(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 1910is now included in the Berlin drop down index.
The new page is the third in my series of 12/8 and 6/8 time songs. As is the case throughout the series, the specific recording of a song selected is either the original recording, when it happens to be in 12/8 or 6/8 time, or the first recording of the song in 12/8 or 6/8 time that I’ve identified. I haven’t yet decided whether to continue the series to part 4.
Those of you who’ve been following the series may note that I’ve changed the phrase “12/8 time songs” to “12/8 and 6/8 time songs” in the previously published pages. A couple of months after I published the first two pages, while reviewing them one day I found that quite a few of the recordings that I’d identified as being in 12/8 time now seemed to me to be in 6/8 time, and there were at least a couple that I was now uncertain about. After considering for awhile breaking up each of the three parts into two sections, one for 12/8 and one for 6/8, eventually I decided to just change all the titles.
Louis Armstrong All Stars — taped on 2 July 1968at Shepherds Bush Studios, London (BBC)
Louis Armstrong (vocal), Tyree Glenn (trombone), Joe Muranyi (clarinet), Marty Napoleon (piano), Buddy Catlett (bass), Danny Barcelona (drums)
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12/8 and 6/8 time were so ubiquitous in songs and recordings of the late 50s and early 60s that I’ve no intention of trying to compile a comprehensive list. Below is my present list, which certainly may be added to from time to time.
1956 – Blueberry Hill (Fats Domino version), In the Still of the Night, My Prayer (Platters version), One Night (Smiley Lewis), A Thousand Miles Away, The Way You Look Tonight (Jaguars version)
1958 – 16 Candles, Donna, Ebb Tide (Avalons version), I’m So Young, It’s All in the Game (Tommy Edwards version), It’s Only Make Believe, Maybe, One Summer Night, Since I Don’t Have You, Tears on My Pillow, To Know Him Is to Love Him
1960 – At Last (Etta James version), Get Well Soon, P.S. I Love You (Starlets version), White Christmas (Statues version), You Belong to Me (Santo & Johnny version)
1961 – Can’t Help Falling in Love, Come Home Soon, Daddy’s Home, House of the Rising Sun (Bob Dylan arrangement), I Love How You Love Me, A Moment Ago, My True Story, A Sunday Kind of Love (Mystics version), Till (Angels version), Tragedy (Fleetwoods version)
1962 – Bring It On Home to Me, Cry Baby Cry, Don’t Make Me Over, The End of the World, Surfer Girl (demo), You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
1963 – Anyone Who Had a Heart, Go Now, I’d Die, In My Room, Surfer Girl
which includes links to four additional recent pages. The index consists of links to Songbook pages focused on the original ZOOM series (1972-1978). Among them are a previously published page, three new ones published on 4 July, and a fourth that is republishing of a May 2020 post. The index also includes links to a couple of ZOOM-focused recent posts on the site.
Some of the songs featured in the ZOOM season 4 production numbers and shorter musical segments included in the new page are well-known pop songs, and I believe the rest have music by Newton Wayland, musical director and composer for the original series, 1971-1978. While I’ve struggled to find songwriter credits for the original songs included in the page, it’s likely that Wayland at least composed the music for them. However, some of the originals performed in the series were co-written by him and another songwriter, so I’m going to omit songwriter credits for songs where I’m uncertain for now.
Musical staging is by Billy Wilson. See the touching tribute article by his daughter Alexis Wilson at The AIDS Memorial, Facebook, published August 14, 2018.
Recordings of some of the songs featured in the new page are also found in the 1977 album ZOOM Tunes, Rounder Records 8005. Despite it’s 1977 release (1978, according to some sites) the “ZOOMers” listed on the back of the album are primarily cast members from season 4 (1974-75). The album also includes at least a couple of songs that were used in production numbers in season 5 (1976).
