At one of those open book markets I was lucky to pick up The Big Bands Song Book (1" thick!!) ... but it is only now with a second sortie that I’m picking up on the uniqueness of
the 69-song Compendium.

Obviously the top hits were first under the keyboard fingers ... such as

Ain’t Misbehavin’ by Fats Waller
Chattanooga Choo-Choo by Harry Warren
Laura by David Raksin
Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller
Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael

But running short on fresh keyboard material, the possibly B-side songs have come under scrutiny and so far, I’ve played and recorded:

And the Angels Sing by Ziggy Elman/ Johnny Mercer
Tangerine by Victor Schertzinger/Johnny Mercer
Ciribiribin by A. Pestalozza/Jack Lawrence
There ! I’ve Said It Again by Dave Mann/ Red Evans

Just thought some of you respected old fogies might like a nostalgic reminder of days gone by ... the marvel of the Compendium is the intriguing background to the songs ... complete with score and Tin Pan Alley Era photos ... covering bandleaders, soloists, singers and promoters.

Here’s a photo of the Original Rhythm Boys with Harry Barris, Bing Crosby & Al Rinker ...
Did somebody ask who’s Bing Crosby?

btb,

I used to love scouring flea markets, swap meets and thrift stores for the serendipitous thrill of a discovery like that. Nowadays it seems that eBay has eclipsed such venues, and the experience isn't the same.

Though I only have glancing knowledge of the classic songs of the Tin Pan Alley era, I certainly share your elation at finding such a trove. Thanks for posting about it.

Enjoy!

Steven

btb - thanks for the nostalgic post - that's a fascinating music book you discovered - sounds similar in content to one I have called "The Ultimate Big Band & Swing Showstoppers", loaded with the great songs of that wonderful era of popular American music.

Of the songs you listed "Stardust" is by far the most recorded. but others such as "Laura" (hauntingly beautiful) and "Moonlight Serenade" (great slow dancing tune) ae terrific old standards. One of my personal favorites is "There! I've said It Again", which is just a very positive and super song.

In fact, here is "There..."

When was the photo of Bing taken? Must have been the 20s or before.

Regards, JF

Yep! They just don't write them like that any more - more's the pity! But I'm glad that there are dozens of them that I know and play, feeding my occasional need for a nostalgia trip.

Regards,

Not me! Among my earliest musical memories are my dad singing Bing songs. When I first heard the real Bing, I thought he was just imitating my father .

Much appreciated memories chaps.

It would appear that John Frank and I might be similar vintage ... with the good fortune to have a foot in the influence of the Big Band Era ... one of the advantages of anno Domini.

Good to know that even a comparative youngster like Chris H can glow over contact with hits from Tin Pan Alley ... puts some spark into the hum-drum of classical piano lessons.

Even currawong (never ask a Sheila her age) has a vocal paternal link to Bing Crosby ... but just in passing, it’s worth remembering that "White Christmas" was by far the biggest selling song ever ... the US went gaga over the Yuletide singing of:
"I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas".

But back to John Frank’s recall of "There I’ve Said It Again" (thanks for the Bobby Vinton rendition) ... here’s some background to it’s eventual popularity.

"Sometimes it took a special interpretation by a specialized performer to turn a song into a hit. Such certainly was the case with 'There I’ve Said It Again'.

According to it’s composer, Dave Mann, former pianist with Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Spivak, Ray Noble and Artie Shaw and now head of the music department at New York’s posh Walden School, recordings of the song by Les Brown with a Doris Day vocal, and by Nat 'King' Cole and Benny Carter had made little or no impression at all on the public — so little in fact, that when its lyricist, Redd Evans, asked for the return of the song from its original publisher, he got it right back.

Redd was a very aggressive man, according to Mann, and he always seemed to have a lot of faith in our song, ever since it had germinated sort of spontaneously one day while we were together. He knew Eli Oberstein, the head man at Victor, so after he got the tune back from the publisher, he began plugging it himself. He kept after Eli until he finally assigned it to Vaughn Munroe’s band.

Now, nobody really expected too much of the song. Victor put it on the back side of ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’, which was then a big hit because of the Andrew Sisters record. But then a crazy thing happened . Somebody down in the islands began suing American composers, claiming they had stolen the song, and so people started shying away from the tune. And besides, Vaughn’s rendition hadn’t made much of an impression.

