Will Bradley will always be remembered most for his boogie-woogie orchestra of the early 1940s. Bradley himself, however, preferred to play ballads and had a long and successful career as a trombonist outside of his band. Bradley was a busy studio musician throughout the 1930s, working with such artists as Red Nichols, Eddie Cantor, Victor Young. Jacques Renard, Nat Shilkret, Andre Kostelanetz, Raymond Paige, Kate Smith, and Al Jolson. In 1935 Glenn Miller, who thought Bradley the best trombonist in the business, hired him to play in Ray Noble's American band, which Miller was organizing. He left Noble the following year, however, and returned to studio work. Bradley also played with Milt Shaw's orchestra in 1931, where he met drummer Ray McKinley.
Bradley's name was unknown to the general public when in 1939 William Morris talent agent Willard Alexander suggested he form a swing orchestra. Trombone-playing leaders, such as Miller and Tommy Dorsey, were currently popular, and Alexander felt Bradley would do well on his own. Drummers were also the rage, and Alexander teamed Bradley with old bandmate McKinley, who was then with Jimmy Dorsey. Backed by a powerful publicity campaign the duo's orchestra debuted in 1939 under Bradley's name and soon had its first big hit in ''Celery Stalks.''
The band initially featured pianist Freddie Slack and a young Peanuts Hucko on tenor sax. Trumpeters Lee Castle and Pete Candoli later played with the group. Arrangements were provided by Hugo Winterhalter, Leonard Whitney, and Al Datz. McKinley sang on the more swinging numbers. Other vocalists included Carlotta Dale, Phyllis Miles, Louise Tobin, Larry Southern, and Jimmy Valentine. The group's first recordings were on the Vocalion and Okeh labels. Subsequent releases were on Columbia.
In 1940 Bradley and McKinley began to feature the boogie woogie sound in their arrangements. Initial success with the song ''Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar'' sparked a slew of similar recordings, such as ''Bounce Me Brother, with a Solid Four'' and ''Scrub Me Mama, with a Boogie Beat.'' The new style proved popular with the public, and the band quickly developed a niche following. By early 1942, however, Bradley had tired of boogie-woogie and wanted to focus more on ballads. McKinley disagreed and left to form his own band.
Bradley set about reforming his orchestra but was forced to hang up his baton after only six months due to the war. He lost too many musicians in the draft and was unable to replace them. The new orchestra did not enter the studio. Vocalists were Terry Allen and Lynn Gardner
Bradley continued to record under his own name during the war, using studio musicians, on the Signature label. Ironically, considering the cause of his orchestra's break-up, in 1944 he released material on the Beacon/Celebrity label as Will Bradley and His Boogie Woogie Boys. In 1947 he also recorded with vocalist Anita O'Day on Signature, and in the 1950s he released three albums, which included one RCA collection of boogie woogie songs.
Bradley worked often as a studio musician after the war and spent many years in the Tonight Show orchestra in the Johnny Carson era. In 1953 he had a brief spell with the Sauter-Finegan Band and also composed several classical works in his later years.
Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar
Will Bradley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
- written by Don Raye, Hughie Prince and Eleanore Sheehy
- as recorded by The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen
& His Orchestra, August 28, 1940
In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
He can play piano any way that you like it
When he plays, it's a ball
He's the daddy of them all
The people gather around when he gets on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
A-plink, a-plank, a-plink plank, plink plank
A-plunkin' on the keys
A-riff, a-raff, a-riff raff, riff raff
A-riffin' out with ease
And when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
A boogie-woogie, that is the way he likes to play on his piano
And we all know
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
The cats all holler "Hooray"
You'll hear them say, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
----- instrumental break -----
In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
When he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler, "Beat me up Daddy, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
The people gather around when he gets up on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm that he plays puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there ever bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
A-plink plink, a-plank plank, a-plink plank, plink plank
A-plunkin' on the keys
A-riff riff, a-raff raff, a-riff raff, riff raff
A-riffin' out with ease
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
The lyrics to "Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar" tell the story of a talented piano player in a honky-tonk village in Texas, who can play the piano in any way imaginable but prefers to play it eight to the bar. This fast-paced piano style is the boogie-woogie, and the song describes the impact it has on the crowd, who gather around the piano when the player takes to the stage. Despite the infectious rhythm of the music, the people are so entranced by the beat that they are unable to dance. When the piano player is joined by the bass and guitar, the crowd urges them on with the chant of "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar." The song offers a glimpse into the excitement and energy of a honky-tonk night, where the music is king.
Line by Line Meaning
In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
In a small town in Texas with a country music scene
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
There is a pianist who is considered the best in town
He can play piano any way that you like it
The pianist is versatile and can play any style of piano music
But the way he likes to play is eight to the bar
The pianist prefers to play music in a boogie-woogie style with an eight-beat rhythm
When he plays, it's a ball
People have a great time when the pianist performs
He's the daddy of them all
The pianist is highly respected and regarded as the best
The people gather around when he gets on the stand
Crowds gather around the stage when the pianist performs
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The audience applauds and shows their appreciation when he performs
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
The music is so good that it mesmerizes the audience
Nobody there bothers to dance
People are so entranced by the music that they just listen instead of dancing
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
When the pianist performs with accompanying bass and guitar players
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
The audience requests for the pianist to play a boogie-woogie with an eight-beat rhythm
A-plink, a-plank, a-plink plank, plink plank
The sound of the pianist's fingers hitting the keys
A-plunkin' on the keys
The sound of the pianist's fingers striking the keys
A-riff, a-raff, a-riff raff, riff raff
The sound of the piano notes in a quick, repetitive sequence
A-riffin' out with ease
The pianist plays the music effortlessly and with skill
He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
The pianist plays music in a boogie-woogie style with an eight-beat rhythm
And we all know
Everyone in the audience is aware of how good the pianist is
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
The music is so captivating that it mesmerizes the entire audience
The cats all holler "Hooray"
The audience cheers and expresses their enjoyment
You'll hear them say, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
The audience requests for the pianist to play music in a boogie-woogie style with an eight-beat rhythm
In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
The setting of the story
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
The introduction of the celebrated pianist
When he plays with the bass and guitar
The pianist's music is enhanced with the accompaniment of bass and guitar
They holler, "Beat me up Daddy, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
The audience requests for the pianist to play boogie-woogie with an eight-beat rhythm in an enthusiastic manner
The people gather around when he gets up on the stand
The audience gathers around the stage when the pianist performs
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The audience applauds and shows their appreciation of the pianist's performance
The rhythm that he plays puts the cats in a trance
The music is so captivating that it mesmerizes the audience
Nobody there ever bothers to dance
The audience is so captivated by the music that they prefer to listen than dance
A-plink plink, a-plank plank, a-plink plank, plink plank
The sound of the pianist's fingers hitting the keys in a boogie-woogie style
A-riff riff, a-raff raff, a-riff raff, riff raff
The sound of the fast, repetitive piano notes in a boogie-woogie style
They holler out, "Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar"
The audience enthusiastically requests for the pianist to play a boogie-woogie with an eight-beat rhythm
Contributed by Owen A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@walpoleandworcester
5 minutes of pure fun! Thank you Ray McKinley and Ray Bradley for this timeless classic!
@moldyoldie7888
Damn, the fidelity is better than the "official" releases, and no stinking reverb added! Thank you!
@the78prof72
You're very welcome (thanks for noticing).
@moldyoldie7888
@@the78prof72 Now maybe you could do something with Charlie Spivak's Autumn Nocturne. (No good deed goes unpunished.)
@the78prof72
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll remaster it today from 78, though it's probably no better than the version in the Spivak CD "The OKeh and Columbia Years."
@moldyoldie7888
@@yellowbird5
Thank you. My parents' generation too. Yes, reverb on old recordings in retrospect was a bad idea. It's unfortunate that RCA reverbed so many of Glenn Miller's Chesterfield shows, for example. I'm sure you could think of other instances. I can.
@randallhesse5011
Yes, I realized a while ago. To almost always pick the 78prof download choice on YouTube. Lots of other choice don't even come close. The example I thinking of right now is Riders in the sky by Vaughn Monroe.
@elizabethdraper8490
Reminds me of when I was seven or eight years old. Found this in my dad's albums. LOVED this song!!
@stonyrerootkit8922
I inherited a copy of this Great record when I was was quite young, and played the Isht out it, especially Part/Side2! 🎈💒
There is a tonne of musical talent represented on this recording, may they all be at peace!!😀😎😏😻😸😺💤🙏
@henrybrowne7248
Side 2, aye? Damn I wish we could flip this here record right on over . .