Somehow I can’t imagine having as much fun with “Slap Er Down Agin Paw”. Thanks for the post Doug… great insight into the 40’s and 50’s mindset for sure!

Cheers…

Gregory

Well, I’ve got my system at least partly upgraded, and I have this new gmail address through Google. Now, there should be NO MORE freezing up of this page!

Takes some getting used to, but it’s sure wonderful! Tech is very, very good!

– Jan

When I tried to PM Mr. Munsick with some questions, he never replied. In one of his posts, he provided an e-mail address for people to send him material for his book. I tried e-mailing him there, but it came back as “undeliverable”.

It seems that Mr. Munsick has disappeared off the earth. I’m am wondering if he is alive, anymore.

I did acquire a copy the bio written by Arthur J. Singer, and have read that one.

Arthur’s two sisters wrote a book in the 1960s called “Genius In the Family”. While it’s mainly about their mother, there’s a lot of insight in there about Arthur, as well.

Arthur could never quite bring himself to write his own autobiography. Attempts were made, but nothing came of them. It must be very hard to write about oneself — to try to be objective and totally truthful without losing one’s humanity in the process. And if too truthful, others can be hurt. There are a lot of moral factors to consider in writing an autobiography. Still, I wish he had done so.

– Jan

While Arthur recorded some songs written by others which are of questionable taste, he also wrote songs of his own. One is a very sweet and lovely love ballad called “Pale Potomac Moon”. While there’s no way to be certain, I have a strong hunch he wrote that for Mary, his second wife.

I recently found a CD album of his songs, and yes, Too Fat Polka and Slap ‘Er Down Again Paw are on it, but also some rather nice songs and nice renditions of songs. Most of the album consists of silly novelty pieces, but there are a few tender ones sensitively done, as well.

And Arthur cuts loose with a pretty thick Irish brogue in some of them — which he undoubtedly learned from his mother.

Definitely the style of another era, but a nice listeneing experience, nonetheless.

He wasn’t all just silliness and buffoonery in his musical endeavors. He joined ASCAP in 1956 as a legitimate songwriter in his own right, with at least two other original compositions in addition to the Virginia love song.

Multi-faceted, that one … The more I learn about him, the more I grow to respect and admire him, despite his very human shortcomings.

Just thought you all might find this interesting …

– Jan

I’m hoping to work up some more Godfrey-related posts. Do you know about the Godfrey forum? It’s at this link. A man named Lee Munsick has been working on a Godfrey biography. I don’t have an e-mail address for him, but a few years ago he gave his street address as 804 Piney Ridge Road, RR 1 Box 134B, Pamplin VA 23958-9465.

It was amazing what the technician found when he came out here! No wonder things haven’t been working well! So, now we need a memorial tribute to a tower that is about to see its last days on my desk, but has served me well for several years.

I’m excitedly looking forward to leaving the stone age of cyber technology and entering the 21st century, at last!

Wish me well, please … (Did I say “brief”?)

– Jan

Yes, there are many inspiring and admirable qualities about the Old Redhead that have given me good cause to respect and admire him in spite of mistakes he might have made or fallibilities he might have had (from which no human being is exempt).

Arthur was very generous and helped a lot of people, starting with his own mother and siblings, and many of his friends and others who needed help at the time.

He raised and bred prize Arabian horses on his Virginia farm, and learned the art of dressage. He attended and participated in many horse shows that were fund-raising events for numerous charities he supported. Arthur was a soft touch when it came to helping out charities. He also contributed money to hospitals and donated land for a new airstrip located not quite so close in to the town of Leesburg, so that peoples’ dishes wouldn’t rattle and they wouldn’t be so disturbed by the noise and vibration of his DC-3 whenever he came in to land.

In short, Arthur could be and often was very considerate.

He had a temper and could be mercurial, but he was just as quick to apologize after blowing up at someone as he had been in blowing up at them to begin with.

We need to consider, also, that Arthur was in constant pain from his old car accident injuries, and that pain grew worse and more excruciating as time went on. He eventually had to have a hip replaced so he could unlock his right knee.

The trouble with how we respond to celebrities, even today, is that we tend to idolize them — to make gods out of them — and they really are just people, like us.

It’s just unfortunate that Arthur never wrote his autobiography, although in 1999 a biography of him was written by Arthur J. Singer and published by McFarland and Co. A copy of it may still be available on Amazon.com.

And yes, you’re right. It’s that sense of personal connection that inspires poetry, art, songs and other creative expression.

Thanks again for this discussion forum.

– Jan

You’re just so gosh-darned nice yet insistent, Jan, that I now feel a re-examination ol’ Arthur is in order. Godfrey liked doing funny voices, and I’ve always enjoyed funny voices. His old ukulele routines are also of interest.

Before delving more into the life and work of Jo Stafford, I would have said that Helen Forrest was my favorite of the Big Band singers. But now, Jo is tops in my book.

Thanks again for offering this forum of discussion, and for being so open and respectful of differing viewpoints. I enjoy this forum for precisely that reason.

I just wish my current computer technology would be more cooperative.

