JUST a Gigolo? A Walk Through History With the 20th Century's Most Pop-Friendly War Ballad

In this music history episode of "Strong Reception," I am joined by two special guests as we dive into the rich history of the song "Just a Gigolo" and its unlikely sibling tune, "I Ain't Got Nobody."

Fellow music nerd Philip Emeott and I walk through the surprisingly complex journey "Just a Gigolo" took from the dance halls of 1920s Vienna to the airwaves of 1980s MTV. We get into some of the greatest unsung tracks recorded in the 20th century, as well as some of the most cringeworthy. Later in the show, bestselling author Tom Clavin and I do a deep dive into Louis Prima’s landmark 1956 version of the song. We discuss how the sound and style of that recording represented a true innovation for its time. Tom and I also talk about the underappreciated talents of two of Prima's key musical partners: his wife and fellow vocalist Keely Smith, and his arranger and sax player Sam Butera.

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Welcome to Strong Reception with Eli James. This podcast covers a whole host of subjects, ranging from election reform in New York City to the history of cover songs. It's for the civic-minded, the historically curious and those who love exclaiming, "I didn't know that!" Hear a range of great interviews with those who know their stuff, and those who are trying to change stuff.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• No. of episodes: 15
• Latest episode: 2023-08-05
• Music News Music History Politics

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