Instrumentally Yours: The Stripper

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While checking the headlines on the government shutdown (using a search engine), I’d see these websites offering “odds” on the end of the shutdown. Goes to show that people will bet on anything. With that in mind, if you’re a betting person, you probably had money on this song showing up. Congratulations, you win. The Stripper - David Rose Gather ‘round, kids, and I’ll tell you about the good ol’ days of music and a tale of two sides. MGM Records was set to release David Rose’s version of “Ebb Tide” (which is, to me, smarmy to the nth degree). It needed a B-side, so they found a recording of Rose’s song that he wrote in 1958 for a TV show “saluting” burlesque. Instead of heavily orchestrated strings (which is what Rose was known for [see “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing”]…his nickname was “King of Strings”), the recording was a jazzy, trombone-heavy number. As this was a physical record, with two sides, DJs could (and frequently did) play either side. The “hit” side, or the “A” side or “plug” side, was usually marked on the DJ copy. The other side of the record came to be known as the B-side. In this case, the B-side won out, as DJs played the more lively tune. As a result, “Ebb Tide” is an afterthought, and “The Stripper” became one of those 25 instrumentals to top the Billboard pop chart. And your trivia about David Rose: he was Red Skelton’s music director, and composed Skelton’s theme song “Holiday for Strings.” He was also Judy Garland’s second husband. So there, you have trivia AND music to strip by. The Stripper Written by David Rose Recorded by David Rose Released as a single, 1962 You who are old enough are probably envisioning some Noxema about now