[Dixielandjazz] Duff Campbell's Revenge - who wrote it?

[Don Robertson]

Duff Campbell's real name was Charles Campbell.  A couple of years ago 
he was still with us at 90+, the San Francisco Trad Jazz Foundation 
threw a big party for him.   Don't know now.

Don Robertson
Napa, CA

Daniel Augustine wrote:
> Ric--
>     Turk wrote it.  Here's the story, from Bob Krenkel via Tommy Loy:
>
> "Bob Krenkel, transplanted Chicoan & big fan of Turk's sent this to me.
> Other listmates have asked that it be re-posted.
> Glad to oblige...
>         Tommy Loy
>
>> Here is the story:
>>
>> Duff Campbell was a big fan of Turk Murphy, his band and music.  It
>> seems that Duff made a trip to New York, and while there stopped in at
>> Condon's.  Eddie was at the club that night, and Duff decided to
>> introduce himself.  Part of the introduction was how he was a big fan of
>> Turk Murphy.  Well Condon, in his typical rare (and probably inebriated)
>> form, responded by pontificating about the inadequacies of Turk -- how
>> he and his music were like dinosaurs, antiquated, etc.  Well, this
>> shattered Duff, and upon returning to San Francisco, he related the
>> incident to Turk.  Turk laughed it off, and asked Duff not to take it
>> personally; after all, Condon was just being Condon!
>>
>> A while later, Turk was contacted by George Avakian of Columbia
>> Records.  Avakian had produced several of Turk's albums for Columbia and
>> was also a fan.  Avakian informed Turk that he was producing an album
>> entitled Eddie Condon's Treasury of Jazz, which was tied to an anthology
>> being published by Condon at that time.  Eddie Condon would assemble the
>> band and the theme would be tunes of various personalities covered in
>> the book such as Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Bix, and Benny Goodman to
>> name a few.  Avakian, being a fan of Turks, wanted Turk included, and
>> asked him if he could send Condon a tune to use in the album.  Turk
>> responded, "Better that that, I'll write one!"  He wrote it with with
>> twists and turns, put it in Db, and titled it "Duff Campbell's Revenge."
>>
>> The following is an excerpt from the liner notes of the album, written
>> by Condon:
>>
>>    "If we had been able to cover all the personalities and chapters in
>> the book without doing a tune of Turk Murphy's, we'd have gladly ducked
>> the toughie in this collection, but the Bald Eagle that presides over
>> the Columbia eyrie insisted that the discipline was good for us.  It's
>> called Duff Campbell's Revenge and The Head explained something about
>> the meaning of the title but we were too busy digging the manuscript.
>> Turk and his boys rehearsed this tune, and they know it inside out.  We
>> rehearsed it and we still don't.  Frankly, the band staggered through
>> this one; it's a jawbreaker, and if you don't believe it, listen to the
>> general struggle.  I am very fond of Turk -- there's a piece about him
>> in the book -- but he gave us a severe penance on this one."
>>
>> A final note -- On the Condon recording, they play it in Eb.
>>
>> Hope this explains.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Bob"
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: "Ric Giorgi" <ricgiorgi at sympatico.ca>
> Date: February 28, 2009 5:25:05 PM CST
> To: ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Duff Campbell's Revenge - who wrote it?
>
> Oh Great List - can anyone tell me who wrote Duff Campbell's revenge
> please? It seems to be credited to Turk but I seem to recall a
> discussion here that mentioned it being written by someone else.
>
> Ric Giorgi
> Toronto
> **--------------------------------------------------------------------**
> **  Dan Augustine  --  Austin, Texas  --  ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu
> **     "I always keep a supply of stimulant handy in case I see a
> **      snake, which I also keep handy." -- W. C. Fields
> **--------------------------------------------------------------------**
>
>
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