"What's on my mind?" a certain social media app asked me this morning. Honestly, for some reason, what was on my mind was the word vestibule, particularly vestibules as places worth mentioning in popular song.
When Helen Kane boop-boop-a-dooped her way toward musical stardom by singing the song "That's My Weakness Now" in 1928, she did not mention a vestibule. When Cliff Edwards, aka Ukulele Ike, recorded it a few months later, he did. And there was something in the tone of his voice that suggested more things went on in vestibules than I was aware of.
There were 14 other 1928 recordings of that song and I haven't listened to them all to tabulate the vestibule references.
Helen Kane wasn't the first to record it. Among the others were Paul Whiteman's band with the Rhythm Boys, including a young Bing Crosby. The database doesn't list any other women singing it, though. Is it wrong?
This also made me want to go find the original sheet music to see what original verses Helen might have left out to do her boop-booping, including with the vestibule reference -- if it was in the original publication.
I guess I'm not really tempted to write a musicology master's thesis on the significance of the vestibule in popular song lyrics, if someone else hasn't done it already, or doesn't see this post and beat me to it.
But, honestly, from Sam Stept & Bud Green to Chuck Berry to Bruce Springsteen, They Might Be Giants, and Wu-Tang Clan, they've all been to the vestibule for inspiration. You could look it up! My favorite discovery was a John Prine song I had never heard!
Kane's version, says CatsPyjamas1 at youtube, <<Charted at #5 in 1928. Helen's first record release. Also #17 for Russ Morgan in 1949. With the Nat Shilkret Orchestra. Also recorded by Cliff Edwards in 1928. Written by Sam H. Stept and Bud Green. Recorded July 16, 1928. B-side is "Get Out and Get Under the Moon".>>
If you haven't guessed by now, this post is an attempt to salvage all the impulsive research that I did on Facebook this morning and post it out here where folks on the free and equal web can see it. It will probably take me a couple of visits to add all the links and lyrics here, because I started this with several apps on my smartphone and my eyes are getting tired.
I sure found out a lot about vestibules in popular song. But I'll have to edit this on my laptop to add some YouTube videos!
End of the first draft at 12:39 on Friday the 13th of June 2025, with some updating a dozen days later.
