Banned Barbershop Ballads

Milt Larsen (founder of Hollywood's famed Magic Castle) and Richard M. Sherman (who with his brother Robert penned some of Disney's most famous songs in the 60s, including the scores to "Mary Poppins", "The Jungle Book", and "It's A Small World (after all)") first unleashed these songs on an unsuspecting public in the early 60s on the PIP Records albums "Smash Flops" and "Sing A Song Of Sickness" [aided and abetted by, respectively, The Characters and The Crown City Four], and they're just as outrageous today. Between this and the reissue of "Smash Flops", you can actually recreate both albums in their entirety! (Note: The version of "That Big Sporting House In The Sky" here omits the first verse, so hunt down the "Smash Flops" album!)

I would love to know more about these guys; this excellent, politically-incorrect satire is what I have wanted for over ten years. Without itunes, I'm sure I never would have stumbled across it. I especially like "50 Million Commies," "Oh, What We Grow," "I Wish I was in Chicago," and "48 States." Sure, the quality is not aiming for "American Idol," but the HEART is great and I want to sing these diddies with my buddies. I smile every time I listen to the album. If I find more by these guys, I'm buying it.