- Allen & Grier
Allen & Grier is a
folk rock parody duo that in 1963 released thecomedy album "Better To Be Rich Than Ethnic" onVee Jay Records . The duo consisted of musicianJake Holmes as Allen and his wife Katherine "Kay" Holmes as Grier. The two met atBennington College and decided to write songs that mocked the popularfolk music of the time. The result was an album that, according to interviews Jake Holmes has given, earned the pair the label "the most tasteless folk group ever" fromPete Seeger .Despite being billed as a folk act, Allen & Grier actually emulate various genres of music on their sole album. The title track, for example, is a straight-forward comedy track in which the pair's WASPish mother explains the virtues of being white and privileged. The tracks "Teenage Mother" and "Hyena Baby" parody the
pop music of the late 50s that was often favored by theteenybopper set. The album's final track is an intentionally grating cover of the song "Earth Angel .""The Ballad of the Camping Woodcutters" attempts to play on the sound ofmedieval ballads while at the same time making off colorpuns . In fact, only "Grapefruits" and "Lonesome Traveler" sound like most folk music did at the time Allen & Grier were performing. One should note, furthermore, that the former of the two songs is intended to be a comedic song.Legacy
After moderate success with "Better To Be Rich Than Ethnic", Katherine left Jake and the duo disbanded. Jake eventually formed a comedy act with
Joan Rivers andJim Connell called "Jim, Jake and Joan." Holmes' follow-up album, a serious solo effort titled "A Letter to Katherine December", was released later. It dealt with the fall-out from hisdivorce .Since the advent on the online music industry, Allen & Grier has seen some resurgence in popularity, as prints of the original vinyl album have long been hard to find.
The Culps, the married pair of middle school music teachers played by
Will Ferrell andAna Gasteyer on "Saturday Night Live " resemble Allen & Grier in their sound. Mrs. Culp in particular sounds like Grier. Also, both bands cover popular songs in quirkly, often irritating ways for the purpose of humor.References
* [http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/jakeholmes.html Dazed and Confused: The Incredibly Strage Saga of Jake Homles] - by Will Shade, "Perfect Sound Forever", September 2001
External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0sh0c2QK0 A small sample on Youtube]
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