Another episode in the ongoing derision of the accordion, from Everybody Loves Raymond.
Ray throws a bachelor party for his brother, Robert, at the lodge. Even though it's supposed to be a second, improved party, it's pretty lame. The banner is printed with the wrong name, there is no booze and no strippers, and of course... includes an accordion player.
I have no idea if the director knew that he was making the scene look extra stupid or not. Notice that the player's right thumb is held behind the accordion case. This is not how an accordion is played... so it's obvious that the music was faked.
This book, Broadway Favorites, arranged for accordion by Kenny Kotwitz has some great classic songs in it, but the arrangements are surprisingly difficult to play.
Contents:
Climb Ev'ry Mountain (Sound of Music)
Don't Cry for Me Argentina (Evita)
Getting to Know You (The King and I)
I Whistle a Happy Tune (The King and I)
If I Were a Rich Man (Fiddler on the Roof)
Matchmaker (Fiddler on the Roof)
It Might As Well Be Spring (State Fair)
Mr. Wonderful (Mr. Wonderful)
No Other Love (Me and Juliet)
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (Oklahoma)
People Will Say We're in Love (Oklahoma)
The Sweetest Sounds (No Strings)
We Kiss In a Shadow (The King and I)
At first glance this appears to be a book of arrangements of average difficulty. In practice, many of the left hand bass solo notes involve jumps that are out of the range of dexterity for the average player. The right-hand melody lines are fine, so it is probably worth having this book just for the tunes it contains, but be prepared to do a bit of alteration on the left hand to make it easier to play.
That said, it's sort of a mystery. The band, Little Feat, doesn't seem to use an accordion. They are a rock band, begun in the 1970s under Lowell George and resurrected under keyboard artist Bill Payne after George's death.
It appears that the album cover (1973) was inspired by some words from the song by Bill Payne "Cajun Girl:"
Fingers that fly on accordion keys
and later...
Might find me a dream, just West of New Orleans
If you pole up the bayou St. John
The way twin fiddles play
And she squeezes her box until dawn
But that song is not found on this album. Any comments with more info would be welcome.
A drummer, sick of all the drummer jokes, decides to change his instrument. After some thought, he decides on the accordion. So he goes to the music store and says to the owner, "I'd like to look at the accordions, please."
The owner gestures to a shelf in the corner and says "All our accordions are over there."
After browsing, the drummer says, "I think I'd like the big silver one in the corner."
The store owner looks at him and says, "You're a drummer, aren't you?"
The drummer, crestfallen, says, "How did you know?"
The store owner says, "That `big silver accordion' is the radiator."
Here are the Hobo Nickels playing at Herman's Hidaway at Fat Tuesday Party in Denver, CO February 5, 2008. They are playing "Weaubleau Well," and were opening for Doug Kershaw.
The genre is sometimes called reggaebilly. This song appears on the Hobo Nickels album called Cooper County. The songs describe sights around fictional Cooper County. Kid's Music that Rocks says "One of the catchiest and funniest is "The Weaubleau Well," which hilariously describes what can be found at the bottom of said well." Other songs include: "The Kearney Barn," "The Picket Fence in Pilot Knob," and "The Excelsior Springs Water Tower."
American pop music to the contrary, the accordion is a very popular instrument in many cultures. The above was recorded at a Slovenian gathering near Cleveland, Ohio, on January 23. Frank Moravcik and his band are playing Waltz of Love, written in 1965 by Stan Blout. Waltz of Love was voted 2009 "Greatest All-Time Hit Song" at the XXII Polkas International Award Show in Cleveland, Ohio.
