Tag: Stephen Foster

Tune Tuesday – Swanee River

Our song today goes all the way back to 1851!  The minstrel song was written by the great Stephen Foster and was originally titled “Old Folks at Home.”

Swanee River has been the state song of Florida since 1935.  Because some of the original lyrics had references to slavery (which was still legal in some states at the time), the lyrics were revised.

The song has been recorded more times than I could count (Randy over at Mostly Music Covers may actually know how many versions…) and appeared in many movies and television shows.  One of my favorite appearances came in 1956 on The Honeymooners.

In the episode, “The $99,000 Answer,”  Ed Norton has a strange habit that before he can play any song he always plays a few notes of “Old Folks at Home”/”Swanee River” to warm up. This happens many times and drives Ralph crazy!  The first question for Ralph in the game show is “Who is the composer of Swanee River?” The first few notes, the same ones that Ed had played earlier, are played so that Ralph knows the song. With only a few seconds left, Ralph, recognizing the song, but panicking since he didn’t care much about it, says “Ed Norton?”

In honor of his 65th birthday, today’s song is Hugh Laurie’s recording of Swanee River.  I once featured his song Let Them Talk on this blog and his version can be found on the same album.

I remember really being blown away by how talented a musician he is.  His cover of Swanee River is a fun boogie boogie romp that never ceases to make me smile!     He truly jams on this. 

Happy birthday, Hugh!

As a bonus – here is Hugh performing it live for a special about the album:

Tickling The Ivories

Today is World Pianist Day, so I thought I’d share a guilty pleasure piano song with you.

The Piano has been an instrument that has provided music and melodies for centuries. It has figured prominently in all genres of music and some very talented people have been known for the instrument.

Frederic Chopin, Ludwig Von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Liszt are all well known classical pianists.

Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, and Count Basie are all well known jazz pianists.

Fats Domino, Little Richard, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, and Freddie Mercury were all well known pop/rock pianists.

PDQ Bach, Tom Lehrer, and Victor Borge were all known for incorporating the piano into their comedy.

Otis Spann, Billy Preston, Charles Brown, Dr. John, and Ray Charles all offered up some great blues piano tunes.

Then, of course, there was Liberace … who played everything.

When I was young, I learned how to play the Hammond Organ. I wish I had learned how to play piano, though. Over the years, I have come to appreciate how talented piano players are. I can’t imagine playing one riff with one hand and a melody on the other.

The guilty pleasure song I wanted to share today features the piano and is played by a guy who I have written about before. TV and movie star Hugh Laurie had an album out a few years back called “Let Them Talk.” On this album, he plays the song Swanee River. The song was written by the great Stephen Foster back in 1851!

Hugh’s version is an amazing boogie woogie romp that you cannot help but tap your toes to. It is one of those “pick me up” songs. I find myself listening to it when I am feeling down. So for World Pianist Day, I apologize to the legendary pianists I mentioned early on, and offer up – Mr. Hugh Laurie.