Purchasing information Notice for leaders/bass players
Length: approx. 3¾ mins.
Gum Shoe is an extremely fine ebullient, chirpy fox trot with several charming touches, both a joy to perform and to be entertained by. For my taste this is Stark's best work. The cover of the original sheet music amusingly depicts a gaunt, overlarge, nattily-dressed gent replete with chequered ratting cap, Edwardian collar, stringy-tie, waistcoat, jacket a-flying, drainpipe trousers and of course size-90 gumshoes adorning the extremities of two spindly legs. He is determinedly fox-trotting, eyes fixed on the horizon, with a serene, diminutive lady on tip-toe. For those not in the know, a gumshoe is the American word for galosh, a waterproof overshoe usually of rubber. The mystery of what persuades a person to go dancing attired in such footwear is perhaps explained by the fact that the word gumshoe is also American slang for detective hence our man's distant gaze and oversize footgear.
Gum Shoe was published by the
Stark Music Co, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
A tempo of 120 crotchets/min. is suggested.
There is also a
quintet version of this item.