When Jack Webb heard that Freberg was going to make a parody of Dragnet, he called up and offered the use of his house musicians. That almost didn't work since the musicians kept laughing during the recording session.

What a lot of people don't remember is that humor like this didn't stand on its own strength, but rather on the fact that everything back then was straight-up, serious, with an almost humorless delivery. It all had to be heroic. So anything which diverted from that was especially attractive to adults and kids alike. Born in '45, remember this record, and all those radio shows which also presented "whacky" humor, god bless 'em all.

RIP Stan Freberg. I grew up loving his great comedy. Born 7 August 1926 and he died on my daughter's birthday, 7 April 2015. So many people probably don't know his name at all but his humour and timing was up there with the very best. This sketch, based on the 1950's series Dragnet, was a wonderful spoof about St George and the Dragonet… listen and be ready to laugh. Definitely worth three minutes of anyone's time. RIP Stan, you were a comedy great!

I was June Forays neighbor many years ago in Ca, and thru her i got to meet many of the greatest voices in cartoon voiceover in the 1960's..from Daws butler to bill Conrad, they were all wonderful people and their stories of how the cartoons were arranged are memories i cherish to this day...i am honored to have known this lady and all the others that made us all laugh over 50 years ago....

Loved hearing this again after so many years, thanks for sharing.

STAN, was one of those "GREATS". I have so many memories of his recordings...A very clever man! I'm so glad he was part of my life!

I was born in 45 and cherish my memories of the radio. It was before we had TV or could afford one. I remember going to neighbors house to watch one of the few televisions in the neighborhood with a room full of adults and kids watching Howdy Doodie.

I heard this from a friend in the 70’s and we wrote down the skit and did it in a talent show at our sci-fi club. The kid who did the St George had perfect delivery. I was the dragon(wearing purple swim fins and a fake large eye.)female dragon. We had a blast. As I was cleaning out a box from garage I found our handwritten script from 1977 and shared with my friend(the maiden) via FB tonight. She still remembers the lines too. I have been background in few things and have used the 412 more than once. We came in 2nd to a girl who sang the love song from Superman. But we got the laughs

Stan Freberg was a comedy genius. So many of his sketches stand the test of time. St George and the Dragonet was one of his best. But he had so many!

Stan Freberg and Daws Butler. Classic. Especially with June Foray.

Man, I heard this on the radio once as a kid. I can't remember the occasion, but the radio station was doing a classic comedy special. They included this and the classic "Who's on first?" routine in the line-up. I had seen the Dan Ackroyd remake of Dragnet, so I had some idea of what it was parodying, and I just loved it!

This was a perfect skit in the 50s and still is .

My dad used to record these shorts off the radio and we would play them during our trips. Loved this one!

I still come and play this now and again, along with Little Blue Riding Hood. Still think they're as funny as ever. BTW I'm 73!

My parents had this on a 45 and my cousins and my little brother and I used to play it in the rec room back in the 70's, we got a kick out of it.

I've been a huge fan of cartoons all my life, and it was such a thrill to discover my all-time favourite entertainers -- Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, and June Foray -- in Old-Time Radio 📻.

For about 20 years, another engineer and myself in our company were both fans of this parody. It was amazing how many times the number 412 came up in conversations with other people, in meetings, etc; WE TWO did not introduce the number, it would just come up on its own. One or the other of us would bellow, "A four-twelve....what's a four twelve?", leaving the others in the room speechless and thinking we two were crazy, as we chuckled knowingly in our bellies. And then, as if by divine providence, two different companies who made equipment we used in our business introduced products with model numbers of, or ending with, 412....we could hardly believe our good fortune, and hilarity ensued.

Still holds up! Loved this as a kid and still love it. I love it so much in fact my favorite statue of all time IS St. George and The Dragon at the UN.

I have an original 45 on vinyl . It was my parents'. One of my prized possessions ❤

I first heard this 30 years ago when my father played it for me. I've used the "412" reference to this day whenever people get overly dramatic. They never know the reference, but they laugh just the same. Thanks for posting this! Now I'll have to go find Dad's original vinyl copy for a walk down memory lane.

Listening to some OTR Dragnet episodes & thought I'd like to hear this again. Glad I thot of it. Freberg was a unique comedian. Gonna check out some of his old radio shows on KZfaq.

Last year I was in Hawaii and stopped at a local supermarket to pick-up a few things. The cashier rang up everything and said, "Four twelve, please." I said, "Four twelve, what's a four twelve.... get it..." She got the joke. 😄😄

Thanks a zillion times over for this upload. I was born in 1953, the year this parody was released. When I was in first grade (1959), I found a 45 RPM of this record in my Dad's collection. I remember thinking the words were so funny (had no idea that it was a parody of the show "Dragnet") that I played it enough times I had it memorized. I continued to play the record for years while I mimicked along. After hundreds of plays, sadly, in fifth grade, I accidentally broke the 45. (Never told Dad, of course.) Doing so also broke my heart as I thought I would never hear the words again. (Coincidentally, during my lifetime, I became a huge fan of parodies.) After not hearing this record for 55 years, the 'dragon story,' as I always called it, suddenly came to mind today while watching a movie and is the reason I checked the internet. (The movie character impersonated that familiar Dragnet line, "I want the facts ma'am, just the facts.") I'm now back being 6 years old again and I have not forgotten a single word! What great memories.

A 4-12! What's a 4-12! We never got tired of this when we were kids.

my grandson heard the dragnet sound as I've got it as a ring tone & keeps getting me to play it!

I picked up the collected Pogo Comic strips Volume 2, which had a foreword written by Stan Freberg. He relates that he and Walt Kelly met each other in Australia while Freberg was performing his comedy routines live, including this record. They wondered if Australians would find this funny since Dragnet hadn't aired in Australia yet. Turns out they did, because Aussies have a great sense of humor. Freberg returned to Australia three years later, and by then, they had been airing Dragnet. He said a reporter for the Melbourne Sun cam running up to him and cried "Mr. Freberg, Mr. Freberg! Some bloke has gone and built a whole television show around your record!"

one of his best comedy recordings.he'll be missed.R.I.P. STAN :(...

Thanks for posting. My Dad had this and other comedy 78s of the era. I listened to them all the time. The records are gone now but I'm glad I can still listen to them here.

I remember this classic from when I was a kid in the 1950's. Haven't heard it in yonks. He was a funny man. Probably would not be appreciated by the current generation, but us older ones still like him.

Remember listening to this as a kid. My brother and I had it practically memorized, often reciting it along w the record.

RIP Stan Freberg ... thanks for the laughs.

He is great, and I hope to find more by him. Thanks for listening to this Stan Freberg record...Friends, Lloyd.

Ahhhhhh... remember listening to this on Annie Nightingale's show on Radio 1 in the 80s. Fabulous stuff. "I understand you were almost devoured by a Ma'am, is that right, Dragon?"

One of the all-time greats.

I have been looking for this for years!! Thank you!!

Thanks for listening to this vintage 78 recording...Friends, Lloyd.

I remember listening to Stan Freberg's "United States of America" The early years.. It taught me about our nations history in a fun way. Never will forget- and can almost recite it verbatim!

Loved these as a kid; great to hear them again. 7/2019

It is amazing how many of these old songs can influence us for the rest of our lives. Thanks for listening to this 78 rpm record...Friends, Lloyd.

We had this record when I was a kid. I don't know what happened to it, but I thought of it randomly and took a chance that it might be on her. The internet is amazing, thanks for posting this!

My Junior High School band performed this on stage in 1964...memories.

This brings back a lot of memories.

Love it!! Even today my brothers and I contact each other on 4-12!!

Wow... I remember this. This recording really scared me as kid back in the late 50s, early 70s. Even now it still causes me some shivers. Thanks for posting!

