Johnny Horton - All Grown Up (Promo 45)


All Grown Upwritten by Howard Hauseyperformed by Johnny Hortonoriginally released in July 1958 as Columbia 4-41210heard here off Columbia 4-42653 issued in December 1962Columbia was one of those labels that issued almost all of their entire output on the 45 RPM format via that grungy styrene plastic. But, up to 1970, their promotional releases, like the one heard here, were on vinyl (and sound better, in my humble opinion). Styrene tends to sound more distortedduring loud passages compared to a vinyl pressing in the same condition. Styrene is cheaper and, actually, wears out faster than vinyl. Good marketing ploy guys! By the 1980's, most 45 RPM records were styrene.

When I posted this tune, I had no idea it would cause such a stir. If ones mind iscompletely on one wave length, you might think this is a song about a father who just realized how good looking his own daughter has become. But, I think the subject matter is exactly the same as that of Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen."

I think it is the whole "hey Daddy, hey Daddy"line that has folks in a bunch. Here is some intellectual food for thought concerning this.

The slang use of "daddy" has long been associated with prostitution. According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the oldest usage dates to 1681, when the speakers were hookers who used the phrase in reference to their pimps or to an older male customer.

In old blues songs, dating to at least 1909, "daddy" is slang for pimp. The title of another number, from1926, spelled it out a little further: "How Can I Be Your Sweet Mama When You're Daddy to Someone Else?" Later on, theterm was generalized in African American speech to mean any male lover, and had variants, such as "sugar daddy," that survive to this day, according to the slang dictionary.

The dictionary also offers this origin: "the partner who plays the dominant or masculine role in a homosexual relationship,"for example, "jailhouse daddy."






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