GFS stands for: one of Geoff's Favorite Songs

*Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong?)*

Playlist (12 versions - 1954-1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch_videos?video_ids=ijLEcsW9jDg,0CFJtmSwwEI,-gRyjipJc7o,TpGsmUoyuIg,m95c1n86K80,P4ts5RNCjWw,cBdA2Z48078,Fcxxs4mzGlA,xWKgmrz3GV0,MjcJknLx8xc,jbmKqI1Dmww,R4fGxcuKfgs,
(apologies for sound volume sometimes varying from track to track)

1. Eartha Kitt with Henri RenΘ's Orchestra And Chorus [RCA 5610] - Jan
1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijLEcsW9jDg

2. Georgia Gibbs [Mercury 70298] - Jan 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFJtmSwwEI

3. Ella Fitzgerald [Decca 29008;b-side] - Feb 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gRyjipJc7o

4. Edmundo Ros [UK Decca F.10263] - Feb 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpGsmUoyuIg

5. Sylvia Sims, The Carillons & The Larry Clinton Orchestra [Bell
1032] - Mar 1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m95c1n86K80

6. The Beverley Sisters with Wally Stott AHO [UK Philips P.B.257] -
Apr 1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ts5RNCjWw

7. Marion Williams [UK Columbia D.B. 3451] - 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdA2Z48078

8. Svend Asmussen - Sweden 1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcxxs4mzGlA

9. The Mellomen - 1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWKgmrz3GV0

10. Olga Lee - Argentina, 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjcJknLx8xc

11. Caterina Valente and Silvio Francesco [Germany EP Polydor 21 516]
- 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbmKqI1Dmww
lyrics end with "Somebody Good Found De Wedding Bell"

12. Chubby Checker [LP Parkway 'Limbo Party'] - 1962 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4fGxcuKfgs
many amusing additions to the standard lyrics

Morey Amsterdam [UK MGM SP-1086] - Apr 1954
*not found*

Flo Harper with Enoch Light AHO [Prom 1073;b-side;Newark NJ] - 1954
*not found*

George Browne [UK Parlophone CMSP 17] - 1954
*not found*

Les Welch [AU Festival 327] - 1954
*not found*
===================================

LYRICS as sung by Eartha Kitt:

Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Now, nobody can get married

Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Somebody know but nobody tell
Cause somebody bad stole de wedding bell

We got sarsaparilla soda on the ice
We got shoes and rice and free advice
We got a bridal suite in Honeymoon Hotel
But what good is that without a wedding bell

Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Now, nobody can get married

Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Somebody know but nobody tell
Cause somebody bad stole de wedding bell

All day the people look at the steeple
But they don't see the bell

We got very fine detective, Sherlock Jones
And he's sure to question every man
So in the marketplace where people buy and sell
He's sure to arrest the one who sells the bell

Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell

Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Somebody know but nobody tell
Cause somebody bad stole de wedding bell

We got solos by the island singing band
We got lots of sun and lots of sand
We got lover's moon we got a wishing well
And oh how I wish we had a wedding bell

Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Somebody bad stole de wedding bell
Now, nobody can get married

Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Who's got the ding dong who's got the bell
Somebody know but nobody tell
Cause somebody bad stole de wedding bell

==========================================

OVERALL MEANING of the song:

In Eartha Kitt's song 'Somebody Bad Stole The Wedding Bell,' the
lyrics paint a picture of a town that has all the fixings for a
wedding celebration, except for one crucial element - the wedding
bell. The bell is stolen by an unknown culprit, leaving the
townspeople in a state of panic as they cannot properly celebrate
their weddings without it. Throughout the song, the singer asks who
has the bell, but no one seems to know or is willing to speak up.

The song sets the stage for a lighthearted and comical storyline, as
it highlights the trivial nature of the bell in the grand scheme of
things. However, it also shows that oftentimes it's the little things,
like a wedding bell, that can bring people together and make a
celebration complete. It's a reminder to appreciate and not take for
granted the small details that make life special.

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On Sun, 1 Dec 2024 13:05:06 +0000, RWC wrote:

GFS stands for: one of Geoff's Favorite Songs

*Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong?)*

Here's one you missed

The Bobbettes - Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (1963) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EXBWImDSYw

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On Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:05:06 -0500, RWC <geoff@opbox.com> wrote:

GFS stands for: one of Geoff's Favorite Songs

*Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong?)*

I've just realized that "GFS", if spoken as one word,
sounds like "Geoff's" if said with a strong Kiwi accent
(eg, they pronounce "eggs" as "eegs")

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On Sun, 1 Dec 2024 16:10:36 +0000, mariabus@blueyonder.co.uk (Roger)
wrote:

On Sun, 1 Dec 2024 13:05:06 +0000, RWC wrote:

GFS stands for: one of Geoff's Favorite Songs

*Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong?)*

Here's one you missed

The Bobbettes - Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (1963) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EXBWImDSYw

I really don't enjoy that version :)

For this song, the vintage 1954 sound is so much better.

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On 12/1/2024 8:05 AM, RWC wrote:

7. Marion Williams [UK Columbia D.B. 3451] - 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdA2Z48078

----------
I couldn't believe the powerful-voiced gospel singer recorded this
light-pop tune, so I checked it out. Clearly a different Marion
Williams! This one's a somewhat lilting soprano.

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On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 1:08:40 +0000, DianeE wrote:

On 12/1/2024 8:05 AM, RWC wrote:

7. Marion Williams [UK Columbia D.B. 3451] - 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdA2Z48078

----------
I couldn't believe the powerful-voiced gospel singer recorded this
light-pop tune, so I checked it out. Clearly a different Marion
Williams! This one's a somewhat lilting soprano.

Yep,the UK Marion Williams was born in London in 1931. She was part
black having a Nigerian father and an Irish mother. She recorded for
Columbia here in the 50's but later worked for the UK Woolworths own
Embassy label that put out cheapo singles with covers of current Top 20
hits on each side. She died in 2014.

Here she covers Connie Francis in 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szZ9wFpI5o

And here's a fairly detailed piece on her

https://www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk/JazzRemembered/MarionWilliams.html

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On 12/3/2024 1:21 AM, Roger wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 1:08:40 +0000, DianeE wrote:

On 12/1/2024 8:05 AM, RWC wrote:

;
7. Marion Williams [UK Columbia D.B. 3451] - 1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdA2Z48078
;

----------
I couldn't believe the powerful-voiced gospel singer recorded this
light-pop tune, so I checked it out.  Clearly a different Marion
Williams!  This one's a somewhat lilting soprano.

Yep,the UK Marion Williams was born in London in 1931. She was part
black having a Nigerian father and an Irish mother. She recorded for
Columbia here in the 50's but later worked for the UK Woolworths own
Embassy label that put out cheapo singles with covers of current Top 20
hits on each side. She died in 2014.

Here she covers Connie Francis in 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szZ9wFpI5o

And here's a fairly detailed piece on her

https://www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk/JazzRemembered/MarionWilliams.html

--------------
Thanks for posting that; very interesting article.

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On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 6:21:34 +0000, Roger wrote:

Here she covers Connie Francis in 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szZ9wFpI5o

Video unavailable
This video is not available

--

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On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 18:55:09 +0000, Bruce wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 6:21:34 +0000, Roger wrote:

Here she covers Connie Francis in 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szZ9wFpI5o

Video unavailable
This video is not available

You're not missing much

Its just a second rate cover of Connie's irritating "Vacation" hit from
1962

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On Thu, 5 Dec 2024 16:37:39 +0000, Roger wrote:

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 18:55:09 +0000, Bruce wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 6:21:34 +0000, Roger wrote:

Here she covers Connie Francis in 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szZ9wFpI5o

Video unavailable
This video is not available

You're not missing much

Its just a second rate cover of Connie's irritating "Vacation" hit from
1962

I don't consider it irritating, although she certainly has SOME
irritating records.

--

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