I’m looking for songs about newspapers and/or the newspaper trade. I’ll take any and all suggestions, but the older the better – preferably the vo-dee-oh-doh kind. You know, like [Come away with me, Lucille, in] My Merry Oldsmobile.
Got any ideas?
“The Girl I Love (the girl I love)
Is on a Magazine Cover…”
I think that’s Irving Berlin, and pops up in the movie Easter Parade.
“…something something,
On The Pink Police Gazette”
dunno where, but I saw it in a movie years ago. Of course the Police Gazette (erstwhile version of COPS) is long gone so nobody might get it.
In Jule Styne’s Gypsy they sing
“Extra! Extra! Hey look at the headlines
Historical news is being made!
EXtra! Extra!They’re drawing the Red lines
Around the biggest scoop of the decade!”
Sorry mate, that’s as much as I can manage.
Redboss
This is really more of a polling thing, so I’ll shoot it over to IMHO.
Would “Laughin’ at the Funnies” do? It’s from the mid-20s and mentions names of various comic-strip characters. It’s the only one I can think of offhand, but I’d suggest hitting http://www.tinfoil.com and the links therein, and doing a word-search for titles.
Once again by Irving Berlin: The song Easter Parade has a line “The photographer with snap us…and you’ll find yourself on the rotavaguer” (which was a photo section of the newspaper).
This one was from a play starring George M. Cohen about FDR in the late 30s called I’d Rather Be Right-has a piece about being interviewed by newspaper men.
There was that awful Disney movie musical about 15 (20?) years ago…Newsies.
I seem to remember an old, old song called “Gentlemen of the Press”. I’m trying to run it down.
TV
Here’s a link to the Bluegrass song Jimmie Brown the Newsboy By Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, IIRC recorded in the early fifties. I wish I knew how to do that cool “hidden link thing”
The musical Chicago features a newspaper man or three and I think there are songs relating (They will be a little raunchy, however)although it’s been a while since I saw it so I could be wrong but I seem to recall something…
The one I was thinking about from I’d Rather Be Right was “Off the Record” by Richard Rogers (I think).
Also Frank Sinatra plays a reporter in High Society but I don’t think there are any songs about the profession.
On NPR in New York, there is a show about the media hosted by Alan Shartok. The theme song is by Pete Seeger, and I think the title is “Newspapermen are Such Interesing People”. It’s folk-y, and old timey sounding.
Could check on the NPR website for WAMC in Albany, NY.
a) Dr Hook sings “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone…!”
b) Centerfold - J. Geils Band
c) And, I think Diana Ross sang something about “Extra! Extra!” but different from a previous post (above).
d) How about phones? “Hotline, hotline…” - by The Silvers or Silver Convention, I think (mid-1970s)
I’ll think of more, I’m sure!
Oldies Junkie,
- Jinx
Probably not old enough, but a personal fave:
“Sunday Paper” - Joe Jackson
ahh, hell. All the old stuff I know is jazz and doesn’t have any lyrics.