Editing Allan Sherman (section)

==Song parodies==
In 1951, Sherman recorded a 78-rpm single with veteran singer [[Sylvia Froos]] that contains "A Satchel and a Seck", parodying "[[A Bushel and a Peck]]" from ''[[Guys and Dolls (musical)|Guys and Dolls]]'', coupled with "Jake's Song", parodying "[[Sam's Song (song)|Sam's Song]]", a contemporary hit for [[Bing Crosby]] and his son [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]].<ref>''Variety'', "Retail Disk Best Sellers", Oct. 25, 1950, p. 47.</ref> The single sold poorly and when Sherman wrote his autobiography, he did not mention it. Later, he found that the song parodies he performed to amuse his friends and family were taking on a life of their own. Sherman lived in the [[Brentwood, Los Angeles, California|Brentwood]] section of [[Westside (Los Angeles County)|West Los Angeles]] next door to [[Harpo Marx]], who invited him to perform his song parodies at parties attended by Marx's show-biz friends. After one party, [[George Burns]] phoned an executive at [[Warner Bros. Records]] and persuaded him to sign Sherman to a contract. The result was an [[Gramophone record|LP]] of these parodies, ''[[My Son, the Folk Singer]]'', released in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/152 152]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/152
}}</ref> The album was very successful and was quickly followed by ''[[My Son, the Celebrity]]''.

Capitalizing on his success, in 1962 [[Jubilee Records]] re-released Sherman's 1951 single on the album ''More Folk Songs by Allan Sherman and His Friends'', which compiled material by various [[Borscht Belt]] comedians such as Sylvia Froos, [[Fyvush Finkel]] and Lee Tully.

Sherman's first two LPs were mainly reworkings of old [[folk song]]s to infuse them with Jewish humor. His first minor hit was "Sarah Jackman" (pronounced "Jockman"), a takeoff of "[[Frère Jacques]]" in which he and a woman (Christine Nelson) exchange family gossip. The popularity of "Sarah Jackman" (as well as the album ''My Son, the Folk Singer'') was enhanced after President [[John F. Kennedy]] was overheard singing the song in the lobby of the Carlyle hotel.<ref name="Autobio">{{cite book |last1=Sherman |first1=Allan |title=A Gift of Laughter: The Autobiography of Allan Sherman |date=1965 |publisher=Atheneum Publishers |isbn=9781386784487 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFJBAQAAIAAJ&q=kennedy+sarah+jackman |access-date=February 12, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|13}} By his peak with ''[[My Son, the Nut]]'' in 1963, however, Sherman had broadened both his subject matter and his choice of [[parody]] material and begun to appeal to a larger audience.

Sherman wrote his parody lyrics in collaboration with [[Lou Busch]]. A few of the Sherman/Busch songs are completely original creations, featuring original music as well as lyrics, rather than new lyrics applied to an existing melody.

However, Sherman had trouble in getting permission to record for profit from some well-known composers and lyricists, who did not tolerate parodies or satires of their melodies and lyrics, including [[Irving Berlin]], [[Richard Rodgers]], [[Ira Gershwin]], [[Meredith Willson]], [[Alan Jay Lerner]], and [[Frederick Loewe]], as well as the estates of [[Lorenz Hart]], [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Oscar Hammerstein]], [[Kurt Weill]], [[George Gershwin]] and [[Bertolt Brecht]], which prevented him from releasing parodies or satires of their songs. In the late 1950s, Sherman was inspired by a recording of a nightclub musical show called ''My Fairfax Lady'', a parody of ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' set in the Jewish section of Los Angeles that was performed at [[Billy Gray (comedian)|Billy Gray]]'s Band Box. Sherman then wrote his own song parodies of ''My Fair Lady'', which appeared as a [[bootleg recording]] in 1964, and were officially released in 2005 on ''My Son, the Box''. Alan Jay Lerner did not approve of having the parody being performed; however, he reluctantly settled to allow the performances of "Fairfax Lady", on the strict conditions that the show could be allowed to be performed only inside the Fairfax Theater, without any touring company, and that the musical could not be videotaped or recorded for any album.

Although Sherman believed that all the songs parodied on ''My Son, the Folk Singer'' were in the [[public domain]], two of them, "[[Matilda (calypso song)|Matilda]]" and "[[Waterboy (song)|Water Boy]]"–parodied as "My Zelda" and "[[Seltzer water|Seltzer]] Boy", respectively–were actually under copyright, and Sherman was sued for copyright infringement.<ref name="Autobio" />{{rp|262}}<ref>Wallace, Irving and Wallenchensky, David. ''The People's Almanac of the 20th Century''</ref>

In 1963's ''My Son, the Nut'', Sherman's pointed parodies of classical and popular tunes dealt with [[automation]] in the workplace ("Automation", to the tune of "[[Fascination (1932 song)|Fascination]]"), [[Spaceflight|space travel]] ("Eight Foot Two, Solid Blue", to "[[Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue]]"), summer camp ("[[Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh]]", to the tune of ''[[Dance of the Hours]]'' by [[Ponchielli]]), the exodus from the city to the suburbs ("Here's to the Crabgrass", to the tune of "[[Country Gardens|English Country Garden]]"), and his own bulky physique ("Hail to Thee, Fat Person", which claims his [[obesity]] was a public service similar to the [[Marshall Plan]]). Seven cartoon bears were printed on back of every album.<ref>{{cite web |title=Allan Sherman - My Son, The Nut {{!}} Releases {{!}} Discogs |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/429169-Allan-Sherman-My-SonNut/image/SW1hZ2U6NTY2MTU5Mw== |website=discogs.com | year=1963 |publisher=Discogs |access-date=26 April 2023}}</ref>