I remember Stan doing a live interview on the Dr. Demento Show, on KMET 94.7 FM ( Little Bit of Heaven -- Ninety - Four point Seven ) Los Angeles in the 1970's. Stan mentioned that he used the genuine NBC Orchestra for that authentic sound. HOWEVER this recording was take 29 or so, due to the musicians' continual laughing at the dialogue !!! In addition the his great comedy recordings, Stan was also a top - notch ad man. Rest in Peace, Stan...

Have this one still kicking around the house somewhere. Used to play it on a "portable" wind-up Victrola. When I think that we considered it an "old" player over 40 years ago, and now think it's almost twice as old now.

Featuring Stan Freberg as detective Wednesday, with Daws Butler, June Foray, and Billy May conducting the Capitol Records Orchestra. The music score is based on Walter Schumann's original 1953 score for Jack Webb's DRAGNET TV series.

My brother and I grew up having this Record, because it was in my dad's collection... It's still funny today..

In Norway there’s a well liked and popular television series called «Brødrene Dal» (English: «The Dal Brothers», or to translate it completely, «The Valley Brothers») made almost 40 years ago. Three series was made; type of seasons. But each season had a new title, and content and plot. More like sequels. Three Norwegian comedians/actors, Trond Kirkvaag, Knut Lystad and Lars Mjøen played three brothers, with their names named after places in Norway. Gaus Dal (named after Gausdal), Roms Dal (Romsdal) and Brumund Dal (Brumundal). The point is: At the end of each episode, something mysterious, scary or strange was about to happen, or happened, the image freezes with a still image, and an creepy fanfare plays, and and a narrator and a narrator says something exciting and funny, and that the viewers have to watch the next episode to see what happens next. The creepy fanfares have it’s origin from here: The first series, «Brødrene Dal og Professor Drøvels Hemmelighet» (1978), the fanfare at 02:10 was used. For the second series, «Brødrene Dal og Spektralsteinene» (1982), the fanfare at 00:53 was used. For the third series, «Brødrene Dal og Legenden om Atlant-is» (1994), both of the fanfares at 00:00 and 00:03 was used. For the fourth series, «Brødrene Dal og Karl XII’s Gamasjer» (2005), a Norwegian orchestra was covering the version at 02:10. Then the song «The Eye of Wendor» plays with the credits. The same song was played for the end credits on all four seasons, but for the last season in 2005, the same as with the fanfare, it was played by a Norwegian orchestra. A fifth series was planned, but scrapped when one of the lead actors, Trond Kirkvaag died of cancer in 2007. To check out more, see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8drene_Dal and kzfaq.info/sun/PL7l14X0btwAeYQLvkE4KTaHd0myzxdN8W. And please reply to my comment. Er du Norsk, lik kommentaren.

The great days of audio when people didn’t need HD video and used their imagination , the ‘ Goon Show ‘ in the UK was equally brilliant

Thanks!

Born in the early 60's. My parent's had the album, Stan Freberg's Child's Garden or something. My brothers and I listened to that album over and over (as kid's do) and knew it line by line even though we didn't know much of the pop culture references at the time. "412, what's a 412", I still say it to this day (or think it) when someone is getting too dramatic.

My dad brought me his album, A Child's Garden of Verse. Just brilliant. The Great Pretender, Yellow Rose of Texas, John & Marsha. I would love another copy

I have this on a vinyl album called Comedy Caravan, one of my favorite albums!

Wonderful! Spike Jones also did a Dragnet send-up which is equally funny.

This still very funny and well worth playing for the kids

totally fantastic, i'll be sharing this with people who brilliant comedy.

Cool, I just listened to the 78 of this. I got a big stack of really cool 78's at Goodwill a few months ago. And ironically today, I was using a little screwdriver to adjust the pitch on my cheap Sony record player, and I saw the platter speeding up really fast. The light bulb went off and I've got it's set to 78 give her take almost perfect

My mother had this on a 45 rpm record when I was a kid. So funny.

