What is a “Songbook standard”?

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The following page, published on 17 March, was substantially revised and expanded on 21-22 March (latest revision, 2 July 2017):

• What do I mean by “Songbook standard”?

See also the relevant comment exchange between Robert Silvestri and myself at the bottom of the page.

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Songbook site index

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1890-1969 selected standards and hits pages
Galleries: performing artist and songwriter
Galleries: film
Songwriters to 1954
Songwriters, 1955-1975
Complete page index
Film Musicals and Revues: selected films and songs, 1929-47
Performing Artist features
Jazz Age
Swing Eras 1 and 2
about the site + selected notes
Friends
Acknowledgments

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• 1890-1899 selected hits and standards
• 1900-1909 selected standards and hits
• 1910-1919 selected standards, hits, and special features
• 1920-1929
• 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926 (1), 1926 (2), 1927, 1928, 1929
• 1930-1939
• 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, additional 1930s hits and standards
• 1940-1949
• 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• 1950–1954 selected standards and hits
• 1955-1959
• 1960s: selected performers
• 1960s: selected songs

Posts:

• Songbook

(above) header tab 5 generation browse demonstration: Page Index > Songbook site index > Songwriter > Songwriters to 1954 > Berlin, Irving > Berlin pages (11) — correction: The page Irving Berlin: selected songs of 1909 and 1910 is now included in the Berlin drop down index.

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While daisies nod hello

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It’s so restful in the country
It’s the right kind of diet
You really ought to try it

You lie and dream
Beside a stream
While daisies nod “Hello”

After adding several more recordings to the new page on the Alec Wilder song “It’s So Peaceful in the Country,” it became too large. So I split it up into two parts:

• It’s So Peaceful in the Country – part 1, recordings 1941-1960
• It’s So Peaceful in the Country – part 2, recordings after 1960

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Recordings included:

part 1, 1941-1960

• Mildred Bailey and the Delta Rhythm Boys – recorded on 24 June 1941; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 3953, b/w “Lover, Come Back to Me!” (m. Sigmund Romberg, w. Oscar Hammerstein II), B-side recorded by Mildred Bailey — The chorus precedes the verse in this version.*
  

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• Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra, vocal: Garry Stephens – recorded on 27 June 1941, and issued on the 78 rpm single OKeh 6291, c/w “What Word is Sweeter than Sweetheart”
• Harry James and his Orchestra, vocal: Dick Haymes — recorded on 30 June 1941; issued on Columbia 36246, as the B-side of “Yes Indeed!” (Oliver)
• Barbary Coast Orchestra, of Dartmouth College — label dated 7 December 1942
• Percy Faith and Mitch Miller — title track from the 1956 album Columbia Records CL 779
• Mundell Lowe — recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ on 20 February 1956; released on the 1956 LP Guitar Moods, Riverside Records RLP 12-208 (Mono)
• Patti Page — from The Patti Page Show, possibly Episode 1.2, broadcast on 23 June 1956
• June Christy – from her 1957 album Gone for the Day, Capitol T902 — with orchestra arranged and conducted by Pete Rugolo
• Dick Johnson Quartet — recorded in NYC on 30 October 1957; released on the 1957 album Most Likely…, Riverside Records RLP 12-253
• The Creed Taylor Orchestra — from the 1958 album Shock Music in Hi-Fi, ABC Paramount Records ABC-259 (Mono), ABCS-259 (Stereo)
• Tony Bennett with Ralph Sharon and his Orchestra — issued on 16 February 1959 on the 45 rpm single Columbia Records 4-41341, b/w “Being True to One Another”
• Nelson Riddle — originally released on the 1959 album The Joy of Living, (US) Capitol Records T 1148 (Mono), ST 1148 (Stereo)
• Joe Wilder — originally released on the 1959 album The Pretty Sound, (US) Columbia CL 1372 (Mono), CS 8173 (Stereo)
• The Frank Wess Quartet — recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on 9 May 1960; released on the 1960 self-titled album (US) Moodsville MVLP 8

• Tak Shindo — from the 1960 album Accent on Bamboo, (US) Capitol Records T-1433 (Mono), ST-1433 (Stereo)

.

