Bees Making Honey Down in Sunny Alabam' .

I've done a few posts on this blog about songs and music related to Alabama. Two such pieces on songs from the 19th and early 20th centuries can be found here and here. I've written an item on three pretty obscure albums by state musicians. I also wrote an extensive post on songs featuring Birmingham. I recently came across another relevant early 20th century song, so here we are. 

The title is a mouthful: "When the Bees Make Honey Down in Sunny Alabam'". You can read the lyrics below. The singer tells us he's anxious to go home not only to see his folks "who are like a pair of bees in a honey comb" but also to see his "honey lamb" on a Sunday afternoon and maybe buzz up a "honey moon". It's a lighthearted romantic tune with lots of wordplay related to bees and honey.

So who wrote this classic? 

Actually, three men very accomplished in their day were responsible. Two  collaborated on the lyrics, Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Born in New York City, Lewis was a cafe singer who began writing in 1912. His other songs include "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody", which was introduced by Al Jolson in a Broadway musical. His songs were used in such recent films as The Pelican Brief [1993] and Big Fish [2003], which was based on the 1998 novel by Birmingham native Daniel Wallace. 

Co-lyricist Young was born in New York City. He was also a singer and entertained U.S. troops in World War I. In 1935 with Fred Ahlert he wrote his most famous tune, "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." Young also wrote "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town" and "Dancing with You."

Composer Walter Donaldson was born in Brooklyn. He also wrote music for such standards as "Makin' Whoopee", "My Blue Heaven" and "Yes Sir, That's My Baby."

The publishing company Waterson, Berlin and Snyder was founded in 1908 as the Ted Snyder Company. Partners Henry Waterson and Irving Berlin joined in 1917. By the 1920s the firm was one of the largest publishers of popular sheet music in the U.S.

I've come across two recordings of this song. The first was released by Columbia in 1919; the singers are Irving and Jack Kaufman. Jack was the older brother; he, Irving and Philip often sang together. Irving began his recording career in 1914. He sang in a vaudeville style, but even so recorded with such jazz greats as Bix Beiderbecke and the Dorsey Brothers. A link to the recording at the Internet Archive can be found below.

A more recent recording by Ian Whitcomb [1941-2020] from 2007 is available on Spotify. Whitcomb was an English actor, author and singer-songwriter who wrote several books on popular music, including the classic After the Ball [1972]. He stimulated a revival in the use of the ukulele, which he played in concerts, records and film scores. 

This sheet music is from my personal collection. 

This 1919 recording is available at the Internet Archive. 

WHEN THE BEES MAKE HONEY DOWN IN SUNNY ALABAM' (Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young / Walter Donaldson, 1919) I just feel like telling the world I'm happy and gay; I just feel like telling you why I'm feeling that way; This is just the time of the year when bees start to buzz, And I've got a bee in my bonnet, simply because: I will be the busiest bee that you ever knew; Sipping honey all thro' the day that's just what I'll do; When the bees are buzzin' away near some Rosemary, How I love to bumble around just take it from me. When the bees make honey down in sunny Alabam', That's when I said, I'd be sending a telegram; Down to honey suckled home, Where my folks live all alone; They're like a pair of honey bees, In a honey comb. I'm gonna make a beeline straight for home, That's where I am, And I've a plan to buzz around with my honey lamb; Some Sunday afternoon, If I don't get stung, there'll be a honey moon, When the bees make honey, down in sunny, Oh! you Alabam.

Source: International Lyrics Playground

Joe Young [1889-1939] in 1919

Source: Wikipedia

Sam M. Lewis [1885-1959] in 1919

Source: Wikipedia

Walter Donaldson [1893-1947] in 1919

Source: Wikipedia

My Son Amos Has a New Book Out, Part 2!

Our son Amos Jasper Wright IV is an urban planner by profession, but he has been writing and publishing fiction for some years. In 2018 his collection of short stories Nobody Knows How It Got This Good was published by Livingston Press. This summer his first novel, Petrochemical Nocturne, has appeared, also published by Livingston. 

When Nobody Knows came out, I naturally wrote a blog post about it. The Kirkus review of the book is here. An interview with him about the book is here. In October 2018 Amos appeared on a panel alongside two other writers with new short story collections at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge. 

So here we are with Amos' first novel, Petrochemical Nocturne. Kirkus has reviewed this title, and so has Bill Plott for the Alabama Writers Forum. Bradley Sides interviewed Amos for the Alabama Writers Cooperative. Once again Amos will be appearing at the Louisiana Book Festival. 

Both books are available from Bookshop.org, a book vendor where every purchase supports independent bookstores. The link for Petrochemical is here and Nobody Knows is here. 

If you have read or do read either of these books, please go to their GoodReads pages, say a few words, and rate the book. In the first paragraph above the books' titles link to those pages. Of course, if you buy from Amazon or other outlet,  reviews there would be greatly appreciated. And you can always request that your local library purchase one or both titles. 

