GREAT SINGING & dANCING TO COLE PORTER'S " FROM THIS MOMENT ON"

Great Singing & Dancing to Cole Porter's " From  This Moment On."

KISS ME KATE was Cole Porter's greatest Broadway musical and was transferred into a wonderful MGM film. The story is loosely based on Shakespeare's  The Taming Of The Shrew. In this number, Ann Miller playing the hard-to-handle Bianca is pursued by 3 men, including  Bob Fosse, the future choreographer/director ( he's wearing the yellow hat.)
Listen also to the wonderful arrangement by Conrad Salinger, the king of arrangers for musical films whose strings literally swing the dancers into frenzied dance routines.
This number will keep your own toes and fingers happily  tapping in time.

 https://youtu.be/YTBrVuEvZbg

SINATRA SINGS ARLEN'S PURE MELODY " MY SHINING HOUR"

Sinatra sings Arlen's pure melody " My Shining Hour."

Harold Arlen is justly renowned as the most blues and jazz influenced of the major creators of The Great American Songbook. But he was also capable of writing a pure, singing melody without the need for clever harmonic support.
As proof of his versatility to plumb the depths of both the ethereal and the down to earth lament, Arlen wrote two songs for the 1942 film, The Sky's The Limit." Starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie, My Shining Hour was first sung by Leslie in a nightclub and later as a burgeoning romantic duet as he walks the lady home.
However, as the wartime romance flounders, Astaire gets drunk, smashes the mirror in a bar and leaves in a sad and lonely state. Sinatra has an iconic rendition of One For My Baby as he pours out his troubles to Joe, the silent bartender.
As a contrast, his version of the tender ballad My Shining Hour showcases Frank Sinatra's uncanny ability to put him in the character portrayed in the song .  You can hear his desire and hope with the lyric stating " In my dreams, your face will flower, Through the darkness of the night" thus making that moment his own Shining Hour, a sentiment especially poignant during WW2.

https://youtu.be/BEr6Kvi4wZs 



 

SINATRA ADVISES THE LOVELORN WITH " I COULD HAVE TOLD YOU SO"

Sinatra advises the lovelorn with " I could have told you so."

FraNk Sinatra's tempestuous romantic adventures have been well documents and a number of his saloon or torch songs have been among his most remarkable recorded and live performances. Angel Eyes and One For My Baby are two outstanding examples of hte lament for love gone wrong.

In this song, Frank plays the role of romantic advisor who tells the male listener that " She'd love you awhile and desert you ." Both in the song and in his life, Frank speaks and sings with  hard won  experience in affairs of the heart.
The melody is by Jimmy Van Heusen, a favourite Sinatra composer and personal friend. The advice to the lovelorn lyrics are by Carl Sigman. 
For those males who have been led astray by a woman, this song may have mournful resonance . Women, on the other hand, may conclude, from their own experiences, that the dude deserved it.   C'est La Vie !

 https://youtu.be/ppfVAOzKJxs

CY WALTER -POPULAR NY SONG MAGICIAN HONOURED WITH A 100 YEAR CENTENNIAL CELBRATION

Cy Walter-Popular NY song magician honoured with a 100 year Centennial Celebration.
The most Senior Songbook devotees may remember Cy Walter, a most gifted pianist and composer who reigned supreme in the NY music scene from the 1930'sthru the 1960's. He played in the most elegant clubs and cabaret and finished his caree playing 6 nights a week at the Drake Hotel. His popular radio show, Piano Playhouse, had a very wide audience including US overseas military bases.. He specialized in show tunes, even the most obscure and Frank Sinatra and others would drop in to learn of any songs that they could add to their repertoire.
This past September, The Cy  Walter Foundation, headed by son Mark Walter, hosted a Centennial Celebration of the compositions and elaborate arrangements of Cy Walter.
If yiou want to see and hear what it was like in New York during the flowering of classical American popular song, click on the link below and enjoy gifted singers. pianists and a talented orchestra bring the Walter musical legacy to artistic fruition.

