Something to This Top Ten: Do Something (#8)

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Wow, what a great day of baseball! I love this time of year, and those games were really something!! Speaking of something, here’s something you expect from me: another song with “something” in the title. Let’s jump in the way-back machine for today’s song. #8: Do Something - Country All-Stars First, don’t be put off by the term “country” in their name. I frequently say that Homer and Jethro’s biggest joke was the fact that, for 40 years, they were two jazz musicians posing as country singers. This song dates to 1929 and Helen Kane, who was the inspiration for the cartoon character Betty Boop. She performed the song in Nothing But the Truth; however, according to Picky Wedia, her performance is not in the only known surviving print of the film. The “country” in the Country All-Stars refers more to the fact that the three principle members — Henry “Homer” Haynes, Kenneth “Jethro” Burns, and Chet Atkins — were all from the sticks in eastern Tennessee. Okay, they’re in the Country Music Hall of Fame, too. But their series of recordings, some of which were released in the 50s and all of which were compiled in the Bear Family release Jazz From the Hills, had precious little to do with “country” music as you’d think of it in the 1950s. Most of the songs were instrumentals; however, there were a few vocal performances. This is one of them, with Homer singing far more “real” (he had a marvelous voice when you peeled the corn off) than you’d hear on a Homer and Jethro record. And, truthfully, this was my introduction to this old pop standard. Nice intro! Do Something Written by Sam H. Stept and Bud Green Recorded by the Country All Stars Released as a single, 1953 There’s a moon in the sky: