"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince in 1941, and first performed by the Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello film Buck Privates. Their recording reached number six on the pop charts the same year. It was nominated for an Academy Award, but did not win. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" has been covered numerous times, usually by female trios, and mostly with arrangements similar to the Andrews Sisters', if not outright imitations right down to the uniforms. Possible inspirations for the trumpeter have included Clarence Zylman (1906-88) and Harry Gish (1922-2005), both of whom had played "out Chicago way." Of course, there needn't have been a single inspiration for the song.
The sisters' other hits, though none as closely associated with them as "Bugle Boy," included "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)," "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me),” "Rum and Coca Cola," and "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand).” It might seem odd that the Minnesota-born, Greek-Norwegian Andrews Sisters popularized a song originally written in Yiddish, but the lyrics were translated for them by Sammy Cahn and the arrangement was by the appropriately named Vic Schoen, a couple of Jewish guys from New York.
Don't miss the Patty Andrews solo at the bottom of the post.
Actual military in real uniforms:
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