The Goon Show music
The Goon Show used a lot of music...
Series: 1
Series: 2
Series: 3
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Series: 4
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Note
- ^ Booklet 2 that comes with Compendium 14 states that the song "It Had to Be You" is written by "John Lindsay". This is incorrect, as the song is written by the team of Isham Jones and Gus Kahn[1]
Series: 5
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Notes
- ^ In the sleeve notes for this music track in Booklet 2 of Compendium Vol 2 the first credit for I Don't Know Why is given as 'Fred E Albert' rather than the correct Fred Ahlert.[2]
- ^ In the CD notes in Compendium Vol 2 this song name is given as 'Ko Ko Ko' rather than the correct 'Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)'[3]
Series: 6
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Playouts
The usual playout for series six is Crazy Rhythm in C, whereas in the fifth series it was played in F. Enterprise attacks the band for a few weeks in this series; the playout of 6/3 is Oh, Lady Be Good! that of 6/4 is A Gal in Calico from the 1946 film The Time, The Place and The Girl and in 6/5, the playout is On The Sunny Side Of The Street. Where the original playout exists it was been used (in Compendium 3). Where it does not, is in poor quality, incomplete or obscured by TS announcements, Kendall reconstructed complete versions using what could be salvaged from available material.
Snatches of ancient dance music appear in several shows - these are from HMV B 1588, recorded by Jack Hylton and his Band in 1923. Usually, Just Like A Thief is used, but in The International Christmas Pudding, when Seagoon threatens to form a new show band, the other side, Greenwich Witch, is played.
Note
- ^ Because of the seasonal nature of the Quartet number, on the Transcription Reissue this was replaced by ABC Boogie (Max Spickol/Al Russell) taken from The Whistling Spy Enigma or The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (solved).[4]
Series: 7
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Sigs and Playouts
Throughout this series, the signature tune is Ray Ellington's Lucky Strike. This tune, with its solo opportunities for some of the crack session men in the band, including E.O. Pogson (reeds), George Chisholm (trombone) Judd Proctor (guitar) and Dick Katz (piano), was sometimes long enough to run the programme to length on its own. The playout, when required, was Stompin' at the Savoy, a jazz standard. Where the original signature tune and/or playout exist, they have been used. Where passages are missing or obscured by announcements or technical faults, complete versions have been reconstructed using the available material.[5]
Series: 8
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Sigs and playouts
For the first four shows, the signature tune is Ray Ellington's Lucky Strike, but the fifth show introduces Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead, a Harold Arlen number from the film The Wizard of Oz. These tunes, with their solo opportunities for some of the crack session men in the band, including E.O. Pogson (reeds), George Chisholm (trombone) Judd Proctor (guitar) and Dick Katz (piano), were frequently long enough to run the programme to length on its own. Crazy Rhythm appears as playout in the third show. The fourteenth show introduces another tune which would endure to the end of the Goon Shows run, the march Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden), written around the turn of the century by Karl Teike. Where the original signature tune and/or playout exist, they have been used. Where passages are missing or obscured by announcements or technical faults, complete versions have been reconstructed using the available material.[7]
Series: Vintage Goons
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
| Episode # | Show | Artist | Song(s) | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Mummified Priest | Max Geldray | It Had to Be You | Isham Jones (music) Gus Kahn (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Little Darlin' | Maurice Williams | ||
| 2 | The Greatest Mountain in the World | Max Geldray | 'Deed I Do | Walter Hirsh (music) Fred Rose (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Run Joe | Louis Jordan | ||
| 3 | The Missing Ten Downing Street | Max Geldray | 'S Wonderful | George Gershwin (music) Ira Gershwin (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Lover Come Back to Me | Sigmund Romberg Oscar Hammerstein II | ||
| 4 | The Giant Bombardon | Max Geldray | Crazy Rhythm | Joseph Meyer (music) Roger Wolfe Kahn (music) Irving Caesar (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Cuban Carnival | Pete Rugolo | ||
| 5 | The Kippered Herring Gang | Max Geldray | C Jam Blues | Duke Ellington |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Blues in G | Ray Ellington | ||
| 6 | The Vanishing Room | Max Geldray | One, Two, Button Your Shoe | Johnny Burke (lyrics) Arthur Johnston (music) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Will You Still Be Mine? | Tom Adair (music) Matt Dennis (lyrics) | ||
| 7 | The Ink Shortage | Max Geldray | The Duke's Joke | Alan Clare |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Fascinatin' Thing | Harry A. Edgington | ||
| 8 | The Mustard and Cress Shortage | Max Geldray | Just for a Thrill | Lil Harding Armstrong (music) Don Raye (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Stomp, Look and Listen | Duke Ellington | ||
