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The Life Of Allan Sherman

taken from sillysongbook.com

Allan Sherman was born Allan Copolon in Chicago, Illinois on November 30, 1924. He started off in show business as a scriptwriter for Jackie Gleason, among others. His first recording as a musical performer came in 1951 with the song "A Satchel and a Seck", which didn't do very well. He then turned to television, creating and producing the long-running quiz show "I've Got A Secret." He then became the writer and producer of "The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen" until 1961.

At this point in his career, Sherman decided to take another stab at performing, signing a contract with Warner Brothers Records in 1962 and releasing his first album, "My Son, The Folk Singer". On the strength of the single "Sarah Jackman" (Frere Jacques), the album shot up to number one on the charts. He followed that up with another number one album, "My Son, The Celebrity" in late 1962.

In 1963, Sherman released his third and biggest selling album, "My Son, The Nut" featuring the top five hit, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh". "My Son, The Nut" would wind up staying at the top of the charts for eight consecutive weeks. At this point, Sherman had reached his commercial peak. His fourth album, "Sherman In Wonderland", would wind up only getting to #25 on the charts in 1964. His next two albums, "Swinging Livers' Only" and "Peter And The Commissar" didn't even break the top 40.

Despite his witty parodies, his last charting album,
"My Name Is Allan" only got as high as #88 in 1965. After his next two albums, "Allan Sherman Live" and "Togetherness" in 1966, Warner Brothers dropped him from the label.

Sherman published his autobiography, titled "A Gift Of Laughter," in 1966. His book, "The Rape Of The A.P.E. (American Puritical Ethic)", was published in 1973 and reflected Sherman's view of human behavioral absurdities. "A.P.E" would wind up being Sherman's last published work and a much sought after literary classic. Sherman's health got progressively worse over the years, developing into emphysema. Allan Sherman died in California on November 21, 1973 at the age of 48.

Sherman's music lives on, thanks to novelty record deejays, such as Dr. Demento, who still plays his parodies today.

Click here to visit Picklehead's "Allan Sherman" page. and to buy his greatest hits collection called
"My Son, The Greatest,"
through our affiliation with amazon.com.

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