I assume you've read my Mel Tormé story. If not, go do it and then come back here. I'll wait.
Okay then. Last year around this time, I dined with a friend of mine at the Lawry's on "Restaurant Row" (i.e., La Cienega Blvd.) here in Los Angeles. Along with the usual unmatched Prime Rib, they had Christmas decorations to the max and a strolling quartet of young people in Victorian dress, wandering about and singing holiday tunes, a cappella. They went table to table taking requests.
Before we requested a carol, my dining companion requested that I tell them the Mel Tormé tale. I did and then we asked for and enjoyed their rendition of "The Christmas Song," the tune that was the focus of my oft-linked anecdote. They sang it very well, we tipped and off they went.
Last Tuesday evening, a different friend and I were in the same Lawry's in what I think may have been the same booth. That night, they had two teams of minstrels working the room. The one that strolled to our table consisted of two men and two women with the women each carrying a four-inch thick three-ring binder crammed full of lyric sheets. Their leader asked what we'd like to hear and I asked him, "What's the silliest song in your repertoire?"
They had a brief discussion and he told us, "There are two. One is 'Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey' and the other is 'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.'" I chose the latter and he said, "Okay, but they ask us to sing it quickly and get it over with." The two ladies quickly thumbed to the appropriate page in their binders and then the four of them performed a brilliantly-arranged version of that tune. Absolutely wonderful.
I have been unable to find an online version of anyone singing that same arrangement but here's Gayla Peevey who was ten years old when she recorded this hit record in 1953. She lip-syncs it here for some TV show of the day and then that's followed by a video of her singing it live last year at the age of 73…
Neat, huh? Yes, but I still wish I could show you what those four singers did with it last Tuesday evening at Lawry's.
Everyone around us applauded mightily. I thanked them and tipped them and then they moved to the next table where the folks there said, "We'd like to hear that Italian Donkey song!" The quartet obligingly launched into that and it was pretty good, too. I can't link to anything like their version but here's Lou Monte, who used to record funny songs with an Italian flavor, with his semi-hit version of "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey." Not as good as the hippo tune but still appropriate for the season. And by the way, the Prime Rib at Lawry's was great. It always is.
