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Bell continued self-releasing vinyl albums into the 1980s, and they often resemble 1950s releases, featuring somewhat plain covers with the same graphics (an array of laughing heads) re-used for decades, or with no art except a plain cover with hole to view the label. He continued to issue LP albums
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which is a combination biography and memoir written by his grandson, Joel
Samberg, was published by BearManor Media and released in 2009. Joel Samberg, who collaborated with his grandfather on a few recordings and videos in the 1970s and 1980s, also recorded several new versions of "Shaving Cream"
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after Benny Bell's death, using his grandfather's music with updated lyrics. These include "Presidential
Shaving Cream," which skewered the presidential and vice presidential candidates in 2008, and "Holiday Shaving Cream," which paints potent pictures of Christmas and Chanukkah traditions.
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and music, sometimes under the names Benny Bimbo and Paul Wynn. His first record, "The
Alimony Blues" (backed with "Fast Asleep on a Mountain"), for Plaza Records on December 16, 1929 was a comical song about preferring to spend time in jail rather than pay
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He continued recording and releasing records into the 1980s, but he remained little-known beyond New York City until the 1970s when "Shaving Cream" was played regularly on the Dr. Demento radio program, leading to its re-issue as a single in 1975 on the
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long after that format was considered obsolete. Some albums have new spoken jokes edited into breaks in older songs as "asides", a technique Bell had been using since the 1950s, and some songs contain comic interruptions made over several decades.
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radio program, Bell stated that he kept his straight and blue careers separate for many years, the latter being a secret. His eventual fame would come from his risqué material. His first jukebox release was a
130:, March 21, 1906 – July 6, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter who reached popularity in the 1940s, with a comeback in the 1970s. He is remembered for his risqué but cheerfully optimistic songs.
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segueing into the refrain, "Shaving Cream, be nice and clean..." The same technique was used in "Sweet
Violets" and many other songs — it is known among folklorists as "teasing songs".
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in cocktail bars. He entered into this endeavour using his self-established record company, while continuing to make ethnic and mainstream comedy records. In an interview on the
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In 1946, he released his three highest-selling songs: "Take a Ship for
Yourself," "Pincus the Peddler" which drew from his personal experience in the trade, and the notorious "
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Bell founded his own record company under a variety of names: Bell
Enterprises, Madison Records, Zion Records, and Kosher Comedy Records. He also wrote and recorded commercial
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Bell enjoyed writing risqué lyrics, and in 1939 he was advised that he could make so-called party records with "blue" lyrics, primarily for use in
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Bell died in New York in July 1999, at the age of 93. His son, Charles
Samberg, donated the vast majority of Bell's works to
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Joel
Samberg, "Grandpa Had a Long One: Personal Notes on the Life, Career and Legacy of Benny Bell," BearManor Media, 2009
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Comedy Stars at 78 RPM: Biographies and discographies of 89 American and
British recording artists, 1896–1946
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177:. His jingle for Lemke's cockroach powder, sung in a mixture of Yiddish and English, has been released on
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417:. Third edition. Edited by Colin Larkin. London: MUZE, 1998. Grove's Dictionaries, New York, 1998.
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Benny Bell was born to an immigrant Jewish family in New York City. His father wanted him to be a
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In 1995, Bell suffered a fall and was admitted to Good
Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York.
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Grandpa Had a Long One: Personal Notes on the Life, Career and Legacy of Benny Bell,
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573:"Benny Bell: Another Close Shave - Benny Bell | Songs, Reviews, Credits"
335:(Zion Records 234, 1959, re-issue of above, as Benny Bell and the Agony Trio)
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label, along with a similarly titled album. The single reached No. 30 in the
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In the early 1990s Bell appeared at the Bottom Line with Doctor Demento and
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375:(Bell Enterprises 303, 1977, jokes by Slim Jim and songs by Benny Bell)
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311:(Madison Records 120, 1960, not the same album as either of the above)
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Hospital records, Good Samaritan Hospital and Fred Schuepfer
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323:(Bell Enterprises, LP album, essentially a "volume 2")
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Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University
341:(Zion Records 252, as Benny Bell and the Brownsville
305:(Zion Records 126, 1956, not the same album as above)
216:, Russia). Each verse in "Shaving Cream" ends with a
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arrangement of a traditional risqué drinking song, "
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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428:List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
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673:Yiddish-language singers of the United States
678:Hebrew-language singers of the United States
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411:. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1998.
381:(volumes 1 to 8, Benny Bell Records, on CD)
543:The Hilarious Musical Comedy of Benny Bell
514:The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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448:"Biography at Florida Atlantic University"
379:The Hilarious Musical Comedy of Benny Bell
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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473:"The Dead Rock Stars Club 1998 - 1999"
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541:Spoken introduction by Benny Bell on
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49:adding citations to reliable sources
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339:To the Bride: "G'zint mit Parnussa"
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668:20th-century American male singers
663:Burials at New Montefiore Cemetery
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402:Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide
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369:(Vanguard Records VSD-79357, 1975)
154:In addition to songs with English
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693:20th-century American songwriters
643:Songwriters from New York (state)
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415:The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
648:American novelty song performers
357:(Bell Enterprises 900, LP album)
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385:Benny Bell: Another Close Shave
36:needs additional citations for
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658:20th-century American singers
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327:Jewish American Novelty Tunes
299:(Kosher Comedy Records, 1956)
404:. Krause Publications, 1996.
355:The Opera Star (Comic Opera)
317:(Bell Enterprises, LP album)
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281:Florida Atlantic University
158:, he wrote and recorded in
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683:20th-century American Jews
653:Singers from New York City
16:American singer-songwriter
688:American male songwriters
638:Jewish American musicians
321:Jewish Comedy (2nd Issue)
315:Jewish Comedy (1st Issue)
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553:Traditional Ballad Index
477:Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
329:(Bell Enterprises, 1958)
349:Laugh Along With Pincus
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519:Guinness Publishing
285:Boca Raton, Florida
521:. pp. 211/2.
517:(First ed.).
387:(Benny Bell, 2005)
333:Pincus the Peddler
291:Albums discography
458:on July 10, 2007.
407:Ronald L. Smith,
400:Roland L. Smith,
263:Weird Al Yankovic
252:Watergate scandal
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60:"Benny Bell"
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43:Please help
38:verification
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633:1999 deaths
628:1906 births
190:Dr. Demento
101:August 2009
622:Categories
603:Benny Bell
584:August 15,
482:August 15,
434:References
218:mind rhyme
144:vaudeville
124:Benny Bell
71:newspapers
244:Australia
186:jukeboxes
607:AllMusic
578:AllMusic
422:See also
373:Showtime
343:Klezmers
250:and the
195:hot jazz
171:jingles
160:Yiddish
149:alimony
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164:Hebrew
156:lyrics
134:Career
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