America's Song Butchers: The Weird World of Homer & Jethro

1	Tennessee Border No. 2 / Jethro Burns 2:37
2	Baby, It's Cold Outside / Homer Haynes 2:57
3	Tennessee, Tennessee / Homer Haynes 2:46
4	I'm Movin' on No. 2 / Homer Haynes 2:43
5	Li'l Ole Kiss of Fire / Homer Haynes 2:05
6	The Billboard Song / Homer Haynes 2:18
7	Jam-Bowl-Liar / Homer Haynes 2:40
8	You Belong to Me No. 2 / Homer Haynes 2:15
9	Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs / Homer Haynes 2:22
10	(How Much) Is That Doggie in the Window? / Jethro Burns 2:46
11	She Was Bitten on the Udder by an Adder / Homer Haynes 2:28
12	Hernando's Hideaway / Homer Haynes 2:33
13	Let Me Go, Blubber / Homer Haynes 2:24
14	Mr. Sandman / Jethro Burns 2:03
15	Yaller Rose of Texas, You All / Homer Haynes 2:03
16	Sixteen Tons / Homer Haynes 2:13
17	Hart-Brake Motel / Homer Haynes 2:15
18	The Battle of Kookamonga / Homer Haynes 2:39
19	I Want to Hold Your Hand / Homer Haynes 2:31
20	Misty / Homer Haynes 2:03

Barnes & Noble

Fans looking back to the classic era of country music often overlook one element that graced nearly every tent show, rural schoolhouse concert, and county fair: the comedy act. And for a time during the 1950s, there was no better comedy and song-parody duo than Homer & Jethro. Indeed, many performers of the era felt that their hits were not entirely validated, at least in their own estimation, until Homer & Jethro made fun of them. The pair obliged as many as they could, and America's Favorite Song Butchers contains 20 uniformly hilarious examples of their efforts. Nearly a half century after the fact, some of the reference points for these songs will be lost on listeners not thoroughly steeped in country history, but few could fail to appreciate how the pair reconstructs "Jambalaya" as "Jam-Bowl-Liar," or cuts loose with immortal lines like, "Her teeth were like the stars above/Because they come out every night," or "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs." Other hits are here as well, such as "(How Much) Is That Hound Dog in the Window" and "The Battle of Kookamonga." Newcomers to the Homer & Jethro legacy will learn that behind the sometimes surreal, sometimes cornball, usually howlingly funny humor were two terrific musicians. This stuff isn't tossed off; there's real artistry driving the jokes home, all of which makes for a scintillating experience. Daniel Durchholz

All Music Guide

Country music has a long and rich tradition of cornball jokes calculated to make audiences laugh and groan at the same time, and few if any acts mined this vein with greater results than Homer & Jethro. No one would ever accuse Homer & Jethro of having a subtle or sophisticated sense of humor, but their twangy parodies of various country and pop hits (and equally goofy original novelty numbers) revealed a genuine gift for prodding the funny bone, and it certainly didn't hurt that Kenneth "Jethro" Burns and Henry "Homer" Haynes had the good sense to make themselves the butt of their own joke more often than not. Even more importantly, they were both top-notch instrumentalists, and those who chose to listen past the gags were treated to some superb picking, especially from Burns, who later would show off his chops on a series of fine recordings with David Grisman. While most of Homer & Jethro's many albums for RCA Victor were frustratingly hit-and-miss, America's Song Butchers: The Weird World of Homer & Jethro is a superb compilation which pulls together 20 tunes which represent the duo at the top of their form, including their best-known hits (such as "Baby, It's Cold Outside," featuring June Carter, and "The Battle of Kookammonga") and a few choice obscurities (a silly but beautifully played version of "Misty," and a dead-on parody of the Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"). Funnier than the entire series run of Hee Haw, and featuring nearly as much good music, America's Song Butchers is easily the best introduction to the clown princes of Nashville. A word of warning: don't play this around small children, or they'll be subjecting you to their favorite cuts on a regular basis for days on end. Mark Deming