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Like Hep (Clip)

HarryCarter

By HarryCarter,
in Seven Brides for Seven Cubans

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Neil Newbie

Neil

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At :31, there's an edit.

Cut was Lucy saying "Oh, I see.  It's a new fad like Everett Dirkson"

Dinah: "No, it's not just in the recording industry."

Dirkson was  an old, old gravel-voiced senator who made an LP of (I think) patriotic speeches with a music background.  Ironically, Dirkson's was one of the singing voices compared to Lucy's in a Mame review.

She sounds pretty good here.  Also I hate the ("I'm getting a little tired of being called a...") Jersey-cow-pattern pants suit she has on.  And the hair is not an attractive do: I've never seen that.  Sort of looks like her earphone-covering hair in the "Ricky's Mother Visits" episode.

Other than her look, this is one of my favorite Lucy musical moments. I love the fact that's it's sung live and not pre-recorded. Note at 5:13, Lucy misses the dance step but pro that she is, recovers sufficiently that it doesn't have to be done over.

One of Carole Cook's favorite composers Billie Barnes wrote "like hep"

Will someone please translate the "Like Hep" lyrics?

There are several I can't make out.

For instance, 

"To be like Hep.  It's like you're hip but the hip is so much hipper.  Flip but flip is really flipper.  More like a .........????"

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Mmadluv7 Newbie

Mmadluv7

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Go Ahead Lucy! lol She was keeping up! She did an incredible job lol and Diana Ross seems simply dazzling.Ive always wanted to see the video clip after spotting a shot of all of them together HEP.jpg- now its fun to see how it all played out.  

 

 

 

 

 

I would agree that her hair is kind of different- Lucy abandoned wearing her hair straight after the 1940s right? But Id love it if shed have done something different with her hair for this like how the others, thats long hair do 

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Neil Newbie

Neil

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Even more dazzling is this same trio doing a "hepped-up", very Supremes-y version of "Dinah" at the end of the show.  Lucy is back wearing her Ricardo-Facsimile bun and looks tremendous.  They're all singing together in harmony and it's not likely that it was Lucy's voice.  You can hear Ross's voice and I'm sure Dinah was in there too.  Unfortunately the closing credits crawl over the entire song. 

 

None of us would say Lucy is a great singer but she holds her own with actual singers Shore and Ross.  Remember this is just TWO YEARS before she was cast as Mame, which was announced in 1971 (and maybe even earlier: 1970? I'm not sure).  You can't blame Warners for thinking she could pull it off vocally.   By the time of the Mame songs pre-record, she could no longer hit the high notes she could here. 

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Mmadluv7 Newbie

Mmadluv7

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I'm in love with Dinah's dress. Lucy should have been wearing that.

 

I'm not sure really what straight would mean as she always had an element of a curl to it.

True, I meant, in the longer, less curley hair style.

Screen_Shot_2015_12_28_at_4_16_19_PM_cop

I dunno how to explain it lol Im not talking a full on Tracy Turnblad or Cher lol

I meant that it would have been unique to see lucy in a similar hair style as the other ladies on stage

21kiebr.jpg

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Neil Newbie

Neil

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The audio for this song has that "Supremes" sound, close harmony with Diana's voice a standout.  I don't hear Carole in this at all.  Nor do I hear Dinah Shore, for that matter.  The song is a jazzed up version of "Dinah".  Instead of "Dinah, is there anyone finer?" They chant "Dinah, Dinah, Dinah, Dinah, Dinah, Dinah," before " is there anyone finer, finer ,finer...."etc.   Lucy forgets and mouths too many "Dinah"'s as the lyrics have moved on.   But she looks great, much better than in the "Like Hep" song.  It's really too bad they chose to running the closing credits over most of the song.   

A "Ross" person (as they call themselves) says "Like Hep" clips are all over the internet, so maybe this one's out there of this song.  I don't know that Ross had officially left the Supremes yet (or more accurately Diana Ross and the Supremes as they were known by then).  She has a big solo number "Aquarius".  She certainly looks stunning in this song and 'Hep".   But her attempts at comedy:  "PU!!".  In a Diana Ross book, she's quoted as saying Lucy and Dinah pretty much ignored her.  She may have been over-sensitive or it may be that Lucy and Dinah found it hard to find common ground for chit-chat, their backgrounds  (and ages!) being so different. 

When this was shot,  Lucy is 57 (going on 58) Dinah is 52, 53 or 55 (depending on your source) while Diana is a mere 25. 

Diana Ross is still performing but only does short tours, still packing them in.  Unbelievable as it seems, Diana is just shy of 72 now. 

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Will Newbie

Will

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This is way out. Great to see Lucy in them current comedy sketches similar to Laugh In. She works great with Rowan and Martin love their joke he watches Here's Lucy. Lucy sings Like Hep and the country number well. Dinah and Diana's voices are brillant. I am a fan of noth. Love how Dinah pokes fun at her image. The Singing Decative sketch is hilarious Lucy does well as mean fairy godmother but that sketch isn't as good. Sound Lucy had Carole dub her Mary Poppins verse yuck. I love thrending number the girls got the moves.

