Born in
Oklahoma City, Standley moved to
Milwaukee at a young age, touring the Midwest and Southwest for many years as an actor and comedian with his parents' tent show called "The Standley Players". During
World War II, he served in the
US Army and entertained the troops with
Red Skelton and
Dave Brubeck for the
USO. Standley frequently worked with
Horace Heidt, touring with the bandleader and occasionally appearing on his television program.
"It's in the Book" In 1952, Standley wrote (with Art Thorsen) a song/comedy routine called "
It's in the Book". In it, Standley plays a revivalist preacher who gives a (possibly inebriated) take on the children's tale
Little Bo Peep, claiming his interpretation is in the
Bible: "It's in the book!" The number (featuring Heidt's orchestra) continues in that vein, with Standley praising "Grandma's
Lye Soap", while the audience cheers. "It's in the Book" was released by the small Magnolia label as a single in the fall of 1952, then picked up by
Capitol Records. The routine (which, at over six minutes long, had to be split over both sides of the record) shocked industry observers as it hit the
Billboard charts in October and raced all the way to the number-one spot for the week ending November 22, 1952. Aided by radio airplay and TV appearances, the record sold over two million copies, making it perhaps the mostly unlikely recording ever to receive a gold record. Standley continued touring with Heidt's stage show, but would release only two more records, neither of them hits: "Proud New Father" b/w "Clap Your Hands" (Capitol 2569) in 1953, and "Get Out and Vote" (with Jimmy Sheldon's Orchestra; Capitol 3544) in 1956. (The latter was later re-released by the California
Republican Party, of which Horace Heidt Jr. was a member.) "It's in the Book" would attract further attention in 1971, when filmmaker
Peter Bogdanovich used it in his movie
The Last Picture Show, playing in the background in the film's final scene. In 1992, Standley died of
pneumonia at the age of 79, in
Los Angeles. ==References==