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Ol' Man Mose Is Banned |
In 1938, pianist Eddie Duchin took his orchestra into a recording studio and recorded the song Ol' Man Mose, previously composed and recorded in 1935 by Louis Armstrong. The words were sung by Patricia Norman. The recording went on to be a blockbuster, reaching number 2 in the Billboard charts, but on its release in the UK, it was banned.
Listen to Louis Armstrong's recording:
Various people have tried to find out who Mose might have been, but the general conclusion is that Louis made him up. On the other hand, someone points out that there was a 1930 Fleischer cartoon featuring a character who would become Betty Boop and also featuring 'Mysterious Mose' :
Now one time there lived an old man
With a very crooked nose
He lived inside a log hut
And they called him ol' man Mose
One dark and dreary morning I knocked upon his door
I didn't hear a single sound
So I ain't gonna do it no more.
'Cos I believe ol' man, I believe ol' man
I believe ol' man, that ol' man Mose is dead.
I believe ol' man, I believe ol' man
I believe ol' man, that ol' man Mose is dead.
Eddie Duchin and his Orchestra
Now listen here,
I went round to the window
And I peeped in through the crack,
Inside there was an old man
Laying flat upon his back
I thought that he was sleeping
Head hung to the floor
He didn't make a single move
So I ain't gonna do it no more
'Cos I found out ol' man, I found out ol' man
Yeah, I found out ol' man, ol' man Mose is dead
Mose kicked the bucket
(You found out) Mose kicked the bucket
(You found out) Mose kickin' up daisies
(You found out he's dead)
Old Man Mose is dead.
Eddie Duchin was born in Massachusetts in 1909. Initially, he trained and worked as a pharmacist before joining Leo Reisman's Orchestra at the elegant Central Park Casino in New York. He eventually took over leadership of the orchestra and became increasingly popular with regular radio broadcasts. He was one of the earliest pianists to lead a commercially successful large band. His popularity evolved with his move away from playing jazz to what has been called 'sweet' music.
Eddie died in 1951 from acute myelogenous leukemia at the young age of 41. In 1956, Columbia released a movie - The Eddie Duchin Story starring Tyrone Power as Duchin and with Carmen Cavallaro, who admired Duchin, dubbing the piano parts. Eddie's son has since challenged the accuracy of the film.
Here's the trailer for the film:
So why was Ol' Man Mose banned? The 'F' word. You know the word I mean - in August 2021The Independent newspaper reported that it had overtaken 'bloody' as the most popular swear word in the UK. The word had appeared in the novel Lady Chatterley's Lover first published privately in 1928, and a censored edition published in 1932, but then Penguin Books were prosecuted under The Obscene Publications Act. The prosecution failed but the full unexpurgated version of the book was not published until 1960. So in the 1930s, it is not surprising Eddie Duchin's recording of Ol' Man Mose caused a stir (and was subsequently responible for a large number of copies being sold!).
But was the word actually used in the recording? This was debated, but the general concensus is that it was, with the lyric "bucket" being heard as "**** it".
You can judge for yourselves .... listen to Eddie Duchin, Patricia Norman and Ol' Man Mose.
Patricia Norman
Other pages you might find of interest :
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