City living is a pretty living
It’s so full of unexpected thrills
But there’s too much stone
Too much telephone
There’s too much of everything but trees and hills

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part 2, recordings after 1960

• Bob Brookmeyer Quartet — recorded in NYC on 29 June 1961; released on the 1961 album 7 x Wilder, Verve Records V-8413, V6-8413
• Betty Blake — from her 1961 LP Sings in a Tender Mood, Bethlehem Records BCP-6058

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• Charlie Byrd — from the 1966 album Byrdland, Columbia Records CL 2592 (Mono), CS 9392 (Stereo)
• Bobby Hackett with Vic Dickenson — from the 1970 album Live at the Roosevelt Grill, Chiaroscuro CR 105; album tracks recorded at the Roosevelt Grill in New York City, April-May 1970
• Marian McPartland — originally released on her 1974 album Plays the Music of Alec Wilder, Halcyon Records HAL 109; album recorded on 20 & 21 June 1973 at Columbia Studios in NYC
• Jackie Cain & Roy Kral — recorded live in September 1976 at Howard Rumsey’s Concerts by the Sea in Redondo Beach, California; released in 2007 on the album Echoes — album personnel: Jackie Cain – vocals, Roy Kral – piano, vocals, Brian Atkinson: vibes, John Mosher – bass, Gary Nash – drums
• Roland Hanna — from the 1980 LP Plays the Music of Alec Wilder, Inner City Records IC 1072
• Meredith D’Ambrosio – from her 1981 album Another Time, (US) Shiah Records SR-109, (France) Sunnyside Records SSC 1017 — full digital album: sunnyside.com
• Joe Derise — from the 1981 LP House of Flowers, Audiophile AP-153
• Eileen Farrell — from the 1990 album Sings Alec Wilder, Reference Recordings RR-36
• Jackie Cain & Roy Kral — released on the 1990 LP An Alec Wilder Collection, Audiophile Records ACD-257; album recorded 17-19 July 1990, according to AllMusic.com
• Rosemary Clooney — originally released on the 1996 CD album Dedicated to Nelson, Concord Jazz CCD-4685; album recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA, 27-30 September 1995
• Bill Charlap Trio — from the 1997 CD album All Through the Night, on Criss Cross Jazz Records — Bill Charlap – piano, Peter Washington – bass, Kenny Washington – drums

.

• John Sheridan’s Dream Band, featuring Rebecca Kilgore — from the 2005 album Easy as It Gets, Arbors Records 19309; album recorded at Nola Studios, New York, NY, 24-25 January 2005

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sources and other helpful links:

• WilderWorld – Podcast 110
• Alec Wilder in Spite of Himself: A Life of the Composer, by Desmond Stone, 1996 (preview)
  • “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” search results
• Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland by Paul de Barros (2012)
• Alec Wilder profile @ Songwriters Hall of Fame
• SecondHandSongs
• lyric
  • complete(?): Reading Lyrics, by Robert Gottlieb, Robert Kimball (2000), p. 394
  • incomplete: International Lyrics Playground, Lyric Wiki

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* In Mildred Bailey’s recording, the verse is placed after the four sections of the AABA chorus. Then, following the verse section, she repeats the fourth or final section of the chorus. If the lyric provided by the authors of Reading Lyrics, on p. 394 accurately represents what Alec Wilder wrote, then he wrote different lines to be sung by a “he” or a “she” vocalist, as the case may be, in the second half of each of the first two of the four sections of the chorus. Bailey sings the “she” part in the first section, but substitutes the “he” part in the second section. And who can blame her for opting not to sing the lines Wilder evidently expected a female to voice:

You read a book
Or try to cook
Like any good man’s wife

In Wilder’s world, that’s evidently what a lady did when she was relaxing in the country, as meanwhile her man was off in a meadow taking relaxation to another level:

You lie and dream
Beside a stream
While daisies nod “Hello”

Perhaps, to the songwriter’s way of thinking, it hadn’t seemed prudent to allow that a “she” might become quite so idle and carefree in the country. In any event, Bailey chose to sing the “he” option in the second section of the chorus, but the third line is sung as “Where daisies nod hello,” instead of “While daisies nod hello.” In the 1941 Charlie Spivak and Harry James recordings, respectively, the vocalist in each case sings the original “While daisies…”

Some of the more recent recordings featuring a female vocalist have (dutifully?) retained the “good man’s wife” lines.

