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Harry F. Reser (17 January 1896 - 27 September 1965) was an American banjo player and bandleader. Born in Piqua, Ohio, Reser was best known as the leader of The Clicquot Club Eskimos.
Reser was regarded by some as the best banjoist of the 1920s. He played with midwestern dance bands, relocating to Buffalo, New York in 1920. Arriving in Manhattan the following year, he became an in-demand session musician during the early 1920s.
In 1925, he found fame as the director for NBC's Clicquot Club Eskimo Orchestra, continuing with that weekly half-hour until 1935. At the same time, he also led other bands using pseudonyms. He played "Tiger Rag" and "You Hit the Spot" in the musical short Harry Reser and His Eskimos (1936).
Reser remained active in music for the rest of his life, leading TV studio orchestras and playing with Broadway theatre orchestras. In 1960 he appeared with Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee and Buster Keaton in "A 70th Birthday Salute to Paul Whiteman" on TV's The Revlon Revue. He wrote several instructional books for the banjo, guitar and ukulele. In 1965 Reser died of a heart attack in the orchestra pit of the Broadway stage version of Fiddler on the Roof just prior to a performance. He was Inducted into the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame in 1999. Tom Stacks was the lead singer, drummer, and sound effects man for many of Harry Reser's late 1920's jazz and novelty bands that included "The Six Jumping Jacks" and "Harry Reser's Rounders" (Reser would use many of the same musicians and simply change the names of the bands so that he could work for several companies at once). Stacks' unusual voice has been described as having a "built in smile" and also as being "what a man would sound like if his voice box remained in adolescence while the rest of his body matured."
Stacks sang with joyous enthusiasm on hundreds of late 1920 recordings. His rendition of "Horses" displays his ability to make the most out of the comic elements in a novelty song while also keeping up with the rapid fire tempo of Reser's band that nearly leaves him breathless. Stacks could also sing ballads in a lovely, heartfelt tenor, as evidenced in his versions of "Avalon" and "What a girl! What a night!" Stacks was diminutive and just barely weighed 100 pounds. Stacks died in a Chinese restaurant fire in the early thirties. He returned to the burning building to try to recover his drum set and died in the inferno.Amazon.com
Not only was Harry Reser the most accomplished plectrum banjo player in the 1920s, he probably led more bands than just about any other musician of the era. Each of his groups focused on a different segment of the pop music spectrum, such as hot jazz (The Jazz Pilots), smooth dance music (The Tuxedo Orchestra), or in the case of the Six Jumping Jacks, novelty songs. Reser and bandmates were topnotch instrumentalists and even when they played silly songs like "I Love the College Girls" or "Cock-a-Doodle, I'm off My Noodle," they never treated the music as a joke. The arrangements are always inventive, the ensemble playing is tight, and the solos are hot. Reser in particular plays the banjo with a surprising amount of subtlety, and on a few tracks he reveals himself to be an excellent guitarist as well. Even though these tracks were recorded in 1927 and 1928, the sound on the CD is outstanding, with none of the pops and crackles that can mar reissues of old 78s. The songs of Harry Reser's Six Jumping Jacks will never be mistaken for high art, but they do capture the giddy spirit of the 1920s perfectly. And because of the skill of the musicians they can be listened to over and over again, which is not something you can say about many novelty songs. --Michael Simmons
Ice Cream
Harry Reser & his Six Jumping Jacks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
In the land of ice and snows
Up among the Eskimos,
There's a college known as Ogiwawa!
You should hear those college boys,
Gee, they make an awful noise
When they sing an Eskimo tra-la-la!
Oh, what a guy!
He's got a frozen face just like an Eskimo Pie!
When he says, "Come on, let's go!"
Though it's forty-five below,
This is what the Eskimos all holler:
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Tuesdays, Mondays, we all scream for sundaes,
Sis-boom-bah!
Boola-boola, sarsaparoolla,
If you got chocolate, we'll take vanoola!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Frosts and malts that are peppered and salted,
Sis-boom-bah!
Oh, spumoni, oh, cartoni,
And confidentially, we'll take baloney,
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
The song "Ice Cream" by Harry Reser & his Six Jumping Jacks is a cheerful tune that expresses a love for ice cream. The first line, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" is a popular chant that has been used to promote the dessert. The second line, "In the land of ice and snows, Up among the Eskimos," suggests that even those in the coldest regions crave ice cream. The mention of a college called Ogiwawa where "Gee, they make an awful noise" implies that college students are known to have fun and enjoy treats like ice cream. The Eskimo tra-la-la, which is sung by the college boys, adds to the overall humorous tone of the song.
The song mentions a big cheerleader who has a "frozen face just like an Eskimo Pie." This is a reference to an ice cream brand that was introduced in 1922 by Christian Kent Nelson. In the same vein, when the Eskimos all holler "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" it is clear that this dessert is something that transcends cultures and has universal appeal. The chant "Sis-boom-bah!" is a popular cheer used at sporting events, which further emphasizes the festive and celebratory nature of the song. The mention of "spumoni, oh, cartoni" and "baloney" provides a bit of humor and playfulness, adds to the lightheartedness of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh!
An exclamation used to express surprise or to attract attention.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Everyone is highly excited about ice cream and wants some badly.
In the land of ice and snows
Up among the Eskimos,
There's a college known as Ogiwawa!
There exists a college situated in the icy region of the Eskimos that goes by the name of Ogiwawa.
You should hear those college boys,
Gee, they make an awful noise
When they sing an Eskimo tra-la-la!
The college boys of Ogiwawa make a lot of noise when singing Eskimo songs.
They've got a leader, big cheer leader,
Oh, what a guy!
He's got a frozen face just like an Eskimo Pie!
The cheerleading squad of Ogiwawa has a great leader whose face resembles that of an Eskimo Pie due to the cold weather.
When he says, "Come on, let's go!"
Though it's forty-five below,
This is what the Eskimos all holler:
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Despite the freezing weather, the Eskimos shout in excitement for ice cream when their cheerleader urges them to do so.
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Tuesdays, Mondays, we all scream for sundaes,
Sis-boom-bah!
On any day of the week, people love to indulge in tasty sundaes with a lot of enthusiasm.
Boola-boola, sarsaparoolla,
If you got chocolate, we'll take vanoola!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Whether it's boozy or non-alcoholic, vanilla or chocolate, everyone loves ice cream and is willing to have it in any form.
Rah! Rah! Rah!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Frosts and malts that are peppered and salted,
Sis-boom-bah!
People love to try different flavors and types of ice cream such as frosts and malts, which are spiced up with pepper and salt.
Oh, spumoni, oh, cartoni,
And confidentially, we'll take baloney,
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
There are various types of ice cream like spumoni and cartoni that people love to have, even if it's just a fake flavor like baloney!
Contributed by Dylan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jimmygale1435
This is great! When I first heard this, it reminded me of the cartoon from 1930 called Dirty Dishes with the first appearance of Betty Boop. The beginning of the cartoon features a bunch of dancers doing a dance routine that sounds like "ICE CREAM."
Love it...thanks Martin for posting!