There were seven men in the band, but they just happened to like the name Firehouse Five Plus Two. On the stand they wore red shirts, white suspenders and ancient leather firemen's helmets. They played standing up and they irreverently displayed a reproduction of Whistler's Mother when they honked out You've Got to See Mamma Ev'ry Night or You Can't See Mamma at All in a solid two-beat, flatfoot jazz style.
The act was pretty corny. But it was hot and loud and Hollywood cafe society couldn't get enough of it. Last week, the...
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