My mother loved korla pandit she saw korla pandit in the 1950s in Milwaukee this song is one of my mother's favorites she would play this all the time when i was growing up in the early sixties
When the fake is better than the original. Korla Pandit was so fake that he was original. I cannot believe his incredible style, almost entrancing, has not been more celebrated. He was nothing less than genius.
Yes. And apparently Liberace saw the power of Korla Pandit's act, and so opted to hijack it, as it were, except using his own style of music with florid embellishments. But, if you're going to fake it, Korla Pandit was one of the great fake acts!
What's fascinating is that the whole "exotic" pose is a fake here (a very entertaining one to be sure), but one necessary to permit several transgressions of the mores of the time. From the "Turkish" dancers, whose faux "exoticness" allowed them to express a degree of sexuality that would not have been allowed outside of this setting, to Korla Pandit himself, who was in reality an African-American man from Missouri named John Roland Redd. He almost certainly would not have been allowed to gain such a prominent place on a national television show in those days without his masquerade as the silent and "exotic" Korla Pandit.
This was the beginning of the mainstreaming of black culture. My grandmother loved Korla Pandit, but she had no idea he was black. I wonder who the dancer was, probably Armenian or Hispanic. Definitely cute.
Exotica is such a bastardization of other cultures, but heck back then, since this was the best presentation you could find through mass media, I'd say it was downright entertaining.
Ι found out about this ''Indian'' guy, through Frank Zappa's ''exentrifugal force''. The funny thing is, that despite the ''Indian'' persona he cleverly built for himself, his music has absolutely nothing to do with the music of India. It is Arabic /Turkish/middle eastern, but not Indian by any means.
If they didn't put it into an exotic and cultural setting, they probably couldn't show it! I don't remember American TV in the 50's being a hotbed of scantily-clad, undulating female bodies.
I don't get how folks refer to him as "fake" when the very point of show business (at least back then) was to put on a SHOW and entertain us, not by pushing "real life" into our faces, but transporting us into a fantasy. Korla Pandit took your attention off your mundane life and troubles for a while; we need him now more than ever!
The answer is quite simple. Though the appeal of such Korla Pandit selections probably was that they were suggestive of mysterious exotic cultures from afar, they were not representations of Turkish music or of Indian music!
@@supafrogg258 No, but they were not to be considered a travelogue or documentary--it was simple entertainment for daytime TV watchers who might want a break from the daily routine--a long time ago. Lost in Space was also not an educational program about outer space. Modern minds want to over-think things that were not meant to be serious reality. I am a Southern white, rural American male, which has been represented in various media as bearded, toothless, ragged overalls-wearing, moonshine-drinking outlier who is opposed to outside visitors. Should that keep me awake at night, or do I just laugh along? Maybe in some ways, I DO resemble that stereotype, but I don't really mind at all.
It's called entertainment. If you can't watch it and enjoy it for what it was (entertainment) don't whine and complain about it. Nobody care about your whining.
I like how it's portraying a fake culture, but it's still an interesting and cool fake culture. People don't really have wonder surrounding foreign places anymore - the only way they'll visit another place is on a military tour, hahah.
My mother loved korla pandit she saw korla pandit in the 1950s in Milwaukee this song is one of my mother's favorites she would play this all the time when i was growing up in the early sixties
Wow, what a coincidence! This is the way we celebrate Saturday nights in my household!
When the fake is better than the original. Korla Pandit was so fake that he was original. I cannot believe his incredible style, almost entrancing, has not been more celebrated. He was nothing less than genius.
Yes. And apparently Liberace saw the power of Korla Pandit's act, and so opted to hijack it, as it were, except using his own style of music with florid embellishments. But, if you're going to fake it, Korla Pandit was one of the great fake acts!
Way cool
His expression at the end made me laugh
I love that smile. It’s so “the cat that ate the canary” type smile.
What's fascinating is that the whole "exotic" pose is a fake here (a very entertaining one to be sure), but one necessary to permit several transgressions of the mores of the time. From the "Turkish" dancers, whose faux "exoticness" allowed them to express a degree of sexuality that would not have been allowed outside of this setting, to Korla Pandit himself, who was in reality an African-American man from Missouri named John Roland Redd. He almost certainly would not have been allowed to gain such a prominent place on a national television show in those days without his masquerade as the silent and "exotic" Korla Pandit.
This was the beginning of the mainstreaming of black culture. My grandmother loved Korla Pandit, but she had no idea he was black. I wonder who the dancer was, probably Armenian or Hispanic. Definitely cute.
That was fun. Thanks!
Great Tune :)
*MY THUMBS UP 135.*
Very nice sharing
Exotica is such a bastardization of other cultures, but heck back then, since this was the best presentation you could find through mass media, I'd say it was downright entertaining.
I suspect it’s the early precursor to what we now know as new age music.
Ι found out about this ''Indian'' guy, through Frank Zappa's ''exentrifugal force''. The funny thing is, that despite the ''Indian'' persona he cleverly built for himself, his music has absolutely nothing to do with the music of India. It is Arabic /Turkish/middle eastern, but not Indian by any means.
If they didn't put it into an exotic and cultural setting, they probably couldn't show it! I don't remember American TV in the 50's being a hotbed of scantily-clad, undulating female bodies.
Hajji can really slap those ivory’s.
Who is that beautiful woman dancing
I don't know but they are both hot 1950s babes. amazing that it passed 1950s TV censorship.
ed wood
I don't get how folks refer to him as "fake" when the very point of show business (at least back then) was to put on a SHOW and entertain us, not by pushing "real life" into our faces, but transporting us into a fantasy. Korla Pandit took your attention off your mundane life and troubles for a while; we need him now more than ever!
The answer is quite simple. Though the appeal of such Korla Pandit selections probably was that they were suggestive of mysterious exotic cultures from afar, they were not representations of Turkish music or of Indian music!
@@supafrogg258 No, but they were not to be considered a travelogue or documentary--it was simple entertainment for daytime TV watchers who might want a break from the daily routine--a long time ago. Lost in Space was also not an educational program about outer space. Modern minds want to over-think things that were not meant to be serious reality. I am a Southern white, rural American male, which has been represented in various media as bearded, toothless, ragged overalls-wearing, moonshine-drinking outlier who is opposed to outside visitors. Should that keep me awake at night, or do I just laugh along? Maybe in some ways, I DO resemble that stereotype, but I don't really mind at all.
I remember him when I was a kid. Our mothers loved his show, and the way he gazed dreamily and seductively into the camera.
Somebody fix the audio please...
@culturaleyes are you contending that this is in even an approximation of turkish culture? but yeah it's still entertaining
It's called entertainment. If you can't watch it and enjoy it for what it was (entertainment) don't whine and complain about it. Nobody care about your whining.
Sounds like a mix of two songs they put in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie levels. I’m sure they took inspiration, almost stealing this tune.
Says a lot about the USAs racial tensions when a black man has to pretend he is from half the world away to get recognition for his talent.
It was worse because some African-Americans had to go to France in order to get the recognition for their talent like Geraldine Baker.
I like how it's portraying a fake culture, but it's still an interesting and cool fake culture. People don't really have wonder surrounding foreign places anymore - the only way they'll visit another place is on a military tour, hahah.
lol, I am not Turkish but I know there is nothing “Turkish” about this dance or music.
Look into the man's story it's fascinating.