Thursday, August 19, 2010

Lil' Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs



Lil' Red Riding Hood

So, for the past several days, a week or more actually, I've had an annoying earworm going through my head.  It's Lil' Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.  Today I looked it up in my music collection and was shocked, really, really shocked actually that I didn't have it in my library.  I even have a fairy tale music playlist which I must discuss someday.  So I had to download this one.  And while I was there, I also downloaded a more modern, rockier version by Bowling for Soup. Why have one when you can have two versions on rotation in your head?

Li'l Red Riding Hood

This song has always been in my life--it used to play on the oldies stations my parents frequented--and I always liked it even before I connected it with Little Red Riding Hood.  Not that it is hard to connect, but I didn't consider it like that when I was a wee one. 

And thanks to the magic of YouTube, you can also see a "music video" of the song featuring Betty Boop. And, no, the two didn't go together originally. The Betty Boop footage is from "Dizzy Red Riding Hood" (1931).



And while we're here, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs loved their fairy tales for they also recorded The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin.  It was a follow-up attempt to get another hit.  It's fun, but not nearly as great as Riding Hood.




And, yes, you're welcome for the earworm.  If it helps, I've also been tortured by this one of late, too: Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag by Minnutes.  Love it, oldie lover that I am...but I love the new modern twist on it, too.

2 comments:

  1. My favorite version of that song is by the a capella group The Bobs, featuring a more sultry, deep voiced lead (with light-hearted background vocals by the rest of the group). You can hear a clip on LastFM.

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  2. Ooh, I really hate that song....An annoying earworm it definitely is. One fairy tale reference song I do like is "Hey, Cinderella" by Suzy Bogguss. I guess you could call it a song for women who have realized that fairy tale/ideal love doesn't always square with reality. She sings about "we believed in fairy tales in that day..." "Still we walk in that fabled shadow; sometimes we call her name.." Then the chorus:

    "Hey, Cinderella! What's the story all about? I got a funny feeling we missed a page or two somehow. Oh, Cinderella...Maybe you could help us out. Does the shoe fit you now?"

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