Yakety Sax

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"Yakety Sax" is a pop-jazz instrumental music composition composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Homer "Boots" Randolph III and popularized by saxophonist Randolph in his 1963 recording. The composition includes pieces of assorted fiddle tunes and was written for a performance at a venue called The Armory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Two bars of "Entrance of the Gladiators" and "The Girl I Left Behind" are also worked into it. The song is not to be confused with the Leiber and Stoller song "Yakety Yak", recorded in 1958 by The Coasters. The tunes are similar, and both feature the "yakety sax" sound, but have distinctly different melodies. Randolph first recorded "Yakety Sax" that year for RCA Victor, but the song did not become a hit until his re-recording for Monument Records in 1963, which reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is most famously known to audiences as the iconic theme song of The Benny Hill Show.

"Yakety Sax"

Single by Boots Randolph B-side Released Format Genre Length Label Writer(s) "I Really Don't Want to Know" 1963 45 rpm Zydeco 1:59 Monument Records Spider Rich Boots Randolph

Other noteworthy performances

Guitarist Chet Atkins recorded a version of Fred Foster "Yakety Sax" in 1965 called "Yakety Axe". Producer Atkins's version used a similar tempo and showcased his country guitar picking style in place of a saxophone. The title change referred to the colloquial term for an electric guitar as an "axe." In 1990 he collaborated with Mark Knopfler on the album Neck and Neck where he recorded a slower-tempo version, with verses composed by Merle Travis that he recited rhythmically to the music. The original version of "Yakety Axe" was Atkins' highest charting song on Hot Country Songs, reaching number 4; it also went to number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Bill Haley & His Comets recorded "Yakety Sax" on three distinct occasions: for Orfen of Mexico in 1964, for Guest Star Records of the US in 1964, and for Sonet Records of Sweden in 1968. "Yakety Sax" was also a staple of Haley's and his Comets's live performances, usually featuring saxophonist Rudy Pompilli. Sax player Marty Maggio released a version on BSW Records in early 2011.[2] In 1989, the British band the Highliners released "the Benny Hill Boogie," which is based on "Yakety Sax."[3] During the Beach volleyball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the theme was played when the sand-rakers came out between games.[4] It is used on a Philippine noontime show "Its Showtime." In 2011, Sanne Mestrome (http://www.andrerieu.com/en/andre-jso/the-orchestra/sanne-mestrom) played the Yakety Sax during the classical music concert of Andre Reiu & JSO

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Rieu) at Radio City Hall, New York. [5]

Television, film and radio

"Yakety Sax" is often used in television and film as a soundtrack for outlandishly humorous situations. It was frequently used to accompany comedic sketches in the ITV comedy program The Benny Hill Show,[6] where it accompanied otherwise silent, rapidly-paced comedy sequences that typically involved a farcical chase scene. Indeed, "Yakety Sax" is so closely linked to the show that it has come to be referred to commonly as "The Benny Hill Song."[citation needed ] On "The Benny Hill Show" the song was performed by Ronnie Aldrich and His Orchestra. Aldrich was the musical consultant of that series. This use of the piece, and the chase scenes themselves, have been parodied in many other movies and TV shows, including the 2006 British film V for Vendetta and the animated TV show Family Guy. The Comedy Central animated program South Park also used the piece in one episode. The song was used for an award-winning UK radio commercial.

References
1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 34. ISBN 0-89820-177-2. 2. ^ ""Yes" Country" (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/martymaggio). CD Baby. 3. ^ Rockin' Song of the Week No.100 - The Highliners (http://rockabillyville.blogspot.ca/2010/05/rockin-songof-week-no100-highliners.html), at Rockabillyville; published 29 May 2010; retrieved 17 June 2012 4. ^ Golen, Jimmy (28 July 2012). "Beach volleyball brings its beat to Olympics" (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i6v8bYIKq35NVGdq6yvSXzXdE5aA? docId=049dfdb9b87d4f3083709d4c9d18849d). Associated Press. 5. ^ Andre Rieu at Radio City Hall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLihJprZScM), You Tube 6. ^ "Boots Randolph, 80; versatile musician recorded `Yakety Sax" (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/04/local/me-randolph4). Los Angeles Times. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 200810-14.

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