– Jan

Jan, I must say that although I don’t share your enjoyment of Arthur Godfrey, I certainly understand it. (Anybody else here like K3? No? Shucks.) I wish Cactus Lizzie would chime in, because she also liked Godrey, and she’s my age, so she saw the same man that I did, but got a different impression. I am impressed by how you so firmly, yet very nicely, have asserted your appreciation of Arthur Godfrey.

Your poem is particularly interesting, because it’s the sort of thing that’s normally reserved for someone of Elvis’ stature. I guess for myself Godfrey is an instance where I can’t separate the man from his work, and as a boss he was a tough egg, to be sure, and not at all the friendly, easy-going type he presented to his audience.

Yes, it works. And thank you very much.

WHEW!!! That is SOME SONG!!! Pretty funny, though I think I like “Too Fat Polka” a little better. Probably the German in me that likes polkas, anyway. My mouth was wide open the whole time I was listening! Arthur, you rascal! Tee-hee-hee!

I can see where, if someone were to take that one too seriously, they might find it shocking. The trick with novelty songs is to remember they are novelties — meant to be silly, and most of them range in silliness anywhere from very clever to downright stupid. Where this one is along that scale I haven’t quite decided, yet. I think it’s more toward the stupid end, and was fully intended to be so. A great tension-reliever if ever there was one!

On my Dr. Demento album, there is a song that is very similar, which Arthur doesn’t do and I currently don’t recall who does it, called, “I’m Looking Over My Dead Dog, Rover”, and it’s sung to the tune of “I’m Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover”. Animal rights people could easily be offended by that one, IF they are lacking a sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoy it, and I love singing it around certain fanatics I know of, just to annoy the heck out of them!

Thanks again for enabling me to hear that.

– Jan

Thanks for trying. I’ll just hunt around for a CD or tape of Arthur’s songs, and maybe that one will be on it. I’ve seen a few online, but I am very hesitant to shop online, as I don’t think the internet is secure enough. If they give a telephone number, I might call and place an order.

Then, too, I can search back over my folks’ entire collection of 78s (which I’ve inherited), and see if it is among them. Then I just need to find a working turntable (these days???), so I can dub them off onto a cassette.

Finding a CD would probably be a lot simpler.

By the way, people interested in ordering Arthur Godfrey songs need to be aware that there are TWO Arthur Godfreys. Our original Arthur from the 1950s, of course, and a modern day rock singer who also uses that name (it might really be his legal name, who knows?). One needs to read the labels very carefully and note the dates. I know of one person who has already been misled by this.

Anyway, thanks — Jan

I have found that there seems to be some confusion or disagreement over Arthur’s middle name. Some articles have him listed as “Arthur Morton Godfrey”, others as “Arthur Michael Godfrey”. One even has him as “Arthur Morton Leo Godfrey”, and not because he was born in August, either. He wasn’t a Leo, but a Virgo.

He named his youngest son (by Mary Bourke Godfrey) “Arthur Michael Godfrey, Jr.”, but later the couple agreed to have their son’s name legally changed to simply “Michael Godfrey”, because they both realized that having the exact same name as his famous father could cause considerable problems for him in school, etc. Especially after his Dad’s reputation in some people’s eyes became more infamous than famous.

His iniitally naming his son “Arthur Michael Godfrey, Jr.” indicates that his own middle name had to be “Michael”, as well. On the otherhand, his mother’s maiden name was Morton, so Arthur could have gotten that one, as well.

I’m curious as to what the real story is, there, and what his middle name (or names) actually was/were.

And by the way, Arthur, himself, even though he had his own Dad’s first name and surname, wasn’t a “Jr.” in the technical sense, because his Dad’s middle name was “Hanley”, and he didn’t give that one to Arthur.

Yes, there are a lot of fascinating articles and stories out there about this dynamic individual who perhaps isn’t as “forgotten” as everyone thinks he is, including himself when he was here.

As for the poem — that just flowed out of me very spontaneously, as they all do. I know Arthur loved flying, and that last “trip” on March 16, 1983 took him farther than ever before, and to a place more beautiful and wonderous than any of us here can ever hope to dream about!

I’ve written poetry throughout much of my life, and it seems to be a natural gift. I love sharing it, as gifts like that should never be left in the closet!

Thanks for your kind words and the information.

– Jan

That day in March, as Spring was new,
you made a flight in Heaven’s plane —
and, oh, the view you must have seen! —
beyond the clouds, beyond the stars,
beyond all things known to us
who live confined by gravity!
That day in March, you flew anew —
freed from all your earthly bonds!

No licenses were needed, then — no rules
of flight, no maps or charts. You turned
your face into the light and left behind
your battered bones and choking lung,
and found a freedom new and true —
A blessedness you found that day
unlike any you had known!

And all those hours and days you’d lived
froze themselves in history,
as you glided gracefully
along that runway out of time.
Bless you, Arthur — for now you rest
within the arms of Love, itself —
Eternal Love Personified!
As you touched down in His sweet breast,
your final vector brought you home.

Copyright 2008 by Jan Renfrow