GREAT MELODY, GREAT LYRIC, GREAT RENDITION

[Mark Blackburn]

Ways to stay sane? (What rhymes with champagne?)

What rhymes with 'hunkered down' and 'mitigating'?
(two terms we've heard a thousand times each day)
I ask, 'cause I am writing out a poem
– a parody, to “keep 'Covid' at bay.”

It's just one way of 'keeping all your marbles'
while keeping 'proper distance' from your friends
– or strangers, when you must return to town;
So what's another term for 'mitigation'?
And what's another term for 'hunkered down?'

You see where this is going. The trick is to make your parody timely. It's funnier than trying to find a rhyme for uranium – a buzz word from a 50's song (below). Plus . . . you're only as good as your latest work, right?

A pug named Ting? (Jim & Kim Taylor's dog) What rhymes with that? I wondered this time yesterday. “A tug named Ping!” Which led, almost as easily as falling off a log – to recapitulating the first stanza of the funniest song on AMERICAN STANDARD. And as Mr. Taylor attested, to a world-wide audience on the BBC: “That is a “hard thing to do – write a funny song.” This as he introduced, to millions who'd never heard it, Stubby Kaye's original screen version of Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat. (So and thus)

I dreamed last night, I was on a boat to heaven
Surrounded by, some tugboats that could sing!
I heard their voice, yet could not see their faces
I knew not one . . . except a tug named Ping.

Just to keep in shape, I turned on the computer intending to work with whatever is playing 'right this minute' on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio: “Frank Sinatra – Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” I type fast and see possibilities here. You too?

Who wants to be a millionaire? (I don't)
Who wants uranium to spare? (I don't)
HE: Who wants to journey on a gi-gantic yacht?
SHE: Who wants a yacht? Oh how I do NOT!!
SHE: Who wants a fancy foreign car?
HE: I don't!
SHE: Who wants to tire of caviar? (I don't)
HE: Who wants a marble swimming pool too (I don't)
TOGETHER: And I don't, 'cause all I want is you.

“Come make breakfast,” says my better half. “Be there in a minute,” I lied. Celeste Holm. Isn't she lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6UllZwj9c

Comment below video from a kindred spirit who was just waiting for AMERICAN STANDARD "two years ago"

MYSTIC QUEEN2
I grew up in a family who has a tendency to sing show tunes, so it was inevitable I should become a theatre kid. High Society, Singin' in the Rain, The Music Man, Oklahoma, Carousel, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Phantom of the Opera, Disney films. [ ] I still love listening to these songs.

[Mark Blackburn]

Speaking of Oklahoma! - source of JT's latest "Surrey With the Fringe on Top"

Wiki reminds us this Lovely Lady was with us to age 95. Not a bad 'run' as they say on Broadway.

CELESTE HOLM (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress [who] won an Academy Award for her performance in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and was nominated for her roles in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She originated the role of Ado Annie in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1943).

I believe Celeste Holm and The Kings of Broadway would have loved this latest incarnation of this great song!

Edited April 3, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

STYLE to make us smile

Really, did it ever get better than this? The video quality! The artless (easy as rolling off a log) movements and gestures -- you'd never know the practice it takes (how many 'takes'?) to bring such perfection to the screen. The little details you catch at each viewing, that you somehow missed before.

Oh and the song itself -- lyric by Sammy Cahn to a tune by Jimmy Van Heusen.

You've either got, or you haven't got, STYLE: If you got it? you stand out a mile!
A flower's not a flower if it's wilted; a hat's not a hat till it's tilted.
You've either got, or you haven't got CLASS: How it draws the applause of the .... mass--es.
When you wear lapels, like the swellest of swells, you can pass any mirror and smile
You've either got, or you haven't got . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjjzEYLU1rM

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU – favorite latter-day recording

Played earlier this hour on Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio: trumpet great Chris Botti and his friend, vocalist Paula Cole, with their lovely version of THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU. More than a decade since this was recorded, I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. Composed words & music by English band leader Ray Noble who would, I believe, have loved to hear Chris and Paula's fresh take on arguably Mr. Noble's best song. And suddenly it's a 'girl song' too!

I'm living in a kind of daydream, I'm happy as a Queen. And foolish though it may seem -- to me that's everything . . .

Surely it's just waiting there for us at YouTube. An official version too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtlX_xOoNnE

 

[Mark Blackburn]

"Bill Withers died" said my wife (he played 'our song' back when we met)

A friend at Sinatra Family Forum "Tricia" just shared a precious memory:  "I had the good fortune to meet him when he appeared on a radio show, from my husbands Toyota dealership on Hollywood Bl. He was our first guest. He was kind, friendly and funny. We had transformed one of the showrooms, with huge windows, into a radio studio. It was the old A. E. England building. We had some kinks to work out but Mr. Withers was very patient with it all. He sang Grandma’s Hands."

