Painless Mexican

In the 40 years that acclaimed German record label Bear Family has been reissuing classic, career-spanning CD boxed sets, one of the artists whose early work has been on customers' wish lists is country legend George Jones. Christmas has come early for Jones fans as the label announces the February release of a sprawling six-disc collection encompassing all of Jones' early recordings from the Starday and Mercury labels.

Between the fall of 1962 and the end of 1963, Allan Sherman was perhaps the most popular comedian in America, and along with Bob Newhart he was one of the first to rise to fame through the medium of the long-playing record album. Sherman's gimmick was his gift for taking familiar melodies – folk songs, old standards, hits of the day – and pairing them with new lyrics that turned their original meanings upside down and threw them into a whole new (and very funny) light. Sherman's twin obsessions were Jewish-American culture and the daily outrages that were part and parcel of life in postwar America – from cut-rate clothing and extended families to crabgrass and summer camp, Sherman could point out the foibles of muddling through the Kennedy era and show what was both funny and ridiculous about them.

Between the fall of 1962 and the end of 1963, Allan Sherman was perhaps the most popular comedian in America, and along with Bob Newhart he was one of the first to rise to fame through the medium of the long-playing record album. Sherman's gimmick was his gift for taking familiar melodies – folk songs, old standards, hits of the day – and pairing them with new lyrics that turned their original meanings upside down and threw them into a whole new (and very funny) light. Sherman's twin obsessions were Jewish-American culture and the daily outrages that were part and parcel of life in postwar America – from cut-rate clothing and extended families to crabgrass and summer camp, Sherman could point out the foibles of muddling through the Kennedy era and show what was both funny and ridiculous about them.

Between the fall of 1962 and the end of 1963, Allan Sherman was perhaps the most popular comedian in America, and along with Bob Newhart he was one of the first to rise to fame through the medium of the long-playing record album. Sherman's gimmick was his gift for taking familiar melodies – folk songs, old standards, hits of the day – and pairing them with new lyrics that turned their original meanings upside down and threw them into a whole new (and very funny) light. Sherman's twin obsessions were Jewish-American culture and the daily outrages that were part and parcel of life in postwar America – from cut-rate clothing and extended families to crabgrass and summer camp, Sherman could point out the foibles of muddling through the Kennedy era and show what was both funny and ridiculous about them.