Who does all the TALKING?

[manifan]

OK, I'm sure there are some TJB experts here who can answer this question. I've long wondered whose voice says "Oh, Yeah!" on "Third Man Theme." And who announces at the beginning of "Numero Cinco"? And is that Herb humming in the middle of "Gotta Lotta Livin' to Do"? If you can think of any more songs in which there's speaking, please fill me in on who it is, if you can.

Thanks!

Elena

 

[Harry]

I'm pretty sure the "Oh! Yeah!" belongs to Herb.

The announcement at the beginning of "Numero Cinco" (on SOME copies), is supposed to sound like an engineer 'slating' the recording. I have no idea who exactly it is.

I'll have to give a closer listen to "Gotta Lotta...", but it's probably Herb.

Harry
NP: Beatles, Let It Be...Naked

 

[bob]

just read the post about the 3rd man theme who said oh yeah I remember it was bob edmunson becasue the the tjb was on the ed sullivan 3 times as I remember once in 1965 playing a taste of honey and 3rd man theme and when the part came up I remember they panned to bob edmunson, since he was the comic of the group. if any of you remember it I was 9 at the time watching it on a b/w tv I believe that show was in b/w with the peggy lee and righteous brothers as this tjb was with different members I guess they did not form the brass yet
bob papp

 

[Rudy]

I'm pretty sure the "Oh! Yeah!" belongs to Herb.
The announcement at the beginning of "Numero Cinco" (on SOME copies), is supposed to sound like an engineer 'slating' the recording. I have no idea who exactly it is.

It sounds like a young Herb to me. I've always thought it was.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

If you can think of any more songs in which there's speaking, please fill me in on who it is, if you can.

At the end of "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" you can hear Herb say "Terrific, terrific". You can also hear him counting off on "Hurt So Bad" and "Montezuma's Revenge". I'm guessing that's him at the beginning of "Robbers And Cops".


Capt. Bacardi
...straining my brain online...(ouch)

 

[Captaindave]

Well, I really have no idea, but I'm going to speculate that Herb probably did most of it, maybe with a little help from Bob Edmondson...or maybe Nick Ceroli...

I have this feeling that Herb, being the producer and arranger of the TJB recordings, probably had a great deal of autonomous control over the actual creation and details of a TJB recording project. So, he would be the likely one to either add, decide to add, or direct the addition of, any little details that might be heard on a recording.

I imagine that as Herb listened to and directed the recording project, he might have provided any little nuances that we hear on the final recordings - such as those little spoken parts.

I doubt if anyone else would have had the privilege to take those kinds of "liberties" with a TJB recording project...

 

[Rudy]

If you have a really clean copy of Summertime and can turn the volume up, you can hear a count-off at the end of the pause in "Darlin'".

Not vocal, but in "Hurts So Bad", during the slow section with Herb's solo, you can faintly hear another solo trumpet track.

 

[TonyCurrie]

Sidetrackin' I know, but a little story about that "Oh Yeah".

GOING PLACES was one of a number of TJB albums to be played as background to the Test Card (aka test pattern) on commercial Tv here in the UK back in the 60s. Herb usually got a good lunchtime slot (1230 - 1300) which meant kids like me would listen when we rushed home from school for lunch. The same disc would be played every day in the same slot for six months - they came not from the TV studios but from the hilltop transmitter sites, and each transmitter had its own batch of LPs, but all played the same discs in the same order.

But they were always instrumentals - never vocals. Don't ask me why. With hindsight I suspect it was one of those quaint copyright things. Instrumentals could be classed as "background" music which was charged at a lower rate than "foreground" - but I suppose with vocals, music became "foreground".

Anyway, whenever they came to the THIRD MAN they always faded it out just before the "oh yeah"...... Made more work for the poor transmitter guys. I picture twenty or so of them all over Britain, fading the same disc at the same point every day for six months. Bizarre...

BTW I wouldn't assume that it was Bob Edmonson just because he appeared to say the line on TV. The band were almost certainly miming, and the director would have chosen whoever looked best saying the line, irrespective of whose voice it actually was on the tape.