{"id":50507,"date":"2019-08-23T18:22:29","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T00:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=50507"},"modified":"2019-08-23T21:10:14","modified_gmt":"2019-08-24T03:10:14","slug":"phil-melancon-prepares-to-channel-allan-sherman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/phil-melancon-prepares-to-channel-allan-sherman\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Melancon prepares to channel Allan Sherman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By ALAN SMASON<\/p>\n<p>Phil Melancon has mounted a number of successful original shows in which he also celebrated the likes of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin. His prowess on the keyboards is legendary and he follows in true New Orleans fashion to other irreverent live performers like Billy Holiday and Sam Adams.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_50508\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50508\" class=\"wp-image-50508 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-768x517.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-1024x689.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/202;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50508\" class=\"wp-image-50508 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-768x517.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Melancon-1024x689.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-50508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phil Melancon prepares to sing the songs of Allan Sherman on Sundays at the Monkey Bar on Magazine Street, beginning August 25. (Photo courtesy of Phil Melancon)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>So who does Melancon decide to ape in the first of three upcoming cabaret performances at Monkey Hill Bar, 6100 Magazine Street, than Allan Sherman, the bald, overweight and self-deprecating Jewish comedian who scored big in the 1960s? Melancon&#8217;s show titled &#8220;<em>Hello Muddahs \u2013 The Wacky World of Allan Sherman<\/em>&#8221;&nbsp; will feature songs from a succession of hit comedy albums like &#8220;My Son, the Folksinger&#8221; &#8220;My Son, The Celebrity, &#8221; &#8220;Allan in Wonderland,&#8221; &#8220;For Swinging Livers Only&#8221; &#8220;My Son, the Nut&#8221; and &#8220;My Son, the Comedian.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve done 6o different composers or lyricists over the years,&#8221; explained Melancon. &#8220;It just came to Allan Sherman.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sherman was also a favorite of two of Melancon&#8217;s performing buddies \u2013 Alden Hagardorn and Lawrence Beron\u2013 both of whom urged Melancon to entertain the idea of producing an entire show on Sherman&#8217;s work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Of course everyone knows &#8216;Hello, Muddah; Hello Faddah,'&#8221; Melancon noted in speaking of Sherman&#8217;s biggest hit from 1964, also subtitled &#8220;A Letter from Camp.&#8221; Set to Ponchielli&#8217;s &#8220;Dance of the Hours,&#8221; the song relates a letter from an away-from-home camper and&nbsp; what appears to be the most depressing and dangerous summer camp experience for any youngster.<\/p>\n<p>Sherman, who was a highly regarded writer and producer prior to his entry into show business as a performer, also wrote several successful children&#8217;s books, Melancon mentioned.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_50509\" style=\"width: 245px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50509\" class=\"wp-image-50509 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-768x980.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-802x1024.jpg 802w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 235px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 235\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50509\" class=\"wp-image-50509 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-768x980.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Me-43-802x1024.jpg 802w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-50509\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phil Melancon with an album by Allan Sherman (&#8220;My Son, The Celebrity.&#8221;) (Photo courtesy Phil Melancon)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The trio plan to sing mostly solo songs, but several of Sherman&#8217;s ditties will feature backing vocals by the other vocalists.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Hagardorn and Beron, Melancon, who will play keyboards, will also be joined on stage by drummer Dave Thomas and bassist Dave Malackar.<\/p>\n<p>Melancon regards Sherman&#8217;s parody writing and his contemporary, Harvard professor Tom Lehrer, as key influencers affecting local performers Adams and Holiday, especially with their long-running hit show on Bourbon Street, &#8220;Nobody Likes a Smart Ass.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is where Sam (Adams) learned to write parodies,&#8221; said Melancon, &#8220;and Sam&#8217;s first partner was Harry Mayronne, Sr.&#8221; That also had an effect on Ricky Graham, Becky Allen and Harry, Jr., he suggested.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This line moves from Allan Sherman and Tom Lehrer to Sam Adams to New Orleans cabaret &#8211; really thick with it &#8211; and then it moves to people like &#8220;Weird Al&#8221; Yankovic.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Hello Muddahs \u2013 The Wacky World of Allan Sherman&#8221;<\/strong>&nbsp;opens on Sunday, August 25 and continues on September 1 and 8 with shows at 7:00 p.m. It has a running time for the show of an hour and a half, not including a a 15-minute intermission. Monkey Hill Bar is located at 6100 Magazine Street.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Phil%20Melancon%20prepares%20to%20channel%20Allan%20Sherman\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10160,8790,8795,8788,10161],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50507"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50507"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50517,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50507\/revisions\/50517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}