In those days, the juke-box operators would buy a lot of records. So here they were stuck with Vaughn’s ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’ , and just so their investment shouldn’t be a total loss, they decided to TURN THE RECORD OVER AND PLAY THE OTHER SIDE. And soon everybody, it seems, began putting in nickels to hear Vaughn sing 'There I’ve Said It Again'.

Just how successful was the record? All I know is that I had been in the army only a few months when my wife came down to visit me. She had the first royalty check for the record. It was for eighteen thousand dollars and something.” (Copyright 1941)

PS Rhythm Boys photo ... then under 'Pops' Paul Whiteman ... date 1928-1930 ... after which Bing Crosby was able to start his own fabulous soloist career.

btb - glad you liked the Lennon Sister's version of "There I've Said It Again" & thanks again for the very interesting background story on the great song - fascinating stuff - I'm old enough that I can remember hearing Vaughn Momroe's version on the radio, and I always thought that this was the original recording, not knowing that Les Brown/Doris Day and Nat King Cole had previously released their versions - really hard to believe that neither one of these was a hit given the superb quality of the song and that immense talent of the performers in question (Nat's talent is legendary but Doris really did have a sweet, very listenable voice) - I have a recording of this on a collection of Vic Damone's best songs and he (as you would expect) does a great job with it (you may know that Frank Sinatra once said that Vic had "the best pipes in the business").

Regards, JF

P.S. speaking of great songs well sung here's a younger edition of those Lennon Sisters singing a song from a popular movie of the 50s (can't remember the movie's title but I have the vague impression Jimmy Stewart was in it) - check out the vocal harmonies!:

Friendly Persuasion

This is all very interesting.

I only knew the Vinton version of There I Said it Again and actually thought he had written it. I was a young teenager in love, but of course too shy to say THAT outloud, so I would sing along with Bobby Vinton thinking of 'him'!!!

It was one of the first pieces of piano sheet music that I purchased. So in love was I!!! (I wonder where 'he' is now?)

LOL!

So, curious, I went to youtube to see if I could find Vaughn singing it.

Nope.

But I did find the Nat King Cole version here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCWxvuZjTUw

Mr. Velvet Voice!

lilylady - here you go - enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Bobby Vinton sings "There..."

Regards, JF

P.S. One of my all-time favorite "albums" was Nat King Cole's "Love is the Thing" - if you want to hear just how "velvety" Nat could be check this out - one of the most lush & romantic albums ever!

Swoon!!!

(for my old flame that is!)

Thought you chaps might like to have a picture of the composer of "There I’ve Said It Again" ... Dave Mann ...
together with the words by lyricist Redd Evans


There I’ve Said It Again by Dave Mann/Redd Evans

I love you ... there’s nothing to hide ... It’s better than burning inside ...
I love you ... no use to pretend, ... There I’ve said it again.

I’ve said it ... what more can I say ... Believe me, there’s no other way ...
I love you ... I will to the end. There! I’ve said it again.

I’ve tried to drum up a phrase that would sum up all that I feel for you ...
But what good are phrases? The thought that amazes is you love me ... it’s heavenly ....

Forgive me ... for wanting you so, but one thing I want you to know,
I’ve loved you ... since heaven knows when, ... There I’ve said it again.

PS Methinks that any lyricist who today came up with such moggy twaddle , could well end up at the end of a Mafia contract ... or even worse ... have his Mother-in Law come to stay ... but ... at least the gushy tripe rhymes.

Isn't "moggy twaddle" often simply a reflection of the spirit of the times one lives in? I also believe that if many lyrics of "great" songs were isolated from their context to be viewed as poetry (?), we might often cringe at what we read.

With great songs, well sung, isn't it often a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts?

Regards,

Thanks for the interesting aside BruceD.

As an aesthete (posh term for a chappie who avoids the washing up), the WHOLE is always regarded as supreme ... but I can’t think of any quality songs whose lyrics don’t equally scan as breathtaking poetry.

It’s when the giddy hormones rage, that lyricists are inclined to lose the plot ... as with Redd Evan words to "There! I’ve said it again".

Here’s an example of good lyrics by Jacques Prevert (English lyrics by Johnny Mercer) to Autumn Leaves (Les Feulles Mortes)

Autumn leaves fall, and are swept out of sight,
The words that you said have come true,
Autumn leaves fall and are swept out of sight
So are the mem’ries that we knew.
The wind of forgetfulness blows them,
Into the night of regret ...
The song you would so often sing
Is echoing, echoing yet.

The falling leaves ... Drift by the window, ...
The Autumn Leaves ... Of red and gold.
I see your lips, ... The summer kisses, ...
The sunburned hands, ... I used to hold.
Since you went away, The days grow long, ...
And soon I’ll hear ... Old winter’s song.
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When Autumn Leaves start to fall.

C’est une chanson, ... Qui nous ressemble, ...
Toi tu m’aimais ... Et je t’aimais.
Nous vivions tous, ... Les deux ensemble, ...
Toi qui m’aimais ... Moi qui t’aimais.
Me la vie separe, Ceux qui saiment ...
Tout doucement ... Sans faire de bruit.
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants desunis.

How I wish I had learnt to speak French!!

PS The Internet doesn’t have much to say about Redd Evans as a lyricist ... other than his words to Rosie the Riveter in 1942 ... perhaps the Mafia did take out a contract on him.

btb - I agree with BruceD and disagree (respectfully, of course) with you - with great songs the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts - and with the song in question the parts are pretty damn good too! - the melody for "There..." is really quite listenable and the words are neither "moggy twaddle" nor "gushy tripe", but instead are a fairly mature and somewhat intelligently reasonable expression of a deep-seated and heart-felt passion that has been handled with far less literacy in countless other "pop" tunes - there's actually some neat little turns of phase in there, especially that part that goes "I tried to drum up a phase that would sum up..." - you may be just a tad to "hard-bitten" and cynical to fully appreciate the subtle sophistication of the song's excellent lyrics

If you want to hear some more superb romantic lyrics in a great song well sung check out this wonderful pop adaptation of the Chopin masterpiece by one of the finest singers of her time:

Jo Stafford sings "No Other Love"

Regards, JF

[quote=btb][...] Corrections made : (Your inimitable style of putting in suspension points everywhere - and changing punctuation - doesn't go with the sense of the lyrics.)

C’est une chanson qui nous ressemble,
Toi, tu m’aimais et je t’aimais.
Et nous vivions tous les deux ensemble,
Toi qui m’aimais, moi qui t’aimais.
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit.
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants desunis.

The French lyrics are pretty banal at this point : especially the first four lines of the chorus :

"It's a song that is like us,
You loved me and I loved you.
And we lived together, the two of us
You who loved me; I who loved you.
But life separates those who love
Quietly, without making a sound.
And the waves erase from the shore
The footsteps of the separated lovers."

Regards,

Please don't take me seriously John Frank ... my reason for the joking contra stance is merely to keep the thread open.

BruceD can obviously get by with his knowledge of French to have
translated the original lyrics, for which many thanks (not my forte) ... "banal" however is in the eye of the reader ...
I rather like the concluding

"But life separates those who love
Quietly, without making a sound.
And the waves erase from the shore
The footsteps of the separated lovers."

You chaps must have a good read of Redd Evans' 'Rosie the Riveter' ... moggie by the way is feline.

btb - here's another one of those ultra-sweet tunes I think you'll enjoy - would love to be able to play this on solo piano some day soon!

Matt Monro sings "Portrait of my Love"

Enjoy, JF

Swoon - can I be she?

John and Lily,
How I wish I could take up your suggestions ... but when I try to
take up the You-tube ... my computer comes up with

Hello ... you either have JavaScript turned off or and old version of Adobe Flash Player ... followed by ... get the latest Flash Player ... but after I've done all the necessary and followed the instructions ... Install Adobe Flash Player ... Agree and install now ... I'M BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

It should be known that some architects aren't too bright when it comes to electronics ... they notoriously know a little about everything but as a handyman are pretty useless ... my wife learnt to never ask me to fix a fuse.

Can anybody tell me which buttons to push to enjoy your Matt Monroe entries?