K-K-K-Katy

Last updated
"K-K-K-Katy"
K-K-K-Katy Cover.jpg
Sheet music cover
Song
Songwriter(s) Geoffrey O'Hara

"K-K-K-Katy" is a World War I-era song written by Canadian American composer Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors", as well as "The Sensational New Stammering Song" [1] The song was first played at a garden party fund-raiser for the Red Cross in Collins Bay on Lake Ontario. O'Hara was from Chatham, Ontario, and taught music at several universities.

Contents

The lyrics tell of a brave but stuttering soldier called Jimmy who is lovesick over the beautiful Katy. He buys a wedding ring before going to fight in France. The inspiration for the "Katy" of the song was Katherine Craig Richardson of Kingston, Ontario. She was a friend of O'Hara's sister, and her parents recall O'Hara writing the song in their living room. [2]

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
K-K-K-Katy
Performed by Billy Murray recorded in 1918
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Chorus

K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy
You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore
When the M-M-M-Moon shines over the c-c-c-cowshed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door.

Early performances and commercial success

"K-K-K-Katy" was a top 20 song from May 1918 to January 1919 and was number 1 from July to September. [3] It was recorded by Billy Murray on March 8, 1918 and released on Victor 18455.[ citation needed ] Eugene Buckley also recorded a version of the song. [3] The sheet music was heavily reprinted. [3] A version titled "K-K-K-Klanswoman," with altered lyrics, was published in a "Song Book For Women of the Ku Klux Klan," c.1924. [4] [5] In the late 60s, Mad Magazine had a version called "ca-ca-ca-cooties". A Second World War official Army song book had a song "K-k-k-K.P."

The song made a comeback during World War II, when songs from World War I became popular at military training camps. "K-K-K-Katy" was one of many songs brought to the front by officers who had heard this song while on leave in England. Older songs such as "K-K-K-Katy" were often preferred over modern songs. [6]

The song was covered by Mel Blanc in his Porky Pig voice in 1949, with some vocalists backing him. The song can be heard on the compilation album Mel Blanc: The Man of 1000 Voices 2007.[ citation needed ] Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album Join Bing and Sing Along (1959)

Later performances and parodies

The song was the basis of a parody which ridiculed the Ku Klux Klan, [7] a white supremacist organization in the United States often referred to by its acronym, KKK.

Additionally, the political-humor group Capitol Steps performed a parody of this song entitled "K-K-Kuwaitis", about the 1990 invasion of Kuwait which began the Gulf War. The song was released on their 1990 album Sheik, Rattle & Roll! [8]

The "Yriekay" movement of P.D.Q. Bach's Missa Hilarious includes a section with the text "K-K-K-Kyrie eleison", in reference to this song. [9]

Bradford Dillman's character in The Way We Were heckles Barbra Streisand's character, Young Communist League member Katie Morosky, with "K-K-K-Katie, be my K-K-K-Comrade" in a pre-World War II campus peace rally during the 1973 film.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey O'Hara</span> Canadian American composer, singer and music professor

Geoffrey O'Hara was a Canadian American composer, singer and music professor.

Fred Fisher was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Pan Alley</span> Collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City

Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan; a plaque on the sidewalk on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth commemorates it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lew Brown</span> Musical artist and Great American Songbook lyricist

Lew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, especially Albert Von Tilzer. Brown was one third of a successful songwriting and music publishing team with Buddy DeSylva and Ray Henderson from 1925 until 1931. Brown also wrote or co-wrote many Broadway shows and Hollywood films. Among his most-popular songs are "Button Up Your Overcoat", "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries", "That Old Feeling", and "The Birth of the Blues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore F. Morse</span> American songwriter (1873–1924)

Theodore F. Morse was an American composer of popular songs.

"At Mail Call Today" is a song written by American country music artist Gene Autry and Fred Rose. The two had a successful song writing partnership dating back to 1941, including "Be Honest With Me", "Tweedle-O-Twill" and "Tears On My Pillow". Rose, with Roy Acuff, founded Acuff-Rose Music Publishing in 1942, and in 1947, would go on to producing Hank Williams. Autry, after a brief lull in film making due to WWII, would be back to his pre-war output by 1946.

The music of World War I is the music which was composed during the war or which is associated with the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Bye Broadway, Hello France</span> Song

Good-Bye Broadway, Hello France is a 1917 song composed by Billy Baskette, with lyrics written by C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis. The song was published by Leo Feist, Inc.

"A Soldier Speaks" is a song from 1944, with music and lyrics by Peter DeRose, and published by Robbins Music Corp.

