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THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

HARRY WARREN

“WHERE DO YOU WORK-A, JOHN?”

In 1925 Warner Brothers acquired Vitagraph and its patents. One of them was Vitaphone, a method for adding sound to film by playing a 78rpm shellac disk synchronized to the film. This video is a Warner Brothers Vitaphone short. As part of the acquisition, Warner Brothers also gained the services of Harry Warren, and this would be the key to his future success.

Politically incorrect ethnic songs were a staple, and only a man from Brooklyn of Italian descent could write this. It was Harry’s only work with lyricists Mort Weinberg and Charlie Marks. Catch the quote from the 1846 Italian tune “Finiculi Finicula.”

This is very early Fred Waring from 1927 before his band took a more conventional approach. Fred finished his career in the 1950s running a camp for music teachers in the summer in the Poconos. Billy Costello, the drummer and vocalist in the recording, later went to work for Walter Lantz to become the voice of Popeye.

This was a favorite of Dr. Barrett Hansen, Ph.D., a.k.a. Dr. Demento.

Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians: “Where Do You Work-a, John?”