GREAT MELODY, GREAT LYRIC, GREAT RENDITION

[Mark Blackburn]

Jersey Lou - mind reader!

Awoke today humming the opening verse to my family's favorite song:

 

"Time and again, I've longed for adventure -- something to make my heart beat the faster . . . "

 

Turn on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio and there is Barbra. I'd forgotten how lovely her take on this one is. (Even with 'synth' instrumentation at the start.)  First offering this day at Youtube?  This one -- uploaded 12 Junes ago, and nearing a million views.  I can almost spot the arranger.  Almost. Wonder who?

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU -- Sir Paul does Frank Loesser

My favorite ballad from “Guys & Dolls” – the original Broadway cast album but dropped from the movie version, is MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU. A little too obscure perhaps to make the cut for today's otherwise perfect “Nancy For Frank” all- Frank Loesser three-hour show. That left-handed bass player with The Beatles, now "Sir Paul" included on his album (“Kisses on the Bottom”) -- mostly songs his musical Dad enjoyed -- some classics we all know, plus a few of the 'should-have-been-standards' McCartney discovered later in life. "More I Cannot Wish You" doesn't have its own Wiki entry, but buried in the large Guys & Dolls section are a few words of context for this otherwise forgotten song's existence:

 

“Arvide expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart (More I Cannot Wish You). Sky tells Sarah he intends to deliver the dozen genuine sinners for the revival. She doesn't believe him and walks off, but Arvide subtly encourages him . . . “

 

Is an official McCartney 'live in the Capitol Tower' recording at YouTube? Yes! That's John Pizzarelli on seven-string guitar. But you knew that, right?

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Frank's swinging-est NIGHT AND DAY

Returning the "Sinatra - Vegas" 4-CD/1-DVD box set to my basement this night, I spotted the book titled, "FRANK SINATRA – THE MAN, THE MUSIC THE LEGEND" – with its cover note from Michael Feinstein: "A kaleidoscopic view of a multi-faceted man, this compendium benefits greatly from its various viewpoints and offers fresh insight into the Sinatra Legend.” It's a book commissioned by two women professors from Hofstra University, Jeanne Fuchs and Ruth Progozy. They requested an early chapter from my friend Samuel Chell, titled “Frank Sinatra's artistry – and the question of phrasing.”

 

After quoting “Sonny Payne, the legendary drummer with the Count Basie Band [that] Sinatra was the only vocalist who could make him swing, Sam wrote: “it is perhaps no exaggeration to say that Sinatra can make any orchestra – regardless of size and instrumentation – swing.

 

“First there is his ability to remain on the back part of of the beat, never disturbing the pulse by lunging out the 'pocket' established by the rhythm section.

 

“Second, Sinatra's close attention to phonetics – including the full value of consonant and diphthong sounds, is analogous to the articulations that are a part of a great saxophonist's rhythmic vocabulary.

 

“Third, like certain jazz masters [such as] tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (with whom Sinatra recorded on a Metronome Jazz all-star session) Sinatra thinks vertically as well as horizontally: his mind is on rhythm as much as on melody, and the responsibility for making the melodic statement swing is as much on him, as on the bassist, guitarist and drummer.”

 

[and this delightful insight, a paragraph or two later]

 

“The same 1956 Nelson Riddle arrangement is practically grafted onto a live 1959 recording in which the band is practically silent while Sinatra and the Red Norvo quartet ad-lib the first half of the performance.

 

“Perhaps nowhere else does Sinatra swing harder, employing a rhythmic vocabulary that erases the distinction between jazz vocalist and jazz instrumentalist [as] the singer clearly subordinates lyric meaning, to propulsive swing.

 

“In the opening phrases 'Night and day . . . only you beneath the moon,' he spaces the words equally, on the back part of the quarter notes comprising the walking bass line: In the interplay with Norvo's vibes, the singer seems to have the best of it, which may explain the momentary, unmistakable audible smile in Sinatra's voice.

 

“Moreover, in the game of tension and release, the voice definitely has an advantage over the percussive vibraphone: It sustains the 'Why' in 'Why is it so?' for six beats – maintaining interest by varying the pitch before riding the beat for the last three words – 'is it so.'

 

“Sinatra may be matching chops with Red Norvo but the combination of drama and playfulness, of adventurousness and total self-assuredness, seems more likely to invite comparison with Louis Armstrong's trumpet.”

 

– Samuel L. Chell (2007)

Last track in this concert 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

JAMES TAYLOR - Teach Me Tonight

James Taylor's Facebook page just shared with fans his song included on a special "Acoustic Summer" playlist at Spotify. Compelled to leave my favorite living singer/songwriter a note:

 

TEACH ME TONIGHT: Listening to James Taylor's latest rendition (2020) of this great old song -- as if for the first time, and hearing things I never heard before! Around the 00:50 second mark, where the melody takes off in a new direction for the song's bridge -- that glorious middle part, which James Taylor makes all his own. You'd swear James wrote it.

 

The melodist, Gene de Paul would have loved what JT and co-arranger "for two guitars" John Pizzarelli accomplished on that middle part -- at the words:

 

"For the sky above you is a blackboard and if a shooting star goes by, I'll use that star to write "I LOVE YOU" a thousand times across the sky . . . "

 

A note for those who still care to ask, Who wrote that song?

 

Gene de Paul was working in 1953 with Johnny Mercer (on the movie 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' when he offered Johnny the first opportunity to compose the words: Mercer, arguably America's greatest non-theatrical lyricist, couldn't do a thing with the tune. Gene offered it to Sammy Cahn -- Hollywood's go-to wordsmith (26 times Oscar-nominated) and the result -- this great song, recorded by every great singer ever since. For my money, this most recent version is the best-ever.  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4je779Ww5L2?prid=spotify:track:2hVZIMjwyAWegOM0795wYx&fbclid=IwAR2rdWooZh8C1Ryf1CQfkN3MQ7ubd6A2csNtV1K-T8seW6krCQYYnclSbAQ

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

 

Dear God (I say it reverently) check out James Taylor's recapitulation of OCTOBER ROAD "special edition" (track 7 - above). I close my eyes and imagine the impact this rendition of a JT song you THOUGHT you knew, would have had if, say, THE BAND had recorded it, exactly like this. It would have been one of their classics or 'encore' songs. Of course James himself is singing the three-part harmony! And the funky instrumentation that slowly fades with that superb fiddle (wonder who?) at the close. When was this recorded, I wonder? What's the story? Yes, just in case you look at that song title and think -- Oh, I know THAT one. Oh no you don't!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4je779Ww5L2?prid=spotify:track:2hVZIMjwyAWegOM0795wYx&fbclid=IwAR28vSXIM7eVM6obI64gIvvhlv1hahH624e0Sy8xuHVHEZlbwtV1Qw1n2Yw

[popitup]

On 7/5/2020 at 6:54 PM, Mark Blackburn said:

MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU -- Sir Paul does Frank Loesser

My favorite ballad from “Guys & Dolls” – the original Broadway cast album but dropped from the movie version, is MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU. A little too obscure perhaps to make the cut for today's otherwise perfect “Nancy For Frank” all- Frank Loesser three-hour show. That left-handed bass player with The Beatles, now "Sir Paul" included on his album (“Kisses on the Bottom”) -- mostly songs his musical Dad enjoyed -- some classics we all know, plus a few of the 'should-have-been-standards' McCartney discovered later in life. "More I Cannot Wish You" doesn't have its own Wiki entry, but buried in the large Guys & Dolls section are a few words of context for this otherwise forgotten song's existence:

“Arvide expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart (More I Cannot Wish You). Sky tells Sarah he intends to deliver the dozen genuine sinners for the revival. She doesn't believe him and walks off, but Arvide subtly encourages him . . . “

Is an official McCartney 'live in the Capitol Tower' recording at YouTube? Yes! That's John Pizzarelli on seven-string guitar. But you knew that, right?
 

Mr. Blackburn (call me Mark ?) . . . thank you for pointing me to this series of videos by Mr. McCartney (call me Sir ?) . . . I didn't know this existed, and it's an amazing get together of some very talented world class musicians. I couldn't help thinking what I could do with such talent playing on some of my songs . . . 

Recently, I had an experience where a talented piano player heard one of my songs, and was moved to offer a collaboration online . . . well, the resulting track took my humble little song to a whole new level. It's the first time in all my years of writing that I had a professional caliber musician contribute to my effort . . . and may I say what a difference it can make to a song.

Most bedroom / living room songwriter / producers of course don't have a budget to hire top talent, but it sure made me think and dream bigger and . . . "what if"

[Mark Blackburn]

WILDFLOWERS DON'T CARE WHERE THEY GROW

I'd just been thinking of Mark O'Connor – the greatest-ever country fiddler (according to giants like Chet Atkins) who as a classically-trained violinist came to Winnipeg to introduce one of his own symphonic works with our world-class symphony orchestra. No one plays the fiddler's 'national anthem' Orange Blossom Special like Mark does. Lo and behold! The intuitive miracle that is YouTube circa 2020 just sent this my way – recorded a week ago for a Dolly Parton special.

Yes, my favorite musical couple Mark and his beautiful wife Maggie, a fine fiddler in her own right: They bring a smile to my face (and warmth to my heart) whenever I see the love and joy they radiate making music 'alone together' – just the two of them: as on this one -- a song that Dolly Parton composed (words and music) – an artless life lesson only Dolly could have distilled down into so few, wonderfully evocative phrases . . like these.

And the flowers I knew in the fields where I grew
Were content to be lost in the crowd
They were common and close, I had no room for growth
And I wanted so much to branch out . . .

I hitched a ride with the wind and since he was my friend
I just let him decide where we'd go . . .

Just a wild mountain rose seeking myst'ries untold
No regret for the path that I chose
When a flower grows wild it can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow.
 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

FOR THE DURATION (Saturday Night)

Siriusly Sinatra is playing my "other favorite" version of SATURDAY NIGHT (is the Loneliest Night of the Week).

 

From a latter-day Rosemary Clooney album with that title, "For the duration" -- with a sepia-toned, WWII-era photo of a smiling American Air Force officer in a 'bomber' jacket with fur-collar. "For the duration" was a commonplace expression in England circa 1940 and if you google for it, this is the very first definition offered this day:

 

Definition of FOR THE DURATION: Until the end of something. 'He was living in England when the war began and remained there for the duration.'

 

Saturday Night (is the Loneliest Night of the Week) is a Sammy Cahn lyric set to a great Jule Styne tune. From the year of D-Day, 1944. The Wiki entry is, naturally, pure Sinatra:

 

"Although it has been interpreted as referring to the separation of romantic partners during wartime,[2][3] Sammy Cahn said that song actually refers to show business people who are not working on Saturday night.[1][4]

 

Charted versions in 1945 were by Frank Sinatra (recorded November 14, 1944, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 36762,[5] (#2 in the charts), Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra (vocal by Nancy Norman) (#6), Frankie Carle and His Orchestra (vocal by Phyllis Lynne) (#8), Woody Herman and His Orchestra (vocal by Frances Wayne) (#15) and by The King Sisters (#15).[6]

 

Sinatra also sang the song in the short The All-Star Bond Rally (1945).[7]

 

Other versions[edit]

 

Frank Sinatra - recorded November 29, 1957 for Capitol Records[8]

Julie London - for her album For the Night People (1966)

Rosemary Clooney - for her album For the Duration (1991)

Barry Manilow - Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998)

 

[Just one YouTube posting of this song (minus the "For the duration" album cover -- with zero info about the all-star jazz musicians in support of Ms Clooney. Wonder who they are?]

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Nobody wants you when you're old and gray . . .

. . . Unless you're name is Billie Holiday. How we wish she'd made it to old age. As it is, her very last recording is playing this hour on Siriusly Sinatra. Don't you love the way she customized the lyrics – singling out by name only one other artist, our favorite singer who loved her style, and dubbed her 'Lady Day.'

 

“I'm gonna change my way of livin' and if that ain't enuff? Then I'll change the way that I strut my stuff . . . even Sinatra's been changin' his jokes.”

 

Is it at youtube? Yes, with the reminder that this 1959 recording with the Ray Ellis band was Billie's last.

 

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

My favorite living singer/songwriter -- straight to my heart, as only he can

“Are you crying?” said my wife, with a smile. “Your nose just dripped! What are you watching?” THIS, I said, wanting to share my immediate reaction.

Yes, 'tears of joy' for reasons I can't express – beyond the obvious: James Taylor's usual perfect balance of words and tune that we frustrated songwriters longed to create at least once in our lives. Simply overcome with the poignancy of THIS:

“Now my mind begins to wander to the days back on the farm.
I can see my father smiling at me – swingin' on his arm.
I hear my granddad's stories of the storms out on Lake Erie
where vessels, and cargoes, and fortunes, and sailors' lives,
were lost . . . “

The juxtaposition of THAT, with the life of a mill worker -- with those perfectly evocative notes on a Celtic-style flute, reminding us of all the many immigrants (including impoverished Irish women) who worked so hard, in the same job, just to keep their families fed. The achingly beautiful scene conjured up by those few words (on the melody's deceptively simple bridge) – those middle parts where James' tunes turn away in a new direction, with our hearts in tow:

“And then it's me and my machine for the rest of the mornin' . . . and the rest of the afternoon . . . and the rest of my life.”
 

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Watching the closing scene of YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Has it really been 22 years? Yes, that's when the late great Nora Ephron directed this, my all-time favorite romantic comedy. My favorite especially for its songs, including “REMEMBER” – most everyone's favorite composed (words and music) and sung so beautifully by the late Harry Nilsson. His version of “Over the Rainbow” is also heard at movie's end, as the camera pans upward to blue skies and “THE END”.

Do you know I have never once seen this favorite 'all the way through' – not since first renting it on VHS tape from a video store (remember those? “Be kind. Rewind!”). Yet I always make a point (like tonight) of catching the ending, wondering, each time, if it'll still tug at the heartstrings. Oh yes!

Kathleen Kelly finally meets Joe Fox and says, “It's you. So glad.” That moment when she's walking in the “91^st Street Garden” and hears a man's voice call out: “Brinkley! Brinkley!” He comes in to view, with a near deadpan expression, while her face is shown going through every emotion, from brief anger, to tears of joy. He takes out a folded hankie and dabs at her left eye: “Don't cry. Shopgirl. Don't cry.” And she is reduced, before they finally kiss, to those words we hoped to hear: “I wanted it to be you. I wanted so much for it to be you.”

So It's 2020 and there's nothing you can't find at Youtube, right? Yes. “Ending Scene” all three minutes worth.  

 

 

 

 

Oh yes. Carole King was commissioned (with Carole Bayer-Sager) to write a theme song to played as the screen fades to black, over the closing credits. Words 'tailor-made' for the plot!

Funny how I feel – 'more myself' with you -- than with anyone else I ever knew! You could have been anyone at all, a stranger 'fallen out of the blue' – I'm so glad it was you!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

LADY AND THE TRAMP – Ella & Frank 'live'

On the latest "Nancy For Frank" show on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio (July 19, 2020) they included a track from a concert in Japan 35 years ago – my favorite 'live' recording of ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL. I tracked down the name of the recording engineer who “directed” the show (Teppei Takagi) featuring Japanese symphony musicians -- recorded “April 18, 1985 at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo.”

 

37. All Or Nothing At All (Live In Japan, 1985)

 

 

Just as an aside, the song which I forever incorrectly identify as a Cole Porter tune, has a short Wiki entry that is deservedly pure Sinatra:

 

"All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence.

Frank Sinatra's August 31, 1939[1] recording of the song became a huge hit in 1943, when it was reissued by Columbia Records during the 1942-44 musicians' strike.[2] The record topped the Billboard charts in 1943 during a 21-week stay and sold over a million copies.[3]

A rendition of the song is used and sung by B.O. Skunk disguised as Sinatra in Tex Avery's 1948 animated cartoon, Little 'Tinker.

-----

Anyway. One good google search leads to another: and suddenly YouTube sends my way another great live performance by the two greatest jazz singers (according to all the others). Ella & Frank dueting as only they can, on Rodgers & Hart's LADY IS A TRAMP.

 

THIS is my favorite 'live' duet by the two greatest singers of the 20th century. Full stop. Uploaded to YouTube in April 2016, with 3.36 million (correct) views. Worth a trip to the basement to find the DVD set.

 

“Frank Sinatra – Concert Collection.” From “A MAN AND HIS MUSIC – FRANK + ELLA + JOBIM.” The liner notes (writer not credited) state the simple truth that this – Lady And the Tramp – “may be the most precious moment” in the entire Man & His Music show (recorded October 1-3, 1967) adding that “these are the two greatest talents in American popular music in their finest hour together.” The writer speculates rhetorically that the entire M&M program “may be the best musical hour ever recorded” and that this track is its “boiling point.” Amen to that.

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

Just when I was wondering if any young artists are recording it . . .

Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio is playing a new version, by a young artist, of my family's favorite song -- Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE.  Is it at YouTube? Yes. Very nicely done, you may agree.

His Wikipedia entry, in its entirety:

Tony DeSare (born 1976) is a jazz singer, pianist and songwriter. DeSare was born in Glens Falls, New York in 1976.[1] He began playing the piano as a young child, and had public performances in his late teens.[1] He kept performing locally during his studies at Ithaca College.[1]

DeSare moved to New York in 1998 and played in a hotel, then performed in an off-Broadway musical.[1] He met guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, who helped his career develop.[1]

DeSare's debut album, Want You, was released by Telarc in 2005.[1] The material included standards, covers of lesser-known pieces, and originals.[2] It peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard jazz albums chart.[3]

DeSare's 2007 release Last First Kiss also included originals and standards, from Prince's "Kiss" and Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move" to "Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You" and "How Deep Is the Ocean?"[4] It was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday[5] and reached No. 8 on the Billboard jazz albums chart.[3]

Telarc released Radio Show, which included standards and DeSare's originals, around 2009.[6] A Christmas album, Christmas Home, was released by AJD around 2016.[7]

Most recent comment below the video:

JoAnn West
1 month ago
Thank you so very much for attacking this song, Tony. It's my personal, all-time favorite and I was scrolling thru your videos to see if you'd recorded it. (I just discovered YOU about an hour ago. =)) Wondering if there's also a vocal rendition??? BTW: Your voice is so pure, clean, amazing. So happy to have found you. PS. I just applauded at the finish of this performance. 

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

CAROL WELSMAN - As Time Goes By

It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory, a case of 'do or die'

The fundamental things apply, as time goes by . . .

 

"Not the best love song," my musical father used to say, "but perhaps the best song ever written ABOUT Love!"

 

A sort of celebration this hour on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio, of less-widely-known singers, including the recently-departed Freddy Cole (“I'll Be Seeing You”) and the late Shirley Horn (“Come Dance with Me”). And a moment ago it was Canada's “other greatest jazz singer / pianist” Carol Welsman with her trio performing AS TIME GOES BY.

 

Is it at YouTube? Yes! From her “Memories of You” celebrating the musical partnership of Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee. Featuring Carol's gifted guitarist Ken Peplowski with a solo on the musical bridge that jazz guitar giants (like Jim Hall) would really appreciate. Sounds like a Gibson L-5, Wes's weapon of choice.

 

Carol's closing chord sequence (nine of them) would have made her mutual hero Bill Evans smile in recognition of his influence. Don't you love it when today's best jazz pianists evoke the spirit of Bill Evans? Still the “most influential” keyboard genius exactly 40 years after he left us.

 

Oh yes, and Carol includes the opening verse – always a good thing, right?

 

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Sarah Vaughan -- my 'new favorite' version

How did I manage to miss Sarah Vaughan's rendition? Until a moment ago: It's after midnight, time for bed and I make one last check to see what I'll be missing . . . and oh my!

 

Terrific orchestration (wonder who?) and Sarah's breath control rival's Sinatra's. She goes for the high note at the end. Pure and clear, operatic quality!

 

See if you don't agree.

 

[Most recent comments from a kindred spirits]

 

AA BB

1 year ago

No doubt the best version of this song.

 

peetie25

1 year ago

Only 3 comments for such an emotionally charged and beautiful (and undoubtedly the best) rendition of this tune ever heard. Well im number 4.

 

 

Mitzi Pepall

1 year ago

My goodness, Sarah, I have not listened to you in a long time and I got such a thrill. I saw her last concert in Toronto in the 80's. She was old and had to sit a great deal but her artistry remained consummate.

 

Edited July 28, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

WHEN I FALL IN LOVE -- Jeremy Lubbock's arrangement for "Sleepless"

Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio is playing my “new favorite” version of Rodgers & Hart's MY FUNNY VALENTINE – a latter-day recording by Lena Horne – sung to a gorgeous 'symphonic' orchestration whose concluding notes are 'borrowed' (if he didn't write them) from Jeremy Lubbock – an arranger hero of mine who still doesn't have a Wikipedia entry of his own. A poignant reminder that few of us care to ask “Who wrote that song?” and fewer still: “Who arranged it?”

 

Google his name to be reminded of Mr. Lubbock's distinguished 'behind-the-scenes' career:

 

An English-born “gifted and largely self-taught pianist,” Lubbock [ ] gained his first exposure to music at age three, when his father, “a fine classical musician himself, began ear-training exercises for his son that soon developed into a wide appreciation of and a consuming passion for musical exploration and composition. Although the first sixteen years of his musical life was devoted almost entirely to classical music, in his late teens he discovered jazz and the great American song writers . . .

 

Impressed by Lubbock's versatility and talent, noted composer and arranger Don Specht invited him to move to the States [and] in 1977 Lubbock took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles with his family . . .

 

Specht introduced him to Joni Mitchell's then producer Henry Lewy, who invited the newcomer to work on Mitchell's "Mingus" album (1979) and to arrange Minnie Riperton's final album "Minnie". His fresh approach to these projects caught the attention of producers Quincy Jones and David Foster, who enlisted his help on a number of prestigious releases. These included, for Foster, "Chicago 16", "17", and "18", and for Jones the "ET" album narrated by Michael Jackson.

 

1994 was exceptional for Lubbock, in that he received three Grammy nominations out of a possible five in his category; for Barbra Streisand's "Luck Be a Lady Tonight", Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" and "When I Fall In Love" from "Sleepless in Seattle", which won him his third Grammy.

He has also received a 1999 nomination for Barbra Streisand's "I Believe" / "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the "Higher Ground" album.

----

I'm especially prejudiced in favor of Jeremy Lubbock for his latest arrangement for my favorite living singer Calabria Foti – their take on THE FOLKS WHO LIVE ON THE HILL (Track 9 on her 2019 album “Prelude to a Kiss” which, to my heart, is second only to Peggy's definitive recording with the Riddle orchestra conducted by you-know-who.) Calabria and Jeremy's version features a piano solo by another great composer/arranger/pianist Roger Kellaway. Is it at Youtube? Nope.

 

So. Which song first made me sit up and take notice of this brilliant arranger? This one, played over the closing credits of my “other favorite” romantic comedy, Sleepless in Seattle. At that moment in time (1994) no one was writing an arrangement so fresh and new. It sparkles, even today, three decades on.

 

Singers Celine Dion and Clive Griffin with a note-perfect duet of maybe the best song from Sinatra's composer friend Victor Young -- words by Edward (Body & Soul) Heyman. [Wikipedia reminds us]

 

WHEN I FALL IN LOVE was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero. Jeri Southern sang on the first recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.

 

Day's recording was made on June 5, 1952. It was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39786 and issued with the flip side "Take Me in Your Arms". The song reached number 20 on the Billboard chart.[1]

 

A 1996 cover by Natalie Cole, a "duet" with her father Nat King Cole by way of vocals from his 1956 cover, won 1996 Grammys for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s).

Edited July 28, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

Concerning the 'differentials' [between] positraction and limited slip

 

“I've seen it,” I told my brother on the phone last night -- MY COUSIN VINNY. (But I didn't add: 'Never from the beginning!') “Well, it's coming on now” he said. "It's one of my favorites."

 

I watched it from the start, and enjoyed every minute -- especially the final courtroom scene when Vinny's defense case accelerates from 'hopeless to a hundred, in under ten seconds.'

 

That moment, when Marisa Tomei's character 'Mona Lisa Vito' has to be dragged into the witness box: “Your honor,” says Joe Pesci's 'Vinny Gambini' – “Permission to treat the witness as hostile.”

 

“Judge Chamberlain Haller” – the last great character role for FRED ('Car 54, where are you?') GWYNNE says: “But she's YOUR witness!” [and then] “Do you two know each other?” VINNY: “She's my fiancee.” Judge Haller: “Well, that would explain the hostility.”

 

Then the establishing of her credential's as an “expert witness” on things automotive. [From memory imperfect]

 

“What would be the correct ignition timing for a 1955 Chevrolet Belair with a 327 V-8 and a four-barrel carburetor?”

 

“Nobody could answer that question. Why? It's a trick question. The Chevy 327 [didn't exist] in '55; it wasn't available until '62. And it didn't come with the four-barrel until '64. But if it HAD, then the correct timing adjustment would be 'four degrees above top dead center'.”

 

Then a priceless dissertation on 'positraction' vs 'limited slip differentials' – on vintage rear-wheel drive cars. [Positraction] “wasn't available on the [defendants'] Buick Skylark but WAS a feature on the same year's Pontiac Tempest – “one of only two cars from GM that had positraction that year. The other was a Corvette. And those tire marks were not from a Corvette. And therefore it HAD to be a Pontiac Tempest.”

 

The sheriff walks into the courtroom is instantly called as a witness.”Acting on a hunch” [from Vinny] “I just determined that two suspects were arrested (in a neighboring county). Their car was a [same color] 'mint green' Pontiac Tempest. [and] they were in possession of a 357 calibre handgun [the murder weapon].

 

The swagger by Vinny as he crosses the courtroom, knowing that all charges were about to be dropped and 'case dismissed.' One of my favorite moments in film history. Yours too?

 

Is the best of this courtroom scene at YouTube? But of course!

 

“She's gorgeous,” says my Irene, watching over my shoulder this clip of Marisa Tomei, circa 1992.

 

[A term so distant, it's now processed as a spelling error]

 

Positraction. In a positraction differential, the unit senses which wheel has the greatest traction, when one tire is slipping or stuck, and sends power to that wheel. Power to the other wheel continues until equal control is returned to both tires. Positraction is beneficial when road conditions are wet or muddy.

 

----

 

Over the closing credits a funky 'hit the road' song – composed and performed by Travis Tritt, titled BIBLE BELT, whose opening stanza summarizes the plot:

 

[He was] a New York attorney 'bout to take a Southern journey into places that he'd never been. She was a brunette outta Brooklyn, and awful good lookin' with a body that was made to sin. She wanted him for marriage 'cause the torch that she carried was hotter than the fires of hell. [so she] followed him down, to the middle of the Bible Belt.

 

Is it at YouTube? Yes. With a graphic of the Blu-Ray edition. I'm not a dancer but put me in a country bar with a bottle of tequila and this playing at full volume -- I just might show you some moves. Before Irene who IS a dancer says, “Stop being silly and sit down.”

 

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

Tony & Bill - BUT BEAUTIFUL (40 years on, still the 'the best' rendition)

1947 was the year of my birth and the best 'standard' written that year was Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen's BUT BEAUTIFUL. So beautiful, it ranks with their other 'best-ever' composition, Here's That Rainy Day. Best version I ever heard? The one playing right this minute on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio -- Tony Bennett, alone together with the most influential jazz pianist (even now, 40 years exactly since his passing) Bill Evans. Really, how could anyone improve on this?

 

 

[Mark Blackburn]

My latest "favorite movie theme" – by Clint Eastwood

I love Clint Eastwood almost as much for his musicianship as for his movies. He is a life-long jazz fan whose good friends have included Ray Charles and Tony Bennett.  Clint co-wrote the 'love theme' for my favorite of his films, The Bridges of Madison County.  And just tonight I was reminded of another of his musical collaborations – watching the closing credits for SULLY – the distinguished airline pilot (perfectly personified by Tom Hanks) who saved a planeload of over 150 passengers, by gently setting down a Boeing 737 jetliner on New York's Hudson River in 2009. Yes, Clint co-wrote the closing theme song, FLYING HOME.

 

Just as an aside, there was a once famous Benny Goodman song from the 1930's titled “Flying Home.”  Whereas, next to no one, other than fans of jazz singer Tierney Sutton and those (like me) who watch closing credits to the bitter end, know who wrote THIS “Flying Home.”

The credits state:

 

The theme from “Sully” was “written by Clint Eastwood, Tierney Sutton and J.B. Eckl.” The YouTube video posted by Clint Eastwood substitutes for Mr. Eckl the name of Tierney's co-leader, arranger and pianist “Christian Jacob” (age 62, born in France).

The lyric seems custom-made for the movie's 'underlying meaning' with words like

 

Tell me your story, I'll tell you mine; sing me your song, I'll follow line-by-line

Draw me near, let me hear the things you've treasured . . .

Within your trials, I see my own; still, these are journeys that are yours alone

You were born for the storm you have to weather . . .

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

SINATRA - Love's Been Good to Me

“Still, in all, I'm happy!

The reason is, you see . . .

once in a while, along the way

Love's been good to me."

 

Canada's best-ever crooner Michael Bublé (with multiple, platinum-selling albums to show for it) must surely realize how much this lesser 'standard' – LOVE'S BEEN GOOD TO ME – means to millions of us who are 'of an age.' It meant enough to him, to include in his “Playing Favorites” show on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio earlier this hour.

 

Yes, a memorable but somewhat overlooked Sinatra song from half a century ago, that few of us would think to include on our own short playlist of favorite Sinatra recordings. Which is to say: Thanks, Michael for a show that was as you said, “a joy” -- for you to share, and us to hear.

 

First version of the song, offered at YouTube this day, (posted nine years ago, nearing 600 thousand “views”) is this one:

 

[Comments below video from kindred spirits who love this recording]

 

Anne Hajdu (4 years ago)

My very favorite Frank Sinatra song. And that's saying something with his wealth of classics. His voice never sounded better, he always caressed the lyrics with gentle strength and perfect timing.

 

Jeremy Walker (8 months ago)

This song feels like drifting off to sleep with a warm breeze blowing through the window on a perfect spring night.

 

Emily Bishop (1 year ago)

My favourite Sinatra song, I distinctly remember buying it from Woolworths back in 1969.

 

[replies]

 

Robert Reynolds (6 months ago)

Mine too. Invokes so many memories of my youth, at 70 I can relate to 'once in while along the way Love/life's been good to me.'

 

Joe Reich (2 months ago)

Emily Bishop - I remember when Woolworth’s used to carry albums, even in the late 1970’s. Great memories, for me, too.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

KAYE BALLARD - Time, You Old Gipsy Man

Composer Philip Springer's final collaboration with Yip (Over the Rainbow) Harburg – whose very last song recapitulated an English poem from a century earlier. Only students of poetry would recall English-born Ralph Hodgson (1871-1962) who retired to obscurity in Ohio. His best poem, TIME, YOU OLD GIPSY MAN is included by Wiki in some of his insightful and witty quotations:

 

"Some things have to be believed to be seen."

"Did anyone ever have a boring dream?"

"The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery."

"Time, you old gypsy man, will you not stay, put up your caravan just for one day?"

 

Yes, the latter poem led to this song – and a splendid, late in life performance by Kaye Ballard (who left us a year ago in January at age 93). An “actress, comedian and singer” everyone loved – in part perhaps because she kept her private life VERY private! But really, how could we not love someone whose (2006) autobiography was titled: “How I lost 10 pounds in 53 years.”

 

As I listened to her introduce this song (“I loved Yip Harburg! Loved his brain!”) I thought for some reason of our Stanley (my favorite New Yorker) perhaps because he's one member of our Family' who might have attended a similar, intimate gathering – but in NYC. This was in L.A, recorded 'live' on a cool evening in 2013: Again, Harburg & Springer's very last song, borrowed from Ralph Hodgson's poem, TIME YOU OLD GIPSY MAN.

 

Something perhaps ONLY Kaye Ballard could perform so well at age 88 ("the new 87!") A performance that moved me to tears (you too?) especially after her spoken intro -- quoting Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra about this song.

 

Wikipedia recalls that “In 1954, KAYE BALLARD was the first person to record the song "Fly Me to the Moon". In 1957, she and Alice Ghostley played the two wicked stepsisters in the live telecast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, starring Julie Andrews in the title role. During the 1961–1963 television seasons, Ballard was a regular on The Perry Como Show, as part of the Kraft Music Hall Players, along with Don Adams, Paul Lynde and Sandy Stewart.

 

From 1967 to 1969, she co-starred as Kaye Buell, a woman whose son marries her next door neighbor's daughter, in the sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, with Eve Arden playing her neighbor. From 1970 to 1972, she appeared as a regular on The Doris Day Show, playing restaurant owner Angie Pallucci . In 1977, she was a guest star on The Muppet Show. She also appeared on the television series Alice, in which she played a kleptomaniac and phony medium as well as Daddy Dearest, where she guest-starred opposite Richard Lewis and Don Rickles.[3]

 

Ballard starred on Broadway as Helen in The Golden Apple (1954) introducing the song "Lazy Afternoon". of Nunsense, written by Dan Goggin. The following year, she completed her autobiography How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years.[4]

In 1995, she was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.[5]

 

She appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! as Madam A-Go-Go, a mysterious fortune teller who appears in the episode "Fortune Teller". She also performed with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.[6]

 

In December 2010, she, Donna McKechnie and Liliane Montevecchi starred in a production of From Broadway with Love, staged at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[7] Ballard was in the 2012 cabaret show Doin' It for Love, which premiered in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theatre. Starring Ballard and Montevecchi, the cast included Broadway dancer Lee Roy Reams. (The Austin performance benefited the Texas Humane Legislation Network.[8]) The show then went on to play in Los Angeles on March 8 and 10, 2012. Ballard announced her official retirement in 2015 at the age of 89.

 

DEATH[edit]

 

Ballard died at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, on January 21, 2019, at the age of 93. The cause was kidney cancer, according to a friend.[9][10]

[Mark Blackburn]

SUMMER BREEZE – Seals & Crofts

Darrell Crofts and Jimmy Seals – almost forgotten singer/songwriters: but in the summer of '72 (when I met my Irene in Bermuda where we spent the 70's) “Summer Breeze” was a world-wide No.1 hit. Sent my way this night by the intuitive genius that is YouTube 2020, as if to say, 'Remember how much you loved this one?'

 

Darrell & Jimmy's near-perfect harmonizing ('in thirds' like the Everly Brothers). The first version offered at YouTube this night -- with a wonderful 'home-made' video of young people on the beach and in the water (wonder where?) A couple or three that could be Irene and me, almost 50 years ago. And some of my favorite word pictures -- like these:

 

See the smile a-waitin' in the kitchen, food cookin' and the plates for two

Feel the arms that reach out to hold me, in the evening when the day is through

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

 

[Loving the comments from kindred spirits young and old, who speak for millions of us]

 

Impala 67 (1 day ago)

I’ve never heard this song but yet it’s still nostalgic.

 

Stevie Sugarman (5 months ago)

Sitting here crying, tears streaming down my face. Those of us born so as to grow up with this music are so fortunate. I cherish these days and this golden music.

 

Nelson Vargas (5 months ago)

Not a stupid cellphone in sight . I love the 70s .

 

Taratova (8 months ago)

We were young newlyweds and this song was playing , the breeze blowing , and my hubby coming home after a hard days work.. memories ..and we are still together.

 

Ed (1 year ago)

1970's I can still see my friends and family....My mom and dad. Hot summer days listening to AM radio, all of the great hits on there....going to sleep with a fan on (no air conditioning) all my brothers and sisters in the house...what a great childhood I had... Thanks Mom & Dad for that...

[Mark Blackburn]

Favorite story songs

“Can you find 'Advance Guards'?” said my wife this morning. She'd awakened, thinking of the Seals & Crofts song of that name – especially the parts about parents getting old. My Irene turns 77 this month. “I'd like to hear that, and Summer Breeze,” she said. It took a good 20 seconds before we were listening to it at YouTube -- for the first time in forty years. Shared tears of joy as this story song neared its conclusion:

 

And now, I look out from my mountain

and see the soldiers in the fields

It won't be long now, till they'll have me

This time, advance guards are for real.

 

[first comment below video]

 

Jerry Taylor (9 months ago)

I cry every time I listen to this. It used to be because my parents were getting old and there was nothing I could do but watch. Now my parents have been gone almost 30 years and it is my hair that has turned to grey. It won't be long until the Advance Guards come for me. Many memories with this song.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

SINATRA (live) -- Try a Little Tenderness

Pulling up in my driveway a moment ago, Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio is playing (just for me) Frank and Al Viola – my favorite of his three greatest guitar accompanists (the others as you may know, were Tony Mottola and Laurindo Almeida) -- 'alone together' on stage somewhere, with my 'new favorite version' of TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS. They wisely included the song's tender opening verse:

 

In the hustle of the day, we're all inclined to miss

those little things that mean so much – a word, a smile, a kiss.

When a woman loves a man, he's a hero in her eyes

and a hero he can always be, if he can realize . . .

 

“You are listening,” says Sinatra Family friend Charles Pignone, “to the 'Retirement Concert' – exclusively on Siriusly Sinatra.” (Can't find it. Help, Wise Men!) In its place, the same magnificent duo in a “White House 1973” performance:

 

Five years ago for his “Sinatra Century Online” feature, my favorite musicologist / social commentator and compatriot, Mark Steyn informed that,

 

“Sinatra's contribution to 'Try A Little Tenderness' was . . . the tenderness. He sang it so well he made the song special. Because of his record, others picked up on the song: Frankie Laine, Chris Connor, Eddie Heywood, Etta James, Nina Simone... But Frank himself kept returning to the ballad during the late Forties and Fifties. He sang it on the radio in 1946 accompanied only by Skitch Henderson on the piano, and a few years later with a rather more sensitive keyboard accompaniment by Bill Miller. At the low point of the long souring of his Columbia relationship, Sinatra embarked on a British tour. Bill Martin (who would later write for Sandie Shaw - "Puppet On A String" - and the Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night") caught him at that toughest of tough venues, the Glasgow Empire:

 

'I saw Frank Sinatra when he, comparatively speaking, was down and out. He had lost his way as Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray and Guy Mitchell had taken over, and it was just before he made his big comeback with the war film, From Here to Eternity. He'd committed himself to a tour of Great Britain and the theatre, which seated 2,000, was half-empty. He was as skinny as the microphone. His voice was at its best, but there was a big black crack painted on the floor on the stage. He walked on and jumped over the crack and said, 'You nearly lost me there' but he didn't have the timing for jokes. I especially remember him singing "Try a Little Tenderness." Bing Crosby had recorded an excellent version but Frank took the song to another level, and the Empire crowd loved it.'

[Mark Blackburn]

While waiting for her new album . . .

“Playing Favorites, I'm Diana Krall on Siriusly Sinatra” satellite radio.

 

Hearing this show this night and delighted to find it's a blend of some of my own all-time favorite songs, plus a couple I'd not heard before. And loving her intros to each song. [i type fast, and here are a few.]

 

“. . . speaking of Bob Dylan, he did a lot of songs by Sinatra [including] “Why Try to Change Me Now?” [it's] really a 'man's song' [and] 'of his age' – and hearing him sing “Don't you remember, I was always your clown” – I thought . . . 'Yeah, you can keep that!'.”

 

“One of my favorite jazz singers,” recalls Ms Krall “was Carmen McRea: I saw her live, at Dante's in L.A. with Jimmy Rowles on piano. This is her 'live' (with Jimmy) singing 'The Ballad of Thelonious Monk.' [which opens with the words]

 

“I used to think Country music was the only music there was. And then I heard Thelonious Monk. I didn't know what he was playin' but the dog next door was bayin' and the waitress was hummin' along.”

 

[Just as a personal aside: I'd never heard this comedic tune before tonight! And just had to note, that the musical bridge by pianist Jimmy Rowles (who left us in 1996) begins with a snippet (first 12 notes) of my favorite of Monk's compositions – “Blue Monk” -- one of the first jazz tunes I ever learned on guitar, over 60 years ago. Wonder how many of her fans 'of an age' would spot that too?]

 

Next selection, Diana says:

 

“One of my favorite songs by Sinatra is this one – from Songs for Swingin' Lovers -- How About You?”

[followed by a heartfelt observation that probably speaks for millions of us]

 

“Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim – what an incredible combination, with a great arranger Claus Ogerman. Gives me chills just thinking about this one – (Won't you) Change Partners (and dance with me).”

 

"My biggest influence (as a pianist and singer) was Nat King Cole – the most influential pianist, along with Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. He was a genius who also did popular music, but at heart he was always a jazz pianist. This is one of my favorites from The 'After Midnight Sessions' – a song called 'Just you, Just me'.”

 

Diana then shared one of her favorite early Sinatra songs “with Tommy Dorsey – JUST AS THOUGH YOU ARE HERE.” 

 

“Tony Bennett remains at the top of my list of great singers . . . He's made a lot of records, he's a dear friend and I had the good fortune to tour with him and accompany him. My favorite from his album with Bill Evans: MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY.”

 

“I love Sinatra because he was a great actor, great interpreter of lyric . . . who could break your heart. Here's one that does just that: (Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen's) ONLY THE LONELY.”

 

“This next song is associated with the Eagles but I actually learned it after hearing this version from the great Linda Ronstadt:  DESPERADO.”