"We're Going Over the Top" is a World War I song written by Andrew B. Sterling, Bernie Grossman, and Arthur Lange. It was published in 1917 by Joe Morris Music Co., in New York, NY. The sheet music cover, designed by Starmer, illustrates a battlefield scene with a tank moving over the top of a trench and soldiers inside the trench getting out of the way of the tank. Behind the tank soldiers march up the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dream of a Soldier Boy</span> Song

"The Dream of a Soldier Boy" is a World War I song written by Al Dubin and composed by James V. Monaco. It was published in 1917 by Witmark & Sons in New York City. The sheet music cover depicts a photo of a soldier embracing his mother while a proud father and others look on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Some Lonesome Night</span> Song

Some Lonesome Night is a song by George W. Meyer with lyrics by Grant Clarke and George Whiting. It was published in 1918 by Leo Feist Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanee Shore</span> Song

Swanee Shore: is a song composed by Sidney D. Mitchell, Arthur Fields and Irving Kaufman in 1919 and published by Leo Feist Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Ain't Got Weary Yet!</span> 1918 song written by Howard Johnson and composed by Percy Wenrich

"I Ain't Got Weary Yet!" is a World War I song written by Howard Johnson and composed by Percy Wenrich. It was published in 1918 by Leo Feist Inc., in New York City. The sheet music cover depicts Americans overtaking Germans while a plane flies overhead. Three vignettes depict soldiers digging, a soldier holding his bride, and a nurse tending to a wounded soldier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Sorry I Made You Cry</span>

"I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" is a World War I song written and composed by N.J. Clesi. It was published in 1918 by Leo Feist, Inc. in New York, NY. The sheet music cover depicts a soldier embracing a woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny's in Town</span> Song

Johnny's in Town is a World War I song written by Jack Yellen and composed by George W. Meyer & Abe Olman. This song was published in 1919 by Leo. Feist, Inc., in New York, NY. The sheet music cover, illustrated by Rosenbaum Studios, depicts a cartoon soldier winking with women in the background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother, Here's Your Boy!</span> Song

"Mother, Here's Your Boy!" is a World War I song written and composed by Sidney D. Mitchell, Archie Gottler, and Theodore Morse. This song was published in 1918 by Leo. Feist, Inc., in New York, NY. The sheet music cover depicts Uncle Sam presenting a returning soldier to his mother with the Statue of Liberty and ships in the background.

"Goodbye Mama (I'm off to Yokohama)" is a World War II song written and composed by J. Fred Coots. The wartime song was first published in 1941 by Chappell and Co. in New York, NY. The song has a march-tempo, 4/4 meter with some syncopated rhythm. The tune is cheery and akin to a Boy Scout hiking song.

Salvation Lassie Of Mine is a World War I song written by Jack Caddigan and Chick Story. The song was first published in 1919 by Leo Feist, Inc. in New York, NY. The sheet music cover features a photo of a Salvation Army nurse with soldiers entering a Salvation Army hut. This song was in the top 20 charts in March and April 1919, reaching number 18 in April.

We'll Knock The Heligo—Into Heligo—Out Of Heligoland! is a World War I song written by John J. O'Brian and composed by Theodore Morse. The song was first published in 1917 by Leo Feist Inc., in New York, NY. The sheet music cover depicts a terrified Kaiser standing on a cliff with a city below and United States soldiers rushing toward him.

References

  1. ↑ Pelger, Martin (2014). Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War. New York: Osprey Publishing. p. 277. ISBN   978-1-4728-0415-0.
  2. ↑ Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael (2006). America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. New York: Routledge. pp. 20–21. ISBN   978-0-415-97246-8.
  3. 1 2 3 Paas, John Roger 2014. America Sings of War: American Sheet Music from World War I. Harrassowitz Verlag. pg 218, ISBN   978-3-447-10278-0#
  4. ↑ Song Book for Women of the Ku Klux Klan (Incorporated). Pittsburg, Pennsylvania: MacVay Printing Co. c. 1924. p. 21.
  5. ↑ O. Crew, Danny (2003). Ku Klux Klan Sheet Music: An Illustrated Catalogue of Published Music, 1867-2002. Jefferson, North Carolina: MacFarland & Company, Inc. p. 145.
  6. ↑ Smith, Kathleen E. R. (2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. p. 99. ISBN   0-8131-2256-2.
  7. ↑ Who Killed Jimmy Dammit? (Lulu, 2011), pg. 58
  8. ↑ Capitol Steps (Comedy troupe). Sheik, Rattle & Roll! Alexandria, VA: Capitol Steps Productions, 1990. OCLC   24499263
  9. ↑ Crutchfield, Will (December 30, 1984). "Music: P.D.Q. Bach, With Peter Schickele". New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.