The Fireside Book, Part 2: The Songs -- Garbo

 Last week, we began a new series on the songbook The Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs.This week we've got YouTube videos of some of the old songs in the collection.

"Glow Worm" is a song I first knew from "The Saxophone," the episode of "I Love Lucy," in which Lucy dresses up as a hep cat (a bit like Cab Calloway) and plays the famous tune on a saxophone. 

 

My favorite version of "Glow Worm" is by The Mills Brothers. 

 

This arrangement of "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?" sounds like it ought to be coming out of a floor-model radio. 

 

This next version of "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?" is closer to the earliest recordings. The tribute version is by the same group who gave us "Winchester Cathedral."

The Smothers Brothers do their send-up of "The Streets of Laredo":

Tex Ritter provides the serious singing-cowboy version of "Laredo."

 

Bessie Smith gives us "St. Louis Blues" at seventy-eight revolutions per minute.  

 

Comedic version of an English folk song: 

 

 

A more traditional version, using the same time used in the songbook, "It's the Same the Whole World Over."

 

 

 

And to finish up today's post, here's Leadbelly with "Midnight Special":

Next week: A look at a couple of the interesting and influential people who brought out the Fireside songbook in 1950.