Three Recordings of “Goose Pimples”

Jeff Barnhart: Hal, as you recall, we omitted one recording in our discussion of the New Orleans Owls (TST, March-April 2023) to work out a mystery: how an obscure tune, “Goose Pimples,” was recorded by three different bands in three different studios for (at least) three different labels on three consecutive days in October 1927! There’s definitely a story here. We agreed to look closely at all three versions of this great tune and invite our great friend, terrific musician, and Bix scholar Andy Schumm to join the party! Jo Trent and Fletcher Henderson receive co-composer credit for “Goose Pimples” —although some scholars believe this tune might have been included in the stack of compositions Fats Waller legendarily sold Henderson to help pay for a meal. They submitted the tune for copyright on July 12, 1927 (thank you David Sager for confirming this date). Henderson’s Dixie Stompers recorded the tune in NYC on October 24, 1927. Bix and his Gang recorded their completely different version on October 25, 1927 (again in NYC). The New Orleans Owls recorded theirs the day after in New Orleans. There are enough similarities between the takes that each group had to be referencing a stock arrangement; Henderson beat out the other two groups in recording his own tune (or if it was indeed by Waller, his own arrangement) by a mere two days! Once we established there had to have