Red Norvo was born Kenneth Norville in Beardstown, Illinois. The story goes that he sold his pet pony to help pay for his first marimba. Norvo's career began in Chicago with a band called "The Collegians", in 1925. He played with many other bands, including an all-marimba band on the vaudeville circuit, and the bands of Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Woody Herman. Norvo recorded with Mildred Bailey (his wife), Billie Holiday, Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra, among others. Together, Red and Mildred were known as "Mr. and Mrs. Swing." He also appeared in the film Screaming Mimi (1958), playing himself, and in Ocean's 11, backing Dean Martin's "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?".
In 1933 he recorded two sessions for Brunswick under his own name. The first, "Knockin' on Wood" and "Hole in the Wall", pleased Brunswick's recording director Jack Kapp and he was booked for another session. This time, Kapp was out of town and Norvo went ahead and recorded two of the earliest, most modern pieces of chamber jazz yet recorded: Bix Beiderbecke's "In a Mist" and Norvo's own "Dance of the Octopus". Playing marimba instead of xylophone in the second session, he was accompanied by Benny Goodman in a rare performance playing a bass clarinet, Dick McDonough on guitar and Artie Bernstein on slap bass. Kapp was outraged when he heard the recordings and tore up Norvo's contract and threw him out. Nevertheless, this modern record remained in print all through the 1930s.
Norvo recorded 8 modern swing sides for Columbia in 1934–1935, and 15 sides of Decca and their short-lived Champion label series in 1936 (strangely enough, Jack Kapp ran Decca, so they must've patched things up by then).
Starting in 1936 through 1942, Norvo formed a Swing Orchestra and recorded for ARC first on their Brunswick label, then Vocalion and finally Columbia, after CBS bought out the ARC company. Featuring the brilliant arrangements of Eddie Sauter and often featuring Mildred Bailey as vocalist, this series of recordings were among the more sophisticated and elegant swing records of the era.
In 1938, Red Norvo and His Orchestra reached number one with their recordings of "Please Be Kind", which was number one for two weeks, and "Says My Heart", with lead vocals by Mildred Bailey, which was number one for four weeks on the pop charts, reaching number one during the week of June 18, 1938.
In June 1945, while a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet, he recorded a session for Comet records using a sextet which featured members of the Goodman group and also Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He said: "Bird and Diz were dirty words for musicians of my generation. But jazz had always gone through changes and in 1945 we were in the middle of another one. Bird and Diz were saying new things in an exciting way. I had a free hand so I gambled".
In 1949, while trying to find work near home on the West Coast and running into difficulties with large groups, Norvo formed a trio with the novel combination of vibes, guitar, and bass. When the original guitarist and bassist quit (Mundell Lowe and Red Kelly), he brought in two previously little-known players. Tal Farlow became one of the most important of the post-War generation of guitarists, in part because the demands of the trio led him to explore new levels of both speed and harmonic richness on the instrument. Farlow left the group in 1953 and guitarist Jimmy Raney took his place. Charles Mingus's prominence as a bass player increased through this group, though its reportoire did not reflect the major career he would develop as a composer. Mingus left in 1951 and Red Mitchell replaced him. The Norvo, Farlow and Mingus trio recorded two LPs for Savoy.
In 1959 Norvo's group played concerts in Australia with Frank Sinatra; Blue Note released these recordings in 1997. Red Norvo and his group also made several appearances on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show in the late 1950s and early '60s.
Norvo recorded and toured throughout his career until a stroke in the mid-1980s forced him into retirement (although he developed hearing problems long before his stroke). He died at a convalescent home in Santa Monica, California at the age of 91.
Red Norvo composed a.o.: "Dance of the Octopus", "Bughouse" (with Irving Mills and Teddy Wilson), "The Night is Blue", "A Cigarette and a Silhouette", "Congo Blues", "Seein' Red", "Blues in E Flat", "Hole in the Wall", "Knockin' on Wood", "Decca Stomp", "Tomboy", and "1-2-3-4 Jump".
Peter Piper
Red Norvo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That goes for Albert Einstein, the League of Nations too,
So now my fine and feathered friend,
I'll leave it up to you.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
How much do I love you?
Then what have I got to pick to turn the trick
If Simple Simon sat beside a shallow saucer
Tryin' to catch a whale
Then what have I got to try to make you buy
The heart I've got for sale?
How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck
If a wood-chuck could chuck wood?
I'd chuck double with no trouble
If it did me any good
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
I'll tell you what I'd do
I'd pick a peck of peppers
Sit beside a saucer
I'd even be a wood-chuck
Chuck-in all I could chuck
Just to make you love me too.
The lyrics of Red Norvo's song Peter Piper are loaded with complex and playful wordplay. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer claims to be in the middle of solving a riddle that no one can do, not even Albert Einstein or the League of Nations. He then turns to his "fine and feathered friend" (presumably the listener) to help him out.
The following verses present the singer with a series of challenges, each one a variation on a well-known children's rhyme or tongue twister. In the first challenge, he asks, "If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how much do I love you?" In the second, he asks, "If Simple Simon sat beside a shallow saucer tryin' to catch a whale, then what have I got to try to make you buy the heart I've got for sale?" And in the third, he asks, "How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck if a wood-chuck could chuck wood? I'd chuck double with no trouble if it did me any good."
Through all these playful challenges, the singer's underlying message is clear: he wants to win the heart of his beloved. The clever wordplay and off-kilter humor of the lyrics serve to keep things light and fun, even as the singer is making a serious, heartfelt plea.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm in the middle of solving a riddle that no one can do;
I am trying to solve a difficult problem that no one has managed to solve yet.
That goes for Albert Einstein, the League of Nations too,
Even the most intelligent people and organizations have failed at this challenge.
So now my fine and feathered friend,
Addressing the listener as a playful bird-like creature.
I'll leave it up to you.
I will pass the challenge onto you.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Introducing a silly tongue-twister to the discussion.
How much do I love you?
Asking the listener about the degree of affection they have towards them.
Then what have I got to pick to turn the trick
What can I do to win you over and make you love me as well?
And make you love me too?
Asking the listener to return the affection.
If Simple Simon sat beside a shallow saucer
Introducing another character from a nursery rhyme to the conversation.
Tryin' to catch a whale
Attempting an impossible or unlikely task.
Then what have I got to try to make you buy
What can I do to convince you to love me?
The heart I've got for sale?
Referring to their own heart, as if it could be sold or given away to the listener.
How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck
Another playful tongue-twister.
If a wood-chuck could chuck wood?
Asking a hypothetical question about the potential capacity of a creature's ability to perform a task.
I'd chuck double with no trouble
Claiming to have twice the ability or capacity of the hypothetical creature in question.
If it did me any good
But only if it would serve to benefit or win over the listener.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Repeating the tongue-twister, now with a slightly altered meaning.
I'll tell you what I'd do
Explaining their plan of action.
I'd pick a peck of peppers
Choosing a similar but different task to perform.
Sit beside a saucer
Using this scenario from the previous rhyme as inspiration.
I'd even be a wood-chuck
Taking on the persona of the hypothetical creature from earlier.
Chuck-in all I could chuck
Performing this imagined task with all their might and ability.
Just to make you love me too.
Again, expressing their hope and desire to win over the listener's affection.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, RICHARD WHITING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind