Yodel in Hi-Fi: From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica

The Yodel That Ate Celluloid

Mars Attacks, Tim Burton’s  film about menacing Martians conquering a globe of naïve earthlings, features yodeling as the equivalent of a secret PsyOps weapon that ultimately saves planet Earth from Martian domination . At a climactic instant, the headphones of the eccentric grandma who’s been listening to her favorite yodeler, Slim Whitman, throughout the film, suddenly slip off her head, exposing the Martians to Whitman’s histrionic high-pitched yodel-croon on “Indian Love Call”: “When I’m calling you-oo-OO . . .” Yodeling’s high notes shatter the Martians’ helmets and their bulbous heads explode in great bursts of green cerebral goo. The yodel is then used on various mobile PA systems and broadcast loudly throughout the area, effectively killing off the Martian threat. Here we concentrate on Hollywood and just barely touch on Bollywood and the rest of the world’s cinema. There’s never been any systematic cinematic application of the yodel to speak of, and there’s still no Yodel Films section in any online or shopping plaza video rental. Three of the world’s most famous yodelers are cinematic : Julie Andrews in Sound of Music, Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, and the Seven Dwarfs in Disney’s Snow White. Is that a testament to the power of cinema or of yodeling? The jury is still out. Other famous cinematic yodelers are mostly celluloid cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. As yodelerscholar Doug Green notes: “There are tons of yodels in the singing cowboy pictures.” But there’s also Disney’s Goofy, and Disney—Walt and subsequent enterprises— comprises an entire yodel subgenre; Walt had a definite fascination for yodeling, which swells maniacally above the fray in much Disney cinematic fare. Here is a comprehensive but, alas, nowhere near complete list of films with yodeling. • Alpine for You, . Opening scene shows Alpinist Popeye yodeling as he scales a mountain peak. A local cow responds with some mooOO - deling. Olive attempts a yodel, much to Popeye’s and Bluto’s chagrin. • Alpine Rendezvous, . Singing troupe of buccaneers accompanies a miner to the Swiss Alps. Excellent footage of skiers on slopes. Features yodeling and men in lederhosen dancing. • An Alpine Romance, . Universal Movietone short with comedian-singers Zimmerman and Granville yodeling “Home Sweet Home” and “Sleep, Baby, Sleep.” The Yodel That Ate Celluloid I’d love to yodel through life with you! —Paradise for Three  • The Alpine Yodeler, . Wild, Boschian Terrytoons were home to stick-figured animals that daily inhabited my childhood consciousness. The strange Raymond-Scott-on-the-wrong-drugs music plus some Alpine yodeling bring the antics of Farmer Al Falfa, Ignatz Mouse (Krazy Kat krossover?), Kiko the Kangaroo, and other mischievous creatures to life, prancing across TV screens twenty-five years after original release. • Another You, . Painful comedy half saved by Gene Wilder and flickers of Richard Pryor’s former preaddiction self. Compulsive liar Wilder oversees ex–con man Pryor’s community service. Wilder is mistaken for a millionaire and describes himself: “My favorite color is brown, I subscribe to Reader’s Digest, and I yodel.” The most insane scene features Wilder in a Bavarian restaurant, yodeling (lip-synching to Kenny Roberts yodeling) on “Yodelaine,” written by Roberts’s wife, Bettyanne, while Roberts taught Wilder to yodel on the set. We’re treated to the wooing power of yodeling when the indifferent, comatose audience suddenly perks up as Wilder lets the yodels fly. Wilder’s love interest, Mercedes Ruehl, responds with some passionate yodeling of her “own” (yodeling by Ruth Fueglistaller) as they perform a wacky yodeling duet for which Roberts wrote “Yodel Medley.” Ruehl is smitten by Wilder. Inspiring line: “Yodelaine, you screwed my brain.” Coda: Wilder “dies” as part of a flubbed scam. As he’s being mourned, haunting yodels waft in from beyond the grave and a miracle occurs. Wilder arises from his coffin, totally alive, spooking the startled mourners as he commences to yodel. • Apache Country, . Autry and Carolina Cotton (Y) duet on “Cold, Cold Heart,” and Cotton performs “I Love to Yodel.” • The Arizona Kid, . Good early Roy Rogers vehicle inspired by the Quantrill’s Raiders during the Civil War. Rogers yodels “It’s Home Sweet Home to Me.” • “Blue Yodel Blues,” Ray Whitley (Decca). Whitley (– ) was a Georgia farm boy who worked on construction projects such as the Empire State Building before heading to Hollywood where he wrote “Blue Yodel Blues,” which includes his most accomplished yodeling in a laid-back Hollywood cowboy style...