"The Crazy Otto Medley" is a ragtime medley, originally arranged and recorded by the German comic performer Fritz Schulz-Reichel under the pseudonym of "Der schräge Otto" aka "Crazy Otto". The best-known version is a 1955 recording made by pianist Johnny Maddox.
"Johnny's Medley (Spaghetti Rag / Brush Creek Rag / South / San Antonio Rose / Old Piano Roll Blues)" (1955)
The opening tune in the medley is "Ivory Rag" by Lou Busch and Jack Elliott. The closing song is "Play a Simple Melody" by Irving Berlin. The songs sandwiched in between these two are pop songs from Germany. The first of them is "In der Nacht ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine" by Franz Grothe. The second is "Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores" by Michael Jary. The third is "Was macht der alte Seemann" (Heino Gaze & Günther Schwenn).[1]
The Maddox recording of the Crazy Otto Medley entered the Billboard charts on February 5, 1955, and spent 20 weeks, peaking at #2 for seven weeks. It also became the first million-selling ragtime record in the United States since Del Wood's "Down Yonder" in 1951, and eventually sold in excess of two million copies.
Due to its success, the Crazy Otto Medley became synonymous with Maddox in the United States, who became nicknamed "Crazy Otto", the same nickname already used by Schulz-Reichel.
The Grateful Dead song "Ramble on Rose" contains a line about Crazy Otto.[2]
Referencesedit
^"Nur auf Den Pfiff Kommts An - Bully Buhlan | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
^Dodd, David. "The Annotated "Ramble On Rose"". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
External linksedit
Ragtime and Honky-Tonk of the 1950s: Sorting Out the Players, Bill Edwards: (2004)
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crazy, otto, medley, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, septem. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Crazy Otto Medley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The Crazy Otto Medley is a ragtime medley originally arranged and recorded by the German comic performer Fritz Schulz Reichel under the pseudonym of Der schrage Otto aka Crazy Otto The best known version is a 1955 recording made by pianist Johnny Maddox The Crazy Otto Medley Single by Johnny MaddoxB side Humoresque ReleasedJanuary 1955Recorded1954GenreRagtimeLength3 02LabelDotSongwriter s Fritz Schulz ReichelJohnny Maddox singles chronology Chicken Reel 1955 The Crazy Otto Medley 1955 Johnny s Medley Spaghetti Rag Brush Creek Rag South San Antonio Rose Old Piano Roll Blues 1955 The opening tune in the medley is Ivory Rag by Lou Busch and Jack Elliott The closing song is Play a Simple Melody by Irving Berlin The songs sandwiched in between these two are pop songs from Germany The first of them is In der Nacht ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine by Franz Grothe The second is Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores by Michael Jary The third is Was macht der alte Seemann Heino Gaze amp Gunther Schwenn 1 The Maddox recording of the Crazy Otto Medley entered the Billboard charts on February 5 1955 and spent 20 weeks peaking at 2 for seven weeks It also became the first million selling ragtime record in the United States since Del Wood s Down Yonder in 1951 and eventually sold in excess of two million copies Due to its success the Crazy Otto Medley became synonymous with Maddox in the United States who became nicknamed Crazy Otto the same nickname already used by Schulz Reichel The Grateful Dead song Ramble on Rose contains a line about Crazy Otto 2 References edit Nur auf Den Pfiff Kommts An Bully Buhlan Songs Reviews Credits Awards AllMusic 2007 02 12 Retrieved 2013 09 26 Dodd David The Annotated Ramble On Rose Retrieved 5 August 2016 External links editRagtime and Honky Tonk of the 1950s Sorting Out the Players Bill Edwards 2004 nbsp This 1950s single related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Crazy Otto Medley amp oldid 1152221045, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
