Jack Smith sings "Poor Papa (He's Got Nothin' At All)." br br Recorded on February 19, 1926, in New York Citybr br Victor 19998.br br Music and lyrics by Billy Rose and Harry Woods.br br "Now don't get married, don't get married," said my br friend McBride. "If you take a wife, you're out br of luck for life." He had all his little sons and br daughters by his side like Happy Hooligan--br sixteen kids! They all lined up and cried,br br "Momma's got shoes, Momma's got clothesbr Momma's got these and Momma's those, but br poor Papa, poor Papa! He's got nothing at all!"br br Momma goes here; Momma goes there.br Momma goes out to every affair, but poor Papa, br poor Papa--he waits out in the hall. br br Now Christmas comes, and Momma gets the most br expensive frocks. Papa gets a necktie and a pair of br ten cent socks. Everyone cheers when Momma br appears, and she's got diamonds stuck in her ears, br but poor Papa, poor Papa--he's got nothing at all.br br And Mama eats ham, Mama eats lambbr Mama eats bread with strawberry jambr And poor Papa, poor Papa, he eats nothin' at allbr br Mama says "Oh!", Mama says "Ah!"br Mama says "Boo!" and Mama says "Bah!"br But poor Papa, poor Papa, he says nothin' at allbr br Papa bought a limousine br And the most expensive kindbr Now he wears a chaffeur's suit, hah-hahbr And Mama rides behindbr br Mama's got silk, satin beneathbr She's got gold in all of her teethbr But poor Papa, poor Papa, he's got no teeth at allbr br I enjoy the recordings of Whispering Jack Smith--the haunting quality of his voice in sentimental tunes, the humor he conveys in comic songs, his choice of material during a Golden Age of songwriting, the tasteful accompaniments to his voice (he often provides his own piano accompaniment, and his playing is deft).br br The crooner's first discs were marketed in late 1925, "The Whispering Baritone" enjoying popularity from that time until 1929 or so. His records sold well for four years, but sales declined dramatically with the Depression's onset.br br Born with the name Jacob Schmidt (probably on May 30, 1896), the singer made a legal change to Jack Smith around the time anti-German sentiment ran high.br br With the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, Smith was a victim of a gas attack at the battle of Saint-Mihiel, or so it has been claimed--a book by Brian Rust says it, so people repeat it, but no primary source is cited. Can someone find a Jack Smith interview in which he says this?br br Some record collectors today make the tiresome claim that the whispering quality of Smith's crooning is a result of this gas attack, but I view the softness and half-talking as Smith's singing style--and he chose this style, making innovative use of new microphone technology. Smith sings in a regular way on plenty of records, not "whispering" at all.