How can you pass up a film with a title like this? At least I can't. One
of my many weaknesses. A part of me loves these old 1950 films that have
a slight framework of a plot but throw in a lot of music. In cases like this
they are recordings of musical groups long forgotten and likely even obscure
back then. No doubt you remember The Goofers. No? Five Italian guys who sing,
dance, make jokes and occasionally play their instruments hanging upside
down from a trapeze swing or on pogo sticks. Or in this case sing from coffins.
They do two numbers and are fantabulous. Or the Titans, a vocal R&B group
singing sweet harmonies. They only lasted for a couple of years but sound
great. At least you remember The Mary Kaye Trio. No? A brother and sister
from Hawaii and a friend playing music and joking about. They are credited
with founding the Las Vegas lounge phenomenon in 1954. Not exactly sure what
that is but they sing two songs and are great fun. Mary also plays guitar
and has a Stratocaster named after her. Finally there is Lord Flea but we
will get to him later.
The gist of the plot is that an academic (Bobby Troup in his best Jack Webb
voice) has measured the popularity of music through a machine that records
applause and has concluded that rock & roll is on its way out and Calypso
will be the next big thing. Troup wrote the great song Get Your Kicks on
Route 66. He was right of course which is why we all wake up singing Day-O
every morning. I can't even remember what rock & roll sounds like. He
tries to convince a rock and roll singer at the local club to give up that
type of music and sing Calypso. She is very reluctant but after seeing Lord
Flea at another club she gives in. Lord Flea was from Jamaica and toured
through the states with his band popularizing Calypso. He sings two numbers
and accompanies the white girl on one song. It takes a white girl to really
do Calypso of course. She is played by Judy Tyler who after this starred
with Elvis in Jailhouse Rock and then tragically died in a car accident.
Calypso was really a thing in the states in the late 1950s to the early 60s.
My dad had Belafonte's record Calypso from 1956. I think everyone did. It
was hip and cool. But unfortunately he did not have Robert Mitchum's Calypso
. . . Is Like So from 1957. Mamie Van Doren does a Calypso song in Untamed
Youth. Like a lot of foreign musical incursions it had its day and went away
but Calypso definitely influenced Reggae and from that Ska. The history of
Calypso is pretty interesting. Like a lot of black music it initially was
protest music in the Caribbean before it morphed into more commercial music
- especially that which was played in the USA. Up on Youtube.
