Comments on: GUY MITCHELL – ‘She Wears Red Feathers’

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:51:25 +0000

He ended up shooting himself so you’re right there.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:43:18 +0000

Oh DJP, you curmudgeon. But you have company…

http://www.slate.com/id/2898/

I’ve just discovered that Bob Merrill not only wrote She Wears Red Feathers and Feet Up, but also Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d've Baked A Cake - so chirpy he makes Alma Cogan seem like Myra Hindley (hasn’t someone already trodden this road?). The poor man was doomed.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:44:54 +0000

To give it its full title, “Feet Up (Pat Him On The Po Po).” Let’s not even go there, kids.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Sun, 25 May 2008 09:45:24 +0000

“From nine to three they serve us tea” - it’s amazing Bob Merill didn’t die of tannin poisoning long before 1988. But I suppose there’s always the chance She Wears Red Feathers isn’t autobigraphical. His bride’s coconut and fish diet sounds rather modern.

I’ve always loved this music hall exotica, and like intothefire I must know it from Junior Choice as it’s one of those super-catchy tunes that’s been stuck in my head for as long as I can remember. And I’d consider having kids just to give me an excuse to sing Guy Mitchell’s Feet Up (no.2, stuck behind Al Martino the year before). Really I would.

By: intothefireuk

intothefireuk — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:07:47 +0000

I recognize this, probably from Ed Stewpot’s Junior Choice. It always sounded like it should be from South Pacific or something like that though I don’t really get the Arabian style intro. Guy’s cheerful delivery & smooth easy style vocal keeps the whole thing afloat and despite some dodgy ‘comedy’ lyrics it manages to just steer clear of the dreaded novelty record tag.

By: B.J.

B.J. — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:47:27 +0000

She wears Red Feathers ..was written by Bob Merill…in 1952…
Bob was an American and died in feb1988,as he shot himself

By: rosie

rosie — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 13:14:28 +0000

Marcello, Tom’s about turn wasn’t in the Haloscan comments, it’s in his review of Rock-a-billy so it’s still there.

I do remember this from before Scandal - I must do because it was familiar when I first saw that film. What surprises me is that it came so early, I thought it was from much later in the 1950s. Maybe that’s because I’m conflating it in my head with Running Bear although that song doesn’t have the tongue-in-cheek-twinkle-in-the-eye aspect that is almost the outrageous ‘political incorrectness’ of Viz in its prime. Hey, I like this song and I like just about everything else I’ve heard of Guy Mitchell’s since as he put such joie-de-vivre into everything he did, it seems.

Who wrote this song? Was it a British writer by any chance?

By: Doctor Mod

Doctor Mod — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:18:03 +0000

Within and without the context of Scandal, another thing that strikes me as curious is that this is an American singer posing as a British colonizer. (No, I don’t want to open up the political correctness bag.)

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:48:09 +0000

Oh bless you Tom - tell the cabal I accept!

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:45:58 +0000

I did the about turn later I think Marcello, but I certainly did it - I don’t really know how to account for this spasm of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD.

By the way if you want a DJ slot on the 10th I have consulted the shadowy Poptimism cabal and it’s yours.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:03:27 +0000

Bailey’s Glide Watch as well, which I see has nothing to do with improv guitar technique.

By: pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør

pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:59:30 +0000

yes but now we get “jurassic duck” in related FT comments! the wordpress algorithm has a (rather conformist) sense of humour!

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:38:41 +0000

This is why I regret losing the old Haloscan comments since I distinctly remember Tom doing an about-turn over Our Guy in the course of this particular discussion.

By: Doctor Mod

Doctor Mod — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:45:42 +0000

Had it not been for the film Scandal, I’d probably never have heard this song. (Which, in and of itself, wouldn’t be a bad thing.) It’s the musical accompaniment to the scene in which Christine Keeler is discovered by her, um, handlers as she does an “exotic” dance routine in a night club.

Interesting that this song should be used to symbolize Tory decadence c.1960.