https://youtu.be/Nxxzj7273E8 

ANGEL EYES-SINATRA'S DEFINITIVE SALOON SONG

Angel Eyes-Sinatra's Definitive saloon song
In his live performances, Frank Sinatra would often mention this song as the grand daddy of saloon songs, the time when disappointed lovers pour their woes into much alcohol. One for my Baby is is a similar heart-wrenching ballad where the bartender must listen to a sad story.
From a legendary Capitol recording of lament in song , the whole album was enhanced by sensitive Nelson Riddle arrangements with compelling singing and acting from Sinatra.
Frank Sinatra's own romantic life was quite tempestuous affording him the experience he so compellingly brought to these emotionally draining songs.
He actually starts with the bridge or middle section declaiming " Drink Up. All of you people, Order anything you may." It certainly sets the tone and atmosphere for the entire song.



https://youtu.be/o0HoodY9pXg

HOAGY CARMICHAEL'S MEMPHIS IN JUNE-A TRIBUTE TO A SOUTHERN WAY OF LIFE

Hoagy Carmichael's Memphis In June- A Tribute To A Southern Way Of Life

Memphis In June is a tender tribute to a now forgotten genteel Southern way of life where " Ladies are a siitin' and rockin'. watching the neighbours go by " or Cousin Amanda's baking a blueberry pie." The words are by Mitchell Parish and the composition is by that old country gentleman. Hoagy Carmichael. These artists also collaborated on Stardust and Stars Fell on Alabama, similar pieces of genuine,small town nostagia.

Both the composer and lyricist are traditional American males of a certain vintage but here, their song is sung by Annie Lennox, a noted Scottish pop singer. She makes you believe she knows and can sing about what happens  in Memphis in the month of June, some time ago. Such is the power of the universal appeal of honest sentiment.


https://youtu.be/Op8pPrZ12cE
 

BILLIE HOLIDAY IS HONORED IN LARA DOWNES SPLENDID PIANO TRIBUTE TO LADY DAY

Billie Holiday is honored in Lara Downes splendid piano tribute to Lady Day.

There are certain American popular songs that carry the indelible imprint of Billie Holiday, a consummate song interpreter who has provide life- long inspiration to Steinway Artist, Lara Downes. " As a musician, I learned from Billie Holiday to make something personal when you make music," says Lara Downes ,- maybe
something unexpected, something indefinable, perhaps complicated , but beautiful. to take a chance, and if you fall, you fall." ( lyrics from But Beautiful, a song featured on this solo piano tribute to Billie Holiday.)

The song, Body and Soul ,is one of Billie's most iconic performances. Lara Downes, in a stunning arrangement by Jed Distler, offers an arresting interpretation that honors the essence of the well-known standard while exploring some of the hidden corners made possible by the melodic and harmonic twists in this challenging arrangement.
Please listen to Lara Downes mastery of every nuance inherent in both the melody and the lyrics as if a Rachmaninoff had wandered into the recording session to put his own pianistic talents in the service of a great popular song.

You also can listen to Billie Holiday's own version of Body & Soul to see how  both the arranger and pianist are now connected to the spiritual essence of this great artist.

Lara Downes piano solo

 https://youtu.be/nLvRPOcxk5Uhttps://youtu.be/nLvRPOcxk5U

Billie Holiday version

https://youtu.be/CMDlk6lGQOk

SINATRA AT HIS MOST EXPRESSIVE singing " I GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU VERY WELL"

Sinatra at his most expressive singing " I Get Along Without You very Well."

Composer Hoagy Carmichael ran across a poem by writer Jane Thompson. He set it to music and produced this highly romantic and tender ballad. Sinatra recorded it earlier in the album Wee Small Hour of the Morning with an exquisite Nelosn Riddle arrangement.

