Open the Door, Richard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Open the Door, Richard was a hit record first recorded on the Black & White Records label by tenor saxophoneist Jack McVea at the suggest of A&R man Ralph Bass. In 1947 it was the No. 1 song on Billboard's "Honor Roll of Hits" and became a runaway pop sensation.[1]
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[edit] Origin
"Open the Door, Richard" started out as a black vaudeville routine made famous by Dusty Fletcher on stages like Apollo Theater in New York. Dressed in rags, drunk, and with a ladder as his only prop, Fletcher would repeatedly plunk the ladder down stage center, try to climb it to knock on an imaginary door, then crash sprawling on the floor after a few steps while shouting, half-singing "Open the Door, Richard". After this he would mutter a comic monologue, then try the ladder again and repeat the process, while the audience was imagining what Richard was so occupied doing.[2]
Jack McVea was responsible for the musical riff which became associated with the words "Open the Door, Richard" that became familiar to radio listeners and as many as 14 different recording were made.
[edit] Song
In the song, accompanied with minimal instrumentation, the intoxicated, roudy band members come home late at night, knowing Richard has the only key to the house. Knocking and repeated calls from McVea and the band members for Richard to open the door get no result. The musical refrain kicks in with the musicians singing in unison:
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- Open the door, Richard,
- Open the door and let me in,
- Open the door, Richard,
- Richard, why don't you open that door!
Although the neighbors are being disturbed, McVea continues knocking as the song fades away.[3]
[edit] Legacy
"Open the Door, Richard" was an early R&B novelty record, a song catetory that became a basic genre of rock and roll in the 1950s. It started the fad of answer song records. It was also the first commercial to use a fade out ending.[3]
When "Open the Door, Richard" landed on the "Honor Roll of Hits" it joined such white pop songs as "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" for a Walt Disney film. But a black ballad "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" sung by Al Jolson was also on the list. These two songs became the first rhythm and blues songs since "I Wonder" to achieve sensational success in the white market and indicated that the pop mainstream was open to R&B.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, p. 226-227. ISBN 0-02-061740-2.
- ^ Fox, Ted (1993). Showtime at the Apollo, 2nd Ed., New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, p. 96. ISBN 0-306-80503-0.
- ^ a b Jim Dawson, & Steve Propes (1992). What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record. Boston & London: Faber & Faber, p. 21-25. ISBN 0-571-12939-0.
