Jun

25

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

June 25, 2008 |

He’s almost entirely forgotten in spite of the fact that his song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, or some variation of it, can usually be heard at least once a day in commercials or even on the radio. Allan Sherman’s tune, apparently inspired by his own son’s real hatred of summer camp, has outlived and outgrown the funny, odd-voiced, and, sadly, short-lived man who created it. Born in 1924, Sherman worked as a producer, mostly behind the scenes, and mostly unsuccessfully, before experiencing a short burst of popularity with his first album My Son The Folk Singer, in 1962, which included the minor hit Sarah Jackman (a phone dialogue sung to the tune of Frere Jacques). Well, maybe it wasn’t really that minor, since reportedly President Kennedy was once heard strolling through a lobby quietly singing, “Sarah Jackman, Sarah Jackman, how’s by you?” Then came My Son The Celebrity and the more appropriately titled My Son The Nut, which included Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.

In spite of some wonderfully funny songs Sherman went into a rapid decline. Among other things, I think, was his tin ear when it came to musical tastes. He had impeccable pitch when it came to comedy, and even wrote the liner notes for Bill Cosby’s first album, saying, “Bill Cosby, if I am any judge of talent…will grow every day in stature and importance on the American comedy scene.” Sherman himself wasn’t so lucky. Unlike George Carlin, Sherman misjudged the rising youth culture. Songs like Pop Hates The Beatles and The Rebel probably didn’t win him any fans, but only helped establish him as a counter-counter-culture figure. These songs are included on his hits album My Son The Greatest, but they’re not as funny as some of the others, like the dazzlingly funny poke at advertising Chim Chim Cheree and the anthem of the revolting French peasants, You Went The Wrong Way Old King Louie. Sherman may also have been a victim of his own niceness. Lenny Bruce made being Jewish hip; Sherman couldn’t have gotten away with putting songs like Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max and The Streets of Miami on a nationally released album ten years earlier. Unlike Bruce, though, there wasn’t a mean or even sarcastic line anywhere in Sherman’s work. In the troubled Sixties people were turning to the comedy of people like Mort Sahl, and even comedy singers like The Smothers Brothers were politically conscious. Steve Allen, who spoke at Allan Sherman’s funeral in 1973, called him a genius, but, unfortunately, he was a genius at doing only one thing–writing funny songs–and it wasn’t enough to sustain a career.

In spite of that Sherman is remembered for one extremely funny song, which, I hope, parents still share with their kids when they’re sending them off to summer camp.


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