Highly sought after novelty record set by Sunny Skylar and the Dianaze Orchestra, "Nursery Rhymes but not for children" is a three record set with original cardboard jacket containing naughty adult versions of childhood favorites. The six songs include:
How Could Red Riding Hood (Mercury A-1014A)
Who Paid The Rent For Mrs. Rip Van Winkle (Mercury A-1014B)
She Dont Wanna (Mercury A-1013A)
My Handy Man (Mercury A-1013B)
The Tattooed Lady (Mercury A-1015A)
It Takes A Good Man To Do That (Mercury A-1015B)
All three 78 records are in very good plus condition, with no significant scratches and no chips. Nestled in the very scarce cardboard jacket with original and fully intact interior sleeves, the colorful cover depicts a naughty Big Bad Wolf leering through the window at Little Red Riding Hood putting on her stockings. Front cover in very good condition with minor wear to the corners. Rear cover has foxing and some discoloration.
Sunny Skylar towers among the greats of the Tin Pan Alley era -- an extraordinarily prolific songsmith with a unique flair for supplying new English lyrics to foreign-language hits, he contributed countless original compositions to the Great American Songbook but remains best known for adapting "Besame Mucho," cited by some historians as the most frequently recorded song in music history. Born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn on October 11, 1913, he first pursued a career as a singer, and in the years leading up to World War II he performed with a series of big bands, including stints with Be Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, and Vincent Lopez (who suggested his change his name to "Sunny," because it suited his disposition -- "Skylar" was his mothers maiden name). Skylar scored his first significant songwriting hit in 1941 when the Gene Krupa Orchestra featuring vocalist Anita ODay recorded "Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina," which he wrote in collaboration with Bette Cannon and Arthur Shaftel. A year later, Skylar teamed with George Williams and Chummy Mc Gregar for "It Must Be Jelly (Cause Jam Dont Shake Like That)," recorded by bandleaders including Glenn Miller and Woody Herman. Even as his writing career caught fire, Skylar nevertheless continued to pursue fame as a singer, performing at landmark nightspots including the Latin Quarter -- in addition, he spent several years in the mid-40s as a staple of the nascent Las Vegas Strip, headlining casinos including The Flamingo and El Rancho.
According to ASCAP, Skylar wrote more than 300 songs across the span of his career -- in his hands, the Carlos & Mario Rigual hit "Cuando Calienta el Sol" resurfaced on American pop radio in 1964 as the Ray Charles Singers "Love Me with All Your Heart," French composer Michel Polnaraffs "Ame Caline" enjoyed a second life as Raymond Lefeures "Soul Coaxing," and a melody from Dutch composer Jean Senn transformed into Dean Martins "Watching the World Go By." But Skylar also contributed a number of now-classic original compositions as well -- Frank Sinatra recorded his "Dont Wait Too Long" for the landmark September of My Years, and Ella Fitzgerald cut "Gotta Be This or That" for Ella Swings Lightly. Other notable efforts include "Be Mine Tonight," "Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue," "And So to Sleep Again," "Fifteen Minute Intermission," "Id Be Lost Without You," and "Its All Over Now." Skylar additionally cut a handful of efforts as a solo act -- 1946s Mercury label effort Nursery Rhymes (But Not for Children) is much sought-after by collectors of novelty records. Skylar died February 2, 2009 at the age of 95. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
