Dick Jacobs is primarily remembered now as an A&R man who helped Jackie Wil… Read Full Bio ↴Dick Jacobs is primarily remembered now as an A&R man who helped Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, and others bridge the gap between pop music and rock-and-roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but in between his other work, he created a few items of special interest to space age pop fans.

Jacobs spent most of his life working in the heart of the recording business in New York City. After graduating from New York University, he worked for Bregman, Vocco and Conn, a music publishing company. He served in the Army during World War II, then returned to the city and spent several years working as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey. While working for Dorsey became friends with Sy Oliver, another Dorsey arranger, and the pair eventually decided to form a partnership and pursue freelance arranging. Jacobs and Oliver were able to stay very busy with a steady stream of jobs working with numerous vocalists recording for New York studios. In addition, Jacobs was hired as musical director for the television series, "Your Hit Parade." He cleaned out most of the studio orchestra members and replaced them with his own choices, including such stalwarts as Dick Hyman, Don Lamond, Al Caiola, and Jerome Richardson. One of the first to use an integrated orchestra on television, he made sure the producers didn't try to "shoot around" the black players.

He joined Coral Records in 1953 as a recording manager and produced a number of the label's biggest acts, including the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. He also recorded under his own name, mostly light instrumentals, and had a minor hit with his cover of the theme from the movie, "Kathy-O." He eventually began to work for Coral's mother label, Decca, and its other main subsidiary, Brunswick, as producer, arranger, musical director, and, less frequently, performer.

Jacobs was one of the first significant members of the mainstream pop music business to take rock seriously, and he helped Jackie Wilson and others achieve cross-over hits that sold well to a variety of audiences. Motown founder Berry Gordy recalls the encouragement Jacobs gave him when he brought Gordy from Detroit to help record one of his songs, "Lonely Teardrops," an early hit for Jackie Wilson. Rock purists may condemn Jacobs for bringing a large orchestral sound to Buddy Holly's solo records, but Holly himself felt it opened up a new range of sounds for him to work with. Although Jacob's back-up arrangements for such Holly hits as "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" weren't that special, it could be argued that they paved the way for Jerry Wexler, Phil Spector, and other seminal rock producers to use a larger orchestra as a basic element of their recordings.

Jacobs became a little more adventurous with his own recordings. He recorded a skiffle album during the three weeks when that rocked-up folk sound emigrated from England and briefly threatened to become the next big thing. He also dabbled in the possibilities of the newer technologies being introduced into the studio, and recorded the one album space age pop fans should look for, The Electro-Sonic Orchestra on Coral. One of the earliest popular recordings to use electronic instruments, The Electro-Sonic Orchestra went beyond the theremin and added the ondioline and modified tape playback effects to spice up a set of pop standards.

By the early 1960s, Jacobs stopped performing and focused on behind-the-scenes work. He was one of Decca's house arranger/conductors, and worked with many of the label's acts during this time. His wonderful "now sound" arrangements for Xavier Cugat's four Decca albums from the mid-1960s deserve a special mention. Collected recently on the Cugie-a-Go-Go CD, Jacobs' arrangements of number ranging from "Music to Watch Girls By" to "The Anniversary Song" are a blissful blend of bossa nova, rock, and Cugat's proven Latin big band sound.

Jacobs left Decca when the label was sucked into the conglomerate, MCA, and produced for Springboard Records until he retired in the late 1970s. He then worked on a reference book on popular songs and songwriters, Who Wrote That Song?, which was updated and reprinted several times until his death in 1988.

Music
Dick Jacobs Lyrics

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Put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is having you
And music, music, music

I'd do anything for you
Anything you'd want me to
All I want is kissing you

And music, music, music

Closer
My dear, come closer
The nicest part of any melody
Is when you're danciong close to me

So, put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is loving you
And music, music, music

Put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is having you
And music, music, music

I'd do anything for you
Anything you'd want me to
All I want is kissing you
And music, music, music

Closer
My dear, come closer
The nicest part of any melody
Is when you're danciong close to me

So, put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is loving you
And music, music, music

C'mon everybody
Put some nickels in
And keep that old nickelodeon playing
Music, music, music

Lum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
Dum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
Dum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
And music, music, music

Lum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
Dum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum

Dum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
And music, music, music

Overall Meaning

The song "Music, Music, Music" by Dick Jacobs is a classic love song with a sweet and simple message about how all you need for a perfect evening is the company of the one you love and some good music. The song speaks to the joys of dancing with your loved one and feeling the music bring you closer together. It also emphasizes the power of music to transform your mood and set the perfect atmosphere for romance.

The first verse sets the tone as the singer asks his love to put another nickel in the nickelodeon, which was a popular type of jukebox in the early 20th century. He says he would do anything for her and all he wants is to be with her and listen to music. The repetition of the phrase "music, music, music" throughout the song reinforces the importance of music to the singer and his love.

Line by Line Meaning

Put another nickel in
Spend more money on the nickelodeon to continue hearing the music

In the nickelodeon
This is the machine that plays the music

All I want is having you
Being with you is what truly makes me happy

And music, music, music
The sound that brings us together

I'd do anything for you
I am willing to go to great lengths to make you happy

Anything you'd want me to
Whatever your heart desires, I am ready to fulfill

All I want is kissing you
The physical affection between us is what I cherish

Closer
Come closer to me, don't be afraid

My dear, come closer
Addressing someone as my sweetheart to show affection

The nicest part of any melody
The most beautiful and harmonious part of a song

Is when you're dancing close to me
The act of being with each other and swaying to the music is what makes it special

All I want is loving you
Being in love with you is all I desire

C'mon everybody
Encouraging everyone to join in on the musical fun

Put some nickels in
Asking people to contribute to the music playing

And keep that old nickelodeon playing
To make sure the music keeps going

Lum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
Mimicking the sound of the music

Dum, dee, dum, dee, da dee dum
Mimicking the sound of the music

And music, music, music
The sound that brings us together

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: BERNIE BAUM, STEPHAN WEISS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Peter Emmert

It was about time that Coral Records issued a Dick Jacobs single since he was helping so many other artists on the label with their records - Buddy Holly, The McGuire Sisters, Johnny Burnette and Jackie Wilson (although he was on Brunswick) among them.