ALLAN SHERMAN DISCOGRAPHY

Original LP's

Notes: Prefixes containing a slash (/) indicate the catalog number for the mono record first, followed by the stereo number. For example, the catalog number for My Son, the Nut is W 1501 for mono and WS 1501 for stereo. This is indicated as W/WS 1501. The exception here is for the Rhino releases, where the slash separates the LP and cassette prefixes. Some albums were also released on 7 1/2 ips reel-to-reel tape with WSTC as the prefix. The first five Warner Brothers albums are known to have been released in this format. My Name Is Allan was released on 3 3/4 ips reel-to-reel tape with the WSTX prefix.
[front cover]

My Son, the Folk Singer

Warner Brothers W/WS 1475 (1962)

More Folk Songs by Allan Sherman and His Friends

Jubilee JGM-5019 [mono only?] (1962)

[The Sherman songs on this album were originally issued on a 78 in 1951. They reissued them in 1962 to capitalize on Sherman's new popularity.]

[front cover]

My Son, the Celebrity

Warner Brothers W/WS 1487 (1963)

[front cover]

My Son, the Nut

Warner Brothers W/WS 1501 (1963)

[front cover]

Allan in Wonderland

Warner Brothers W/WS 1539 (March, 1964)

Peter and the Commissar

Allan Sherman with The Boston Pops Orchestra

RCA LM/LSC-2773 (1964); Collectors' Choice/BMG CD CCM-488-2/DMC13631 (July 27, 2004)

[front cover]

For Swingin' Livers Only!

Warner Brothers W/WS 1569 (1964)

[front cover]

My Name Is Allan

Warner Brothers W/WS 1604 (1965)

[front cover]

Allan Sherman - Live!!! (Hoping You Are the Same)

Warner Brothers W/WS 1649 (1966)

[front cover]

Togetherness

Warner Brothers W/WS 1684 (April 1967)

Single records (45 RPM) that contain tracks not on the original Warner Brothers albums:

Compilation Albums

The Best Of Allan Sherman

Valiant VS-112 (1965) (U.K.) [stereo; may have also been released in mono]

The Very Best of Allan Sherman

Warner Brothers K 56056 (WS 4533) (1976) (U.K.)

Best of Allan Sherman

Rhino RNLP/RNC 005 (1979) [reissued on cassette as R4 70005]

That Was "That Was The Week That Was"

Radiola MR-1123 (1981)

A compilation LP of bits from this famous 1964-1965 television show, which includes Allan performing "The Drop-Outs March" on the show.

[His name is mispelled Alan on the cover of the record.]

A Gift of Laughter (The Best of Allan Sherman, Volume II)

Rhino RNLP/RNC 70818 (1986)

[CD cover]

My Son, The Greatest: The Best of Allan Sherman

Rhino R2 75771 [CD only] (1988)

[note: The version of "Crazy Downtown" on the My Son, the Greatest CD is a stereo version which is significantly longer than the mono single version. This was the original release of the stereo version.]

Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection

Rhino Home Video RNVD 1964 (1991)

A home video featuring a performance of "Sarah Jackman" (with Christine Nelson) from a 1966 TV special, including alternate lyrics of Jerry (Allan) trying to get Sarah (Christine) to go out with him

Dr. Demento Presents Spooky Tunes & Scary Melodies

Rhino CD/CS 71777 (1994)

Contains the rare "My Son, The Vampire" track

My Son, The Box

Rhino Handmade limited edition (4000 copies) 6-CD box set RHM2 7891 (November 8, 2005)

In development for over five years, this set was finally released near the end of 2005! It has all released Warner Brothers material (albums, singles, and alternate versions), plus quite a bit of unreleased studio and live performances (including alternate takes plus previously unheard songs). Even though it doesn't include the Jubilee or RCA material, it is still quite a substantial and exciting set.

The set contains a plethora of items that have never been on CD before. This is the first time any of the albums have appeared on CD in their entirety, although tracks from all but Togetherness have appeared on compilation CDs. In the list below, * is used to indicate tracks which are wholly unreleased, and # is used to indicate non-album tracks which were released (either to the public or on promos), but have not appeared on CD before. For simplicitly and to focus on this aspect of the set, the album tracks are not listed here (click to see track listings which are elsewhere in this document).

The set includes an essay on Allan written by Mark Cohen, who is also researching an Allan Sherman biography.

Disc One

Disc Two

Disc Three

Disc Four

Disc Five

Disc Six

There is Nothing Like A Lox: The Lost Song Parodies of Allan Sherman

Rock Beat ROC-CD-3202 (February 18, 2014)

This CD of completely unreleased recordings showed up out of the blue. With the exception of the first song, which had previously appeared on My Son, The Box in a different recording, none of these songs had ever been released to the public before this CD. The CD also includes spoken introductions to explain the songs to the audience.

The CD lists the original song titles for some but not all of the parodies. Below I have listed all of the original song titles, as well as the musical or movie from which they come when appropriate.

The CD also gives no indication of the recording dates or locations of any of these performances. I have given educated guesses as to their source, but NONE of these are confirmed.

Promo Items

Let's Talk About the New Album!

RCA SP-33-310 (1964)

Contains an "open-ended" interview with Allan about the Peter and the Commissar album. That is, Allan's answers are recorded, and the DJ was to read the questions from the included script to make it appear like he was interviewing Allan. This item was only distributed to radio stations and was not available for public purchase.

[front cover] [back cover]

[label]

Music To Dispense With Created By Allan Sherman For The Container Division Of Scott Paper Company

SP-12 (April 1966)

[This was a promotional item not issued to the public. It is a real gem if you happen to find it. It was available by sending in a postcard from a 7" record that contained an exclusive introduction, as well as "Vending Machines"]

Allan Sherman Pours It On For Carpets Made With Encron Polyester

(1968)

[This is another promotional item made just for industry, this time for American Enka Corp. It was not available for sale to the general public. It is quite a bit rarer than the Scott Paper LP.]

Books

Allan Sherman's Instant Status, or, Up Your Image

Putnam's (1964)

This was written with Arnold and Lois Peyser. Scans and more info coming soon.

A Gift Of Laughter

Fawcett Crest t981 (1966)

This is the paperback version of Allan's autobiography, originally issued in hardback by Atheneum on October 11, 1965. He recounts his childhood, and all the struggles he had as he climbed the ladder of success. This was written when his popularity was still strong, but in the following years it waned, and his life went into a tailspin. You can read more about Allan in Steve Allen's book More Funny People.

The Rape Of The A*P*E* (*American*Puritan*Ethic)

Playboy Press 16945 (1973)

This book is subtitled The Official History of the Sex Revolution 1945-1973: The Obscening Of America, An R*S*V*P* Document (**** Redeeming Social Value Pornography). It is more about societal attitudes than sex explicitly. It is Allan's view of human behavioral absurdities. It was, as far as I know, his last released work.

The Rape Of The A*P*E* (*American*Puritan*Ethic)

Playboy Press 16251 (1975)

Paperback version of above.

Other

Dr. Seuss: The Cat In The Hat

Columbia Broadcasting System, 1971; Playhouse Video 6936, 1990

Allan does the voice of the cat.

Related Records

Did'ja Come To Play Cards or To Talk - Christine Nelson

Reprise R/RS 6209, 1966

Christine was the voice of Sarah Jackman on the My Son, The Folk Singer album. Here, she does a version of "Sarah Jackman" with an intro and some additional lyrics.

That's Life/Did I Ever Really Live - Rich Little

Colgems 66-1013, 1967

The B-side of this 45 is a cover of the most popular song from Allan's musical "The Fig Leaves Are Falling" (see below).

Did I Ever Really Live?/Everyone Needs Someone To Love - Nick Palmer

RCA 47-9698, 1968

The A-side of this 45 is a cover of the most popular song from Allan's musical "The Fig Leaves Are Falling" (see below).

Live At The Ice House - Pat Paulsen

Mercury SR 61251, 1969

Includes a cover of "Did I Ever Really Live?" from Allan's ill-fated Broadway musical "The Fig Leaves Are Falling" (see below).

Unreleased Items

A tape exists of Allan performing his version of "My Fair Lady" at a Warner Brothers party circa November, 1962. This tape was cut onto an unknown number of acetates, and also possibly privately pressed on vinyl. It was later released (from acetate source) on My Son, The Box. Another tape from April 10, 1962, has become known as the Warner Brothers audition tape, but was originally recorded at a party, not as an audition. The parts listed below were apparently later sent to Warner Brothers. The full tape contains more songs than this, and the first 6 tracks of the CD There Is Nothing Like A Lox: The Lost Song Parodies Of Allan Sherman were taken from the longer tape. (Song titles shown here are unconfirmed.)

Selections from The Fig Leaves Are Falling

test pressing (1968)

What was previously believed to be a full length cast LP of The Fig Leaves Are Falling appears to actually be a demo, probably used to get people interested in backing the show. It exists in limited quantities as a vinyl test pressing (no record label shown), and also as an acetate. The singers are not identified, but (other than those by Allan) could be the people who performed them in the play, thus are listed as questionable. On the other hand, there appears to be only one female singer on this demo, so it could be either of the above two, or neither.

Note that "Like Yours" wasn't in the pre-Broadway performance at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia (November 30, 1968), but was reinstated by the Broadway performances at The Broadhurst Theatre January 2-4, though they omitted "Juggling". The following extra songs (not on the demo) were used at various points:

The program for the show refers to a cast album being available on RCA Victor. This may mean that one was recorded (distinct from the above referenced demo) but never released.

Allan was recording an album of his golf story routines in 1973. He died on the way home from a mixing session. The album was nearly complete, so surely there is something releaseable from those sessions, but nothing has yet surfaced.

compiled by Jeff Morris, July 8, 1993
ammended August 8, 1993, from contributions by Brian Leibowitz
August 13, 1996: added track listing on British Best Of, thanks to Joey Oddo
October, 1996: converted to HTML and added more updates.
February 19, 1997: added 1965 Best Of, thanks again to Joey Oddo
July 25, 1998: added signature background, book pictures, and Fig Leaves label picture
January 23, 1999: added Pat Paulsen LP, thanks to Jeff Ehrlich
March 11, 2005: added assumed singers for Fig Leaves and additional song titles, plus preliminary box set info; moved credits to bottom; added Encron EP
March 28, 2005: added variations on Fig Leaves songs from the Broadway program as compared to the Philadelphia program
October 26, 2005: added My Son, The Box track listing
November 21, 2005: updated info on "My Fair Lady"
Special thanks to Warren Debenham and Brian Leibowitz for some of the pictures.

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