Anumber of years later, Sinatra appeared in a live London concert and this rendition is deeper, more mature and evocative than his fine earlier recording.
 To my mind thsi is a perfect combination of a great song, wonderful singers interpretation and a stunning Nelson Riddle arrangement for strings. This is pure artistry.

https://youtu.be/QcRZ2i_C6zo

SINATRA SINGS ARLEN'S " I GOTTA RIGHT TO SING THE BLUES" AND REALLY MAKES IT SWING

Sinatra sings Arlen's " I gotta Right To Sing The Blues" and really makes it swing.

With his Cotton Club lyricist partner Ted Koehler, they produced this strangely upbeat version of the blues for the 1932 Earl Carrolls Vanities. Jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden made this one of his signature songs and it has been afavorite of jazz and pop singers ever since.
In this Frank Sinatra version, the singers is in a defiant mood recognizing he has every right to sing the blues and to also feel lowdown. In a way it captures Sinatra's approach to life, to deal with adversity both personal and professional but keep on doing it his way.
The arrangement by Skip Martin is most accomodating of the Sinatra vocal mood  in the song.

https://youtu.be/sXqmQ-N0JxI

ELLA SINGS "LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE" -A PURE MELODY BY JIMMY VAN HEUSEN

Ella sings " Like Someone in Love" A pure melody by Jimmy Van Heusen.  

Jimmy Van Heusen and lyricst Johnny Burke first wrote film songs for Bing Crosby. Imagination , Darn that Dream, Polka Dots and Moonbeams are still popular with singers and jazz players.
In 1944 for Crosby, Van Heusen wrote Like Someone in Love, a pure melody which popular song archivist Alec Wilder concluded that " The influence of Jerome Kern is manifest. It is a simply lovely melodic line.." Jerome Kern was a master of a melodic , singing line and Ella Fitzgerald honors the Van Heusen melody singing so tenderly and without pyrotechnics that she can often bring to up tempo songs.     
Great singers like Ellla, Sinatra, Torme and Tony Bennett have the uncanny faculty to understand what the song is about and create performances that bring the words and music to life  as the songwriters intended.

https://youtu.be/CJ0sh5hzbeM

AS TIME GOES BY -cASABLANCA MOVIE SUNG BY SINATRA

As Time Goes By- Casablanca Movie Song Sung By Sinatra

Originally written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld for a Broadway musical , the song became an all-time favorite when it was sung By Dooley Wilson in Casablanca, the the memorable 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The melody was used as part of the underscore during critical scenes between the two former lovers.
 Although the song itself is not especially notable on its own, it has achieved legendary status because it so intimately connected with a movie many millions claim as  their favorite movie of all time. Because of its connection with the movie, it was voted # 2 song of the 20th century. Oddly enough,  Over The Rainbow, from The Wizard of Oz was voted the best song of the 2th century. It is a more substantial song than the Casablanca favorite and it also is so inextricably intertwined with people's memory of that iconic film that hearing it inevitably triggers memories of that favorite movie.
This version is sung by Frank Sinatra against a backdrop of scenes from the movie.
Sinatra sings with a tender restraint that perfectly matches the scenes with the two lovers recalling happier moments in their lives. 

https://youtu.be/gfwz90Rq2Ds

RODGERS & HART'S " IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND" OSCAR PETERSON AND THE SINGERS UNLIMITED

Rodgers & Hart's " It Never Entered My Mind"  Oscar Peterson and The Singers Unlimited.

Rodgers & Hart wrote a number of reflective and heart-felt ballads. It Never Entered My Mind is just one of their many superb creations.  The Singers Unlimted was a newly formed vocal group comprised of the members of the Hi Lo's and 2 members from another vocal group  The J's With Jamey. When they combined forces, they made a demo record and over dubbed more vocal lines until it sounded like a full choir. Enter Oscar Peterson, legendary Canadian jazz pianist. He was so impressed with this new sound that he talked his own German proucer.engineering genius to sign the new group. He did and 15 albums were recorded with different arrangements and backup personnel. Their first release featured the solo imagination and harmonic wizardry of Oscar Peterson and the stunning feature voice of Bonn Herman. It Never Entered my Mind is a vocal showcase of what can happen when a great song is put into the hands of a great vocal arranger like Gene Puerling, the piano accompaniment of a wonderful pianist and multiple over-dubbed vocal lines of 4 brilliant singers.

