"Two Reelers"

SUBJECT: "I plead the case of the Three Stooges in the Culture Court." - Frank in the press kit for the album.

A lot of people see the Three Stooges as nothing more than slapstick violence, but Frank sees more than that.

LYRICS:
A lot of people love that Jerome / Did you know he missed his comb? / All his life was in pain / Made us laugh he never did complain / Brother Sam was more than OK / Returned once more to save the day / Slicked-back hair he did keep / Making a heep, heep, heep, heep, heep / If all you see is violence / Then I make a plea-yeah-in their defense / Don't you know they speak vaudevillian? / And for what it is / Hear what my theory is / Some gibberish it is so serious / What we need is more silly men / Though underrated all the time / Louis was so very fine / Without him imagine / Did you know he could play the violin? / Most important was brother Moe / He was the one who made it so / He got a Joe and another Joe / He would not quit, he would not quit / And Mr. White / Heard a bad report / And so it ends the two reelers short / Cause you cannot do what you can't / And Mr. White / Heard a bad report / And so it ends the two reelers short / Cause you cannot do what you can't

REFERENCES:
Jerome
Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known as Curly Howard, was likely the most loved of the Three Stooges. He had previously been somewhat of a ladies man, and hated having to shave his head in order to become a Stooge.

Sam
Samuel Horwitz, better known as Shemp Howard, often thought of as the original third Stooge, left the group in 1927, after which Curly took over. He later took back Curly's place in 1947 and stayed with them until he died in 1957.

Louis
Louis Feinberg, better known as Larry Fine, was as close as the Stooges had to a straight-man, so he didn't get many funny lines, but he was still invaluable to the team. Larry had been a professional violin player, playing in several theater circuits during his teens.

Moe
Harry Moses Horwitz, better known as Moe Howard, became the leader of the group, on and off the screen. He handled all of the Stooges' business and contract negotiations.

a Joe
Joe Besser became a Stooge after Shemp's death. In 1958, after making 16 Stooge two-reelers, Joe left the group to be with his ailing wife.

and another Joe
Joe DeRita, the last Stooge, had contractual obligations otherwise he would have followed Shemp as the third Stooge. After Joe Besser's stint, he came on to take the third wheel. They had already had a Stooge named "Joe", and Joe DeRita kind of looked like Curly, so his name became "Curly Joe".

Mr. White
Jules White produced and directed the majority of the Three Stooges shorts.

DEFINITIONS:
vaudevillian
n : a performer who works in vaudeville. of or like vaudeville.
vaude·ville
n. Stage entertainment offering a variety of short acts such as slapstick turns, song-and-dance routines, and juggling performances. A theatrical performance of this kind; a variety show.

two reeler
A short film, such as one 'episode' of The Three Stooges. In the early days of motion pictures, each reel of film ran about 10 minutes, and the length of a picture was indicated by the number of its reels. A film was a “one-reeler,” a “two-reeler,” or longer.

LIVE: yes

ACOUSTIC: no