WIKI TIKI WEDNESDAY - "LITTLE BROWN JUG"

'GUNSMOKE'
"PA HACK'S BROOD"

Louie Pheeters, distantly related to Doctor MacPheeters and his son Jamie, was the town drunk in Dodge City.  But he did his best to keep himself from being a blot on the town by mopping out the marshal's office and watching over the place whenever Matt Dillon had to go out of town.

One time while he was swabbing the floor, Louie kept things lively for himself by singing "Little Brown Jug", a song made famous by Glen Miller's arrangement of it.  But unlike the time a Hank Williams, Sr. song was performed in an episode of 'The Virginian', this was not a Zonk.

From Wikipedia:

“Little Brown Jug" is a song written in 1869 by Joseph Eastburn Winner, originally published in Philadelphia with the author listed as Winner's middle name "Eastburn."

It was originally a drinking song. It remained well known as a folk song into the early 20th century. Like many songs which make reference to alcohol, it enjoyed new popularity during the Prohibition era.

In 1939, bandleader Glenn Miller recorded and broadcast his swing instrumental arrangement of the tune with great success, and the number became one of the best known orchestrations of the American Big Band era.

The same melody was used for the song "My Ding-a-Ling" written by Dave Bartholomew, which became a Number 1 hit in 1972 for Chuck Berry.

Happy trails!