NOTE: 2015 is the 90th birthday anniversary of Oscar Peterson who was as great an accompanist as he was a jazz soloist and leader of so many great small groups.

https://youtu.be/PMhxIN3VSeU

TONY BENNETT & LENA HORNE TRIBUTE TO HAROLD ARLEN

Tony Bennet & Lena Horne Tribute to Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen is the composer of classic blues songs like  Blues In The Night, I \Gotta Right To Sing The Blues as well as soaring ballads like Over The Rainbow and torch songs like One For My Baby, Come Rain or Come Shine and Ill Wind, a Cotton Club song written with lyricist Ted Koehler.
Tony Bennett, after working with Arlen on a television tribute to the Buffalo born composer stated that
"  Besides him being the greatest professional man I ever met, he was the most beautiful human being I ever met," Strong praise indeed.

Legendary singer Lena Horne also met Arlen while they worked together in Harlem's Cotton Club where Arlen was particularly suited to write material for black performers like Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, the Nicholas Brothers as well as Lena Horne.
This is a 12 minute medley of well known Arlen songs with Tony Bennett and Lena on a live Judy Garland TV Show. ( Arlen also wrote Over The Rainbow and The Man That Got Away for Garland films.)

https://youtu.be/lYPpW8Puj8I

Bonus track     Frank Sinatra & Lene Horne with a different Harold Arlen medley.

https://youtu.be/FeiprgKDR3A

Classic American Popular Song: ST. LOUIS WOMAN & ST.LOUIS GAL-GREAT BLUES SONGS

Classic American Popular Song: ST. LOUIS WOMAN & ST.LOUIS GAL-GREAT BLUES SONGS: ST. Louis Woman & St. Louis Gal-Great Blues Songs:   In 1914, W.C. Handy was the first to publish ablues song which once were played and...

ST. LOUIS WOMAN & ST.LOUIS GAL-GREAT BLUES SONGS

ST. Louis Woman & St. Louis Gal-Great Blues Songs:   In 1914, W.C. Handy was the first to publish ablues song which once were played and sung but not documented in conventional song publishing format. It was, and still remains, as an anthem to the heartbreak and sadness of the black experience with the blues and jazz becoming the most distinctive and purely American musical expression and a gift to the world at large.Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, recorded the song as have hundreds of others over the years. The song laments the fact that the St. Louis Woman in the song "Pulls that man around by her apron strings."

In 1923, J. Russell Robinson wrote a similar song called St. Louis Gal. In this blues song, a woman sadly recounts the story of a St. Louis gal who " Stole the heart of my big boy" who goes on to swear that " Down in Missouri, there'll come a time when your life won't be worth a dime." Pretty dramatic and earthy sentiments. Bessie Smith also recorded this song but please listen to Cecile McLorin Salvant, a young and talented American singer who has absorbed the essence of the blues tradition a hundred years after Handy wrote St. Louis Woman.
Listen to both Bessie Smith and Cecile McLorin Salvant to experience the power of a unique American musical contribution that has influencd so many different musical genres.
                                   The Blues-The Musical Gift That Keeps on Giving.

Bessie Smith-St. Louis Woman
https://youtu.be/jNWs0LsimFs

Cecile McLorin Salvant
https://youtu.be/H3dFTyJK0NQ

I'LL REMEMBER APRIL- 55 YEARS LATER I STILL REMEMBER THAT APRIL

" I'll Remember April"--55 years later I still remember that April.

In April of 1960, I first met Ann when she was in Nursing . Fifty-Five years later, I am glad that I can still see her every day. Early on, we decided that " I'll Remember April" would be our song. not only because of the month in question but because it is a lovely song with an unusual and haunting melody with sensitive and insightful lyrics.

