As an actor, singer, dancer, and comedian, Danny Kaye was an energetic and versatile performer who starred in 17 films during his career. Danny Kaye, who was born David Daniel Kaminsky in 1913, was a man with hidden talents. He was skilled at pantomime, could do impersonations, and was a master of slapstick stunts. But one of his most unique skills was his ability to sing patter songs, a talent that was incorporated into several of his movie roles. What is a patter song, you ask? Let’s find out.
Patter songs are fast-paced songs that typically feature complex, rapid-fire lyrics. The novelty songs often feature tongue-twister wording, clever wordplay, and humorous lyrics. Patter songs can be difficult to sing … many singers trip over the words or fall behind the quick tempo. But not Danny Kaye. He had an uncanny ability to perform them to perfection and with comic results. Because of this, patter songs were often written especially for Danny Kaye. Performing this type of song became Kaye’s hallmark. Patter songs were a highlight of his state and screen appearances and set him apart from the crowd, helping to establish him as a leading entertainer of the 20th century.
In the 1951 film, On the Riviera, Danny Kaye performed a duet with Gene Kelly of a patter song called “Moses Supposes.” Kaye performed “Wonderful Copenhagen” as a featured patter song in the 1952 movie, Hans Christian Andersen. In White Christmas, which was released in 1954 and was one of Kaye’s best-remembered films, Kaye and Bing Crosby perform a patter song, “I Love a Piano.” Songwriters wrote a classic patter song, “The Jester’s Song”, especially for Kaye to sing in the 1956 film, The Court Jester.
Danny Kaye often stated that he could not read music, yet he had perfect pitch. To add to the comedy of these songs, Kaye would sing in various accents and in different languages. His outrageous performance style was perfect for patter songs and novelty songs, and he recorded several of them through his career. They included “Tchaikovsky (and Other Russians)”, “The Ugly Duckling,” “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts,” and “Anatole of Paris.” Danny Kaye was a huge Dodgers baseball fan. During the 1962 pennant chase, he recorded a novelty song called “The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O’Malley!).
Danny Kaye was a highly respected performer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He earned many awards and accolades throughout his career, including a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his 1955 role in Broadway’s The Matchmaker, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen, an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for The Court Jester, and a Best Actor Emmy Award in 1952 for his work on the TV show, The Danny Kaye Show.