Lou Monte

Lou Monte (born Louis Scaglione; April 2, 1917 – June 12, 1989) was an Italian American singer best known for a number of best-selling, Italian-themed novelty records which he recorded for both RCA Victor and Reprise Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, most famously "Lazy Mary" (1958) and the 1962/63 million-selling US single "Pepino the Italian Mouse", plus the seasonal track "Dominick the Donkey". He also recorded on Roulette Records, Jubilee Records, Regalia Records, Musicor Records, Laurie Records, and AFE Records. Monte was born on April 2, 1917, in Manhattan to Italian immigrant parents, but his mother died when he was only two. He was raised in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and he began performing at the age of fourteen. But success came slowly: by his own account, although he sang and played guitar in a number of clubs, he did not begin to gain a large following for about fifteen years. By the early 1940s, he was performing in New York City, and he was also a headliner at several New Jersey clubs. But when World War II broke out, Monte had to put his career on hold and enlist in the Army. When he was discharged, he resumed playing in clubs, and got a break when he was hired by WAAT AM 970 in Newark, New Jersey, in 1948 to do his own show. This offered Monte a chance to refine his act and it helped him to gain a much larger audience. The station rewarded him by convincing its sister TV outlet, WATV/13, to give him some airtime. Beginning with this exposure, Monte made a couple of recordings on local labels. Joe Carlton was an A&R for RCA Victor Records and heard him performing in a spaghetti joint south of Secaucus. He enjoyed his singing style and the way he accompanied himself on the guitar. He offered him a contract with RCA Victor which lasted seven years. Joe Carlton would go on to start Carlton Records. Monte's first big hit came in 1954, with the release of his version of "Darktown Strutters' Ball". In 1962, Monte released his first million-seller song, "Pepino the Italian Mouse", which was awarded a gold disc. Co-written by Ray Allen and Wandra Merrell and sung alternately in English and a pastiche of Calabrese, "Pepino the Italian Mouse" tells the humorous tale of a mischievous mouse who lives within the walls of a man's home and who pesters him by eating his cheese, drinking his wine and frightening his girlfriend. Arranged by Joe Reisman, who was Monte's longtime collaborator, the single is credited to Don Costa Productions. "Pepino" peaked at number five on Billboard's Hot 100 in mid-January and fared even better in certain markets, including Monte's native New York City, where the single spent two weeks at number one on WABC at the end of December. The "flip side" of the single featured another Italian-American hybrid novelty song called "What Did Washington Say (When He Crossed The Delaware?)." The song presumes that George Washington was cold, tired, hungry and without a change of underwear on his famous trip. At one point in the song, "Washington" complains that the pizzas his wife Martha baked were as "cold as ice". His solution? "Sell them to the Indians for only half the price." He then asks his boatsmen to row faster because "tonight I'm posing for my picture on the dollar bill." Monte's other famous novelty records include "Dominick the Donkey", a Christmas staple in many Italian-American households and "Pepino's Friend Pasqual (The Italian Pussy-Cat)", the sequel to "Pepino" followed by "Paulucci, the Italian Parrot" and "Paul Revere's Horse (Ba-Cha-Ca-Loop)". "Lazy Mary", a remake of the Italian song "Luna Mezzo Mare", tells the tale of a conversation between a young woman who wishes to be married, and her mother. The somewhat risque song mixes English and Italian verses. The two use double entendre to compare the occupations with the sexual appetites of the various suitors. It peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart. "Lazy Mary" is routinely played during the seventh inning stretch at New York Mets games (both at Shea Stadium and now at Citi Field), immediately after "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". "Dominick the Donkey" has enjoyed more recent success in the UK, thanks to its extensive use on The Chris Moyles Show in reference to Newsbeat newsreader and regular show contributor Dominic Byrne during the Christmas season. During the week leading up to Christmas of 2011, the show suggested or hinted that users download the song from iTunes and Amazon. This led to the song being the number two song on iTunes between December 19–25, 2011. "Dominick the Donkey" reached number 3 in the midweek charts on 21 December 2011, before being confirmed at number 3 in the UK Official Christmas Chart for 2011, only beaten by the X-Factor winners (Little Mix) and a charity record by the Military Wives. Dominic the Donkey did however outsell several rival chart campaigns most notably campaigns supporting Nirvana's rerelease of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which made number 11, and unsigned YouTube blogger Alex Day, who reached number 4. A portion of Monte's song "Skinny Lena" has notably been sampled into the They Might Be Giants track "Number Three." Monte made TV appearances on syndicated programming such as The Mike Douglas Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and the Merv Griffin Show. Monte resided in Totowa, New Jersey, where his fan club was based. He contributed to the founding of the Lou Monte, Jr., leukemia laboratory at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in memory of his son who died of the disease at age 21. Monte's 1971 recording "I Have An Angel In Heaven" was highly popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s satellite radio version of the "Music Of Your Life." Monte is interred in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. After his death, his surviving son Ray continued to sing his songs in concert for some time. His son is a professional drummer who plays for many bands. 1953 − Jealous of You / Angelina 1953 − A Baby Cried / One Moment More 1954 − Darktown Strutters Ball / I Know How You Feel 1954 − Somewhere There Is Someone / Won't You Forgive Me 1954 − Chain Reaction / Vera's Veranda 1954 − Italian Huckle−Buck / Just Like Before 1954 − When I Hold You In My Arms / In My Dreams 1954 − Cats Whiskers / Roulette 1955 − How Important Can It Be / Truly Yours 1955 − The Italian Wallflower / Dream Boat 1955 − Bella Notte / With You Beside Me 1955 − Yaller Yaller Gold / King Of The River 1955 − Tombolee Tombola / Rosina 1955 − Santo Natale / Italian Jingle Bells 1955–60 − The Long Way / Repeat These Words After Me 1956 − Nina, The Queen of the Teeners / Pony Tail 1956 − If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked A Cake / Ask Your Heart 1956 − Elvis Presley For President / If I Was A Millionaire 1956 − Roman Guitar / Some Cloud Above 1957 − Calypso Italiano / Someone Else Is Taking You Home 1957 − Musica Bella / The Wife 1957 − Ha! Ha! Ha! / Round and Round My Heart 1958 − Lazy Mary / Angelique 1958 − Eh Marie, Eh Marie / Sheik of Araby 1958 − Marianna / Strada 'Nfosa 1958 − Skinny Lena / Where Do You Work Marie 1959 − Pizza boy−U.S.A. / The Italian Cowboy Song 1959 − The Angel in The Fountain / Solo Per Te 1959 − Pistol Packin` Mama / Have Another 1959 − All Because it's Christmas / Santa Nicola 1960 − Remember This Gumba / Guarda Che Luna 1960 − Darktown Strutters’ Ball / Half A Love 1960 − Bim Bam Bu / Oh, Oh, Rosie 1960 − The Huckle−Buck / Always You 1960 − Dominick The Italian Christmas Donkey / Christmas at Our House 1960−61 − The Three Italian Bears / Come Prima* 1961 − A Good Man is Hard to Find / Sixteen Tons 1961 − Oh! My Pa−Pa, O Mio Papa / Tici Ti Tici To Tici Ta 1961 − The Sheriff Of Sicily / Katareena 1962 − Pepino The Italian Mouse / What Did Washington Say (When he Crossed The Delaware) 1962 − Twist Italiano / Oh Tessie 1962 − Please Mr. Columbus (Turn the Ship Around) / Addio, Addio 1963 − Down Little Doggie / La Luna Si Cuole Sposare 1963 − Pepino's Friend Pasqual (The