Ted Goon – Anthology of his Recordings

 

This page is a list with description of all of the known recordings made by Ted Goon.

 

Ain’t She Sweet
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond Organ. This was the B-side to Sheik of Araby and critics hated it. It used an eggagerated off-beat and maybe was the first record to use the electronic echo chamber. It was played by a St. Louis disc jockey and took off selling a million and a quarter copies when 200,000 was a hit. A Billboard ad said, “Solid electric organ instrumental soloing on the infectious standard with a swingy hand-clapping chorus. Good juke wax.” Ted said, “Ain’t She Sweet became an international thing, and I was getting royalties from all over the world for 25 years.”

 

Ted’s son, Robert, told this interesting anecdotal background on Ain’t She Sweet, his biggest hit. “The off-beat background clapping was done by my mother and one or two neighbor ladies. My dad recruited them to help with his ingenious plan for syncopated rhythm in an electronic echo chamber. Rehearsals were held in our little house in Corona del Mar, California. I must have been about 7 and I have vague recollections of the gatherings.”

 

A Smile will go a Long, Long Way
With Barney Lantz on the organ. Flip side to Fast Freight Blues. Ted had a call from Paul Whiteman who was the nation’s leading disc jockey from New York and he had just gotten the record. It was the most remarkable thing Paul had ever seen where three instruments, organ, bones and banjo, produced the greatest sound he’d ever seen for three instruments without dubbing. He featured that thing for one whole broadcast. Ted knew that it was going to be a smash hit; however, it turned out not a smash hit!

 

Crazy Bones Rag
With Barney Lantz on the organ and Harold Fisher on banjo plus an unnamed piano player. Ted plays a nice bones solo about 2/3rds into the song.

 

Bile ‘Dem Cabbage Down
With music accompaniment, however it sounds like Del Wood.

 

Diesel Drag
With Barney Lantz on the organ. A newspaper article said, “While waiting at a crossing in Santa Ana, Ted got the inspiration for ‘Diesel Drag,’ a number which begins with the actual recording of a diesel engine starting at the Santa Ana station.” A Billboard ad said, “Bones and organ workout of an instrumental original styled in the bugle blues tradition. ” An interesting rhythm about 50 seconds into the song.

 

Down by the Ohio
With Goon-Bones Trio. This record was mentioned at a prerelease party–Leuenhagen’s Record Preview Party, Rodger Young Auditorium, Frebruary 23, 1950. Guests included Sarah Vaughn, Sons of the Pioneers, Mickey Rooney and many others. The program for the party mentioned that “Mr. Bones records always bring in the nickels.” There was no record number listed suggesting it was a promotional release and no information has been found as to what is on the flip side. A copy of it was not found.

 

Fast Freight Blues
With Barney Lantz on the organ. A newspaper article said, “Listening to the plaintive sounds of the freight winding its way through the rolling hills down to Capistrano gave Ted the idea of writing “Fast Freight Blues, a highly successful record used by numerous disc jockeys throughout the country as signature music for their programs.” Ted learned later that it was successful partly because, to his astonishment, a number of the military installations were using a copy of the record.

 

Goofus
With Barney Lantz on the organ. Billboard said, “This oldie, now being revived via a Les Paul disking, could pick up coin in this organ and bones rendition.”

 

Goon Bones Ditty
With Quartet. This song was written by Ted Goon.

 

Goon Bones Polka
With The Cavaliers and written by Ted Goon and Barney Lantz. A London ad said, “Mr Goon-Bones and the Goon-Bones Beat. 75 cents plus tax.”

 

Honeysuckle Rose
With an unnamed band that sounds like Martin and Brown on harmonica with piano, guitar and drums.

 

I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
Barney Lantz on the organ and Harold Fisher on banjo.

 

Indian Love Call
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ.

 

Isle of Capri
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ. Billboard on January 15, 1956 said, “Organ and clickety clack of goon bones work out on a rhythmic version of art oldtimer. Combination of instruments has a certain novelty value which clicked several years ago in the market.” There is a very interesting rhythm pattern in the middle of this recording. Scott Miller of DryBones Music Company loaned us his copy of this promotional record.

 

Just Because
With musical accompaniment, however it sounds like Del Wood.

 

Listen to the Band
With Del Wood on piano. A Billboard ad said, “Some more good piano work by Del Wood, but the excitement is all on the flip side [Waiting on the Robert E Lee], as well as the tune.”

 

Marie
With an unnamed band that sounds like Martin and Brown on harmonica with piano, drums and echo chamber.

 

Mary Lou
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ.

 

Monkeyshines
With Barney Lantz on the organ. A Billboard ad said, “Organs·and-bones duo cut up touches on a fly, rapid and melodic little melody in the ‘Nola’ tradition.”

 

My Blue Heaven
With Martin and Brown, the harmonica duo (with and guitar and steel guitar assistance).

 

Oh, You Beautiful Doll
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ.

 

Pepper Pickin’ Polka
With The Cavaliers and vocal by Tom, Dick and Harry. Written by Ted Goon and Jackson.

 

Professor Spoons
Ted plays Goon-Spoons on this recording with Barney Lantz on the organ, Harold Fisher on banjo and the Alexander Brothers. There is no other information about Goon-Spoons.

 

Put Your Arms Around Me Honey
Scott Miller of DryBones Music Company loaned us his copy of this promotional record.

 

Shanty Town
With Del Wood on piano plus unnamed organ player and banjo player.

 

Should I
With Barney Lantz on the organ.and unnamed banjo player that must be Fisher.

 

Smiles
With Barney Lantz on the organ and Harold Fisher on banjo.

 

Sweet Jennie Lee
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ.

 

Sweet Sue
With rhythm accompaniment

 

That’s the One for Me
With Barney Lantz on the organ.

 

The Sheik of Araby
With Ralph Ford on the Hammond organ. Ted’s first record that sold 400,000 copies when 200,000 was a hit. Ted describes the process of selecting it, “We picked two tunes that had been popular in the late ’20s, one of them ‘The Sheik of Araby’ and the other one was ‘Ain’t She Sweet’. They had been very popular, but had died out enough that they had become standards, and orchestras played them. Nobody had ever successfully, after all of these years, got a hit out of those two numbers. We thought that was an ideal thing to do, and we worked up an arrangement with rhythm and accents and the melody that required some 80 hours.”

 

Tiger Rag
With Barney Lantz on the organ. This is Ted’s last song with Mercury. He said he made this with future bones players in mind and challenged them/us to play it better than he did. A Billboard ad said, “The boys rag the Dixie oldie in lively fashion.”

 

Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
With Del Wood on piano. A Billboard ad said “Here’s a swingy version of the lively standard, in the bouncy tradition of Del Wood’s smash “Down Yonder” of a year ago. Her piano work ‘is ‘vibrant, and rhythmic accompaniment helps a lot. Could be a big one, and should grab juke loot.” She was a regular on the Grand Old Opry, and was one of the best country piano players. Their partnership began after she wrote Ted Goon a letter saying that the entire technique she had adopted in playing the piano was based on studying his records. Ted said, “Without any rehearsing, we met in a recording studio in Nashville and recorded two numbers She just played a few chords of her style and I just sensed what she was going to do. They also used a young guitar player who went on to be famous, but Ted couldn’t remember his name. This one sold 400,000 copies.

 

When You Wore a Tulip
With Barney Lantz on the organ.

 

You Were Meant for Me
With Martin and Brown, the harmonica duo (with steel guitar assistance).

 

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