Blue Balloon (Newton Wayland, Christine Stark*) – with lyric transcription
Zoomba
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I Dig Rock and Roll Music (Paul Stookey, James Mason, and Dave Dixon) — performed by ZOOM season 4 cast members: David Sales, Tishy Flaherty, Carmen Hernandez, Cate Wadsworth, Andrae Neilsan, Harvey Reed, Tracey Dunlap, and Tommy Schultz
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* The back of the 1977 ZOOM Tunes album indicates that “[a]ll original tunes and arrangements” are by Newton Wayland, Musical Director of ZOOM. However, some of the original songs are “based on poems” by various children, probably ZOOM fans who sent their poems to the show. The words to “Blue Balloon” are based on a poem by Christine Stark, age 10, of Middle Village, NY. “City Child” is based on poems by three different children, ages 8-10.
ZOOMChat #1, 17 April 2020 — host Pablo Velez, Jr. (1999), with guests Jay Schertzer (1972-1973), Bernadette Yao (1972-73), Kenny Yates (2000, 2001), Frances Domond (2001), and Kaleigh Cronin (2001, 2002)
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The Dr. Joe Show — Dr. Joe Shrand podcast, with assistant Mark Stiles and guests
ZOOM was one my favorite TV shows in the early 1970s, and the cast of season 1 was a great team.They sang and danced as if they meant it. They played and laughed together, and sometimes shared each other’s sorrows and concerns in ZOOMraps.
I remember being heartbroken and in disbelief when I learned that all of the original seven weren’t to return for season two. How could you just break them up? My memory is that the album Playgrounds, featured in the “Always Friends” page, came out well into season 2 of the series, when even the three remaining originals who had carried over to the beginning of season 2 were gone.
Somehow I’d heard the song “Always Friends” back in 1973, though I’d never bought the album. Might have been too expensive. I don’t recall whether I heard it played on PBS to advertise the album or whether it was played on the radio. The song was beautiful, but to me it was also a deeply cutting reminder of the heartbreak of learning that the original seven were not coming back, apparently gone from my life, and perhaps from each others lives as well, forever, or so it seemed…
We really do belong a team And we had the simple dream That we wouldn’t have to break apart
I hadn’t heard the song for well over forty years before coming across it again a few years ago.
If you’re a fan of the early ZOOM series, and particularly of the inaugural 1972 season, then don’t miss the March 4th Dr. Joe Show episode featuring a reunion of four of the seven cast members of that first season. Tommy White joins Dr. Joe Shrand and his assistant Mark Stiles in the studio while they connect to two others by phone, Tracy Tannebring calling in from Plano, Texas and Kenny Pires calling from Hampton, Virginia.
With the quorum being moderated by Dr. Joe, each takes a turn telling their personal story of how they were chosen to be a member of the first ZOOM cast, and the four share variously funny and touching stories of their experiences while engaged in creating the weekly episodes of the show. However, to me the highlight of the show was a blessing given by Kenny starting at about the 25 minute point, which I’ve transcribed below.
You know what the most special thing is, from the show, is that we were kids…and we met…we were from all walks of life…all over the place, and to this day, however many…I don’t even wanna know what the years are, I’m not gonna mention that…but we are still friends, to this day…and we haven’t, you know, a lot of us haven’t talked, um, through those years or whatever, and we’ve met for the reunions, and some of us have been there and some of us haven’t, but it doesn’t matter, because we had a special thing, back in the day…and I love them all. And we love each other so much to where, you know, it doesn’t matter how long we haven’t been together, when we get together again it’s like we weren’t apart.
ZOOM, original cast — from season 1 (1972) of the educational TV show ZOOM, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston and aired on PBS; possibly from the 9 January 1972 series premiere
original season 1 (1972) cast members: Nina Lillie, Kenny Marshall Pires, Jon Reuning, Tracy Tannebring Schulman, Joe Shrand, Nancy Tates, Tommy White
Musical staging for these production numbers is by Billy Wilson. See the tribute article by his daughter Alexis Wilson at The AIDS Memorial, Facebook, published August 14, 2018, and the Obituary by Jennifer Dunning, published in the New York Times, August 16, 1994.
