The thread on "Flamin' Mamie" brought a rush of memories from long ago.

In the 1940s our family would go to the family ranch late each summer,
just as deer season started.  The ranch is in the California Coast
Range Mountains in Mendocino County, 12 miles over a dirt county road,
then another 1/2 mile over the ranch road to a little cabin on the side
of a hill.  The cabin was built around 1900 or so, then abandoned.  My
stepfather and his uncle homesteaded the ranch in the early '30s, and
it is still in the family.

Homesteading meant staying on the ranch for most of the year for
several years at a time, which usually included winter.  It snows in
that neck of the woods, so for weeks at a time they were pretty much
stuck in the cabin.

One of the entertainments they had (in addition to playing cards,
home-grown booze, singing with mandolin accompaniment, etc.) was an
old console Victrola with a sizable collection of records.  It was
still there, along with the wood stove and ancient sink with no running
water.  (We kids carried water to the house from the spring up the
hill).

When I began visiting the ranch I was fascinated by the Victrola
machine and especially by the music.  My mother insisted that I have
a classical musical education, and discouraged any music that was
"common".  These records were a real musical awakening for me, and to
a lesser degree, for my younger sister as well.  I'm sorry to say that
we played them to death, to the point where the only thing to be done
was to chuck them down the hill.  To my mother's credit, she didn't try
to stop us from playing the records.

The music was indelibly imprinted in my mind, and I can still hear the
records in my mind's ear, just as they sounded over a half a century
ago.  One of these was, of course, "Flamin' Mamie".  I have no idea who
the female singer was, much less the orchestra, but it was definitely a
vamp song.  As each chorus came along, the ukulele was a bit stronger,
until at the last chorus it challenged the singer a bit!  Maybe I was
naive, but the lyrics never struck me as very suggestive.  Perhaps it
was the Berkeley influence, where I grew up.

We have a roll of "Flamin' Mamie" played by Pete Wendling, QRS 3301.
It is fun to play, but it doesn't compare to the record.  Wish I could
find a copy...

There are a number of other records that live in the memory archives
-- "The Wreck of the Old 97", "Milenberg Joys", "Tiger Rag", several
Gallagher and Shean comedy records, and many more.  I guess I'm
fortunate to be able to play the old tapes in my mind.

Bob Billings

 [ I asked record collector Mike Kieffer about "Flamin' Mamie".
 [ He replied:
 [
 [ "I've had the Billy Murray record for years, and there was also a
 [ Victor by Jack Shilkret's Orchestra (19922).  There were two versions
 [ on Columbia, Ed Smalle (506-D, which I also have) and Paul Specht
 [ & his Orch (577-D).  Salt and Pepper recorded it on Brunswick 3012.
 [ I'm sure there were other dance band versions of it on smaller
 [ labels, but unfortunately the dance band discography doesn't have
 [  a title index."
 [
 [ -- Robbie