Ellen Bray Interview with “Mr. Ed”

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Mr. Ed, who chose to use a pseudonym, begins the interview with a story called Little Eva about a prostitute who had seen the film, Uncle Toms Cabin. He follows up with the bawdy tale, Footprints on the Dashboard, about two young adults engaging in inappropriate behavior. He then sings a song called Lydia Pinkham. Mr. Eds stories use dark humor to depict racist and/or sexual tropes. The interview concludes with Mr. Ed playing music on a portable organ. Timestamp: 7:43: The end of the recording contains a Republican Party political campaign speech and popular music. Biographical information has not been determined. The infor'mant j"n~his report has quite a reputation aroung town for his singing, piano and organ playing, and story telling. He was born sixty-six years ago in Coweta County, Georgia, and lived there until the late twen~ies. He said that he learned many of his stories in that area, but most of the songs he sings are in the popular tradition. He readily" agreed to sing and tell stories for me, and even insi.sted that I come to his house so that he could accompany himself on the piano. He also arranged to have another man there, a locally famous guitar player a.nd former vaudeville performer. At the last m minute m,y informa.nt cancelled the appointment because hts w:ife objected his recording bawdy or obscene material. He did later agree to record a~ his office for my huSband, (.,rithout my presenc']) and "withoutknowledge of the recorder being on." (Although the microphone NaS around his neck.) 'fherefore, I shall call t.he informant. simply, l\tj,isterEd. He accompanied himself on a portable organ (see photographs below) which is quit.e olel and which lie says is sOHlc.nvhat of' a rarity. The end of the tape corr~airlfJ Id.s argon rendition of "Bicycle Built for Two." ~lhe collection conta:i.ns only tVI'O stories and a song and an instrmnental. ilftel' these Vie 1'8 recorded he l'efus"d to tell any more stories or sing anything other than popular songs or old standards. 'I'hese were not recorded beca.use the;\, were not considered valuable to this report. Because of the recording conditions there is no int'')rview on the tape. I do know, ho;rever, that after he moved to Atlanta he support.ed h:Lmse1f and his family by playing tho organ, or a piano if tbere was one, and singing. His son, who was less than ten at the time and who is now a rather prominent local business man, ~lOuld dance 8.S l"!ister Ed played. 'fhere was no salary for this, just coi.ns tossed by the audience at private parties, restaurants, or clubs. He still performs now, on rare occasions, at club meetings or pri'late clubs. 'fhe first story is a ba\;dy or obscene jocular tale called "Little Eve." He can't remember where he first heard it, only that he has 1mown it for many, many years. The second story could be classified as a cante fable. It is called "The Footprints on the Dashboard," and he he said he first learned it as a young mDn"out in the country." The song is "Lydia Finkham's Compound." The melody seems familiar, but none of us could identify it. "1,Iell, don't t2h, H, so i'ard, Ethel, Gat you a bitG and get to feeling better." And she said, "Qt, shit - I can't eat a damn bite, but pass me the butter." ~lISTj~R ED. That a,ctually happened. \~8 VIeren't on the air v/ere \,e? LARRY BRAY: frho V-JhiP I found \1aS broKen, And I sha.1l .l<eep it a.s a toKen. The curta.ins dlld the la.probe ,ms on the ground. It must have been good pushin F'rom the greasy spots on the cushin And the footprints on the dashboard upside dovm. Hell, the young man, he read the letter and he thought, well, hell, he'd just write him back and he says, It was I that did the pushin, And put the greasy spots on the cushin, And the footprints on the dashboard upside down. But since I met your daughter, Venus, I've had sores allover my penis, IDld I'm dalml sorry I ever n~de your town. IvIIST~R ED: Hell, that was the way it all turned out. LARHY BHAY: I wi';(r. you'd sing us a couple of clean verses of "Lydia Pinkham." lUSTEH ED: I don't know if I can do that. LfDIA PINKHAM Oh sing, oh sing, to Lydia E. Pinkham, How she loved the human race .. She started making her famous compound, NovI the ne\vspapers carry her face. Novi Mrs. Jones - she had female trouble, She could hardly fill hel? blOllse. But she started taking Lydia's comoound, Now they have to milK her with the cows. But let me tell you about Mrs. Green, She had female trouble, she could have no children dear. But she took three bottles of' Lydia E.' s compound, Nmv they have triplets twice a year. But lllrs. Jones - she had f'emale trouble, She could hardly pee-pee at all. But she too!, six bottle s of' Lydia E. I S compound, Now she makes a strewll liKe Niagara Falls. The rest of' the tape contains Mister Ed pB. ying the portable organ, 6 Su Ellen Bray Extra Conunents The recording conditions of thi.s tape are described in the report. As you ,.d.ll see, they are not at all desirable, and I am not sure that the contents will be considered valuable enough'to justify t he adverse conditions. 'fhe arrangements were maae about four weeks ago for an appointment last ,,,eekend. The late appointment "laS the most convenient time for the informant and I did not object to it becnuse it gave me time to finish a paper for another class so that I could devote my full time to this project. Earlier in the quarter I had considered several other leads to some informants, all of which sounded promising. I did not pursue these leads, though, because I did not think they would be as good as this one. vJhen this informant told me that he 'lOuld not go throllgh with the recording session as 1-Ie had arranged it, I was not able to contact the other possible informants. 'fhis session is a result of the informant later feeling that he had "let me dovm." If this collection is not adequate or appr'opriate, may I try again to collect some additional material and hand it in before Friday, December 91 A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.