The Cat Came Back (Harry S. Miller) — published in 1893
(below) alternate version, evidently from a later season 1 (1972) episode, featuring “other ways of getting rid of the invincible cat” that had been sent in by Zoom viewers who had seen the above version
1960 – At Last (Etta James version), Get Well Soon, P.S. I Love You (Starlets version), White Christmas (Statues version), You Belong to Me (Santo & Johnny version)
1961 – Can’t Help Falling in Love, Come Home Soon, Daddy’s Home, I Love How You Love Me, A Moment Ago, My True Story, A Sunday Kind of Love (Mystics version), Till (Angels version), Tragedy (Fleetwoods version)
1962 – Bring It On Home to Me, Cry Baby Cry, Don’t Make Me Over, The End of the World, Surfer Girl, You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
1963 – Anyone Who Had a Heart, Go Now, I’d Die, In My Room
links: selected articles, forum threads, and videos on 12/8 time (bottom of page)
For items in the list in which a specific recording of a song is indicated, in each case this marks the first recording of the song in 12/8 or 6/8 time that I’ve identified. For all other songs in the list, the original recording is in 12/8 or 6/8 time time.
The Fleetwoods — issued in March 1961 on the single Dolton No. 40, b/w “Little Miss Sad One” – The title of this post, “Blown by wind, kissed by snow,” is how that line is sung in the 1958 recording of “Tragedy” by Thomas Wayne with The DeLons, and in various covers. In the 1961 Fleetwoods recording, the line is “Blown by wind, kissed by the snow.”
Happy holidays, folks! Wishing each of you all the best this holiday season. May your days be full of cheer and joyous celebration, or quiet contemplation, as is your wont.
The page is an extension of the previously published page “Earth Angel” to “Good Timin'”: doc’s pick of 12/8 and 6/8 time songs, 1954-1978. The new page is focused on a portion of the period covered in the parent page, and includes a recording of each featured song or recording in this portion. For items in the selected list in which a specific recording of a song is indicated, in each case this marks the first recording of the song in 12/8 or 6/8 time that I’ve identified. For all other songs in the list, the original recording is in 12/8 or 6/8 time.
songs and specific recordings included in the new page:
1956 – Blueberry Hill (Fats Domino version), In the Still of the Night, My Prayer (Platters version), One Night (Smiley Lewis), A Thousand Miles Away, The Way You Look Tonight (Jaguars version)
1958 – 16 Candles, Donna, Ebb Tide (Avalons version), I’m So Young, It’s All in the Game (Tommy Edwards version), It’s Only Make Believe, Since I Don’t Have You, Tears on My Pillow, To Know Him Is to Love Him
links: selected articles, forum threads, and videos on 12/8 time (bottom of page 2)
The plan is to eventually publish two more parts to cover the remaining years (1960-1978) of the original page, with each part to include about twenty recordings.
from popular post by Curtis Lindsay, pianist, composer: I have seen printed arrangements in 4/4, with The Animals’ guitar strumming notated as triplets; I’ve also seen it in 6/8 and, less often, in 12/8 — which is actually the most logical choice to my mind, given the phrase structure, harmonic rhythm, and typical groove family.
The following articles have been modified in the past month or so. In some cases, articles that were previously presented in two separate parts have been condensed to a single article with multiple pages. In other cases, long single page articles were split up into multiple page articles to improve loading times. In every case, links to all pages in the article are found at the bottom of each page.
The page The Gumm Sisters on film, 1929-30 and 1935 was also recently revised. Among the changes were corrections to my transcription of the song “Blue Butterfly” and inclusion of a couple of additional 1929 recordings of that song.
About the site
1890-1899 selected hits and standards
