Song:Cow Cow Boogie
Album:The Very Best Of Ella Mae Morse
Though forgotten today, teen jazz singer Ella Mae Morse took the music world by storm with her 1942 debut single Cow Cow Boogie. Not only did it top the charts but it was Capitol Records' very first Gold record. Ella Mae had a strong career through the 50s. She was born Sept. 12, 1924 in Mansfield, TX. She auditioned and was hired by Jimmy Dorsey at age 14. The problem was he thought she was 19 and fired her when he found out her real age. In 1942 she joined pianist Freddie Slack's band. He had worked with Dorsey in the 30s and played the piano solo on the 1939 Will Bradley hit Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar. Slack was a legit boogie woogie guy. T-Bone Walker was in his band. Slack recorded Cow Cow Boogie with Ella Mae on vocals in 1942. It topped the hit parade and went Gold. Apparently it was the second record released by Johnny Mercer's newly established Capitol Records. Cow Cow Boogie was written by veteran songwriters Don Raye and Gene DePaul for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film Ride 'Em Cowboy. Cow Cow Boogie was also a hit for The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald in 1944. Dorothy Dandridge performed it in a Soundie. Ella Mae Morse performed it in the 1943 film Reveille With Beverly. Ella Mae went solo in 1943 and had several hits. Because of her versatility, she probably wasn't as big a star as she could have been. She could sing jazz, R & B or pop and many of her songs were R & B hits. Ella Mae Morse continued to record for Capitol until her 1957 retirement. You can get all of her Capitol hits on this comp. She continued to perform occasionally and did so regularly at Disneyland until her death on Oct. 16, 1999 at age 75. Here's Ella Mae Morse with Freddie Slack performing Cow Cow Boogie in the 1943 film Reveille With Beverly.
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