to prove it, he
> sounded Eddie for the serial to his crib, so he could lay a present on
> him.
>
> At exactly the Cinderella of chimes the next black, a
> three-hundred-pound ofay cat rang Eddie's ding-dong and, after
> flashing his badge of many numbers, he told Eddie that he was a real
> lame Jones. But he wouldn't take him to the slams, as long as his
> greens was long enough.
>
> Eddie laid his grand on Nab, who stepped into his waiting cab and
> split the bread down, a nickel note for him and a nickel note for his
> buddy, Congolene Freddie.
>
> So, Eddie was off the scene, his jeans was clean, and he didn't cop his quean.
>
> A Manhattan fable.
>
> [Depite the name, Babs, Gonzales was male.]
>
> -Wilson Gray
>
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