Written in 1941 by Gene DePaul with words by Don Raye, the song recounts the strength of the initial April encounter, the gradual the cooling of  initial passion but the singer concludes that despite the sadness of a parting of the ways with these words "I won't forget but I won't be lonely, I'll remember April and be glad.. Bittersweet but honest sentiments. 

This performance is by Frank Sinatra and an arrangement by Axel Stordahl who accompanied Sinatra  early in his career. As always, Sinatra invests all of his dramatic powers in the song making it so believable both in the evocation of initial passion  and the recognition of the love that disappeared. The love still remembered with fondness of what was once true that long ago April.

https://youtu.be/9lj_kBFixjU 

FRANK SINATRA & DAWN UPSHAW SING 2 DISTINCTIVE VERSIONS OF RODGERS& HART'S " IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND:

Frank Sinatra & Dawn Upshaw sing 2 distinctive versions of Rodger's & Hart's " It Never Entered My Mind."

For the 1940 show " Higher & Higher", Richard Rodgers provided a very lovely melodic line to which Lorenz Hart evoked such tender reflections like " You have what I Lack myself" immediately followed by the more colloquial verse " And now I have to scratch my back myself !" Such wordplay highlights Hart's unique ability to juxtapose the sentimental with the sardonic and yet strangely make them work with Rodgers melodic instincts. Alec Wilder, the inveterate archivist and avatar of The Great American Songbook stated that Hart's more energetic and unpredictable writing style eclipsed Oscar Hammerstein's more prosaic " And comfortable armchair philosophy" as found in " Climb Every Mountain" or You'll Never Walk Alone." As for Rodgers. Wilder said that " Rodgers songs have revealed a higher degree of consistent excellence, inventiveness and sophistication than those of any other writers I have studied" including Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter. Fine praise indeed.
Dawn Upshaw, a classically  trained singer has mastered the nuances and naturalness inherent in the American popular song idiom and accompanied only by a piano, she delivers all of the plangent qualities of the song.
Frank Sinatra, accompanied by an orchestra arranged and led by Nelson Riddle, gives an equally somber and expressive performance proving that good song material is capable of a myriad of interpretations while still retaining the essential elements embedded in the song itself.

Upshaw version;
https://youtu.be/tE9qF9MBzs8?list=PLCvqEw1Hw0l1b5fCl73jbua4PsETpGiyg


Sinatra version
https://youtu.be/1fleh1LBFGA

RUSSIAN LULLABY -ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS IRVING BERLIN

" Russian Lullaby "--Ella Fitzgerald sings Irving Berlin.  Irving Berlin was born in Russia but emigrated to America as a young boy. This is a tender song that evokes his earliest memory of the country of his birth and it is sung very tenderly by Ella Fitzgerald.
Since Russian followers of the Great American Songbook make up the largest group of my blog subscribers, I wanted to show my appreciation for their interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_1nagBrG54

"LET'S FALL IN LOVE"-UPBEAT SINATRA VERSION

"Let's Fall In Love"-  Upbeat Sinatra Version.

Arlen and lyricist Ted Koehler were commissioned by Columbia Pictures to write songs for a movie to be called " Let's Fall In Love."   On the train heading west to Hollywood, the songwriters. The porter on the train was using a set of chimes to call patrons to dinner. Since there was no piano on board, Arlen borrowed the chimes so he could play around with a tune he had been developing.

By the time they had arrived in Los Angeles, the title tune was almost finished. It is a positive affirmation of the desirability of falling in love and Frank Sinatra captures the youthful exuberance often needed by moviegoers living out the depression era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=061kkZU8gPY

ILL WIND -DRAMATIC COTTON CLUB NUMBER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaShvVW1w5U

" Ill  Wind"-Dramatic Cotton Club Number.   Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler created calssic songs for Harlem's Cotton Club Revues in the 1930's.
Celebrated black performers like Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, The Nicholas Brothers, Maxine Sullivan plus band leadersl like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. Black artists could perform there but were not accepted as patrons. It was an exotic venue quite different from downtown night spots andwas frequented by all number of celebrities, politicians and gangsters who owned the club.
A paramount movie called " The Cotton Club" captured the excitement and danger of the times and LOnette McKee provides a sensual and compelling performance of the ill wind that often blew through and outside the Cotton Club.

PIANIST LARA DOWNES PLAYS BILLIE HOLIDAY INSPIRED SONG " BODY & SOUL"

Pianist Lara Downes plays the Billie Holiday inspired song  "Body & Soul."   In 1930, composer Johnny Green wrote an exquisite ballad which was interpolated in a Broadway revue " Three's A Crowd," Coleman Hawkins, a noted tenor sax player recorded the song which popular song archivist Alec Wilder said " Hawkins brought to Green's melody, a rhapsodic exuberance that astonished the ear." Wilder also felt that Body And Soul " Has one of the widest ranges and one of the most complex releases and verses."
  Billie Holiday, the iconic jazz singer who was born 100 year ago, made this as much of a vocal standard as Coleman Hawkins instrumental jazz version
Steinway Artist, Lara Downes, became entranced by Holiday's singing at a very early age and, in addition to her extensive classical training and concertizing, Lara Downes has always retained an intense and comprehensive interest in exploring all manner of American musical traditions.
In this recording, Lara Downes plays with great clarity and sensitivity in such a challenging song , again proving that classical piano training and discipline can adorn popular songs . Lara is aided by a wonderful arrangement by Jed Distler who brings a majestic and respectful approach to Green's  sweeping melody and rich harmonic architecture.
Great music can happen if one begins with a memorable song , an arrangement that honors and extends the essence of the song and  an instrumentalist who adds their unique expressiveness and interpretive power to the performance.
For this performance, we can thank Johnny Green, arranger Jed Distler and Lara Downes for bringing her love of Billie Holiday ( and all that Billie stood for) in her pianistic tribute.

NOTE: This blog does not normally profile instrumental versions of popular songs. Lyrics are so important in conveying the story dimension  However, it was easy to make an exception in this case given the Holiday and Johnny Green song connection ( and the fact that I know and love Lara and her talent. ) Since most people may be familiar with the words of the main strain of the song, they are invited to sing along with Lara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLvRPOcxk5U

PENSATIVA -GREAT BOSSA NOVA INSTRUMENTAL

Pensativa-Great Bossa Nova Instrumental:   Although this Great American Songbook blog usually deals with songs that have lyrics to tell a story, I must make an exception in the case for Pensativa by Claire Fischer, as played by Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass. There are several reasons: Fischer was a graduate composition student at Michigan State University during my own studies there. I have also been transfixed by the insinuating rhythm of the Bossa Nova Style and, finally, the arrangement is by Rick Wilkins, someone with whom I went to high school in Hamilton, Ontario and who I still see from time to time in Toronto.
Now to the music itself. First there is an elegant fluglehorn solo by Guido Basso, a master of melodic playing with a rich, burnished tone. This is followed by a guitar sole by Ed Bickert who has been identified by both Jim Hall and Paul Desmond as a major jazz soloist. Finally, Rick Wilkins, arranger and tenor player provides a flowing and imaginative solo  with the orchestra.
What always excites me is near the end when Rick creates an orchestral section that features a striking interplay between two orchestral sections playing in different  registers that complement each other while answering and also challenging the other group. It is one of the most innovative piece of sectional writing I have heard played by a large jazz ensemble.

Please listen closely for all the little bits of magic throughout and see if you also find this is remarkable arranging and playing by a wonderful jazz ensemble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJ6zhHD8c0

" MY ROMANCE" RODGERS & HART CLASSIC WONDERFULLY SUNG BY BROADWAY DIVA, BERNADETTE PETERS

"  My Romance"  Rodgerts & Hart Classic wonderfully sung by Broadway' diva, Bernadette Peters.

Alec Wilder, the passionate archivist of Classic American Popular song described this as a
" True theatre song with a dramatic climax supported by equally dramatic lyrics: " my most fantastic dreams come true."

