DECAY

So I bought this the other day and it reminded me just how fond I was of Danny Kaye when I was a young man.



Mommy, Gimme a Drinka Water by Danny Kaye (Capitol Records T 937)

Not every movie, though. I was choosy.

Wonder Man, yes, and A Song is Born. Anything that co-starred Vera Ellen and Virginia Mayo.

I loved The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, not realizing at the time how it bothered Thurber. And I loved The Kid From Brooklyn, not realizing how much was cribbed from Harold Lloyd. I was never a big fan of Hans Christian Andersen or The Court Jester or any of the others. 

But looking at this album now, it's a little scary. A grown man in a sailor suit and knee socks! Maybe it's my unnatural fear of adults in oversized chairs or my dislike of berets. 

Or maybe it's my history with Danny Kaye albums.  I didn't grow up with this one, but I did grow up with Danny Kaye Tells 6 Stories from Faraway Places. 

Scared the shit out of me.



Columbia Presents Danny Kaye (Columbia Records Set C-91)

This collection of 78s was something I found out in Sun City.

I love everything about it: the photo of Kaye, the artwork, the design. Nothing sinister about Kaye singing "Anatole of Paris" or whipping the crowd into a frenzy for "Minnie the Moocher."

I still like a lot of the stuff I used to like, but I don't like everything I used to like.