GRANDPA HAD A LONG ONE: PERSONAL NOTES ON THE LIFE, CAREER & LEGACY OF BENNY BELL (SOFTCOVER EDITION) by Joel Samberg

"I ain't got no money but I got a lot of fun."
 
So sang the incomparable songwriter Benny Bell, and a new book about his wacky life and career explores the truth behind the sentiment.
 
The up-and-down career of the man behind the comedy song "Shaving Cream" and other novelty classics was full of humor and drama, merriment and pain. If Benny was still alive, chances are he'd do his part for American sanity by writing some insanely uplifting songs about the joys of being poor. After all, that's what he did throughout his career  with such records as "One Dollar Blues," "I Had But Fifty Cents," and "Misfortune, What Do You Want?"
 
A genuine entrepreneur, Ben wrote, arranged, sung, recorded, packaged and promoted most of his records himself-more than 120 of them, including such novelty and double-entendre song classics as "Shaving Cream," "Everybody Wants My Fanny" "Pincus the Peddler," "Take a Ship for Yourself," "Grandpa Had a Long One," "Yum Yum Yum (I Ain't Got No Money but I Got a Lot of Fun)," and many others.
 
Journalist Joel Samberg, Benny’s grandson, explores Benny’s notable career and life that were immensely rich in humor, drama, and unceasing optimism. Read intriguing stories that illustrate his remarkable and unpredictable grandfather, and take a fascinating look into the world of an extremely funny man who believed in his own hype far more than he believed in the integrity and honesty of the entertainment industry.
 
Benny, one of the funniest, quirkiest, and hard-working entertainers ever to come out of the Vaudeville and Borscht Belt eras, was never very famous or rich. At times, he came so close to broad popularity that he was able to sense what stardom must be like. His career overfilled with erratic changes, early successes, meetings with industry pros, a sixty-seven-year love affair with his wife, Molly, disastrous partnerships with record companies, get-rich schemes, misguided plans, TV and stage appearances and much more.
 
248 pages. Includes lyrics to more than 25 classic Benny Bell songs and over 40 photographs from the entertainer's long life and career.
 
"A fascinating new book" - Pop Culture Madness!

Visit the author's website at joelthewriter.com