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| Maurice Tillet "The French Angel" |
Scat Man Crothers's recording of “A-Gruntin’ And A-Groanin’ (The Wrestlers Song)" backed by the Red Callender Sextet, combined R&B with professional wrestling, which was just getting some high profile popularity on TV out of the Olympic Auditorium in L.A. It was issued on Intro in 1951, a subsidiary of Aladdin Records. The Billboard's reviewer wasn't that impressed by this side : "Another case of a good performance and flimsy material, here some nonsense about the wrestling matches" (Billboard, May 26, 1951)
The French Angel (picture above) was one of these wrestlers who appeared in L.A. at that time. Maurice Tillet (The French Angel's real name) is widely believed to have been the inspiration for the cartoon character "Shrek", although DreamWorks has never confirmed precisely from where Shrek's inspiration arose.
78rpm labels http://www.rootsvinylguide.com/ebay_items/scat-man-crothers-intro-6016-jazz-78-rpm-10-shellac-ex
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