Benny Bell - "Shaving Cream"

Trolling around a bit more on the "Free Albums Galore" blog, I found a nice post about Jewish comedian and musician Benny Bell. According to the Jewish Sound Archive's Benny Bell page, Bell was

"[o]ne of the first to create comedy albums in Yiddish, ... [h]is popular “Pincus the Peddler” character was created in 1946 and featured American songs with a Yiddish flavor, a combination which proved to be a big hit in immigrant neighborhoods.... As the first half of the 20th century passed, so did the interest in Yiddish comedy. The 1950s were difficult .... [b]ut when a syndicated LA disc jockey began using Benny Bell’s song “Shaving Cream” as his theme song in the 1970’s, it renewed interest in his earlier recordings from the 1930s. “Shaving Cream” was eventually reissued, selling almost a million copies."

Here are the lyrics (from wikipedia)

ARTISTS: Benny Bell with Paul Wynn TITLE: Shaving Cream Lyrics by Benny Bell

I have a sad story to tell you It may hurt your feelings a bit Last night when I walked into my bathroom I stepped in a big pile of

{Refrain}

Shaving cream, be nice and clean Shave everyday and you'll always look keen

I think I'll break off with my girlfriend Her antics are queer I'll admit Each time I say, "Darling, I love you" She tells me that I'm full of

{Refrain}

Our baby fell out of the window You'd think that her head would be split But good luck was with her that morning She fell in a barrel of

{Refrain}

It goes on from there, but you get the idea. Anyway, Marvin from Free Albums Galore noted that the Internet Archive has "The Collected Works of Benny Bell" available for online listening or free download.



If this isn't enough for you, the Judaica Sound Archives has a shaving cream load of Bell. They've got 17 albums, including the wonderful "Pincus The Peddler"