Several years ago, I discovered this incredible CD called The Yiddish Radio Project. The CD featured extremely rare transcription discs from the Jewish radio stations that populated New York City in the 1940’s. The discs contained commercials, radio dramas, talk programs and musical numbers – but mostly commercials. Lots and lots of commercials. Heck, I think the commercials were only interrupted by more commercials.
One of the commercials on those New York City Jewish broadcasts was for a clothing store named Joe and Paul.
Joe and Paul was actually a chain of clothing stores, all operated by Paul Kofsky (there was no “Joe”). Kofsky was an early proponent of radio advertising, having commissioned one of the radio stations to create a jingle for his store – and that’s actually Kofsky singing the jingle on the radio broadcast.
Although the jingle was only heard in the New York City area, it later became the seed for a record that parodied Yiddish radio broadcasts. The Barton Brothers, a comedy duo who were popular in the Catskills, turned that simple jingle into an extended bilingual satire. If you don’t speak Yiddish, I’ll try to walk you through this.
The song starts out with references to radio station WBVD (there was a real “WEVD” in New York, but “BVD” sounds funnier if you know that “BVD” was the name of a brand of underwear).
Then the refrain goes something like this –
“Joe and Paul, a fargenigen / Joe and Paul, men ken a bargen krign / A suit, a koyt, a gaberdine / Brengt areyn dayn klenem zin.”
Or, in English –
“Joe and Paul, we’re glad to see you / Joe and Paul, you get a bargain here / A suit, a coat, a gaberdine / Bring your son, see what we mean.”
The first stanza talks about what kinds of clothes are available at your local Joe and Paul store, then we go back to the refrain. “We are now bringing you a program from Joe and Paul’s, with three stores in the area. The first store is located in Stanton and Delancey in downtown Manhattan, the second store is located in Hunts Point, Southern Boulevard, in the Bronx. And the third store is located in Pitkin Avenue, Brownsville, Brooklyn. Do you have a bar mitzvah-age boy who needs a slack suit, a two-tone, a reversible slicker, a herringbone, a jacket, a pair of pants, a Miami charvette, a Bronx sharpie, a Brooklyn-droop?”
Cue the refrain
It’s when we get to the second lyric … where we discover this is more than just a commercial for a clothing store. You can sort of follow what they’re saying in Yiddish, but in English it’s very ribald.
“Mothers, do you have a young teenage boy at home who likes to go to burlesque shows, who likes to buy French postcards? Does your boy run home, lock himself in the bathroom, and starts to make dirty groaning noises by himself? Mothers, do me a favor and give the boy a couple of dollars, and send him to meet Cockeyed Jenny. And if you don’t know where to find her, ask your husband, he knows the place very well.”
Whoa!! And just so you know – “Cockeyed Jenny” was actually a 1940’s-era reference to someone who has venereal disease. So if you didn’t want your teenage boy looking at risque postcards and – ahem – pleasuring himself in the bathroom – well, you get blessed with something that would certainly “cure” him of those urges.
Surprisingly, the “Joe and Paul” track sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and became the Barton Brothers’ most popular track as they toured the Borscht Belt. But one person in particular was very unhappy with the recording – Paul Kofsky. Yep, the “Paul” of “Joe and Paul.” He was not thrilled that his commercial jingle was now the basis for a blue party record. The November 20, 1948 edition of Billboard noted that Kofsky sued the Barton Brothers and their record company for $225,000, plus attorneys’ fees. It is unknown whether the lawsuit proceeded or if a settlement was reached.
Surprisingly, “Joe and Paul” found a different life as a mambo standard, with versions by Pupi Campo and Tito Puente receiving plenty of sales.
Definitely a unique piece of music culture, and certainly worth more study.
Because, let’s be honest. What do teenage boys want? A new suit – or a visit to Cockeyed Jenny? 😀
Chuck The Writer 