The Mark IV - Later Years

Later Years

After the success of "I Got A Wife," Mercury quickly followed up with several more Mark IV novelty singles. One of these was "Move Over Rover" b/w "Dante's Inferno" (Mercury 71445; 1959). Another was "Mairzy Doats" b/w "Ring Ring Ring Those Bells" (Mercury 71481; 1959).

Songwriting for all of these songs, except "Mairzy Doats," is credited to Edward C. Mascari and Erwin Herbert "Dutch" Wenzlaff. Mascari and Wenzlaff were sheet music salesmen before they started writing and performing together. Wenslaff played piano, and Mascari the drums.

At some point, Mascari - it seems - ran his own Chicago-based, Delaware record label, and was also once General Manager of Mercury's Near North Music Publishing. Additionally, according to Chicago Soul by Robert Pruter, Mascari at one point ran (other sources say "owned"), a soul label named Limelight; perhaps a Mercury sub-label. Mascari is also credited by one source as having produced a single titled "Cindy, Oh Cindy" for Ivanhoe Records. Yet another lists him as producer of a United Artist's record by Danny Lee (aka Dan Penn). Perhaps most notably, however, Mascari co-produced an album by the singer-songwriter Dick Campbell, on which Peter Cetera, Paul Butterfield, and Mike Bloomfield were all credited.

Wenzlaff, too, appears to have had an association with Mercury (as a record producer) at some point. Additionally, he and Mascari wrote and produced songs for other artists, including "Foggy Mountain" for Danielle Blanchard, "Stop, Look and Listen" for Ralph Marterie and his Marlboro Men, and "Bride and Groom" (sheet music for which can often be found on eBay). Additionally, Wenzlaff is credited with having arranged and conducted "You Wouldn't Listen" for The Ides of March on Harlequin Records in 1966.