"A bristling, lurching, and often insightful investigation of the past."  Says Kirkus about Petrochemical

In his review, Bill Plott wrote about the novel, "Although a novel, this is also an extraordinary work of history. Using Cancer Alley as a setting, Wright has penned a book that is essentially about racism – the systemic and pervasive racism of not just the South but also the nation. Perhaps no white historian has told it with quite the passion that Wright brings to the table."

Joe Louis in "The Phynx"

I can guess what you're thinking--what's a phynx? Let's investigate.

"The Phynx" is a film released briefly in May 1970 by Warner Brothers Studios. Warner finally released it on DVD in 2012, and I watched it recently on Turner Classic Movies. The movie is certainly not a classic, but it has some amusing moments.

A plot summary is hilarious enough. Communists in Albania have kidnapped a number of celebrities from American entertainment and sports worlds. I don't even remember why. In order to free the hostages, U.S. intelligence puts together a rock band from scratch and turns them into world superstars. The group's name? The Phynx, of course. Once famous, the group can appear in concert in Albania and rescue the celebrities.

But wait--there's a hitch. There's a secret map that will lead the musicians to the castle where the hostages are being kept. The map is drawn in three parts on the tummies of three beautiful young women residing in different European cities. In order to find the pieces, Phynx members must "examine" hundreds of women. After that exhausting ordeal, they put the map together and head for Albania.

Are you with me so far? 

Naturally, all the kidnapped celebrities are found and released. A major feature of this portion of the film is a sequence in which they are all introduced to us, the viewers, before leaving Albania. The list includes Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan (the most famous movie Tarzan and Jane), Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall (the Bowery Boys), Ed Sullivan, James Brown, Colonel Sanders, Guy Lombardo, Andy Devine, Ruby Keeler, Edgar Bergen, Butterfly McQueen, Jay Silverheels (Tonto), Rudy Vallee, Xavier Cugat, Trini Lopez, Dick Clark, Richard Pryor, Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, George Jessel, and Rhona Barrett.

Alabama native and former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis was also included. As the stars leave the castle in horse-drawn carriages, no less, we see duos or trios of them cracking jokes. Johnny Weissmuller says "Me Tarzan, you Jane" to O'Sullivan, a phrase never uttered during any of their many movies together. Louis and Marilyn Maxwell are sitting together and Louis actually makes an income tax joke, referencing his well-known woes with the IRS over back taxes he owed. 

This film is crazy, baby, really far out. But I had fun watching it. The parade of mostly-aging, many-by-1970 forgotten stars is a shout-out to people who had  entertained millions across the decades. I remember often watching Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall as the Bowery Boys when I was a kid, on Saturday mornings, I guess. They weren't as funny as the Three Stooges, but were pretty amusing. I also appreciated the appearance of John Hart as the Lone Ranger. I much preferred him over Clayton Moore, whom he replaced in the 1952-53 season during a contract dispute. 

The list goes on. Dorothy Lamour! Martha Raye! Joan Blondell! Ed Sullivan! Ruby Keeler! Rudy Vallee! Clint Walker in a hilarious turn as a master sergeant! Oh, and there's Richard Pryer! Butterfly McQueen! Trini Lopez! Sadly, I'm old enough to know who all these people are/were. Check out the film's IMDB entry for a full cast list. 

I should note one other appearance. Actress Sally Struthers made her first film appearance, although uncredited, as the World's Number One Fan of The Phynx. 

Johnny Weissmuller, Cass Dailey, and Joe Louis make their grand entrance. Dailey [1915-1975] was an actress, comedian and singer.

Marilyn Maxwell and Joe Louis tell jokes in their carriage ride leaving Albania. Maxwell [1921-1972] was an actress and singer probably best known for her tours with Bob Hope to entertain the troops during World War II and the Korean War. 

Louis and Weissmuller looking serious earlier in the film. Who's that mysterious gentleman behind them??

Birmingham Photos (85): St. Mary's on the Highlands

In September 2022 Dianne and I were in downtown Birmingham for a doctor's appointment at UAB and a visit to one of our favorite eating places, the Original Pancake House at Five Points South. I found a parking spot around the block on 12th Avenue South in front of St. Mary's on the Highlands Episcopal Church. Before walking down to meet Dianne for brunch, I snapped a few photos of this historic structure. 

As seen in the photo below, the church cornerstone was laid 13 August 1891. Another photo shows the cover of a centennial history published in 1987. Two postcards created early in the church's history are also included. 

This history begins with the founding of the parish in 1887 and was published in 1987. 

These postcards are from the Alabama Dept of Archives and History digital collections here and here. 

The Original Pancake House has been located in the Munger Building since 2000.  The chain has locations in a number of states; the one at Five Points is the only franchise in Alabama. The first location opened in Portland, Oregon, in 1953. I highly recommend a visit. 

Alabama's Outlaw Heritage

I recently posted an article of mine published years ago about dime novels featuring Alabama train robber Rube Burrow. Some time before that article appeared, I published the one seen here that covers several of the state's 19th century outlaws including Burrow. These items were related to a book I eventually published, Criminal Activity in the Deep South: An Annotated Bibliography, 1700-1930 [1989]. 