---

From inauspicious beginnings "born the last of six children in the West Virginia coal mining town of Slab Fork [ ! ] he joined the navy at 17 and spent nine years in the service as an aircraft mechanic, installing toilets . . . "

After his discharge (I'm reading his half-page obituary in our Winnipeg Free Press) "he moved to Los Angeles where he worked in an aircraft parts factory. He bought a guitar at a pawn shop and recorded some demos of his tunes in hopes of landing a recording contract."

"The hardest thing in songwriting," STING said in the 2010 documentary 'Still Bill' "is to be simple yet profound. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically, instinctively, how to do that."

In 1987 received his ninth Grammy nomination and his third award as the songwriter for the re-recording of his 1972 hit LEAN ON ME by Club Nouveau. Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Famy in 2005.

"I'm not a virtuoso," he told Rolling Stone in 2015, "but I was able to write songs that people could identify-with; I don't think I've done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia."

My wife Irene and I first met in Bermuda in 1972. We especially loved this one. "Most viewed" at YouTube 12,457,861 since Nov 7, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOZ-MySzAac

Edited April 4, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

Sax virtuoso Lou Marini suits that colorful sombrero, doesn't he? He really 'sells' it – like he's been waiting 50 years for an excuse to wear one in live performance. There's something magical about this song: It's funny (which as Mr. Taylor says is 'hard to do' in song) but in subtle, sardonic ways. Recalling that my favorite female singer/songwriter Peggy Lee composed (words & music) a million-seller Mañana alluding to 'siestas' – and taking things slow when the sun is high, but not when the moon comes up. And in fewer words, James Taylor takes us straight there from the start:

 

“Down here you need a REASON to move . . . ”

 

[And don't you love the sensual images conjured up in our minds by these few sentences]

 

'Americano' got the sleepy eye

but his body's still shaking like a live wire

Sleepy señorita with the eyes on fire

Oh, Mexico! Sounds so sweet, with the sun sinkin' low

Moon so bright, like to light up the night . . . makin' everything all right!

 

My favorite line? the one that applies to 'someplace warm' that you may never get to visit, but yearn to see.

 

Oh . . . Mexico! I never really been, but I'd sure like to go.

 

Thanks for sharing James Taylor. Bet a million others needed to enjoy this as much as I did.   

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

MEAN OLD MAN -- James Taylor ("give us a smile")

“It's a hard thing,” James Taylor says, “to write a funny song.” And who writes my favorites? (“Who's a good boy?”).

When you really need to smile (and who doesn't these days) listen to this one – “Recorded at a three-night stint at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield MA during July 2007.” Hearing it again, as if for the first time and cherishing each word. These especially.

Living in here
One hundred years of rain
Such a drag – this 'riches to rags'
With just myself to blame
A dirty low-down shame
Silly me
Silly old me
Somewhere outside my mind
Clever you
Walking me through
Willing to lead the blind
Just in the nick of time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GVwcSYLdSs

Love the comments below the video: this one speaks for millions of us mean old men.

The Geezz
11 months ago
Such an amazing chord progression, matched to an authentic story of transformation... we should all be so lucky. Thanks James, for telling the story for so many of us.

[Mark Blackburn]

Comedy for musical souls possessed of good intonation

We interrupt all the sad news to bring you a smile. The shuffle play miracle that is YouTube just sent my way "outtakes" on James Taylor - Carolina on My Mind and Fire & Rain. I'd just been thinking of a comedy record, the great Jo Stafford and her hubby (a famous band leader) accompanying her on piano -- her singing out of key (but with deceptive precision) and her piano accompanist getting all flowery on us -- without the technique to pull it off. This is the best since then (them). Deepest thanks to Mr. Taylor. I needed this. You too? Favorite image: "Fire & Rain with Go Go Dancers."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhNy8bz9MJo

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

James Taylor's EASY AS ROLLING OFF A LOG

“I really tumbled baby, but what else could I do? It's so easy to fall in love with you."

It's midnight Frozen Prairie Time and I check Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio "just one more time" (I tell my wife). "How long will you be?" Just a few minutes, I lied. Just in time to hear an announcer's voice with spoken introduction: Something they never do at Channel 71. A sentence about Sinatra, yes, but not for any other artist. Their 'voice' is someone well-known in the industry of commercial voice-overs for insurance companies and such (gotta pay the bills, right?) That easy-to-take baritone intros James' delightful anecdote (that I'd not heard!)

“Siriusly Sinatra – playing James Taylor's new album American Standard. The song is, As Easy as Rolling Off a Log.”

JAMES TAYLOR: This song was written by M. K. Jerome and Jack Scholl. It's interesting: M.K. Jerome's grandson got in touch with me and gave me information about this guy, who worked his whole life trying to do (film) studio work – basically writing songs for musical movies.

“In this case, it was part of a cartoon – a 'Merrie Melodies' Warner Brothers cartoon. A little story about something called 'Catnip College' – and it was like a 'school of swing.' The poor protagonist doesn't have any rhythm or swing: he gets left in the corner with a dunce cap on, after school. But, during the night, he's watching the cuckoo clock tick back-and-forth and he gets it – gets his rhythm! He rushes down – he finds the 'Ingenue' – the female lead in this cartoon. A sort of alarmingly sexy little kitten. They sing this song, AS EASY AS ROLLING OFF A LOG. An upbeat love song! I always remembered it – loved it as a kid! So we cut it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Gcuzb_Y3M

[Mark Blackburn]

My favorite version of STAYIN' ALIVE (feeling down? Listen to this)

I'd been thinking last night about a comedy record, the great Jo Stafford and her hubby – a famous band leader Paul Weston, accompanying her on piano -- her alter ego “Darlene Edwards” singing out of key (but with deceptive precision) and her piano accompanist getting all flowery on us -- without the technique to pull it off.

First offering this day at YouTube. As Mom used to say, What a coincidence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8do_Vsc4Frw

Stay tune for I Am Woman. If you're not laughing, better check your pulse.  Favorite "comment" below the video: 

sqmuth 7 years ago)

You young whippersnappers have NO idea what things were like before computer sequencers, sampling and auto-tune. You had to have raw TALENT.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

A Note of thanks this day to JAMES TAYLOR (copy to Father Sam)

Which is simply to say -- thanks for being you, Mr. Taylor!

Somewhere there's a version of STEAMROLLER where a “churning urn of burning funk” gets an accent straight from “the Bronx and Staten Island too” (to borrow from Rodgers & Hart's I'll Take Manhattan). James pronounces it “a choy-nin' oyne of boy-nin' funk.”

James' funny, five-minute “Fire & Rain Outtakes” video (above) includes a deadpan explanation of Steamroller's genesis: “It took less time to write, than to perform.” With a solid-body Fender Telecaster slung over his shoulder James delighted a lucky pre-show audience with the explanation that,

STEAMROLLER was a send up of when he was a teenager – “pimple-y faced snots like us” – armed with money from their parents and taking the family station wagon into the city to a famous music store, in search of “big amps and guitars” with which to emulate blues heroes “like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley” (I'm Your Hoochie Koochie Man!) -- and just tryin' their best to be “bad.”

The best-known priest here in Winnipeg (a city of 700,000) is “Rev. Sam Argenziano” who hails from Staten Island and has never lost that broad accent in all the 40 years he's served here. One year ago, Father Sam was honored by this city's “Sons of Italy” at a gathering of 1200 (correct) of his closest friends. I recalled the time I was walking with him through a crowded shopping mall and lost count of the number of people – a steady stream of strangers who waved “Hello!” to Father Sam. We, his fans, try to impersonate that distinctive accent. I keep in practice with song lyrics like . . . Down On Thoity Thoid and Thoid.

A kindred spirit, Georgia Durante writes: “Songwriters thought the pronunciation of “th” as “d” and the wholesale slaughter of vowels were particularly amusing, so we have songs like Ben Ryan's 1926 “Down on Thoity Thoid and Thoid.”

Down on the East side . . . my home sweet home . . . the home of black eyes [where] guys don't wear collars and ties . . . they'd give you their shoit, only they ain't got none – down on Thoity Thoid and Thoid.”

With fresh new chord progressions only he could formulate, I can hear James Taylor making that one all his own: A merrie melody like 'Easy as Rolling Off a Log' – for possible inclusion on American Standard II. Forgive the presumption, Mr. Taylor. Your selections from the Great American Songbook are all my favorites and your pick for a novelty tune on future albums will be a delightful surprise.

Which is to say (again) thank you James Taylor for being you!

[Mark Blackburn]

WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE - Norah & Willie making it their own!

At this moment Siriusly Sinatra is playing the freshest new arrangement of Cole Porter's WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE – “Willie Nelson w Norah Jones.” Brilliant jazz arrangement (including a tasteful hint of steel guitar) with a catchy refrain throughout: an arrangement that waited some 80 years to reach the ears of today's listeners. Thanks Mr. Simon for including this one. I'd not heard before.

Love the guitar solo on the musical bridge – sounds like Willie's instrument, the nylon-string Martin (very rare). But so good, I wonder if he didn't turn “Trigger” as he calls it over to a brilliant picker who 'impersonates' Willie's style. Without liner notes (remember those?) who knows?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFLIufOFXA8

 

[Mark Blackburn]

“Back a long, long time ago . . . a million years B.C.”

That's what storms were made-for
We shouldn't be afraid . . . for . . .
Ev'ry time it rains, it rains
pennies from heaven

I hit the “back one hour” button at Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio on-line, streaming on my computer.  And there, just when I needed to "smile, darn ya, smile" -- it's James Taylor, singing the seldom-heard opening verse to PENNIES FROM HEAVEN -- a song I sang to my grand kids while they bounced on the bed (Shhh don't make any sounds, so Gramma won't come and make you stop.)  Best version of this song I ever heard!  And don't forget . . . 

Be sure that your umbrella is upside-down!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAiTTo6nrR0

[Mark Blackburn]

Lena Horne - studio version MY FUNNY VALENTINE (Who arranged?)

Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio is playing Lena Horne's latter-day rendition of MY FUNNY VALENTINE. Her delivery is perfect, simply perfect. You may agree. And what an orchestration. Can't spot the arranger -- too many fresh, distinctively beautiful details. What Lena's voice conveys on the final “Dont!”

Oh DON'T change a hair for me . . .

And to think I never heard it before! Not until 'right this minute.' Thank you, Jersey Lou.

Oh yes, is it at YouTube. Nope. Wanted so much to hear it again, and again. First offering is her 'live' duet with Tony Bennett, followed by a different live recording. Hmmm what would Bob do. Spotify? Nope. Just the words “no healthy upstream” in small print on an otherwise white screen. Time to ask a wise man for help.

After leaving the above note at Sinatra Family Forum -- an almost immediate answer from wise man "Andrew T" who along with "Bob in Boston" can answer most any question, and quickly.  Andrew noted:  "Arranged by Robert Farnon from Lena, A New Album (RCA, 1976)."  [I responded in turn]

Lena with 'Bob's Band' in London. I never knew!

Robert Farnon, acknowledged as "most influential" arranger by all the other greats, including Don Costa who set up the "Great Songs from Great Britain" recording sessions in London. 18 years earlier, during WWII, in charge of the Canadian Forces orchestra, Bob Farnon arranged for the BBC a song my then- 25-year-old Dad wrote about my Mom (back home, pregnant with my sister Andrea, and me still a 'gleam in his eye' as they used to say).

The song was ARE YOU REALLY THERE? He and my father maintained a friendship and each was awarded Canada's highest civilian honor 'Order of Canada' for their respective work. Mr. Farnon, born the same year as my Dad, left this world two years ahead of him. On my Dad's final visit to Winnipeg, two weeks before his death, I took out the CD and played for him "Roses of Picardy" -- from the album he'd never heard: "Great Songs from Great Britain."

All of which is to say . . . deepest thanks, Andrew T. You can imagine how much I appreciate learning the answer to my question above: "Can't spot the arranger -- too many fresh, distinctively beautiful details."

[Mark Blackburn]

Concerts cancelled or postponed: what we miss most about 'live' shows

James Taylor's tours of Canada and the U.S. were "postponed" not cancelled. I have four tickets to the show in Winnipeg Canada which will be there waiting, when life returns to normal. Left a note with Mr. Taylor's Facebook page this day:

What's your “Top 3” James Taylor songs? The ones you'd take to the proverbial desert island? (Be ruthless now – we all have 12 or 20.) Mine? King of the hill right now -- this concert performance of MEAN OLD MAN with solo piano accompaniment by the man James Taylor calls his “one man band” Larry Goldings. Jazz piano greats like Bill Evans would have loved what Larry does here: On the musical bridge, his extended solo including Fats Waller 'stride' style at its very best. The shading is reminiscent of Oscar Peterson's pedal work. And Larry's syncopated silences – knowing that what you leave out of a solo is (almost) as important as what you leave in -- is simply as good as it gets.

With a gentle pointing of a finger, James invites the audience to express its appreciation. Yes, “live” is better than a studio recording any time, right? And at this moment in time when we cannot gather in a theater to enjoy a show like this . . . it's the 'next best thing.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GVw...1P-N1x7HgPteB0

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Best Good Friday message (when words are music)

Shared with my favorite priest in NYC -- George Rutler, of St. Michael's parish in "Hell's Kitchen" next to the big new temporary hospital for Covid-19.  "Something I transcribed (through tears of joy) earlier this hour from EWTN television:

Fr Benedict Groeschell – with the best Good Friday message I ever heard!  He had, as you know, an almost unique ability to convey the deepest truths, in the vernacular of New Jersey where he grew up, combined with the sardonic humor of a life-long New Yorker -- able to make us (a world-wide radio/TV audience of over 200 million) laugh out loud at ourselves, at our foibles and our 'chief features' -- that 'blind-spot' that holds us back spiritually: something saints can spot, and our best friends can allude-to as 'symptoms' ("Why are you so angry, Mark?") The gentle rebuke of a holy person is most effective in kick-starting a dormant spiritual life. So says me.

Anyway, my all-time favorite Good Friday reflection by Father Benedict Groeschel (recorded long ago at EWTN's chapel in Alabama). Perhaps a decade before his death October 3, 2014. (A snippet of his large Wikipedia entry below.) Removing his glasses and folding his hands, and looking you right in the eye in that way of his -- speaking only to you . . .

Don't run away from the Cross. And you don't have to build yourself one. Or go look for one. Or make up a phony cross – or neurotically, make some little peeve into a great big cross. (That's a trick of the Enemy.)

There's all sorts of crosses that people carry and when they get to the 'other side' somebody's going to say to them: Why in the world did you ever carry THAT thing! I have a feeling that many of the sufferings that we 'offer up to God' are kept in a big warehouse: phony sufferings that were bruises to our ego. We'll get there and say, 'What happened to all of the crosses I offered-up?' [and we'll be told]

“Well that warehouse over there is FILLED with them. Go down and unpack them. Chop them up into kindling and see if you can burn them. Get rid of them because they won't let you in, till you get rid of all that stuff.”

But then . . . there are real crosses. As I look here today in the chapel I see three or four people who shared their cross with me – one of their crosses – today! And the important thing to do is to carry it well. Share it with Christ and with his 'members.'

There is an old Italian proverb: A GRIEF SHARED, IS HALF A JOY. What a responsibility this puts upon us! That when others come up to us and share their cross, their sorrow, their loneliness, their darkness – that we are THERE for them.

Take the time! [voice choked with emotion] Put aside something else!! You shouldn't say: 'Oh I wasted so much time today, listening to HER and she was telling me all about her trouble.' You talked to Christ.

Or sometimes, worse yet, we see somebody – they're 'down.' And on judgment day we take the risk of hearing the words: I was down and you kicked me. I was down, and you pushed me down further.

How many times in life do we see somebody – humiliated . . . abandoned, alone, desperate – and like the 'priest and the Levite on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, we walk by on the other side!

Or worse yet, we stare at them, Their humiliation embarrasses us – makes us uncomfortable. And yet, right there in front of us – the greatest possible blessing that we could have – the presence of Christ.

I don't know about you, but as I look back on my life, I feel sorry because, so many times I let Jesus of Nazareth pass by.

---

[Note please, the concluding quote in his considerable Wiki entry. Imagine it delivered in a New Jersey accent]

On January 11, 2004, Groeschel was struck by an automobile while crossing a street in Orlando, Florida. He "suffered numerous broken bones and intracranial bleeding",[12] and over a four-hour period, he had no blood pressure, heartbeat or pulse for about 20 minutes. A few days later the trauma triggered a near-fatal heart attack. While he was recovering from his injuries, he collaborated with John Bishop on the book There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God. As he told The New York Times nearly four years after his accident: "They said I would never live. I lived. They said I would never think. I think. They said I would never walk. I walked. They said I would never dance, but I never danced anyway."[23]

Edited April 10, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

HE'S ALIVE! - Dolly's Hallelujah! to Facebook fans

At the crack of dawn, five a.m. Eastern, Dolly Parton posted a home-made music video – her song: “HE'S ALIVE and “Happy Easter everybody!” Not loosely 'based on a true story' as they say in Hollywood – every line every word of this is taken from 'Holy Scripture.'

As student of the four Gospels, always comparing one account of Jesus' life to another (former news reporter) I look for the 'little confirming details' that are in one Gospel alone, and not the others. Peter's three-time denial – only in Mark's Gospel: I can imagine Peter saying to Mark who's writing it down: No, actually what our Lord said was, “When you hear the rooster crow a SECOND time.”

Who but Dolly? In a video taped in her home this very day! Who but Dolly could speak without notes, in that loving 'artless' way of hers – a childlike innocence – her own 'simple truth' way of speaking: One of the things that most endear her to us. That, and of course to some of us, the greatest Country singer/songwriter since Hank Sr.
We all have our favorites of hers. Hadn't heard this one before this Easter Day. “He is risen! Hallelujah!” Deepest thanks to Dolly.

https://www.facebook.com/DollyParton...1901445210425/

 

[Mark Blackburn]

THEY SAY IT'S WONDERFUL -- and it was!

Just left a thank you note for Nancy Sinatra -- "for including this day on your latest show (#506) a song that features a jazz hero of mine pianist McCoy Tyner who left us last month. Mr. Tyner played on my favorite George Benson album TENDERLY 30 years ago. And almost 60 years ago, he played so beautifully on an iconic jazz album "JOHNNY HARTMAN & JOHN COLTRANE" (Irving Berlin's "They Say It's Wonderful" was playing as I type this.)

McCoy Tyner died in early March 2020, age 81. I'd been hoping Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio would play something from the HARTMAN/COLTRANE album. A five-star collaboration in everyone's books (Clint Eastwood's favorite) for which Mr. Tyner provided perfect accompaniment to go with John Coltrane's unusually lyrical (sounds like Paul Desmond on alto and not what it is: John Coltrane playing 'descant' in the upper register of his most famous tenor sax. He would never do another 'duet' with any other singer.
 

The song has a Wikipedia entry, recently expanded when I wasn't looking, to include “background.”

Although it is often reported that Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s, their time in the band never overlapped. Coltrane might have heard Hartman sing at a 1950 Apollo Theater performance at which they shared the stage.[7] Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the saxophonist would record as a leader.

Initially when producer Bob Thiele approached Hartman with Coltrane's request that the two record together Hartman was hesitant as he did not consider himself a jazz singer and did not think he and Coltrane would complement one another musically.[8] However, Thiele encouraged Hartman to go see Coltrane perform at Birdland in New York City to see if something could be worked out.

Hartman did so, and after the club closed he, Coltrane and Coltrane's pianist, McCoy Tyner, went over some songs together. On March 7, 1963, Coltrane and Hartman had decided on 10 songs for the record album, but en route to the studio they heard Nat King Cole on the radio performing "Lush Life", and Hartman immediately decided that song had to be included in their album.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

ON CABLE THIS NIGHT: Just re- watched a favorite movie scene: the closing moments of CAST AWAY – one several favorite films “produced and directed by Robert Zemeckis” – each and every one of which features haunting (Oscar-nominated) theme music from my favorite living composer Alan Silvestri.

 

The scenes preceding this one were all at night, in the darkness of suburban Memphis – in drenching rain as Tom Hanks' and Helen Hunt's characters embrace one last time before saying goodbye for good.

 

And suddenly we're in brilliant sunshine, a clean-shaven, suddenly younger looking Tom Hanks is driving down the straightest of highways in his black Jeep Cherokee through flatlands we in western Canada call “Big Sky Country” – where you just find it easier to breathe. (Love it that the word "Canada" is actually referenced in the final dialogue!)

 

"Jack" has just delivered the battered FED EX parcel, with its distinctive angel wings to its final destination – a deserted farmhouse (everywhere decorated with those same stylized angels' wings) and leaves it leaning up against a screen door, with the note: “This saved my life – Charles Nolan.”

 

Back at the crossroads, as he looks at a map, we see an old (mid-fifties) Ford pickup truck approaching. It pull ups next to him; a beautiful young woman, dark red shoulder-length hair blowing in the breeze, climbs down – and graces him a breathtaking smile and says . . .

 

SHE: You look lost!

HE: I do?

SHE: Where ya headed?

HE: [obviously taken aback by her beauty] Well, I was trying to figure that out.

SHE: [points] Well, that's 83-South. And this road HERE will hook you up with I-40 East [moving closer – they're now a “socially distant” 12 feet apart ]

SHE: And . . . if you turn RIGHT . . . that'll take you to Amarillo, Flagstaff and . . . California!

[Pointing back behind her, down her own road]

SHE: And if you head back in THAT direction . . . you'll find a whole lot of nuthin' – all the way to Canada.

[She hasn't relaxed her radiant smile for a moment, as if taking a liking to him, while they 'consider' each other in silence]

HE: [moving his head quickly in all directions] I got it!

SHE: Alright then! [climbing back into her dusty truck] Good luck, Cowboy!

 

She drives away slowly -- a female hound dog, sitting in the back with some equipment, stares back at him; he spots those same angel wings to the right of the FORD logo. He'd been leaning against his Jeep and suddenly stands up straight, in recognition of who she must be: The Wings Lady. He stares for a time, his silent expression conveying so much – as it's dawning on him that this intersection really is now the crossroads of his life. He moves to stand in the middle of the highway, looks in all four directions with a peaceful smile. And 'Fade to black'

 

Is this, “my favorite scene” at YouTube? I had long felt the need to finally transcribe it (I type fast) and hope some other kindred spirit appreciates!

 

[Mark Blackburn]

So happy in my blue heaven!

'The Voice of Siriusly Sinatra' is saying in that deep baritone: “Siriusly Sinatra plays a song from James Taylor's new American Standard album. The song is My Blue Heaven!

JAMES: It's a standard from the 30's that kind of describes home life in the broadest strokes – like a cartoon version of a home life – “Molly and me, baby makes three – a smiling face, a fireplace, a cozy room.” Such a simple, positive message. And of course, it's got great (chord) changes!” [up sound and sings]

“Day is endin' . . . songbirds are wendin'
back to the shelter of . . . each little nest they love . . .
When whippoorwills cry, and ev'nin' is nigh
I hurry to my, blue, heaven.

At YouTube there's James and his small band with a live TV performance on KELLY & RYAN  – uploaded May 3 to 5,257 “views” and 63 'thumbs up'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3IOUex6lDE

And song's end, the hosts single out by name, jazz giant "John Pizzarelli" playing rhythm guitar.

They didn't describe the guitar of course! But you know me. A priceless instrument built between 1936 and March of 1954 -- hand-made by NYC grandmaster luthier "D'Angelico" -- a non-cutaway version owned by John's Dad, "Bucky" who left us recently in his 95th year.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

That girl in CAST AWAY: We'll remember you, Lari White

She was 31 when she flashed that beautiful smile at Tom Hanks. And 52 when she died, of a rare form of cancer, two years ago. [IMDB says]

Actress: Lari White was born on May 13, 1965 in Dunedin, Florida, USA as Lari Michele White. She was an actress, known for Cast Away (2000), Big Eden (2000) and No Regrets (2004). She was married to Chuck Cannon. She died on January 23, 2018 in Nashville.

Forever young, in our hearts, as generations of film goers can always say of those who've left us.

Yes, her two-minute scene that is “my favorite ending” to any of Tom Hanks movie. America's great lyricist Johnny Mercer's favorite of his musical children was I REMEMBER YOU. Thinking now of that song and of Lari White -- of its last words and how they must have applied in her mind to her precious on screen moment with Tom Hanks: "When the angels ask me to recall, the thrill of them all, then I will tell them – I remember you."

 

[Mark Blackburn]

HOLLY FOSTER-WELLS with Charles Pignone (Peggy's 100th)

"When I was on the road with her [Peggy] I was just a kid. But of course I fell in love with her music, watching her perform all the time. It was very glamorous. She was an amazing grandmother to have . . .

"Putting her on stage was a process: She had to LOOK a certain way. She'd get very nervous. She was an introvert so getting her ready for a show could be an ordeal. But then . . . she would get on the stage and the magic would happen: She would cast a spell over the audience. For me too! I would be like 'Oh my God. It's all worth it!' [laughs] just to get her on the stage!"

For my dream playlist of Sinatra duets, I'd place this top-of-my-list -- not least for their 'flub' at the end (their words overlap) which the quick-witted Ms Lee resolved with a motherly Grace.  [Live TV remember?]

[simultaneously, sung in unison]

FRANK Won't you TELL me . . .
PEGGY Won't you SHOW me . . .

Peggy with a smile: “YOU show me and I'll tell you.”

A splendid reminder now, of what loving fans with talent can create for favorite videos. Posted September 5, 2011 with “79,307 views” plus a comment from a kindred spirit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_-ctuv3qYA


MT (2 years ago)
This is 1958 from Frank's short lived ABC Show filmed at The El Capitan Theatre in Santa Monica

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

Four minutes of musical Joy (when we need it most)

“When you lay your head on that big feather-bed
you can rest assured, I'll be gone.”

You're only as good as your most recent work and Dolly Parton's latest is giving us goosebumps. The lyrics are brilliant and the melody has change ups (multiple bridges) that song writers yet unborn will study a hundred years from today.

Really, what can't Dolly Parton do? – an actress, a multi-instrumentalist and a singer whose voice never grows old, who writes songs Hank Williams would have admired. [My wife and I have been saying 'forever' that Dolly Parton is the “best singer-songwriter since Hank” --who wrote lyrics like “None of us are gettin' out of here alive.”]

Yes, getting goosebumps again watching this one on re-play: With each viewing you spot things you didn't see before. Thanks, in part to the note-perfect, 'retro' look of the 80's graphics which has you asking: 'Is this REALLY new?'

The best kinds of ART are artless – you listen or look, and say: “Heck I could do that!” Oh no you can't. Case in point.

“She's a saint,” declares my eldest son; and this is my favorite quote from Saint Dolly this day: “There are two kinds of people in this world and you're not one of them.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRyQ...4IGq5W41diAZxg

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Mark Blackburn

[Mark Blackburn]

SINCE I FELL FOR YOU - Ronnie Milsap

[Left Dolly Parton a note]

Loving the comments below, including one from Lisa Renee Akers about how her husband's truck was broken into by someone who stole his most precious CDs including "Dolly, and Conway and [Ronnie] Milsap." Just had to respond:

Ronnie Milsap surprised students of the Great American Songbook with an album of 'standards' recorded decades ago with a beautifully-arranged symphony orchestra. My own heroes include Sinatra and Ray Charles but I declare Mr. Milsap's takes on those timeless classics are 'as good as it gets.' He turned 77 in January. I can guarantee Dolly has that album by Ronnie in her CD collection!

Wiki notes: "Blind country-pop singer who was highly successful during the 1970s and '80s, infusing his sound with early musical influences -- R&B, blues [and 'standards' from Broadway and Hollywood which Ronnie loved since he was little].

Blues band leader Buddy Johnson composed SINCE I FELL FOR YOU (words & music) in 1947 -- a very good year for us 73-year-olds. First hit version by Lenny Welch was also the best-ever . . . until Mr. Milsap's you may agree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZHoXvfTrsc

[Mark Blackburn]

And the winner is . . . HERE'S TO THE LOSERS

Awoke at 6:00 – to a huge, orange crescent moon -- no more snow on the ground and . . . naturally, check to see what's playing right this minute on Sirius 71: Only my favorite obscure Sinatra song: HERE'S TO THE LOSERS. Too obscure to be listed in the Wikipedia entry for its composer "pianist Jack Segal" who wrote some major hits (see below).

Yes, a song too obscure to have its own Wiki listing -- but not so for the remarkable album it's from -- where it was one of four songs listed on the cover, along with EMILY, DEAR HEART and PASS ME BY. A level of detail even the wise men would appreciate (though I bet they could spot an error or two!)

"SOFTLY, AS I LEAVE YOU is a 1964 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra.

This album was Sinatra's first tentative attempt to come to terms with rock and roll music. Arranged by Ernie Freeman, "Softly, as I Leave You", "Then Suddenly Love" and "Available" are definitely stabs at incorporating rock and roll into Sinatra's middle-of-the-road pop sound, featuring drum kits, backing vocals and keyboards.

The rest of the album is pieced together with leftovers from various early-'60s sessions, from many different arrangers and conductors, giving the album a rather uneven feel.

The title track was the first of at least four attempts to mimic the chart success of Dean Martin's #1 hit "Everybody Loves Somebody", using a driving beat, heavy strings and choral tracks. Sinatra, arranger Ernie Freeman and producer Jimmy Bowen would incorporate the same sound to songs like "When Somebody Loves You", "Tell Her You Love Her (Each Day)" and "Somewhere in Your Heart" with only minor chart success.

Track listing[edit]

1. "Emily" (Johnny Mandel, Johnny Mercer) – 2:58
2. "Here's to the Losers" (Robert Wells, Jack Segal) – 3:05
3. "Dear Heart" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Henry Mancini) – 2:43
4. "Come Blow Your Horn" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:07
5. "Love Isn't Just for the Young" (Bernard Knee, Herb Miller)[2] – 2:57
6. "I Can't Believe I'm Losing You" (Don Costa, Phil Zeller) – 2:43
7. "Pass Me By" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) – 2:25
8. "Softly, as I Leave You" (Hal Shaper, Antonio DeVita, Giorgio Calabrese) – 2:50
9. "Then Suddenly Love" (Roy Alfred, Paul Vance) – 2:15
10. "Available" (Cahn, Ned Wynn, L.B. Marks)[3] – 2:47
11. "Talk to Me Baby" (Robert Emmett Dolan, Mercer) – 3:00
12. "The Look of Love" (Cahn, Van Heusen)[4] – 2:43

Notes

Tracks 1, 3 and 7 recorded on October 3, 1964
Uncredited Background Singers perform on Tracks 1, 3 and 7-10[5][6]
The Orchestra on Tracks 1, 3 and 6-7 includes 9 Violins[7][8]
Tracks 2 and 5 recorded on July 31, 1963[2][9]
The Orchestra on Tracks 2, 5 and 8-10 includes 12 Violins[10][11]
"Come Blow Your Horn" recorded on January 21, 1963[12]
Jimmy Van Heusen is also known as James Van Heusen
The Orchestra on Tracks 4 and 12 includes 10 Violins[4][12]
"I Can't Believe I'm Losing You" recorded on April 8, 1964[7]
Tracks 8-10 recorded on July 17, 1964[3][10][11]
"Talk to Me Baby" recorded on December 3, 1963
The Orchestra on "Talk to Me Baby" includes 14 Violins[13]
Robert Emmett Dolan is also known as Robert Dolan[13]
"The Look of Love" recorded on August 27, 1962[4]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77DAU6XJN5A

Jack Segal (October 19, 1918 – February 10, 2005) was a pianist and composer of popular American songs, known for writing the lyrics to Scarlet Ribbons.[1] His composition May I Come In? was the title track for a Blossom Dearie album. Other songs he authored or co-authored are When Sunny Gets Blue, That's the Kind of Girl I Dream Of, I Keep Going Back to Joe's (with Marvin Fisher), A Boy from Texas, a Girl from Tennessee (with John Benson Brooks & Joseph Allan McCarthy), After Me (with Blossom Dearie) and When Joanna Loved Me (with Robert Wells).[2] It has been estimated that his songs have helped sell 65 million records.[3]