Strip Polka
"Strip Polka" is a 1942 novelty song with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.[1] The music incorporates a polka beat; the lyrics are about Queenie, a burlesque performer who longs to quit her job and retire to life on a farm.[2][3]
Its use in the film Navy Blues (1941) was prevented as a result of Joseph Breen's memo to Jack Warner regarding the low moral tone of the lyrics.[4][5][6]
The first recording of "Strip Polka", which featured the vocals of Mercer, Phil Silvers, and Margaret Whiting, with piano by Jimmy Van Heusen, and an arrangement by Paul Weston, was a significant early hit (charting at #7) for Capitol Records, selling more than a million copies.[7][8][9][4]
The recording by The Andrews Sisters came in at #2 on Variety's list of bestselling songs despite censors only allowing the song to play on the radio for nine or ten weeks.[3] A version by Alvino Rey was popular.[10]
The song was popular with U.S. troops during World War II.[11]
A partial version of the song can be heard in the first Private Snafu cartoon, sung by Mel Blanc
Recordings
[edit | edit source]- Johnny Mercer with Phil Silvers, Margaret Whiting, and Jimmy Van Heusen (Capitol, 1942)[4][12]
- Kay Kyser with vocals by Jack Martin (Columbia, 1942; Capitol, 1962)[13][6][14]
- The Andrews Sisters (Decca, 1942)[15][6]
- Alvino Rey with vocals by The Four King Sisters (Bluebird, 1942)[6][16]
In other media
[edit | edit source]- Elke Sommer on The Dean Martin Show in 1969.[17]
- In Faces (1968)[18]
- Island at War episode "Unusual Successes"
References
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