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The seeds of irreverent humour that inspired the likes of Wayne and Shuster and Monty Python were sown in the trenches of the First World War, and The Dumbells—concert parties made up of fighting soldiers—were central to this process. Soldiers of Song tells their story.
Lucky soldiers who could sing a song, perform a skit, or pass as a “lady,” were taken from the line and put onstage for the benefit of their soldier-audiences. The intent was to bolster morale and thereby help soldiers survive the war.
The Dumbells’ popularity was not limited to troop shows along the trenches. The group also managed a run in London’s West End and became the first ever Canadian production to score a hit on Broadway. Touring Canada for some twelve years after the war, the Dumbells became a household name and made more than twenty-five audio recordings. If nationhood was won on the crest of Vimy Ridge, it was the Dumbells who provided the country with its earliest soundtrack. Pioneers of sketch comedy, the Dumbells are as important to the history of Canadian theatre as they are to the cultural history of early-twentieth-century Canada.
Jason Wilson is an award-winning Canadian author and musician. He is a two-time Juno Award nominee and is currently completing his Ph.D. at the University of Guelph. Author of four books, including Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup (2006), Wilson has been published on various topics, including Canada and the First World War, hockey, and music.
Table of Contents for Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties of the First World War, by Jason Wilson
List of Figures
I Introduction
II The Music Hall and Beyond
III In the Interest of Morale: The Dumbells and the Development of the Canadian Concert Party
IV Only a Soldier Knows: The War and Humour
V The Canadian Concert-Party Experience
VI The Dumbells in Peace
Notes on Sources and Acknowledgements
Appendices
A Dramatis Personae: CEF Concert-Party Entertainers of WWI
B Notable Concert Parties of the CEF and BEF
C Important Casts of the CEF Concert Parties
D Postwar Concert Party Revues
E North American Tour Itineraries
F Catalogue of Dumbells Sheet Music
G Catalogue of Dumbells-Related Music
H Miscellaneous Songs
I Important British Music-Hall Revues
Notes
Bibliography
Index