Joe Ricardel was a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist born in New York City in 1911. He played violin, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and clarinet, and led his own orchestra, but his lasting reputation rests on a handful of songs that entered the popular and jazz repertoires. His best-known composition, The Frim Fram Sauce, was co-written with lyricist Redd Evans in 1945 and made famous by the Nat King Cole Trio, reaching number nineteen on the Billboard charts. The song's whimsical wordplay and swinging melody made it a favorite for vocalists, and it has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong, Diana Krall, Carmen McRae, and many others. Ricardel also composed The Wise Old Owl, a 1941 hit that earned a Citation of Achievement from BMI, and Brooklyn Dodgers Jump, which later appeared in Ken Burns's baseball documentary series. He was a member of ASCAP throughout his career. Though his catalog was not large, The Frim Fram Sauce alone secured his place as the author of one of the most recognizable novelty-jazz standards of the 1940s.
