The Bear Facts

The Hiistory.. “I met her on the beach at Bali Bali” from the year 1936 and written by Al Sherman (On a Little Bamboo Bridge), Jack Maskill and . I suppose it was the ‘’ inspired ‘ Jump on the Bandwagon’ phiosophy that spawned this song about nowhere really. As Bali Bali SOUNDED Polynesian I sup- pose they almost got it right.

This song is now quite popular in Japan and is out on the Harlequin label HQCD-187 :- Broadway’s Gone Hawaii, the track was recorded on the 9th of 2 June 1936 in New York by and sung by Edythe Wright. Also in 1936 it was recorded by Bob Crosby’s Bobcats The words... with Connee Boswell, who, gained the most airpaly and sales. Amongst quite a few others who rushed to It Happened on the Beach at Bali Bali record this popular song of the day were :- Henry ‘Red’ Allen, Bunny Berigan, Sy Oliver, & Jimmie Lunceford & It Happened on the beach at Bali Bali His Orchestra. I found her dreaming on the golden sands later to be rocorded by Primo Scala & His Accordion It Happened on the beach at Bali Bali Band, Felix Mendhlessohn, Frank Chacksfield, et al. And it wasn’t long ‘till we were holding glands

And while we strolled along the beach together We kissed and then she promised to be mine You could’ve knocked me over with a feather When she told me that she came from Caroline.

The day I sailed across the ocean To fine romance across the sea I never had the slightest notion I’d meet the girl who used to live next door to me

And now we own a cottage in the valley A cosy little nest that’s hers and mine 1 It Happened on the beach at Bali Bali And ended up way down in Caroline

The Tab... Whether Jerry Byrd “Invented” the C6th tuning is debat- able, but his formulation and development of the C6/A7 combination tuning is beyond doubt, so, In deference to a past master I’ve tabbed an old standard in HIS tuning. 3 There is nothing particularly difficult in the tab, but i’ve included fingering for the first time. I felt it was essential to indicate not only the correct frets but the correct finger combinations for, in particular, the ‘Chromatic’ runs.

Picture 1 shows

Picture 2

Picture 3

13 Al Sherman / Jack Maskill / Abner Silver

14 Steel Guitar Tuning C6/A7 E - C - A - G - E - C#

© Basil Henriques 2006 15 Bali Bali or Bali Hai

Overlooking Hanalei Bay, on the Noth Shore of Kauai, is Bali Hai. In real- ity just a set of cliffs and peaks that were used in the film ‘South Pacific’ as the imaginary off-shore Island.

In the movie, Bali Hai was the island in the dis- tance that was forbidden to the American sailors.

The movie makers didn't have an island near enough (or breathtaking enough) to use, so they just used these moun- tains.

If you visit Kauai, be sure to rent the video either before or after your visit. It is amazing how little the island has changed in the 40 years since the movie was made

Kauai Picture by Linda Garrison

Whilst one could easily stroll along the sands of the beach at Hanalei Bay, it would be quite painful if you tried to do so on the beach at Bali Bali. (Again a semi imaginary place)

Located on the island of Bali in Indonesia and spared the devas- tation of the 2004 December 26th Tsunami by the Islands off Sumatra and Java.

The song was a hit by Connee Boswell with Bob Crosby’s ‘Bobcats’ One of the finest jazz singers of the 1930's, Connee (who was always cited by as her main early influ- ence) originally rose to fame as a member of the Boswell Sisters, one of the premiere jazz vocal groups. They started out singing on a local radio broadcast. The three became internationally famous by the mid 1930s and even performed for the Queen at Buckingham Palace. After the trio disband- ed Conneel became an even bigger star. During her heyday, she appeared in concerts, Broadway shows, and films. She also had many hit records and did several duets with . When Boswell was four she suffered polio and was confined to a wheelchair. In public she usually appeared seated in an elevated wheelchair and wore a gown designed to make it seem as if she were standing. 16