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Neil Newbie

Neil

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Lucy's "Like Hep" number outfit is ghastly!  It looks like a Jersey-cow pattern pants suit.  I love that the number was sung live.  There's a spontaneity factor missing when they're lipping to a pre-recorded track.  Lucy holds her own with the two actual singers, one of my favorite of her musical variety numbers.  The "Like Hep" song was written by specialty song writer Billie Barnes.  I've never deciphered many of the lyrics, but it's a catchy tune.   Note that at 13:48 Lucy missteps with the choreography but recovers quickly.    I wish the closing credits weren't run over the "Dinah" number.  I don't think Lucy supplied any actual vocals, but she looks so GREAT. 

Missing from the end of the "Dinah" number as it was originally run:  Dinah interrupts the singing to announce "be sure to tune in next week for the return of "Bonanza""(the 9:00 Sunday time slot the special was run in) followed by a shot of the actual Smothers Brothers saying "Darn it" followed by a shot of Lorne Green chuckling.   "Smothers Brothers Hour" was the first thing CBS programmed opposite "Bonanza" that actually had a decent audience and made a dent in "Bonanza"'s ratings.   When this special was originally run, "Smothers Brothers" was on the verge of cancellation, not so much for ratings issues.  Short-sighted CBS was tired of wrangling with them over censorship issues.   In the fall of 1969, CBS replaced "Smothers Brothers" with "The Leslie Uggams Hour" which quickly tanked; cancelled mid-season.   Only 2 years later, 1971, CBS realized that ratings trumped censorship issues when they had a #1 hit with "All in the Family".   "Like Hep" was rerun on the network several years later (1973?) , an unusual occurrence. Specials were rarely rerun.  Hence the removal of the "Bonanza" reference.   Also removed: in the dialogue between Lucy and Dinah leading up to the "Like Hep" number there was a political reference to Nixon advisor John Dean that was cut.  Timely in 1969 but not 1973. 

"Like Hep" was produced by George Schlatter of "Laugh-In" fame, whom I credit with almost single-handedly RUINING TV variety shows.  They died a slow and miserable death, thanks to his creative decisions: shoot in spurts without audience and augment response.     10 years after "Like Hep", they were virtually gone from the airwaves. 

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JoeySanJoaquin Newbie

JoeySanJoaquin

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I remember Lucy Moves to NBC and Mr. and Mrs reairing did any other Lucy special reair?

Pretty sure "Lucy Goes to Nashville" aired more than once but god knows why!! :blink:

But then again I don't truly consider it a "Lucille Ball Special" as the rest were designated.  :vanda:

On a more positive note...I think it's BEYOND amazing that we now are able to anytime we want, thanks to the glory of archival DVD (and in a couple of cases, Blu-ray!) watch almost every Lucille Ball TV-series and special produced under the Desilu & LBP banner, including all the post Here's Lucy (except for "Nashville") specials!!!

 

So special thank you to CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment, Gregg Oppenheimer, Tom Watson, Jonathan Angus, MPI Home Video, Garret Boyajian and George Rijaneck Jr. (gab Entertainment), Desilu Too (Lucie & Desi Jr.) and whomever else and all involved in putting out the "Lucy Legacy" on archival media!  I SALUTE YOU!!! :HALKING:

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Neil Newbie

Neil

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I remember Lucy Moves to NBC and Mr. and Mrs reairing did any other Lucy special reair?

 

If I'm not mistaken Lucy Moves to NBC was aired THRICE (!) in the same season---and not because the public was clamoring for it.  There was some strike so they needed to fill the time.

Mr. and Mrs. aired 3 years after the initial showing.  In 1967.  I think it was because Lucy's new contract called for 2 Lucille Ball specials that season and after the critical response to "In London", she opted to just give CBS an old one.   "Mr and Mrs" and "London" were the only two done concurrent with her series.   "London" ran in the Lucy Show timeslot, also pre-empting Andy Griffith.  Mr and Mrs ran on Sunday in Ed Sullivan's time slot.  I don't know what the "Mr and Mrs" ratings were, but "London" was #2 for the week (the #2 slot but the third highest rated show of the week; two shows that tied for #1).  The Lucy Show had not yet started reruns-only.  The two previous weeks were rerun episodes from earlier in the season.  But the day after Mr and Mrs, there was a brand new Lucy Show "Serves a Summons to Mooney", one of the three 2nd season episode written by Bob and Madelyn alone.  One more new episode followed "Baking Contest" before going in to official reruns, the first week in May.  The Oscars were run on a Monday night in April on ABC, which accounts for one of the 1964 reruns of the previous 2 weeks.  The first season opposite the Oscars, Desilu threw "Chaperone" under the bus.   The 2nd season was the last one where The Lucy Show had not already gone into reruns when the Oscars were broadcast.   With the season premiere being pushed back closer and closer to Labor Day as the 60s progressed, The Lucy Show usually went into reruns in March. 

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