Song Poem - Phonograph Records

Phonograph Records

For some listeners, unusual, amateur lyrics in recordings made by rushed or at least marginally professional musicians almost half a century earlier offer a unique, discordant sound heard nowhere else. The intensity and naiveté of the lyrics combined with the workaday listlessness of the musical performances creates a tension that fuels whatever artistic merit may be found in these relics. Many of the lyrics involve subject matter relating to the passing fads of the day, and thus provide a window into a past pop culture.

In 2003, a documentary about the industry, Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story, was aired on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. It has since been released on DVD, and the soundtrack was released on CD.

Tom Ardolino, former drummer for the band NRBQ, curated several compilation CDs of the material. His work, along with the efforts of others such as musicologist Irwin Chusid of WFMU radio, has allowed these scraps to reach a level of notoriety unthinkable in their own time.

Caglar Singletary is probably the best known songpoet, his most famous composition being "Annie Oakley." But among the professionals paid to record these songs, the "Mozart" of the song poem genre is often said to be Rodd Keith. Several compilations of his made-for-hire song poem recordings have been released on CD with comments by his son, avant-garde saxophonist Ellery Eskelin. Eskelin never actually met his father, but was often told that his father was some kind of musical genius.