There are three musical elements responsible for the sheer artistry of this performance:  First, the matchless marriage of melody and lyrics, the second, Bernadette Peters interpretive " living" in the piece as something only a singing actress can deliver and lastly, the superb piano accompaniment by Marvin Laird. He has been Peter's musical conductor for some time and their version speaks to a great mutual understanding and sharing of a musical moment.
This song is a most appropriate prelude to Valentine's Day. ( Coincidentally, " My Funny Valentine" was also written by Rodgers & Hart.)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdyJGWVZ8Fc

NELSON RIDDLE'S WONDERFUL ARRANGEMENT OF " I REMEMBER YOU" FOR 18 YEAR OLD SUE RANEY

Nelson Riddle's wonderful arrangement of " I Remember You" for 18 year old Sue Raney.

I Remember You was written in 1941 by Victor Schertzinger with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.  It was included in the movie " The Fleets In" and was sung by Dorothy Lamour.

Sue Raney was only 18 when she was fortunate in having the consummate arranger Nelson Riddle do all the arrangements for her debut album.  Despite her tender years, the maturity of her voice and presentation is still exemplary in conveying both the meaning and emotion conveyed by the song.
Today's young pop divas could learn a much-needed lesson in restraint and sensitive lyric interpretation without belting everything at the top of their lungs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCj2V87sr8c

TONY BENNETT SINGS A POIGNANT SONG OF LOSS " WHERE DO YOU START ?"

Tony Bennett sings a poignant song of loss " Where Do You Start ?"

Johnny Mandel. the composer of " The Shadow of Your Smile" and " Emily" collaborated with Allan and Marilyn Bergman to create a wonderful and poignant song called " Where Do You Start ?"

It deals with the aftermath of a romantic relationship and decisions about deciding whose books are yours and mine, the fact that their lives have been tangled in a vine that intertwine and ultimately that " There will always be a part of me that stays in love with you."  They have agreed to part but somehow will always be connected.
Bennett sings with such sincerity and conviction the song surely must have made a connection with his own personal life.
The musical arrangement is also by composer Mandel, a master of wonderful melodies and entrancing harmony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBEY0UcU7WE&list=RDDBEY0UcU7WE#t=9

"iLL wIND"--- GREAT HAROLD ARLEN TORCH SONG FROM THE 1934 COTTON CLUB REVUE

" Ill Wind "--Great Harold Arlen torch song from the 1934 Cotton Club Revue.

Harold Arlen and lyricist Ted Koehler wrote quite few numbers for various Cotton Club shows. Perhaps the most famous was Stormy Weather although there were also a number of nearly salacious numbers for the sophisticated and thrill-seeking night clubbers.
Society types gladly travelled to Harlem to partake of an exciting and often dangerous environment where blacks could enterain but were not welcome as patrons. Famous entertainers like Ethel Waters, Lene Horne and the Nicholas Brothers and bandleaders like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway also starred.

In the 197'0's, Paramount Pictures recreated that turbulent Prohibition era with a movie called The Cotton Club. It portrayed the gangster control of both nightclubs and black entertainers as well as the sophisticated production numbers in all Cotton Club shows.
In the film, Lonette McKee plumbs the emotional torment in the song while other film footage portrays the violence so common of those times. It was, however, a most exciting era captured in the film,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaShvVW1w5U

'

TORME/SHEARING RODGERD & HAMMERSTEIN--IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING- PURE MAGIC !

Torme/Shearing Rodgers 7 Hammerstein--It Might As Well Be Spring-Pure Magic !

This live concert brought together two sets of musical talents.  Singer Mel Torme, his pianistic soul mate George Shearing as well as the consummate melodist Richard Rodgers and   Oscar Hammerstein.at his poetical best.
Shearing starts with a classical British folk motif. Then Torme enters reverently with his perfect pitch, intonation and sensitivity. The music and word are one throughout the performance. Any other comments would be superfluous.
Please enjoy.

http://youtu.be/cwBuI07cy6g