The article below originally appeared in Alabama Living V1N4, Jan/Feb1981 pp 29-31. I covered Rube Burrow, John Wesley Hardin, Morris Slater [aka Railroad Bill] and Stephen Renfroe. 

In the near future I plan to post my article on the years Texas gunfighter Hardin spent in Alabama. And then there are some Alabama medical history articles...

My article didn't make the cover, but Miss Alabama Paige Phillips did. 

Some Family Photos Winter 1954

I've done a few posts on this blog exploring old family photographs. One included some photos taken at the Chandler Street house years after my toddler pictures below. I've also written one about a family vacation at the beach in 1956 and a group of family photos from the 1960s. 

Now we come to some examples from the winter of 1954. I turned two that March 3. Most of these photos were taken at my paternal grandparents' house at 1313 Chandler Street in Gadsden. We lived in Huntsville but visited Rosa Mae and Amos Wright numerous times over the years. 

My family is blessed--or cursed--with hundreds of photographs old and new. I'm sure I'll be exploring more subjects in the future. 

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

I was always looking at rocks or sticks. 

I don't seem quite as happy here as in the first photograph.

Here I am with dad, Amos J. Wright, Jr. He probably took most of these photos, but presumably my grandfather took this one.

I presume that photographer's shadow is dad's. Someone else standing to the right? 

Look, dad, a shadow!

Prepare to get wet, dad!

My grandmother Rosa Mae Wright died in January 1997, shortly before her 97th birthday. My grandfather Amos J. Wright, Sr., had died in 1975. These color photos were taken the day in 1997 when my brother Richard and I came to get the final items out of the house. 

Here's the back yard where we all spent so much time over the years.

Richard is standing in the driveway close to where I was standing--or sitting--in some of those photos above 43 years earlier. 

Here I am as a young sprout between my paternal grandparents, Amos Jasper Wright, Sr., and Rosa Mae Wright. I'm not sure where this photo was taken but I'm looking pretty young here; I was born in March 1952. You can see my grandparents in 1918 in this post about my grandfather's World War I training in Auburn. 

Dead Towns of Alabama: Oxanna

There once was a place called Oxanna...perhaps a town on the yellow brick road to Oz? Let's investigate.

I've written before about Falco, a pretty much dead town in south Alabama just above the Florida line in Covington County. That town rose and fell with the timber industry; Oxanna's story is a bit different. 

In 1872 the Woodstock Iron Company was formed by Samuel Noble, Daniel Tyler,, and their families to build a furnace that would produce quality charcoal pig iron in Calhoun County. The company developed the private community of Anniston to support this effort; only workers, their families and other relevant individuals could live there. By 1880 the town had a population of 942.

In the spring of 1883 the Georgia Pacific Railroad being built from Atlanta to Birmingham reached Anniston. The town abandoned its exclusivity, and Woodstock planned to sell lots to anyone. Railroad developers John B. Gordon, his brother and others formed the Southern Development, Land and Immigration Company to purchase a small valley between Anniston and Oxford. They began development of "Central City" which was soon renamed Oxanna. 

The new town was expected to have areas for business, manufacturing and residences, sidewalks, and a first class hotel. The Oxanna Tribune newspaper began publication in September 1883. The Oxanna Hotel thrived for a period until the much fancier Anniston Inn opened in spring 1885. In 1886 the town incorporated and elected a mayor and council. 

By 1900 Oxanna had reached a population of 1184; Oxford had 1372 people and Anniston had boomed to 9695. Oxanna had soldiered on, but in the following year a successful petition from Anniston citizens to the legislature resulted in annexation of the smaller town. 

Wikipedia has a list of Alabama ghost towns, but neither Falco nor Oxanna are on it. The two also do not appear in W. Stuart Harris' Dead Towns of Alabama, first published in 1977.

I wrote a blog post in 2018 "Whatever Happened to Powhatan and Praco?" that examined the fates of those now-dead Jefferson County mining towns. My mother was born in Powhatan; one of her sisters, my aunt Marjorie, was born in Praco. I've also done "Whatever Happened to Advance, Alabama?"  I plan to examine more disappeared Alabama towns in the future. 

Newspaper articles below were found via the Library of Congress' Chronicling America database. 

Further Reading

Grace Hooten Gates has written extensively on the early history of Anniston and provides some information on Oxanna in her works. Her book The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama, 1872-1900 was published in 1978. Her article "Anniston: Model City and Rival City" appeared in the Alabama Review in January 1978. That article has a good account of the rivalry between Anniston and Oxanna. Another of her articles, "Anniston: Transition from Company Town to Public Town" was published in the January 1984 issue of the Alabama Review. 

Savannah Morning News 15 October 1883 

Birmingham Age-Herald 11 January 1901

During it's short life, Oxanna had its share of troubles:

Birmingham Age-Herald 29 September 1899

Birmingham Age-Herald 8 September 1900

From George F. Cram's 1904 Alabama map, which shows Oxanna as a separate town. 

Source: University of Alabama Historical Maps

And now for something completely random....

Sacramento Daily Record-Union 20 Nov 1890

Source: ebay

“Bradycrotine, the Southern Woman's Headache Cure, was made in Macon GA by Dr. Welch.”