The Mark IV
Encyclopedia
The Mark IV were an American
musical ensemble
, based in Chicago
, who were originally named The Rhythm Makers. They later changed their name to Mark V, and then - as members left - to The Mark IV, and eventually ending in the 1980s as The Mark IV Trio. The band appears to have recorded only as The Mark IV, however, and they had their biggest hit in 1959 with the novelty song
, "I Got A Wife" (Mercury
71403). "I Got A Wife" was set to a lively polka
beat, and reached #24 in U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
, and #14 on Canadian
radio station CHUM's "Chum Chart". The song was later covered
by Frankie Yankovic
and other polka bands.
of "I Got A Wife" was "Ah-Ooo-Gah", a straight 1950s rocker
, punctuated with an old-time car horn effect.
Prior to "I Got a Wife," the group released at least two singles
on Cosmic Records. One of these was "Goose Bumps" b/w "Booblee Ah Bah Doo Baa" (Cosmic 702; 1957), recorded along with the Dick Marx Orchestra. Though both songs on this record fit the category of doo-wop
, the nonsense title of the B-side suggests the "novelty" direction the group would later take.
The other known Cosmic release was "(Make With) The Shake" b/w "45 R.P.M." (Cosmic 704; 1958). The group performed "(Make With) The Shake" on American Bandstand
, and Dick Clark currently owns the rights to the song. Both songs were also released in Canada on the REO label (REO 8217). "(Make With) The Shake" was in a vein rather similar to Danny and the Juniors' "At The Hop
", and it charted #22 on the Canadian "Chum Chart".
Songwriting
for all of these songs, except "Mairzy Doats," is credited to Edward C. Mascari and Erwin Herbert "Dutch" Wenzlaff. Mascari and Wenzlaff were sheet music salesmen before they started writing and performing together. Wenslaff played piano, and Mascari the drums.
At some point, Mascari - it seems - ran his own Chicago-based, Delaware record label, and was also once General Manager of Mercury's Near North Music Publishing. Additionally, according to Chicago Soul by Robert Pruter, Mascari at one point ran (other sources say "owned"), a soul label named Limelight; perhaps a Mercury sub-label. Mascari is also credited by one source as having produced a single titled "Cindy, Oh Cindy" for Ivanhoe Records. Yet another lists him as producer of a United Artist's record by Danny Lee (aka Dan Penn). Perhaps most notably, however, Mascari co-produced an album by the singer-songwriter Dick Campbell
, on which Peter Cetera
, Paul Butterfield
, and Mike Bloomfield
were all credited.
Wenzlaff, too, appears to have had an association with Mercury (as a record producer) at some point. Additionally, he and Mascari wrote and produced songs for other artists
, including "Foggy Mountain" for Danielle Blanchard, "Stop, Look and Listen" for Ralph Marterie
and his Marlboro Men, and "Bride and Groom" (sheet music for which can often be found on eBay). Additionally, Wenzlaff is credited with having arranged
and conducted
"You Wouldn't Listen" for The Ides of March
on Harlequin Records in 1966.
NB: In addition to Wenzlaff and Mascari's group, there have been several other groups named The Mark IV (also Mark IV, without the "The"). The one most often confused with Wenzlaff and Mascari's group (due to their also having released records on Mercury) was a soul group out of New York
. Their singles included "Honey I Still Love You" b/w "Since God Made Woman (Nobody Rest)", "My Everything You Are" b/w
I'll Be Right There (To Make Love To You), "I Fell In Love (With A Married Woman)" b/w "Got To Get Back (To My Baby's Love)", and "Why Do You Want To Hurt Me" b/w "You're Just Like A Dream".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, who were originally named The Rhythm Makers. They later changed their name to Mark V, and then - as members left - to The Mark IV, and eventually ending in the 1980s as The Mark IV Trio. The band appears to have recorded only as The Mark IV, however, and they had their biggest hit in 1959 with the novelty song
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
, "I Got A Wife" (Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
71403). "I Got A Wife" was set to a lively polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
beat, and reached #24 in U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, and #14 on Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio station CHUM's "Chum Chart". The song was later covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio...
and other polka bands.
Early success
The B-sideA-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of "I Got A Wife" was "Ah-Ooo-Gah", a straight 1950s rocker
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, punctuated with an old-time car horn effect.
Prior to "I Got a Wife," the group released at least two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on Cosmic Records. One of these was "Goose Bumps" b/w "Booblee Ah Bah Doo Baa" (Cosmic 702; 1957), recorded along with the Dick Marx Orchestra. Though both songs on this record fit the category of doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, the nonsense title of the B-side suggests the "novelty" direction the group would later take.
