Java Jive - The Ink Spots

Waiter!  Waiter!  Percolator!  Today we review The Ink Spots' hit Java Jive (and now we're in the 1940s!).  The Ink Spots were a big group in the 1930s and 40s and were seen as pioneers of R&B and doo-wop.  They owe a lot of their success to a formula they used in many of their songs - they started with the same 4 chord guitar intro and halfway through the song the bass singer takes a spoken word solo.  The foursome broke out big time in 1939 with If I Didn't Care which sold over 19 million copies.  The original incarnation of the group broke up in 1954 and apparently it was quite acrimonious (I imagine a lot of velvet-voiced yelling at each other) and there are still a lot groups today touring as the Ink Spots, although they have no connection to the original foursome.  

I can't find that much info on the song Java Jive except that it was written by Milton Drake and Ben Oakland, and the book tells us it's a bit of a jovial oasis amid a desert of lonesome heart ballads for the Ink Spots.  The book also says that one of the original members, Deek Watson once performed in a group called The Percolating Puppies.  The song was seen as a novelty fad song, as coffee was (and I guess still is) a fad.

Kelly:

Yay, finally a song that I own on an album!  I really like the Ink Spots and can clearly remember the first time I ever heard them: in the Sir Ian McKellan 1940s film adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, McKellan's titular character (spoiler alert) is falling to his death in slow motion.  As he falls, a broad smile forms across his face and The Ink Spots' I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire is heard playing.  I must have been in high school when I heard it.  I told my dad that I really liked it so on his next trip to A&B Sound he picked me up an Ink Spots CD and Java Jive is on it.  I like the song, but I don't think it's the Ink Spots best (for me, that goes to Whispering Grass).  As usual their voices sound really good together and the harmonies are tight.  It's a cute song and I'm glad the Ink Spots have a place on this list. 4.5/5

Holly:

Java Jive (The Ink Spots): There’s something just so nice about this song. It’s pleasant, and happy, and calm, but not bland. I think that’s tough to do. The vocals are awesome, and the harmonies are interesting and really well done. And, FINALLY, a song that has a well thought-out ending! I was going to say that they totally ripped of the ending of String of Pearls by Glen Miller, but this song came out two years before String of Pearls! So…..maybe Glen Miller stole from the Ink Spots? 4.5/5

Java Jive