You Rascal You

When TheMadster came came home from uni one weekend last month, she asked me if I'd seen the new Levis ad. Now we don't have a TV in the house - I hate TV - so of course, I said no. She went on to tell me the song sounded a lot like Jack White, but she'd never heard it before. So I looked it up, and this is what I found:



Now I knew of Hanni El Khatib, and have probably heard some of his stuff on 6 Music, but he's not an artist I've ever investigated. And Madster was right - there's more than a touch of Mr White in here. It's from Hanni's first album, 2010's 'Will The Guns Come Out'. I looked it up and found out it's not one of his songs, but was actually written way back in 1929 by Sam Theard, then titled I'll be Glad When You're Dead. Since then, it's been covered numerous times. I read the names of some of those who have done it... Sammy Davis Jr., Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Dr. John, Louis Armstrong...

"Oooh, can you find Louis Armstrong's version," asked an excited Madster. "I love Louis Armstrong." Now I'm not a jazz fan and don't own any Louis Armstrong records so I'm a little surprised she not only knows about him, but is a fan also. "A lot of my uni friends are surprised about my music taste," she told me. "They don't really get why I'm into old stuff, but I love it." Funny, however much I despise teenagers, every now and then my heart is warmed when one of mine says something like this. There may yet be hope for the youth of today. So just for TheMadster, here's a tremendous clip of Satchmo performing the song, now titled I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You. And look out for Velma Middleton, the dancing lady - she's a rather large-ish girl, but my, what a mover!



I'm often rather miserable this time of year, but that clip has me beaming from ear to ear just like Louis.


Soundtrack:

• You Rascal You - Hanni El Khatib (from 'Will The Guns Come Out')
• I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You - Louis Armstrong (released 1931)

I'm deliberately avoiding anything related to that dreaded seasonal C-word, but if you celebrate such things, do have a fine holiday. I'll see you in 2017. Be good, children.