Latest Updates - Freddie Mitchell

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Comment by han enderman:

Derby 733 - The tune is Irving Berlin's "Easter Parade", as can be heard on archive. On the original issue Mitchell a.o. (band members?) claimed "Easter Boogie" as their composition, but after Berlin threatened with legal action (as said on 'rateyourmusic'), the real composer appeared on the label of "Easter Boogie", and subsequently the song title was changed into its original form. So there are 3 versions of the beige/pink label. - In its only Billboard mention (8 Apr 1950, Best-Selling Retail Records), the tune title is "Easter Boogie", confirming that this is the original Derby title. And on the later black label pressing (the last beige label seen is 814), the corrected title and composer are shown. Note that Mitchell recorded more "Boogie" versions of existing tunes, like Derby 739 "Till Tom Boogie".

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Comment by slholzer:

As a matter of clarification, the Easter Parade version does not exist only on black labels. It was also printed on beige labels, suggesting that error (If such it was) survived at least one event that offered an opportunity to fix it.

What I would like to know is whether the alternate title was an erroneous labelling of the Easter Boogie track, or was in fact Irving Berlin's Easter Parade as the label indicates. Both titles showed the same matrix (D-7), although the authors were distinctly different. That is as far as I can carry the inquiry, since all I have are photos of both versions.

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Comment by RadioAl:

Cash Box review, November 17, 1951, p. 22
Billboard (Rhythm & Blues Record Releases), November 17, 1951, p. 35