THIS IS THE ANDREWS SISTERS 1945 CLASSIC 

RUM AND COCA COLA 

b/w  ONE MEAT BALL

ON A US DECCA 78

Mostly remembered for their music, rich in sweetness and optimism, the Andrews Sisters were loved by the many troops they tirelessly entertained during World War II. During their career, the amazing trio recorded more than 1,800 songs and sold over 90 million records. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Andrews Sisters began their music careers when they were still in their teens. In 1932, they began singing accompanied by the Larry Rich Orchestra. Together, they toured the Midwest and performed in vaudevilles. Another group of sisters, the Boswell Sisters, of New Orleans, influenced the Andrews Sisters' Dixieland style. Soon, the Andrews trio broadened their style to include ballads of the swing era, South American dance songs, boogie woogie and other novelty sounds.

They had Patty as the lead soprano, Maxene as the second soprano and LaVerne completed the sound with a resonant contralto or bass. In 1937, they were discovered by Dave Kapp, who heard them over a taxi cab radio in 1937 during a live band remote, signed them to Decca Records. Levy who acted as their manager would later marry Maxene. The sisters' big break came in 1938 with Bei Mir Bist du Schoen, a Yiddish tune, which became the first  million selling record for an all-female group. Between the late 1930s and the 1940s, the group was a frequent heard tune on the radio. Some of their songs included: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Rum and Coca Cola and Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree. The sisters even performed with other popular artists such as Bing Crosby, Les Paul, Burl Ives, Danny Kaye, Carmen Miranda, Guy Lombardo, Ernest Tubbs, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Rum and Coca-Cola is the title of a popular calypso. Originally composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco, it was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and became a huge hit, selling some four million singles when a version was released in 1945 by the Andrews Sisters.

Although the song was published in the United States with Amsterdam listed as the lyricist and Jeri Sullavan and Paul Baron as musical composers, the melody had been previously published as the work of Trinidadian calypso composer Lionel Belasco on a song titled "L'Année Passée," which was in turn based on a folksong from Martinique. The original lyrics to "Rum and Coca-Cola" were written by Rupert Grant, another calypso musician from Trinidad who went by the stage name of Lord Invader. (The true credits for music and lyrics were restored in a plagiarism lawsuit won by famous attorney Louis Nizer, the account of which can be read in his book, "My Life in Court.")

According to Lord Invader, "Calypso is the folklore of Trinidad, a style of poetry, telling about current events in song. Back home in the West Indies, Trinidad, where I'm from, it's a small island, I'm proud of it. I was traveling on a bus, someplace they call Point Cumana, a bathing resort, and I happened to see the G.I.s in the American social invasion in the West Indies, Trinidad. You know the girls used to get the candies and stuff like that, and they go to the canteens with the boys and so on, have fun. So I noticed since the G.I.s come over there, they generally chase with soda, ordinary soda, but the chaser was rum and Coke. They drink rum, and they like Coca-Cola as a chaser, so I studied that as an idea of a song, and Morey Amsterdam had the nerve to say that he composed that song back here."

The song became a local hit and was at the peak of its popularity when Amsterdam visited the island in September 1943 as part of a U.S.O. tour. Although he subsequently claimed never to have heard the song during the month he spent on the island, the lyrics to his version are clearly based on the Lord Invader version, with the music and chorus being virtually identical. However, Amsterdam's version strips the song of its social commentary. The Lord Invader version laments that U.S. soldiers are debauching local women, who "saw that the Yankees treat them nice / and they give them a better price." Its final stanza describes a newlywed couple whose marriage is ruined when "the bride run away with a soldier lad / and the stupid husband went staring mad." The Amsterdam version also hints that women are prostituting themselves, preserving the Lord Invader chorus which says, "Both mother and daughter / Working for the Yankee dollar." However, it presents the relationship in a more playful light and even celebrates the Yankee presence:

Since the Yankee come to Trinidad

They got the young girls all goin' mad

Young girls say they treat 'em nice

Make Trinidad like paradise 

The Andrews Sisters also seem to have given little thought to the meaning of the lyrics. According to Patty Andrews, "We had a recording date, and the song was brought to us the night before the recording date. We hardly really knew it, and when we went in we had some extra time and we just threw it in, and that was the miracle of it. It was actually a faked arrangement. There was no written background, so we just kind of faked it." Years later, Maxine Andrews recalled, "The rhythm was what attracted the Andrews Sisters to 'Rum and Coca-Cola'. We never thought of the lyric. The lyric was there, it was cute, but we didn't think of what it meant; but at that time, nobody else would think of it either, because we weren't as morally open as we are today and so, a lot of stuff - really - no excuses - just went over our heads."

The song became the third-best selling record of the 1940's. Despite its popularity, it was controversial and was banned by network radio stations because it mentioned an alcoholic beverage. The fact that it mentioned a commercial product by name also meant that it could be construed as free advertising when broadcast.

After the release of the Andrews Sisters version of "Rum and Coca-Cola," Belasco and Lord Invader sued for copyright infringement of the song's music and lyrics, respectively. After years of litigation, both plaintiffs won their cases, with Lord Invader receiving an award of $150,000 in owed royalties. However, Morey Amsterdam was allowed to retain copyright to the song. Lord Invader also wrote a follow-up song to "Rum and Coca-Cola," titled "Yankee Dollar."

  RECORD DETAILS:
US DECCA 18636     10" 78 rpm shellac
ANDREWS SISTERS  SIDE 1:- RUM AND COCA COLA SIDE 2:- ONE MEAT BALL CONDITION  E/E-  
    

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