Whenever it Warms Up...

Here's a little song for our much awaited summer weather from Ben Pollack and his Park Central Orchestra...go ahead, Mother Nature, commence with the sunshine!

I'm Gonna Let the Bumble Bee Be

Initially I chose I'm Gonna Let the Bumble Bee Be because it had nice, sort of summer-themed cover art. Then I found that the song had been recorded by Harry Reser's Six Jumping Jacks (a personal favorite) in 1926 and that the lyric features a mention of the month of May so I had to get it on the site before the 31^st! So here you have a nice, comic, jazz song of the 20's with ukulele accompaniment no less. 

I'm Gonna Let the Bumble Bee Be was written by the duo of Little Jack Little and Addy Britt, a pairing of tow prolific if somewhat mysterious talents. According to Wikipedia's tiny article, Jack Little was born in London, moving to the US as a child and growing up in Waterloo, Iowa. He took pre-med at the University of Iowa and played in and organized the university band while there. A much more comprehensive article on Jack can be found at The Vintage Bandstand. Addy Britt's name appears on numerous pieces, but my admittedly brief search of the web turned up nothing in terms of biographical information. 

The cover of Bumble Bee is impressive. Apparently a fellow's got good reason to let the bumblebees be, they're freaking seven feet tall! The lyrics are pretty simple: 

Took a stroll one day in the month of May,

Through the park I chanced to stray,

Saw a bumblebee buzzin' round a tree,

So I buzzed right away.

Now, a bumblebee buzzin' round a tree,

May appear to be a friend,

But review this song and you'll find you're wrong,

'Cause he'll get you in the end.  

I'm gonna let the bumblebee be,

I'm gonna let the bumblebee be,

A bumblebee will buzz,

But that ain't all he does!

And I ain't the fool that I used to was,

I'm gonna let the bumblebee be!