Despite the record's unusuality (comedy/parody), this record was such a sensation, it prevented Vaya Con Dios from spending 4 more weeks on top (it was 11 weeks in the end, instead of a would-have-been record of 15 weeks).

Those reverb chambers under the parking lot of the Capitol building in Hollywood are unmistakable. I've walked through them. I can always recognize anything recorded in Capitol Studios.

I too remember this from the 1950s. My parents had the record. I think that "Little Blue Ridinghood" was on the flipside. (You can find that on KZfaq as well.) I recently traced my lifelong use of the phrase "sometimes a hunch pays off" to that latter record. Searching for other recordings, I realized that similar stock phrases I use today such as "he boined me already" and "you'll never pin that wrap on me" came from this present recording! Such influences on us in early life persist!

Heard this and bought the "album" when I was 15....50 years ago...

Crazy almost every movie uses that rift

R.I.P. Stan Freberg.

Perfect& hilarious parody of how they spoke on Dragnet. Just the facts Ma'am.

a classic my father had this on record i can't remember the name something about comedy classic also on the record was andy griffith "what is was was football", also johnny standley "it's in the book" all classics great stuff!

I agree!! Thanks for listening to this Stan Freberg recording...Friends, Lloyd.

Wow I have an entire album with this and others

Ageless...a phrase I've carried around for 63 years........" who are you?......

"straight from the dragon's mouth" one after another, what a gas!

Thanks for checking it out, and have a great New Year in 2013...Friends, Lloyd.

St. George and the Dragon helped me earn an A in English at Vashon High in St. Louis back in 1966. I wrote a parody of a parody. As a 16 year old growing un in the ghettos of St. Louis, I thought this was hilarious. PS I faithfully watched both iterations of Jack Webb's Dragnet.

I heard this on XM radio and didn’t know what it was

It is comical. Thanks for listening to this 78 rpm record...Friends, Lloyd.

I played this on a 78 record way back ...lol As well as Little blue riding hood on the other side of the record CLASSIC yes really classic

Memories.

We're enjoying this hilarious recording on The Rock Around the Clock Programme on The Spotlight TV Channel 💞 Absolutely brilliant. Happy Saint Andrew's Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🥰🇯🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🕊️🔥✝️

My parents had this record. We know it by. Heart

Still makes me laugh, great fun.

My dad and I were fans of Freberg, Dragnet, and this parody. Every time we would watch a movie, tv show or whatever that had a scene where someone seemed to be overacting, my dad and I would say to each other "Get him on a 412..." LOL

This was the first Freberg track I ever heard (2010), and for some reason, my iPhone displays a Freberg album cover everytime I listen to Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

Hilarious stuff! I love Freberg's "Christmas Dragnet" too! The book a guy named 'Grudge' on a 4096325-096704! The 'Grudge' don't believe in 'Santy Clause!' And he likes relish trays with those little carrot sticks.... olives, pickles and green onions..but they're really scallions! You know, don't you? How most people call 'em green onions, but they're really scallions!

Way Too Kool!!!

I am not sure, it does not mention her on record label? Thanks for checking out this vintage 78 recording...Friends, Lloyd.

They asked Jack Webb if they could do a skit on his police drama, Dragnet, thinking he wouldn't go for it. He did, big style, and even loaned the Dragnet orchestra who habitually fell about laughing in the recording, so they had to put a screen between the actors and musicians

love it

Great stuff. So funny. That's about the size of it.

Freberg voiced a number of TV ads in Australia for powdered milk during the '50's. I remember his voice.

He is great! Thanks for listening to this 78 rpm recording...Friends, Lloyd.

You are welcome. Thanks for checking out this video...Friends, Lloyd.

RIP, Stan Freberg.

amazing.. soo coel

How was this number 1 on the charts?

No 1 on the day I was born.

This is great for a good-humored DM

Hey Krud, the Kings Highway was no strawberry shortcut for me.

Yes, June, and Daws Butler, are "supporting players" with Stan.

What talents they were!

I loved this as a kid, still funny. Even funnier now that i get the jokes