This is posted here in memory of former Atlanta Braves catcher, Biff Pocoroba, who passed away May 24 at the age of 66. This recording is based on the bossa nova arrangement of Dave Frishberg's "Van Lingle Mungo", which I've posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX5OH6Khyds; the lyrics are different than in the more popular, jazz-piano version. This blog post discusses the production history of the song and the different mixes: https://www.ctproduced.com/oklahoma-toad-dave-frishberg/. Mine is based on the CTI mix, and not the one from the original Oklahoma Toad.

I recorded this in the Fall of 2018. I will admit--my horn-playing could use some improvement. I also used the wrong electric piano sound--I had intended to use a Hohner Pianet-like sound as in the original, but I didn't notice until after I'd made it. Here's the inspiration: Dave Frishberg came across the name "Van Lingle Mungo" in the old Baseball Encyclopedia; that was the most unusual player name of the 1930s-1940s. Somehow, I figured out that the cadence of the name of the player with the most unusual name of the 1970s-1980s, Atlanta Braves catcher Biff Pocoroba, matched the cadence of "Van Lingle Mungo." It occurred to me I could create a version that used players who were active been 1975 and 1984, the seasons Biff Pocoroba played in the majors. It took a long time to find enough players who names fit the cadences necessary and rhymed with each other.

Some trivia: I chose "Warren Cromartie" for the last spot because Cromartie was a star in Japan outside of his MLB career, while Eddie Basinski, who occupied that spot in the original version, was a long-time star in the Pacific Coast League. I managed to work "Milt May" in, one line away from where his father, Pinky May, appeared in the original. Announcers at the time pronounced Roger Moret's last name, "More-RETT", but I elected to go with the pronunciation listed at Baseball-Reference.com.


http://danielbutterf.com/2020/06/05/biff-pocoroba-van-lingle-mungo-a-music-video-project/