Jack Smith sings \"Poor Papa (He's Got Nothin' At All).\"
Recorded on February 19, 1926, in New York City and issued on Victor 19998.
Song by Billy Rose and Harry Woods.
\"Now don't get married, don't get married,\" said my
friend McBride. \"If you take a wife, you're out
of luck for life.\" He had all his little sons and
daughters by his side like Happy Hooligan--
sixteen kids! They all lined up and cried,
\"Momma's got shoes, Momma's got clothes
Momma's got these and Momma's those, but
poor Papa, poor Papa! He's got nothing at all!\"
Momma goes here; Momma goes there.
Momma goes out to every affair, but poor Papa,
poor Papa--he waits out in the hall.
Now Christmas comes, and Momma gets the most
expensive frocks. Papa gets a necktie and a pair of
ten cent socks. Everyone cheers when Momma
appears, and she's got diamonds stuck in her ears,
but poor Papa, poor Papa--he's got nothing at all.
And Mama eats ham, Mama eats lamb
Mama eats bread with strawberry jam
And poor Papa, poor Papa, he eats nothin' at all
Mama says \"Oh!\", Mama says \"Ah!\"
Mama says \"Boo!\" and Mama says \"Bah!\"
But poor Papa, poor Papa, he says nothin' at all
Papa bought a limousine
And the most expensive kind
Now he wears a chaffeur's suit, hah-hah
And Mama rides behind
Mama's got silk, satin beneath
She's got gold in all of her teeth
But poor Papa, poor Papa, he's got no teeth at all
I enjoy the recordings of Whispering Jack Smith--the haunting quality of his voice in sentimental tunes, the humor he conveys in comic songs, his choice of material during a Golden Age of songwriting, the tasteful accompaniments to his voice (he often provides his own piano accompaniment, and his playing is deft).
The crooner's first discs were marketed in late 1925, \"The Whispering Baritone\" enjoying popularity from that time until 1929 or so. His records sold well for four years, but sales declined dramatically with the Depression's onset.
Born with the name Jacob Schmidt (probably on May 30, 1896), the singer made a legal change to Jack Smith around the time anti-German sentiment ran high.
With the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, Smith was a victim of a gas attack at the battle of Saint-Mihiel, or so it has been claimed--a book by Brian Rust says it, so people repeat it, but no primary source is cited. Can someone find a Jack Smith interview in which he says this?
Some record collectors today make the tiresome claim that the whispering quality of Smith's crooning is a result of this gas attack, but I view the softness and half-talking as Smith's singing style--and he chose this style, making innovative use of new microphone technology. Smith sings in a regular way on plenty of records, not \"whispering\" at all.
Smith being forced to croon as a result of a gas attack may be a show-biz myth (promoted by Smith himself?). Blaming Germans makes for good publicity. I view softness and half-talking as Smith's singing style though he sings in a full voice on many records, and his voice also filled theaters.
Only on a few discs does he actually whisper, such as on \"Playground in the Sky.\" On many records he uses a half-talking, half-singing approach--not whispering.
Radio was a source of regular work for Jack Smith for decades. He started on radio as a piano accompanist, but at a WMCA studio, his partner (a singer) failed to appear. Smith's solo career was launched on that day!
Smith was also a Tin Pan Alley \"song plugger,\" giving private performances of new songs to vocalists who might want to adopt those songs (the way he entered show business after he left the military?). He was a song plugger for the Irving Berlin Music Company.
His discs were among the earliest made with an electric recording process, a microphone used. His first recording session was on August 28, 1925, but Victor issued nothing from this trial session.
Smith made wonderful recordings abroad in 1928.
Kemp in retirement recalled that Smith's alcoholism destroyed the crooner's career by 1931. One sign of a decline in the career is that by 1931 Smith cut titles for Plaza, a company that issued budget labels. Jack Smith had fallen from the prestigious Victor label, ending up on the dime-store Banner label. He recorded for Decca in 1940 in a failed comeback attempt.
He died in New York City on May 13, 1950, out of the limelight for two decades though he continued to work in radio, even hosting a radio show in the mid-1930s. He continued to play in nightclubs (or roadside restaurants, such as the Woodlawn in Madison, Connecticut), not presented as any kind of star or legend--he sang and played piano to audiences unaware of his earlier fame.
Obituaries published in 1950 state that Smith, survived by wife Marie, is buried next to his mother Anna Schmidt at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx in an unmarked grave.
Jack Smith, Whispering Baritone, \"Poor Papa (He's Got Nothin' At All)\" Victor 19998 (1926) LYRICS
