About a girl

When I was a child, and the house was more-or-less empty, my Dad would sometimes wander off to the piano and play a few tunes from his old fakebook. He'd always start out a bit tentatively, playing half-remembered chords and melodies, then, gradually gaining confidence and comfort, pick up steam, and get into jazz age standards like "Ain't She Sweet", and "Personality". It was a lot of fun, and the song I most enjoyed was "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" Here is a 1925 performance by Art Landry, in full band mode, and a ukelele version from Arthur Fields a year later.

The lyrics are terrific. Like "Heart Full of Soul" two generations later, "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" is a dramatic monologue in which the narrator reflects on a missing lover. But the earlier song is cheerier and more optimistic. Although the facts as presented suggest otherwise, the speaker is confident that when he finds her, she'll still be his. If he's right, he's a lucky man - the brief lyrics evoke a woman as real as any conjured by Shakespeare, and a hot one at that:

Five foot two, eyes of blue,
oh, what those five feet could do:
has anybody seen my gal?

Turned-up nose, turned-down hose
Flapper? Yes sir, one of those
Has anybody seen my gal?

Well, if you run into a five-foot-two
covered with furs,
Diamond rings, all those things,
Bet your life it isn't her

But could she love, could she coo!
Cootchie-cootchie-cootchie coo!
Has anybody seen my gal?

The song survived the Depression and even World War II. Bing Crosby gave it a Dixieland treatment. Guy Lombardo turned it into a state funeral. Dean Martin, as was his wont, made it swing effortlessly.

Some of the most interesting post-War performances were by less-famous artists. Merrill Moore, a critical link between western swing and rockabilly, recorded a beautifully balanced boogie-woogie rendition, and did a nice job on the vocals as well.

(I'd recommend that anyone go listen to some Merrill Moore tunes - there are much worse ways to spend 15 minutes. Jerry Lee Lewis said he'd never heard of Moore...well, judge for yourself.)

[Update: found one from the 60s! link]

But the song sits most comfortably in the 1920's, and in the musical vernacular of that time:

• The Melody Sheiks
• Jane Grey
• Gene Austin (superb)

The tune still elicits images of those days, of the flirty girl no one could keep up with, flitting from club to club and sipping champagne with a Slovenian prince before getting bored and going to a dancehall with a gang of friends.

My favorite version is Aunt Vi's: