Today we celebrate the birthday of George Gershwin and the lovely Julie London George Gershwin - 1898 Julie London - 1926 Gershwin wrote "They Can't Take That Away From Me" in 1937 and it was introduced by Fred Astaire in the movie "Shall We Dance." From Wiki: The song is performed by Astaire on the … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – They Can’t Take That Away From Me
Tag: Bing Crosby
Book Recommendation: Five Minutes, Mr. Byner
I've always thought John Byner was hilarious. He was an awesome impressionist, who nailed voices like John Wayne, Jackie Mason, Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan and many more. He was a guest star on many shows throughout the 70's and 80's, but I first came to know him as The Ant and the Aardvark - doing … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Five Minutes, Mr. Byner
Great American Songbook Saturday – St. Louis Blues
112 years ago yesterday (9-11-1914) WC Handy published a song that would become a pop and jazz standard - St. Louis Blues. It was one of the first blues songs to "succeed as a pop song and remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians' repertoire." Handy said he had been inspired by a chance meeting with … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – St. Louis Blues
Great American Songbook Saturday – Blue Skies
Blue Skies is probably my favorite Irving Berlin song. I chose this song because it was on this day in 1976 that the Muppet Show premiered. One of the first times I heard the song was when it was sung by a bunch of Muppet Prairie Dogs on the show. Berlin composed the song in … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – Blue Skies
Great American Songbook Saturday
One of the greatest men to tickle the ivories was born today 101 years ago. Oscar Peterson was born on August 15, 1925. He was born in Canada and is considered to be one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He has released more than 200 recordings, is a winner of eight Grammy … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday
Turntable Talk #51 – Singly Under-Appreciated
This is my contribution for Round #51 of Turntable Talk presented by Dave Ruch of A Sound Day. As I have stated in the past, this is one of my favorite features to write for. He always comes up with interesting topics for us to write about and this month is no exception. As a … Continue reading Turntable Talk #51 – Singly Under-Appreciated
Song Lyric Sunday
It is Sunday once again and it is time once again for Song Lyric Sunday, hosted by Jim Adams. This week's challenge is to feature a song included in the “Great American Songbook.” The topic was suggested by my friend Nancy of the Elephant’s Trunk aka The Sicilian Storyteller. For someone like me, who loves … Continue reading Song Lyric Sunday
Tune Tuesday – Red Sails in the Sunset
Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday to Nat King Cole! Nat King Cole recorded somewhere in between 1,400 to more than 2,000 songs during his 28-year career. He was an incredibly prolific artist for Capitol Records, scoring 150 hits on the Billboard charts and leaving behind a massive legacy that includes jazz recordings, pop vocals, and, in … Continue reading Tune Tuesday – Red Sails in the Sunset
A Holiday Record
Every year around November 1st, the "Defrosting of Mariah Carey" memes start to post on social media. It's become quite the joke. Back in the day, Bing Crosby was the "King of Christmas." I suppose that title today would go to Michael Buble'. However, the undisputed "Queen of Christmas" has got to be Mariah Carey. … Continue reading A Holiday Record
Turntable Talk #43 – Spooky Tunes
It's time once again for Turntable Talk. This is the 43rd round and since it will begin around Halloween, Dave from A Sound Day asked us to "pick a song that you like that is either about a scary story or person, or just sounds kind of spooky or scary to you." What do you … Continue reading Turntable Talk #43 – Spooky Tunes
