Bobby Troup was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from The Hill School, a preparatory school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1937. He went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ) fraternity and the Mask and Wig Club.
His earliest musical success came with the song "Daddy" which was a regional hit in 1941. Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra recorded "Daddy", which was number one for 8 weeks on the Billboard Best Seller chart and the number five record of 1941. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra performed "Daddy" on their radio broadcasts, and The Andrews Sisters also recorded the song. In the same year, Troup's song "Snootie Little Cutie" was recorded by Frank Sinatra and Connie Haines with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Pied Pipers.
Upon graduating from college in 1941 he enlisted in the US Marines, but did not receive orders until January 1942. After completing officer training, he was assigned as one of two dozen white officers to direct recruit training at Montford Point, recruit depot for the first African-American Marines. By spring of 1943 he became recreation officer, in which capacity he was able to spearhead improvements to the facilities at Montford, including building a recreation hall, basketball court, and outdoor boxing ring. He was even able to get a friend to install a miniature golf course. During this time he composed the song "Take Me Away From Jacksonville" which was to become an anthem of sorts for the Marines at Montford Point, even extending to other areas of Camp Lejeune. By numerous accounts Troup was the most popular officer among the Montford recruits. In October 1944 he was promoted to Captain, given command of a depot company, and eventually deployed to Saipan where he served to the end of the war.
Bobby Troup's first marriage was to Cynthia Hare. They were married in May 1942 and had two daughters, Cynnie Troup (b. 1943) and Ronne Troup (b. 1945), both of whom had careers in the entertainment industry.
In 1946, Nat King Cole had a hit with Troup's best known song "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66". It became a popular standard recorded by many artists, including Chuck Berry (1961) and The Rolling Stones (1964). In 1987, Depeche Mode combined the tune with their own composition, "Behind the Wheel", released it as the B-side of "Behind the Wheel" and it became a radio hit on KROQ 106.7 FM in Los Angeles. In 2006, "Route 66" was featured in the animated movie Cars, and the movie RV with Robin Williams.
Troup met his second wife, torch singer Julie London, at the Celebrity Room, where he was singing. It was Troup who encouraged London to pursue her singing career, and in 1955 he produced her million selling hit record "Cry Me a River". London, previously married to actor Jack Webb (1947 to 1953), married Troup in 1959. They remained married until Troup's death in 1999.
Troup's own recordings in the 1950s and 1960s were not commercially successful. He made recordings for Liberty Records and Capitol Records, many with musicians from the West Coast jazz scene.
Troup also wrote the title song (sung by Little Richard) in the classic 1950s rock and roll movie The Girl Can't Help It. An instrumental rendition of his song "The Meaning of the Blues" appeared on the landmark Miles Davis album, Miles Ahead. Troup's hipster interpretation of the fairy tale "The Three Bears" is often erroneously credited to "anonymous" and re-titled "Three Bears Rap", "Three Bears with a Beat", etc. This song was first recorded by the Page Cavanaugh Trio and later by Western Swing bandleader Leon McAuliffe.
Circa 1969 Troup collaborated with entertainer Tommy Leonetti, penning the lyrics for Leonetti's song "My City of Sydney". Leonetti's original recording was used for many years in the close-down sequence for TV station ATN-7 in Sydney, and was also covered by Sydney punk band XL Capris.
In February 1999, Troup died at UCLA Medical Center of a massive heart attack; he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. His wife, Julie London died the following year, and her cremated remains were placed in the columbarium (Columbarium of Providence) niche, next to his.
In the mid-1950s, Troup was one of three regular panelists (along with Mel Blanc and Johnny Mercer) in the game show Musical Chairs, a Bill Leyden-hosted quiz program that aired locally on Los Angeles television for two years before NBC broadcast it in the summer of 1955. On the program, the viewing audience was encouraged to submit questions about music in an effort to stump the panel. The Troup Group provided much of the music in the game show. He also served as host of the ABC show Stars of Jazz featuring various jazz luminaries, particularly those working in Hollywood.
While he relied on songwriting royalties, Troup also worked as an actor, playing musician Tommy Dorsey in the film The Gene Krupa Story (1959). He played himself in the short-lived NBC television series Acapulco. Troup made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, and on two appearances, "The Case of the Jaded Joker" in 1959 and "The Case of the Missing Melody" in 1961, he showed his musical talents. In 1969 and 1970, he appeared as "Bobby" in two episodes of Mannix, where he was a lounge piano player who helped Mannix unravel cases. He again appeared as a piano player in a cameo on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries in 1978.