There’s too much of everything but trees and hills

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Today I published a page on the song “It’s So Peaceful in the Country,” which was written, words and music, by Alec Wilder. The song was written for Mildred Bailey, and its copyright date is 2 June 1941.

Here’s link to the new page:

It’s So Peaceful in the Country

A link to the new page has been added to several indexes on the site, including the pages Songwriters to 1954, 1941 standards and hits, 1940-1949: selected standards and hits, and Wilder, Alec – six early 1940s songs, and an octet.

From Alec Wilder in Spite of Himself: A Life of the Composer, by Desmond Stone, 1996, p. 69 [link fixed]:

According to Wilder, It’s So Peaceful in the Country became a success almost in spite of itself: “That it was published and very nearly became a big hit came as a total surprise to me. For when I submitted it to the first, second and third publishers, they all wound up bewildered, saying the equivalent of ‘where’s the broad?’ You see, the countryside is the real love affair and the absence of the other kind nearly kept the song from being published.”

From Alec Wilder in Spite of Himself, p. 70:

Just as he had written Give Me Time for Mildred Bailey back in Eastman School days, Wilder said he also had her in mind when he wrote It’s So Peaceful in the Country. “Mildred Bailey, due to a singing engagement one summer,” he wrote, “was unable to get to her country place. So I, with no thought of more than giving a friend, [sic] a present, a kind of vicarious weekend out of town, wrote It’s So Peaceful in the Country.” There are various versions of how the song came to be. Loonis McGlohon says many people have said that Wilder wrote the song at their home: “I know one woman who claimed that, and Alec dumped a pitcher of water on her head. In fact, he wrote it on a beatup piano at the Algonquin Hotel.”

Among the more than 20 recordings* included in the new page are the June 1941 efforts by Mildred Bailey and the Delta Rhythm Boys, Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra (vocal: Garry Stephens), and Harry James and his Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes).

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* I added nine additional recordings to the new page on on 8-9 April, after publishing the page and this post. There were now 29 recordings included, and consequently slow loading had become an issue. So I split the original page into two parts:

• It’s So Peaceful in the Country – part 1, recordings 1941-1960
• It’s So Peaceful in the Country – part 2, recordings after 1960

When love is king

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Tonight (22 March) I published a page on the song “Spring, Spring, Spring,” with music by Gene de Paul and words by Johnny Mercer. It was copyrighted in 1953. The title of this post is the last line of the song as heard in the 1954 film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. However, that line is given incorrectly in every online transcription of the lyric that I’ve found as “When all is king.” I suppose Mercer could have been promoting pantheism in the lyric, but he isn’t. The correct line is “When love is king.”

Here is a link to the new page:

Spring, Spring, Spring

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Spring, Spring, Spring (m. Gene de Paul, w. Johnny Mercer) — copyright registration, 26 October 1953 and 7 July 1954; introduced in the 1954 film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

• lyric:
  • Seven Brides (1953) version – International Lyrics Playground*
  • Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire version: Cinema Gumbo
• film subtitles:
  • Subtitle-Index.org

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Recordings included in the new page:

• Production number in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) — performed by various cast members, including Howard Keel, Tommy Rall, Russ Tamblyn, Virginia Gibson, Barbara Ames, Betty Allan, etc.

• From the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers original soundtrack album, M-G-M Records E244 — released in August 1954 — The front cover indicates that the tracks on the 10″ LP were “[r]ecorded directly from the sound track of the M-G-M motion picture” — music: M-G-M Studio Orchestra, conducted by Adolph Deutsch
• Ruby Murray, Ray Burns, Diana Decker, Ronnie Harris and Ray Martin and his Orchestra — issued in 1955 on the 78 rpm single (UK) Columbia D.B. 3567, c/w “Goin’ Co’tin'” — Discogs.com has “Spring, Spring, Spring” as the A-side, while 45Worlds.com has the sides in the reverse order. “Co’tin'” is a colloquial version of “Courting.”
• Johnny Mercer with the Paul Smith Trio and The Notables — from the 1956 LP Sings Just for Fun, Jupiter Records JLP 1001
• Joanie Somers — from her 1963 album Sommers’ Seasons, Warner Bros. Records W 1504 (Mono), WS 1504 (Stereo) [All copies of stereo version covers that I’ve seen have the catalog number 1504 on the front, with no letters.]
• Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire — from the album A Couple of Song and Dance Men, recorded 15–17 July 1975, at the Music Centre, in Wembley, London, according to Wikipedia; Discogs.com and RateYourMusic.com indicate that the album was released in 1976, though Wikipedia says 1975.

• Original London Cast of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” — cast album, released in 1986 on (UK) First Night Records CAST 2 (vinyl), and (UK) First Night Records OCR CD8 (CD)
• Michael Feinstein — from his 1989 LP The M.G.M. Album, on Elektra Records
• Bonnie Langford with orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman — originally released on the 1994 CD album Music & Songs from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Pickwick PWKS 4209 (sources: 1, 2, 3)
• Bourneville Musical Theatre Company — production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, April 2008 — The company’s website indicates that it is “[b]ased in Cotteridge in Birmingham, close to the heart of Bournville…”
• Jalala – live performance, summer 2009 @ Borders, Columbus Circle, NYC — “Spring, Spring, Spring” was the first track on the group’s 2009 album That Old Mercer Magic
• Relevant Stage Theatre Company — from the November 2010 production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, CA — Darren Giglio (Gideon) and Kendall Lewis (Alice) lead off the number before being joined by other pairs.
  

• soulfunkproductions — published on 3 May 2017

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* The correct last line of the version of “Spring, Spring, Spring” heard in the 1954 movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and in the 1955 Ruby Murray et al. version, is “When love is king.” However, the line is given incorrectly in every online lyric site posting a transcription of the lyric that I’ve found, including International Lyrics Playground, though the movie’s subtitles provided by sites such as Subtitle-Index.org, Springfield! Springfield!, and other sites featuring a subtitle grabbing service, do include the correct line. The line may easily be found on such sites with a Find tool.

A YouTube video may be set by the owner of the channel posting it to provide closed captioning, but each of the copies of the 1954 film number that I’ve checked at YouTube either doesn’t have closed captioning, or does a poor job of transcribing the words of the song (case 1), (case 2).

The International Lyrics Playground transcriptions of the 1954 film version and the Crosby and Astaire version each contain other minor errors. A 28 March 2014 post at the site Cinema Gumbo, titled In praise of “Spring, Spring, Spring”, contains a better transcription of the Crosby and Astaire version, except for the inadvertent inclusion of a section of the lyric from the film version that is omitted in their version.

Johnny Mercer’s 1956 version doesn’t include the “When love is king” line, but features a section that I haven’t heard in any other version (see the new page).

Stirring to sing love’s magic music

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Today I published a page on the song “Some Other Spring.” The songs, with music by Irene Kitchings and words by Arthur Herzog, Jr., was registered for copyright in 1939. The first recording seems to have been that by Billie Holiday and her Orchestra, during a session on Wednesday, 5 July 1939. The song is primarily known and performed as a jazz standard. The new page is here:

Some Other Spring

lyric: Poetry Countdown, Billie Holiday Songs, International Lyrics Playground

recordings included in the page:

• Billie Holiday and her Orchestra — recorded on 5 July 1939; issued on the 78 rpm single Vocalion 5021 (1),(2),(3), c/w “Them There Eyes”
  • session info:
    • JazzDisco.org
    • J-DISC (Columbia University site)
    • Billie Holiday Discography — @www(dot)billieholiday.be
    • BillieHolidaySongs.com

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• Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra, vocal: Jean Eldridge — recorded in NYC on 12 September 1939 (1), (2); issued on the single Columbia 35298, c/w “Hallelujah!”
• Austin Powell Quintet — recorded on 26 February 1951; issued in April 1951 on the 45 rpm single Decca 9-48206, b/w “All This Can’t Be True” — and on the 78 rpm single Decca 48206
• Benny Carter Quintet with Joe Glover Orchestra — recorded at Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, 18 September 1952; originally released on the 10-inch 1954 Benny Carter album The Formidable Benny Carter, Norgran Records MGN-21; later included on the 1956 album Alone Together, Norgran Records MGN 1058, which seems to contain the eight tracks from the 1954 album plus four additional tracks, and is credited on the front cover to “Benny Carter and his strings with the Oscar Peterson Quartet”
• Jimmy Raney Quartet — recorded at Van Gelder Studios, New York, 28 May 1954; originally released on the 1954 10-inch LP Jimmy Raney Quartet, New Jazz NJLP 1101, which was released in the UK as The Quartet Plays — The four tracks on the 1954 EP were later included as the first four tracks on the LP album A, Prestige PRLP 7089, released in 1957, according to RateYourMusic.com (see link below). “A” album info: JazzDisco.org, RateYourMusic.com, Discogs.com.
• Art Tatum Trio — recorded in Los Angeles on 27 January 1956; released on the 1957 album Presenting…The Art Tatum Trio, (US) Verve Records MGV-8118

• Billie Holiday with Tony Scott’s Orchestra — recorded on 6 June 1956 at Fine Sound Studios in NYC; released on the 1956 album Lady Sings the Blues, (US) Clef MG C-721 (sources: JazzDisco.org, Discogs.com, Wikipedia) — personnel: Charlie Shavers – trumpet, Tony Scott – clarinet, arranger, Paul Quinichette – tenor sax, Wynton Kelly – piano, Kenny Burrell – guitar, Aaron Bell – bass, Lenny McBrowne – drums, Billie Holiday – vocals
  • session info:
    • JazzDisco.org
    • J-DISC (Columbia University site)
    • Billy Holiday Discography – @www(dot)billieholiday.be
    • BillieHolidaySongs.com

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• George Shearing Quintet — recorded live at the Crescendo Club, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, on 27 March 1958; released on the 1960 album On the Sunny Side of the Strip, Capitol Records ST1416
• Jimmy Rowles Septet — from the 1959 album Weather in a Jazz Vane, Andex A3007
• Anita O’Day — from her 1961 LP Trav’lin’ Light, Verve Records V-2157 (Mono), V6-2157 (Stereo)

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• Carmen McRae — from her 1962 album Sings Lover Man And Other Billie Holiday Classics, (US) Columbia CL 1730, which was released on the Philips label in the UK
• Karin Krog & Dexter Gordon — from the 1970 LP Some Other Spring, Blues and Ballads, (Norway) Sonet SLPS 1407, (Japan) Sonet UPS-2021-N
• Tommy Flanagan Trio — Medley: Some Other Spring / Easy Living — live, 13 July 1977 at the Montreux Jazz Festival; audio released on the 1977 album Montreux ’77, (US) Pablo 2308-202 (I haven’t identified the source of the video footage.) — Tommy Flanagan – piano, Keter Betts – bass, Bobby Durham – drums

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• Zoot Sims Quartet — from the album For Lady Day, on Pablo Records;album recorded in NYC on 10 & 11 April 1978
• Red Richards — from the 1985 CD album Lullaby in Rhythm, (Canada) Sackville Recordings CD 2-3044
• Gary Foster — from the 1991 CD album Make Your Own Fun, Concord Records CCD-4459

High on a hilltop, love is calling

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Tonight (Tuesday) I published a page on another jazz standard with a spring theme. The new page is here:

Suddenly It’s Spring

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Suddenly It’s Spring (m. Jimmy Van Heusen, w. Johnny Burke)

The song was registered for copyright on 7 December 1943. It was recorded by Ginger Rogers and Don Loper — according to IMDb, SecondHandSongs, and others — for the 1944 feature film Lady in the Dark, though it was cut from the film. A post on the song at The Ginger Rogers Resource says:

Miss Ginger Rogers recorded the song “Suddenly It’s Spring” for the movie Lady in the Dark. When the movie was released in 1944, the song had been left on the cutting room floor BUT the recording was put on a record…

However, the link provided there to a Rogers recording at archive.org is dead, and I’ve been unable to locate the recording elsewhere.

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A chronological list of recordings of the song included in the page:

• Hildegarde — recorded on 4 January 1944; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 23297, b/w “Leave Us Face It (We’re In Love)”
• Ginny Simms — recorded on 28 January 1944; issued on the single Columbia 36693, b/w “Irresistible You”
• Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band , vocal: Johnny Desmond — recorded on 19 February 1944; available on the album The Missing Chapters – Volume 1: American Patrol (2007)
• Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, vocal: Eugenie Baird — recorded on 28 February 1944; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 18596, b/w “Sure Thing” (Jerome Kern, Ira Gershwin)
• Jerry Cooper with orchestra directed by Wilbur Hatch — evidently a radio broadcast transcription — The provider says, “from June 1, 1944 Spotlight On Music” and “orchestra directed by Wilbur Hatch.”
• Frank Sinatra – I haven’t been able to date or locate this recording. My guess would be mid- to late 1940s. The audience applause at the beginning suggests that it’s from a live show, though that could be canned. Steve Albin’s extensive list of songs recorded by Sinatra doesn’t include “Suddenly It’s Spring.” The quality of the recording is low. Update: A comment below by 1jazzguy, dated 2018/03/18 at 8:34 am, says:

Sinatra’s version is from a 1945 radio *broadcast.
*From an unknown source, added to the AFRS rebroadcast.

.

• Al Cohn Quintet – recorded on 29 July 1954 at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ — Both of the following takes were released in 1970(?) on the LP Broadway/1954, Prestige Records PR 7819
• Stan Getz et al – recorded on 15 August 1955 at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, CA; originally issued on the 1955 album West Coast Jazz, Norgran Records MG N-1032; reissued in 1957 on Verve MGV 8028
• Chris Connor – from her 1956 LP He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, (US) Atlantic SD 1240, Atlantic 1240
• Phil Woods Septet — recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, on 15 June 1956; issued on the 1956 album Pairing Off, Prestige PRLP-7046
• Dave Pell Octet — from the 1956 LP Plays Burke and Van Heusen, Kapp Records KL 1034 (and KL-1034) — SecondHandSongs indicates that the album was recorded in September 1953, but I haven’t verified that date.

.

• June Christy — from her 1963 album The Intimate Miss Christy, Capitol Records T1953 (Mono), ST 1953 (Stereo)

• The Fabulous Five — from the 1966 album Lara’s Theme, Power Records D406 (Mono), DS 406 (Stereo)
• Joe Albany — from the 1972 album Proto-Bopper, released on Revelation Records in the US and Spotlite Records in the UK
• Zoot Sims Quartet— recorded on 26 May 1983 in New York City; from the 1983 LP Suddenly It’s Spring, Pablo Records 2310-898
• Fraser MacPherson Quartet — from the 1987 album Honey and Spice, Justin Time JUST-23-1

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• Kenny Drew Trio — from the album Recollections, released in 1989 in Japan on Alfa Jazz 29R2-5, and in Germany in 1990 on Timeless Records CDSJP 333
• Vic Lewis West Coast All Stars — from the 1993 CD album Shake Down the Stars – The Music of Jimmy Van Heusen, Candid CCD 79526
• Jack Brownlow Trio — from the 1999 album Suddenly It’s Bruno, (Canada) Jazz Focus ‎JFCD031

March Winds and April Showers

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March Winds and April Showers (Walter G. Samuels, Leonard Whitcup, Teddy Powell)

chorus lyric: adapted from a transcription posted by Auld_Carl_Hood, in the thread Poem about months of the year, at The AnswerBank*

March winds and April showers
Make way for sweet May flowers
And then comes June, the moon, and you

March winds and April showers
Romance will soon be ours
An outdoor paradise for two

With your lips to mine
In a thrill divine
I’ll be so inspired
That I’ll get you the Moon for a toy balloon

March winds and April showers
Make way for happy hours
And Maytime, June time, love time, and you

Victor Young and his Orchestra, vocal: Jimmie Ray — recorded on 7 February 1935; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 378, b/w “When Love Knocks at Your Heart” (m. Peter de Rose, w. Billy Hill)

.

Ruth Etting — recorded on 11 February 1935; issued on Columbia 3014D, as the B-side of “Things Might Have Been So Different” (m. J. Fred Coots, w. Sam M. Lewis)

.

Abe Lyman and his California Orchestra, vocal: Louis Rapp — recorded on 12 February 1935; issued on Brunswick 7389, b/w “I’m Misunderstood”

.

Before the rising sun, we fly

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Today I published a second page on the song “We’ve Only Just Begun,” featuring a couple of dozen recordings that were omitted from my original page. The original page, published on 23 June 2014, is here: We’ve Only Just Begun. The sequel is not a chronological extension of the first page. Instead, as I did with the first page, I’ve selected recordings from among those released since 1970.

Here’s a link to the new page: We’ve Only Just Begun — part 2

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We’ve Only Just Begun (m. Roger Nichols, w. Paul Williams)

• Songfacts.com
• 45cat — Freddie Allen March 1970 B-side
• Discogs — Carpenters LP “Close to You,” released 19 August 1970
• 45cat — Carpenters single, issued 21 August 1970
• Second Hand Songs

Wikipedia:

• Song
• Songwriters: Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyric)
• Carpenters

lyric (Carpenter’s version):

• LyricWiki, SongFacts, International Lyrics Playground

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Recordings included in the new page:

• Dionne Warwick — from the album Very Dionne, (US) Scepter SPS 587, released in December 1970
• Billy Eckstine — from his 1971 LP Feel the Warm, (UK) Stax 2362-019, (US) Enterprise ENS-1017
• Nora Aunor — from the 1971 album The Song of My Life, (Philippines) Alpha Records LPM-036

• The Don Tweedy Chorus and Orchestra — from their 1971 self-titled album on Ovation Records
• The Alan Tew Orchestra — from the 1971 album These I Like, (UK, US) CBS 64424
• The Moments — from the 1972 album Live at the Miss Black America Pageant, Stang Records ST-1015
• The Temprees — originally included on their 1972 LP Lovemen, We Produce Records XPS-1901
• Peter Nero — from his 1972 album Summer of ’42, (US) Columbia C-31105
• O’Donel Levy — originally released on his 1972 LP Breeding of Mind, Groove Merchant GM 507
• Jack Jones — from his 1973 album Together, (UK) RCA Victor SF 8342, (US) RCA Victor APL1-0139
• George Jackson — issued in November 1973 on the single MGM Records K-14680, b/w “You Can’t Run Away from Love”
• Warren “Donnell” Hickman and The San Francisco Inspirational Choir, featuring soloist: David Gardner — from the 1974 LP He Didn’t Have to Do It, Jewel Records LPS 0093
• Leslie Butler Plus 3 — from the 1975 album We’ve Only Just Begun, (Jamaica) Federal Records FRM 134
• Phil Woods / Michel Legrand and Orchestra — from the 1975 album Images, RCA Victor BGL1-1027
• Bobby Womack & Brotherhood, featuring a vocal duet with Peggy Young — from the 1976 album Home is Where the Heart Is, (US) Columbia PC 34384

• Bing Crosby with Pete Moore and his Orchestra — recorded on 29 October 1976 at Hollywood, CA, and included on the 1977 album Beautiful Memories, United Artists Records UAS 30116 — It was the penultimate Bing Crosby album completed before his death on 14 October 1977.
• Lynn Anderson —  from her the 1982 compilation album The Best Of Lynn Anderson – Memories And Desires, ERA Records NU 5230 — I believe this recording was previously unreleased.
• Salena Jones — from her 2001 album Those Eyes

recent piano solo

• Shen Vee — published on 3 September 2011
• calikokat110 — published on 2 June 2011
• BossElton — published on 7 April 2012
• Neil Archer — published on 14 April 2013

recent choir

• Elementary school children’s choir — Spring Concert, 2009; unidentified school and location, evidently in the Brownsville, TX area

• Ocean City High School Choir — Spring Concert, 2010
• Glad Community Choir — Glasgow, Scotland; published on 10 June 2017
  • Glad Community Choir website

time washes clean, love’s wounds unseen

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It’s been a while since I published a new page, almost ten months! I hadn’t planned to keep you waiting that long, but the path that one’s life will take is not always easy to foresee. Anyway, it’s been a long time. Hope you enjoy this one.

This is a post announcing the new page. Here’s a link to the page:

• Long Long Time

Long Long Time (Gary White) — first recorded by Linda Ronstadt and issued on the 1970 album Silk Purse

In an undated interview with David Bromberg conducted by the Huffington Post, promoting the release of Bromberg’s 2011 album Use Me, according to a transcription provided at DavidBromberg.net, the artist said:

Well, Linda [Ronstadt] and I have been friends for a very long time. I think she may give me more credit than I deserve. For instance, one night, we were together in The Village in New York, and she had just had a hit with the song “Different Drum” but nothing else seemed to catch. So, I brought her back to the apartment I was living in, into my friend Gary White’s room, and I called Paul Siebel and had him come up as well. Gary and Paul sang Linda songs all night. When she left, she shared a cab with Jerry Scheff who suggested she listen to The McGarrigle Sisters’ “Heart Like A Wheel,” but that song came much later. Her next recording was a collection of Gary White and Paul Siebel tunes*, and she had a hit with Gary White’s “Long, Long Time,” which was the hit that revived her career.

Recordings included in the page:

Linda Rondstadt recording and early television performances

• Linda Ronstadt — from her album Silk Purse, (US) Capitol Records ST-407, released in March 1970; also issued in June 1970 on the single Capitol 2846, b/w “Nobodys” (Gary White) — Although the title of the song is sometimes given as “Long, Long Time,” with a comma, the Silk Purse album track and the subsequent single were each titled “Long Long Time,” so I’m going with this spelling.

• Linda Ronstadt — live performance recorded for television series Playboy After Dark, Season 2, Episode 21, taped on 16 April 1970**; original broadcast date unknown
• Linda Ronstadt — from The Johnny Cash Show, Episode 2.4, airdate: 14 October 1970
• Linda Ronstadt with Bobby Darin (on acoustic guitar) — from the television special The Darin Invasion, taped in October 1970 but broadcast in October 1971, according to a page on the Linda Ronstadt Forum that features an extensive list of television appearances by Ronstadt in the 1970s
• Linda Ronstadt — from television series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Season 3, Episode 16; airdate: 10 January 1971
• Linda Ronstadt — live television studio performance for the series The Midnight Special, Season 1, Episode 1 (pilot episode); airdate: 19 August 1972

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selected recordings by other artists

• Claudine Longet — issued in October 1970 on the single Barnaby ZS7 2022, as the B-side of “Broomstick Cowboy” — The recording was also included on her 1971 album We’ve Only Just Begun, (US) Barnaby Z 30377
• Gene Ammons — from the 1970 album The Black Cat! (Prestige)
• Harry Belafonte and Eloise Laws (duet) — from the 1973 Harry Belafonte album Play Me, (US, Canada) RCA Victor APL1-0094
• Jody Miller — from her 1974 album House of the Rising Sun, (US, Canada) Epic ‎KE 32569
• Larry Santos — from his 1975 album Larry Santos, (US) Casablanca NBLP 7018; in October 1976 it was issued on the single Casablanca NB 869, b/w “You Are Everything I Need” (Santos)
• Lynn Anderson — from her 1976 album All the King’s Horses, (US) Columbia KC 34089

• Tracy Huang — from her 1977 LP Portrait, (Singapore)‎ EMI EMGS 5042
• Melanie Safka — from her self-released 1996 album Unchained Melanie
• Smiffenpoofs — from the 1999 CD album Twelve
• Babs — published on YouTube on 17 Jul 12012
• Bryce Hitchcock — published 7 March 2014

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* This is an inaccurate description of Silk Purse, which has among its ten tracks two songs written by Gary White and one by Paul Siebel. Perhaps other songs by these two were recorded during the sessions but not included on the album.

** I’ve used either tv.com or Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in identifying the season and episode, and (when available) both the taping date and broadcast date for each of the television show performances of the song by Linda Ronstadt included in the new page. However, a single page on the Linda Ronstadt Forum features an extensive list of 1970s television appearances by Ronstadt that provides more or less the same information.

summer break

Hi,

Greetings to all my visitors, new and old. The purpose of this message is to announce that I have decided to take a break from creating and posting new work on the site until at least mid-September. Will post an update should my plans change in the interim. During the break, I might allow the maintenance to slip a bit more than usual, so that visitors may find a few more deleted videos than normal on the site. Will try to keep it looking presentable. Also, I will continue to respond promptly to comments.

Hope you all enjoy the summer. Best wishes.

Regards, doc