Sammy Kaye was not only one of the most popular bandleaders of the big band era, he was also one of the shrewdest marketers. There was the catchy tag “Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye!”, and his audience participation gimmick “So You Want to be a Band Leader?”
Song cue:
Over the land, over the sea, up in the air the fighting Yankees all agree!
There is a gal, oh what a gal, and for the love of her the boys are fighting for democracy.
It’s Lu, Lu, Lalapaluza Lu….
Of course, nothing beat free press. The following comes directly from a Billboard Magazine article, published on…May 9 1942.
“…One can always expect something unusual – and good-when Sammy tries something different on the waxes. Here again he rings the bell. Drake Hoffman and Jerry Livingston have come up with one of those easy-to-rhyme verses which champions Lalapaluza Lu as the girlfriend of the armed forces.”
Sound Beat is produced at the Belfer Audio Archive, Syracuse University Libraries.