The other known Cosmic release was "(Make With) The Shake" b/w "45 R.P.M." (Cosmic 704; 1958). The group performed "(Make With) The Shake" on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, and Dick Clark currently owns the rights to the song. Both songs were also released in Canada on the REO label (REO 8217). "(Make With) The Shake" was in a vein rather similar to Danny and the Juniors' "At The Hop
At the Hop
"At the Hop" is a hit rock 'n' roll song written by Arthur Singer, John Medora and David White and originally released by Danny & the Juniors. The song was released in the fall of 1957, and reached number one on the US charts on January 6, 1958, thus becoming one of the top-selling singles of 1958...
", and it charted #22 on the Canadian "Chum Chart".
Later years
After the success of "I Got A Wife," Mercury quickly followed up with several more Mark IV novelty singles. One of these was "Move Over Rover" b/w "Dante's Inferno" (Mercury 71445; 1959). Another was "Mairzy Doats" b/w "Ring Ring Ring Those Bells" (Mercury 71481; 1959).Songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for all of these songs, except "Mairzy Doats," is credited to Edward C. Mascari and Erwin Herbert "Dutch" Wenzlaff. Mascari and Wenzlaff were sheet music salesmen before they started writing and performing together. Wenslaff played piano, and Mascari the drums.
At some point, Mascari - it seems - ran his own Chicago-based, Delaware record label, and was also once General Manager of Mercury's Near North Music Publishing. Additionally, according to Chicago Soul by Robert Pruter, Mascari at one point ran (other sources say "owned"), a soul label named Limelight; perhaps a Mercury sub-label. Mascari is also credited by one source as having produced a single titled "Cindy, Oh Cindy" for Ivanhoe Records. Yet another lists him as producer of a United Artist's record by Danny Lee (aka Dan Penn). Perhaps most notably, however, Mascari co-produced an album by the singer-songwriter Dick Campbell
Dick Campbell
the folk singer-songwriter and film producer|Dick Campbell |Richard "Dick" Campbell is a Scottish association football manager and former player...
, on which Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
, Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
, and Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
were all credited.
Wenzlaff, too, appears to have had an association with Mercury (as a record producer) at some point. Additionally, he and Mascari wrote and produced songs for other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, including "Foggy Mountain" for Danielle Blanchard, "Stop, Look and Listen" for Ralph Marterie
Ralph Marterie
Ralph Marterie was a big-band leader born in Acerra , Italy.In the 1940s, he played trumpet for various bands. His highest success in the U.S. charts was a cover of "Skokiaan" in 1954. In 1953 he recorded a version of Bill Haley's "Crazy, Man, Crazy", which is generally regarded as the first...
and his Marlboro Men, and "Bride and Groom" (sheet music for which can often be found on eBay). Additionally, Wenzlaff is credited with having arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and conducted
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
"You Wouldn't Listen" for The Ides of March
The Ides of March
The Ides of March is an American rock band that had a major US and minor UK hit with the song "Vehicle" in 1970. After going on hiatus in 1973, the band returned with their original line-up in 1990 and has been active since then.-Early days:...
on Harlequin Records in 1966.
Discography
- “Goose Bumps” b/w “Booblee Ah Bah Doo Baa” (Cosmic 702; 1957; US) - (as The Mark IV / Dick Marx Orchestra)
- “(Make With) The Shake” b/w “45 R.P.M” - (Cosmic 704; 1958; US) (REO 8217; 1958; Canada)
- “I Got A Wife” b/w “Ah-Ooo-Gah” - (Mercury 71403; 1959; US)
- “Move Over Rover” b/w “Dante’s Inferno - (Mercury 71445; 1959; US)
- “Mairzy Doats” b/w “Ring Ring Ring Those Bells” - (Mercury 71481; 1959; US)
NB: In addition to Wenzlaff and Mascari's group, there have been several other groups named The Mark IV (also Mark IV, without the "The"). The one most often confused with Wenzlaff and Mascari's group (due to their also having released records on Mercury) was a soul group out of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Their singles included "Honey I Still Love You" b/w "Since God Made Woman (Nobody Rest)", "My Everything You Are" b/w
I'll Be Right There (To Make Love To You), "I Fell In Love (With A Married Woman)" b/w "Got To Get Back (To My Baby's Love)", and "Why Do You Want To Hurt Me" b/w "You're Just Like A Dream".