[Publius]

THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

HARRY WARREN

“NAGASAKI”

Mort Dixon teamed up with Harry for this 1928 hit. The recording is somewhat mislabeled. The band was Leonard Joy’s, not Nat Shilkret’s, and vocalist Frank Crumit got no attention on the label at all. Nonsense lyrics were popular in the 1920s due to the fact that the people who could sing them accurately were drunk at the time. There is still a tuba backing the bass line, and this recording gives you a taste of what a 1920s dance band sounded like.

Leonard Joy: “Nagasaki”

[Fiji Hill]

Mort Dixon teamed up with Harry for this 1928 hit. The recording is somewhat mislabeled. The band was Leonard Joy’s, not Nat Shilkret’s, and vocalist Frank Crumit got no attention on the label at all.

My favorite version of "Nagasaki." I had always thought that it was by Nat Shilkret, who put out a lot of fine music.

[left that other site]

LOL...quote from “The Mikado” in that one (Miya Sama).

I’m thinking that this particular number wasn’t very popular a few years later in 1945.