Beer Barrel Polka

Duke Ellington was still touring in 1971, though his orchestra had lost many of his star soloists due to death or retirement, with the passing of Johnny Hodges being the greatest loss. The first ten tracks here initially appeared on the Polish bootleg LP Last Time, which utilized poorly edited excerpts of a radio broadcast of his Warsaw concert, resulting in losing the pacing of a typical show by the bandleader. At least this Gambit reissue identifies the songs correctly…

The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia, soprano Maxene Anglyn, and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty". The sisters have sold an estimated 90 million records. Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of rhythm and blues or jump blues. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)" (1937), "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" (1939), "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (1940), "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)" (1942), and "Rum and Coca Cola" (1945), which helped introduce American audiences to calypso.