In Robert Altman's 1970 film M*A*S*H he had a memorable cameo as a disgruntled staff sergeant assigned to driving Hawkeye and Trapper John around in Japan. (His only line of dialogue is a repeated exasperation, "Goddamn army!") In 1972, Jack Webb, who had previously used Troup in a 1967 episode of the television series Dragnet, cast him opposite Julie London in the US TV series Emergency!. Emergency! was created by Webb, who had recently starred in a revival of Dragnet and was producing NBC's popular Adam-12. London and Troup had remained on cordial terms with Webb, who had used Troup (and his daughter Ronne) in episodes of Adam-12 as well as the revived Dragnet. On Emergency! Troup played Dr. Joe Early, one of the two emergency room doctors featured on the series, while London played head nurse Dixie McCall.
Do-Re-Mi
Bobby Troup Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leaving home most every day
Beating the hot old dusty way
To the California line
'Cross the desert sands they roll
Getting out of that Old Dust Bowl
Think they're coming to a sugar bowl
But here's what they find
You're number fourteen thousand for to day
Hey, if you ain't got the Do Re Mi, boy
If you ain't got the Do Re Mi
Well, you better go back to beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
California is the garden of Eden
It's a paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not
You won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the Do Re Mi
You want to buy a home or a farm
That can't do nobody harm
Take your vacation by the mountains or sea
Don't swap your old cow for a car
You better stay right where you are
Better take this little tip from me
Well, I look through the want ads every day
The headlines in the papers always say
Bobby Troup's song Do-Re-Mi laments the struggles of those who migrate to California in search of a better life during the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression. He narrates the story of how many people travel from various parts of America with the hope of resettling and living a comfortable life in California. However, they are met with disappointment as they are greeted by authorities who tell them that they are not the only ones with that plan. People who move to California without money or any precious possessions often find themselves in a desperate situation as they realise that life is not as comfortable as they thought it would be.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of having money in California. Troup uses the metaphorical phrase 'Do-Re-Mi' as a euphemism for money. He suggests that if you don't have enough money, then you won't last long in California. Troup acknowledges that California is a beautiful place, encapsulating it as 'the garden of Eden,' but warns that the cost of living is incredibly high. The song advises listeners to remain content wherever they are and not to trade their possessions or livelihoods for something new in a place that can be harsh for those without financial stability.
Line by Line Meaning
Lots of folks back east they say
There are many people from the eastern United States who claim
Leaving home most every day
They leave their homes on a daily basis
Beating the hot old dusty way
Traveling along dusty, hot roads
To the California line
Heading towards the border of California
'Cross the desert sands they roll
They pass through the desert on their journey
Getting out of that Old Dust Bowl
They are escaping the area affected by the Dust Bowl.
Think they're coming to a sugar bowl
They believe that they are going to a place of luxury and abundance.
But here's what they find
However, they discover something different when they arrive.
Police at the port of entry say
The immigration officers at the border inform
You're number fourteen thousand for to day
That they are the 14,000th group to arrive that day
Hey, if you ain't got the Do Re Mi, boy
If you do not have any money,
If you ain't got the Do Re Mi
If you do not have the funds to sustain yourself,
Well, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
You should return to the states you left, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, or Tennessee
California is the garden of Eden
California is a paradise,
It's a paradise to live in or see
It is an ideal place to either settle down or visit,
But believe it or not
However,
You won't find it so hot
You will not find it as appealing,
If you ain't got the Do Re Mi
If you don't have money to support yourself.
You want to buy a home or a farm
If you want to purchase property,
That can't do nobody harm
That won't cause any harm to you or others,
Take your vacation by the mountains or sea
If you want to go on vacation, go to the mountains or the sea
Don't swap your old cow for a car
Do not trade a practical possession, such as a cow, for a luxurious one, such as a car,
You better stay right where you are
You should stay where you are,
Better take this little tip from me
Take this advice from me,
Well, I look through the want ads every day
I read the classified ads in newspapers regularly
The headlines in the papers always say
The headlines in the news always announce,
Lyrics © MUSIC ASSET MANAGEMENT (MAM)
Written by: EARL KING JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind