(early sound shorts from the Hal Roach Studios since 1931; Syndicated for TV in the 1950s)
[aka: "The Ku-ku Song", aka: "Coo! Coo! (radio time signal)", aka: "Dance of the Cuckoos", aka: "The Laurel and Hardy Theme"] [Liner notes to the Beau-Hunks "Laurel and Hardy" CD reveal that the motif of this ditty was originally composed as a wacky time cue for a local radio program. This program aired on radio station KFVD located at the Hal Roach Studios in L.A. The show was called "The Cuckoo Hour". According to author T. Marvin Hatley, when Stan Laurel heard it, he asked the writer if he could use it for his theme song. So Hatley embellished the short motif, incorporating a background motif in another key representing "Babe" Hardy. Having a piece with two melodies in different keys added to the quirky effect. Hatley was just 23 years old when he wrote the original time cue, and 25 when he re-arranged it for Stan Laurel to use. According to the book "Stan and Ollie, the roots of comedy: The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy" by Simon Louvish, the revised radio cue, which was now called "Ku-Ku" or the "The Ku-Ku Song" was first used in a film as a background cue in the 1930 Laurel and Hardy feature "Night Owls." But when it was re-used in the feature called "Brats" during the scene when Laurel and Hardy play themselves as babies, the audience howled. Roach was said to have paid Hatley a flat fee of $50 for the rights to use the "Ku-Ku" song from that point on, and Hatley was given more work at the Roach studios. Thomas Marvin Hatley had worked his way up in the Hal Roach organization from a member of a "The Happy-Go-Lucky" Trio which played music live for the radio station, to a writer of music for comic short soundfilms. Eventually he became the primary writer scoring Hal Roach feature films. Another up-and-coming writer that Roach hired later was Leroy "Roy" Shield. He followed in Hatley's footsteps, and first wrote for the Laurel Hardy soundfilm shorts, while Hatley scored the longer feature-length films. The 1932 copyright notice gives credit to Leroy Shield as the "arranger" of the work. Later in 1932, lyrics were added for the piece, now named the "Dance of the Cuckoos", which was played by the London Symphony Orchestra. The lyrics were written by Harry Steinberg] Composer: T. Marvin Hatley (ASCAP), and arranged by Leroy ("Roy") Shield (ASCAP), with lyrics added later by Harry Steinberg (not affiliated) Original Publisher: Southern Music Ltd. (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Hatley Music Co. (ASCAP), and Herman Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 1997 Publisher: APRS (BMI), [Southern Music Pub. Co.] c/o Peermusic, of New York, NY Composition Date: circa 1928 [for radio station KFVD on the lot at Hal Roach Studios.] [as the "Coo! Coo! radio time signal" (c) by Thomas Marvin Hatley, of Inglewood, CA]: Copyright Date: Feb. 12, 1930; E Unp[ublished] 17 055. [registered as "Ku-Ku" by (c) Southern Music Pub. Co., Inc. Copyright Date: Aug. 29, 1932; E Unp[ublished] 60 853. [an arrangement of "Ku-Ku" by LeRoy Shield, was an expanded version created after the original versions above. (c) Robbins Music Corp., New York.]: Copyright Date: July 30, 1936; E Unp[ublished] 129 352. [renewed as "Ku-Ku" by (c) T. Marvin Hatley]: Renewal Date: Sep. 3, 1959; R 241 836. [as "Dance of the Cuckoos"; lyricist Harry Steinberg took credit for both the words and music, and no credit was given to T. Marvin Hatley for some reason... (c) Southern Music Pub. Co., Inc.]: U.S. Copyright Date: Sept. 21, 1932; E For[eign] 27 900. Recordings: LP: "Laurel and Hardy On The Air" [contains a "dance version" of the music theme recorded in England in 1932, with the orchestra conducted by Van Phillips] Radiola MR-1104 (1979) CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" Vol. 1 Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99003 (1992) CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" Vol. 2 Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99025 (1993) CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" [Box Set] Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99026 (1993) Basta AudioVisuals (The Netherlands) Web Site: http://max.eastsite.nl:80/BASTA/
[Liner notes to the Beau-Hunks "Laurel and Hardy" CD state this ditty was often used behind opening credits after the "Ku-ku" theme above. This tune was also heard in another Hal Roach production: the "Our Gang Comedies", known on TV as "The Little Rascals".] Composer: Leroy ("Roy") Shield (ASCAP) Original Publisher: Southern Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Roy Shield Music Co. (ASCAP) 1997 Publisher: Roy Shield Music Company (ASCAP), of Portland, OR Copyright Date: Jan 10, 1931; E pub[lished] 20 486. Recordings: CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" Vol. 1 Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99003 (1992) CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" Vol. 2 Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99025 (1993) CD: "The Beau Hunks Play... The Original Laurel and Hardy Music" [Box Set] Basta Music (The Netherlands) 30-99026 (1993) Basta AudioVisuals (The Netherlands) Web Site: http://max.eastsite.nl:80/BASTA/ CD: "The Beau Hunks the Little Rascals Music" (1994) by The Beau Hunks Koch Screen 3-8702-2 CD: "On To The Show!" (1995) ["The Beau Hunks play More Little Rascals music"] by The Beau Hunks Koch Screen 3-8705-2