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Downloading the Repertoire

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Downloading the Repertoire
Live album by
Jack Mudurian
Released1996
RecordedJune 15, 1981
VenueDuplex Nursing Home, Boston, Massachusetts
LabelArf! Arf! Records
AA-057

Downloading the Repertoire is a 1996 album by American singer John "Jack" Mudurian (May 23, 1929 – September 30, 2013). It consists of an uncut, a cappella field recording of Mudurian, in a stream of consciousness, singing a battery of mostly show tunes, old country-western and folk music, and Tin Pan Alley standards.[1][2]

Mudurian was a resident of Duplex Nursing Home in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1981, David Greenberger, an employee who also edited the zine The Duplex Planet, overheard Mudurian singing at a home talent show, and when Greenberger spoke to him about it, Mudurian boasted that he could sing as many songs as Frank Sinatra. Greenberger brought in a cassette tape recorder and asked him to sing; Mudurian proceeded to sing 129 songs, many from the Tin Pan Alley repertory (and several more than once), continuously over the next 47 minutes.[1][3][4]

The recording was issued as Downloading the Repertoire on Arf! Arf! Records in 1996,[5][6] and it became a cult novelty hit.[7] Neil Strauss, writing about the recording for The New York Times, wrote: "What is most interesting about this CD is not Mr. Mudurian's slurred, rushed singing but the way his entire life story unfolds in his selection of material."[8] In a review for AllMusic, Cub Koda commented: "[Mudurian's]... free association from tune to tune is downright astounding. No matter what kind of music you might have in your collection, it's a good bet you don't have anything that sounds quite like this."[5] A reviewer for CMJ New Music Monthly described the album as "a hysterical, bizarre tour through the history of American popular song."[7]

A shortened version of the music heard on Downloading appeared on Irwin Chusid's compilation of outsider music called Songs in the Key of Z, Vol. 1.[9] Mudurian can also be heard on the compilations The Talent Show (1996),[10][11] and The Tarquin Records All Star Holiday Extravaganza (2000).[12][13] After meeting Mudurian, singer Jad Fair transcribed his version of "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" and performed it in his own live shows.[14]

According to Greenberger, the nursing home at which Mudurian resided closed in 1987, and the two lost touch. Greenberger, who affectionately referred to the marathon recording session as "Jack's and my private Olympic event," recalled: "That June afternoon lives on for me. Planes flew overhead, birds chirped in the trees and another resident... could be heard singing in the background from time to time."[1][15]

