Mel Blanc: I Taut I Taw A Puddy Tat/Yosemite Sam (Capitol F1360)

Yeah, yeah, I know, this is usually not the kind of thing this blog is supposed to cover. Well, since I don't care what you think, I'm going to write about it anyway. Besides, Warner Brothers cartoons are cool. They were cool when I was a kid, they're cool now, and they always will be. And Mel Blanc remains the absolute king of cartoon voices! So, bleahhhh! Go back to your hole and watch your stupid anime!

Anyhow, during 1946 through 1954, in addition to being under exclusive contract to Warner Brothers for their cartoons, Blanc was also recording with the characters on various Capitol recordings. Capitol had made a deal with WB to license their characters to songs, so of course, Blanc was there to give them their voices. (See the "Classic Cartoon Records" section at the superb Golden Age Cartoons website for more details: www.goldenagecartoons.com.)

These two songs were originally part of a 1950 four-song EP, then released as a single on their own in 1951 where "I Taut I Taw A Puddy Tat" became one of the year's Top 20 most popular songs. Both songs here are about characters handled by director Friz Freleng, so it's no surprise to learn that Freleng's storyman Warren Foster co wrote "Puddy Tat."

The stars of "Puddy Tat" are, of course, Tweety and Sylvester, in which Sylvester sings of his frustration of being unable to catch Tweety, while Tweety sings of Sylvester never giving up. But every time Tweety sings "I taut I taw a puddy tat," his mistress shows up and whacks Sylvester's back. At the end, Sylvester and Tweety both sing a duet together.

Meanwhile Yosemite Sam brags about his prowess as a hunter, but he turns out to be a wimp because he uses gumdrops instead of real bullets. What a gyp! Both songs were arranged by then in-house arranger Billy May (who worked with just about everyone at Capitol including Frank Sinatra) and they both end with the Merrie Melodies cue.

Does this 45 conjure up the word "Cute" to you? Perhaps it should, since it was intended as a childrens' record, although the WB cartoon directors (especially Chuck Jones) had repeatedly said their cartoons were for adults, not kids. Ah well, it's a fun little piece and that's why I wrote about it.

And now, back to the teen angst.