| 9 | The Internal Mountain | Max Geldray | Mountain Greenery | Richard Rodgers (music) Lorenz Hart (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Buona Sera | Carl Sigman (lyrics) Peter de Rose (music) | ||
| 10 | The Silent Bugler | Max Geldray | I Kiss Your Hand, Madame | Ralph Irwin Samuel M Lewis Fritz Rotter |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | I'm Beginning to See the Light | Don George Johnny Hodges Duke Ellington Harry James | ||
| 11 | The Great Bank of England Robbery | Max Geldray | Once in Love with Amy | Frank Loesser |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | It's All Right with Me | Cole Porter | ||
| 12 | The Dreaded Piano Clubber | Max Geldray | I Can't Give You Anything but Love | Jimmy McHugh (music) Dorothy Fields (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | Mambo With Me | Tito Puente | ||
| 13 | The Siege of Fort Night | Max Geldray | Makin' Whoopee | Walter Donaldson (music) Gus Kahn (lyrics) |
| The Ray Ellington Quartet | I Only Have Eyes for You | Harry Warren Al Dublin | ||
| 14 | The Albert Memorial | The Ray Ellington Quartet | Lady Mac | Duke Ellington |
| Max Geldray | You're Driving Me Crazy | Walter Donaldson |
Sigs and playouts
For most of this series, the signature tune is Ray Ellington's Lucky Strike. This tune, with its solo opportunities for some of the crack session men in the band, including E.O. Pogson (reeds), George Chisholm (trombone) Judd Proctor (guitar) and Dick Katz (piano), was sometimes long enough to run the programme to length on its own, as was Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead, a Harold Arlen number from the film The Wizard of Oz, which was used in VG/11 and for much of the second half of the parallel domestic series. Carl Teike's Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden) and Vincent Youmans' I Want to Be Happy also serve, and appear again in the next series.
Playout duties are shared between Stompin' at the Savoy, a jazz standard, and another Ray Ellington original, Stomp, Look, Listen, with Crazy Rhythm in C appearing once and I'm Beginning to See the Light twice. Where the original signature tune and/or playout exist, they have been used. Where passages are missing or obscured by announcements or technical faults, complete versions have been reconstructed using the available material.[8]
Series: 9
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
Playouts
By this time, the usual closing sig was either Harold Arlen's Ding, Dong, The Witch is Dead, from the film The Wizard of Oz, or Karl Teike"s Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden), and frequently both. Vincent Youmans' I Want To Be Happy also appears here and there, as does the old favourite, Crazy Rhythm. The jazz standard There Will Never Be Another You, by Harry Warren, turns up for the only time as playout on The Gold Plate Robbery.
Series: 10
Throughout the series The BBC Dance Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott. Additionally, Stott wrote most of the incidental orchestral music for the shows.
| Episode # | Show | Artist | Song | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Christmas Carol | Max Geldray | Jingle Bells | traditional; arranged by Wally Stott |
| Ray Ellington | The Beast in Me | Robert Gould Dolores Claman | ||
| 2 | The Tale of Men's Shirts | Max Geldray | Night Bird | Max Geldray |
| Ray Ellington | I Want a Little Girl | Murray Mencher Billy Moll | ||
| 3 | The Chinese Legs | Max Geldray | Chinatown | Jean Schwartz William Jerome |
| Ray Ellington | Sunday | Ned Miller Chester Conn Benny Krueger Jule Styne | ||
| 4 | Robin's Post | Max Geldray | Bye Bye Blackbird | Ray Henderson Mort Dixon |
| Ray Ellington | 'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) |
Melvin Oliver James Young | ||
| 5 | The Silver Dubloons | Max Geldray | Love Walked In | George Gershwin Ira Gershwin |
| Ray Ellington | This Can't Be Love | Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart | ||
| 6 | The Last Smoking Seagoon | Max Geldray | What More Do You Want? | Joan Whitney Alex Kramer Hy Zaret |
| Ray Ellington | Too Marvelous for Words | Richard Whiting Johnny Mercer |
Note
Song titles and songwriting credit names given are as per BBC documentation, even if they're wrong. Any links to these credits are to the correct names. All song title links and songwriting credit links lead to Wikipedia as they are out of the scope of this website.
References
- ^ "It Had to Be You (song)". Retrieved 2022-10-09.
- ^ Fred Ahlert music credit mistake.
- ^ Incorrect song title - Ko Ko Mo.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2009). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 3 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4084-1044-8.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2012). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 6 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 11. ISBN 978-1408-468548.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2012). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 7 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4458-9133-0.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2012). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 7 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4458-9133-0.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2017). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 9 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 10. ISBN 9781471331619.