Songs sung on Downloading the Repertoire

[edit]
(in order of songs sung)
  1. Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
  2. It's Been a Long, Long Time
  3. Why Am I Always Yearning for Theresa
  4. The Halls of Montezuma
  5. So Long It's Been Good to Know You
  6. Step Right Up (and Help Old Uncle Sam)
  7. It's Only a Paper Moon
  8. Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)
  9. Take Me Out to the Ball Game
  10. Some Sunday Morning
  11. Any Bonds Today?
  12. Red River Valley
  13. My Bonnie
  14. Jimmy Crack Corn
  15. The Wabash Cannonball
  16. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
  17. Ramona
  18. Toot Toot Tootsie! (Goo' Bye)
  19. If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie
  20. I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine
  21. I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Me)
  22. I'll See You in My Dreams
  23. Lucky Me
  24. I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
  25. Near You
  26. South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
  27. I've Been Working on the Railroad
  28. Goody-Goody
  29. Home on the Range
  30. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
  31. Bell Bottom Trousers
  32. Ragtime Cowboy Joe
  33. Over the Rainbow
  34. When You Wish Upon a Star
  35. Pistol Packin' Mama
  36. Frankie and Johnnie
  37. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  38. Jingle Bells
  39. I Love You
  40. Cuddle Up a Little Closer
  41. Ain't She Sweet
  42. Rose O'Day (The Filla-Ga-Dusha Song)
  43. The Band Played On
  44. Sparrow in the Treetop
  45. "Pep Talk"/South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
  46. It's Only a Paper Moon
  47. California, Here I Come
  48. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  49. Singin' in the Rain
  50. Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
  51. Lullaby Of Broadway
  52. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
  53. Some Sunday Morning
  54. For Me and My Gal
  55. Blue Skies
  56. Smoke That Cigarette
  57. Ain't Misbehavin'
  58. Cheek to Cheek
  59. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
  60. I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Roll or Bowl a Ball-A Penny a Pitch)
  61. Michael Row the Boat Ashore
  62. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  63. When You Wish Upon a Star
  64. I'll See You in My Dreams
  65. Chiquita Banana
  66. Your Cheatin' Heart
  67. Sparrow in the Treetop
  68. Rock Around the Clock
  69. That Old Flying Machine
  70. The Man on the Flying Trapeze
  71. School Days
  72. Take Me Out to the Ball Game
  73. Johnson Rag
  74. Sugarfoot Rag
  75. Chicago (That Toddling Town)
  76. Pistol Packin' Mama
  77. Boola Boola
  78. Honeysuckle Rose
  79. Volare
  80. Quando Quando Quando (Tell Me When)
  81. San Antonio Rose
  82. Ragtime Cowboy Joe
  83. Chattanooga Choo Choo
  84. The Trolley Song
  85. "Pep Talk"/Sing Sing Sing
  86. Goody Goody
  87. "Pep Talk"/Pistol Packin' Mama
  88. Any Bonds Today
  89. Music Music Music! (Put Another Nickel In)
  90. It's Only a Paper Moon
  91. Melody Time
  92. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
  93. Heartaches
  94. Night and Day
  95. The Band Played On
  96. Rose O'Day (The Filla-Ga-Dusha Song)
  97. The Wabash Cannonball
  98. "Pep Talk"/Pistol Packin' Mama
  99. The Halls Of Montezuma
  100. Jingle Bell Rock
  101. I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again
  102. Million Dollar Baby
  103. Shine on Harvest Moon
  104. Carolina in the Morning
  105. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
  106. Jimmy Crack Corn
  107. Any Bonds Today
  108. Rose O'Day (The Filla-Ga-Dusha Song)
  109. Michael Row the Boat Ashore
  110. Three Blind Mice
  111. Ramona
  112. Mona Lisa
  113. Bye Bye Baby
  114. My Baby Just Cares for Me
  115. Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue
  116. If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie
  117. That's Amore
  118. The Music Goes 'Round And Around
  119. Jeepers Creepers
  120. Some Sunday Morning
  121. Alexander's Ragtime Band
  122. Any Bonds Today
  123. I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
  124. Oh What a Gal
  125. The Wabash Cannonball
  126. My Bonnie
  127. Chicago (That Toddling Town)
  128. Rose O'Day (The Filla-Ga-Dusha Song)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Jack Mudurian | David Greenberger".
  2. ^ "John Mudurian", Social Security Death Index, via FamilySearch.org.
  3. ^ Chusid, Irwin (2000). Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious World of Outsider Music. A Cappella Books. p. 22.
  4. ^ "Downloading the Repertoire: Lost and Found Sound: Jack Mudurian's 45-Minute Medly". NPR. September 10, 2005. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Koda, Cub. "Jack Mudurian: Downloading the Repertoire". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "Jack Mudurian: Downloading the Repertoire". Arf! Arf! Records. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Weird Record of the Month". CMJ New Music Monthly. October 1996. p. 10.
  8. ^ Strauss, Neil (August 20, 1996). "Brilliant Or Merely Bizarre?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "Various Artists: Songs in the Key of Z, Vol. 1-2: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Koda, Cub. "Various Artists: Talent Show". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  11. ^ "The Talent Show". Arf! Arf! Records. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  12. ^ Cramer, Stephen. "Various Artists: The Tarquin Records All Star Holiday Extravaganza". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  13. ^ Greenberger, David. "Discography". DavidGreenberger.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Chusid, Irwin (2000). Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious World of Outsider Music. A Cappella Books. p. 24.
  15. ^ Chusid, Irwin (2000). Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious World of Outsider Music. A Cappella Books. p. 25.
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