Classic Songs I Should Have Already Owned
November 7, 2006
I bought three songs the other day which should have owned.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Fats Waller
For anyone who doesn’t know, Fats Waller was, for a time, jazz piano. In fact, he was jazz piano when jazz was just “music”. In the 1930’s, when you said you liked music, everyone would know what you meant because jazz was what there was.
Think of a band from that era and you’ll think of boozed-up talented musicians having the time of their lives amid the whiskey and wiggles, all frisky and giggles.
And in the middle of that band, you’d find a piano player with a stogie and a hat, singing his heart out at an upright piano.
And that was Fats Waller.
And in the middle of him was a song called Ain’t Misbehavin’
I know for certain
the one I love.
I’m through with flirtin’
it’s you that I’m thinking of.
Ain’t misbehavin’ -
saving my love for you.
In one simple song you can hear Johnny Mercer’s lyrics and Little Richard’s phrasing, Errol Garner’s flowing stride piano style and King Oliver’s band and riding high above it all is that inimitable voice.
You can hear it here singing The Sheik Of Araby
I have my own tenuous connection with Fats Waller, based on coincidence of course, which you can read about here.
Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain And Tenille
I hear this and smile. It’s happy and silly and what’s wrong with that? I try not to pay attention to how many different instruments are used in the recording, but I guess that’s part of the enjoyment, because it’s so well produced.
It starts off with a keyboard and bass doing the same notes, then a harpsichord trill, then vocals, then drums, then synth, then finally backing vocals. And the bridge sounds like Carly Simon.
I will! I will! I will!
But then maybe all intelligent pop in 1975 sounded like Carly Simon - I don’t know.
But when I was looking up the spelling on her name for this post, I notice that Toni Tenille has a blog.
The Captain deosn’t though, which is a shame, because Captain’s Blog would be one of the best titles I can imagine.
Just A Gigolo – Louis Prima
How did I not own this song??!
The spirit! The backing vocals!
The brushes on the snare! The offbeat right hand on the piano! The walking bass!
Cause.
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!
The fucking horn breaks!
The sax is outstanding, but when the muted trumpet kicks in…
?
It’s.
…
I mean.
Well…
There’s.
I give up.
It’s a moment – let’s leave it at that.
And then they do that harmony riff with the sax back in but the trumpet keeps playing the same note and they bring it back to Louis Prima’s scat riff.
If I can get near that level of greatness with anything I do even once, then I’d die a happy man.
——
Related posts:
Recently Bought Singles
Free And Singles Part 1
Free And Singles Part 2
Free And Singles Part 3
Note to regular readers – I realise that you may have already read these posts, but newer readers may have missed the odd post on a similar theme, so I’m going to link to related stuff every now and then. As well as write new stuff, of course.
Note to new readers – Hello and thanks for stopping by. It’s great to have you and please come back. This site is updated every day, so you know, please keep reading.
6 comments
Or Fats’s ‘My very good friend the milkman says’:
…’that it would make his burden less
if we both had the same address,
and he suggests that you should marry me’
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, Erroll Garner.
I know this post wasn’t strictly about Erroll Garner. But still.
Cheers Katie – missing the point beautifully: have you heard the album of him playing Gershwin and Kern? His version of Strike Up The Band is amazing.
plinkyTHUNK!
I haven’t. I only ever seem to be able to find “best of” albums, which is a little frustrating – and jazz shops scare me ever since I went into Ray’s Jazz Shop in Covent Garden and asked if they had any Floyd Cramer, so I am unlikely ever to do any better. But my father, who was a wonderful piano player, modelled himself on Erroll Garner (and Ray Charles, and Floyd Cramer), and listening to him always makes me feel as if I am small and sitting in my room listening to my father noodling his way through a summer afternoon.
Hey Katie – I know Ray’s Jazz. You’ve also got Mole Jazz, if that’s still open, and both can be pretty intimidating. I kind of want to walk in there and ask for Charlie Parker’s Greatest Hits, just to see their reaction. I don’t know Floyd Cramer, but if your dad liked Errol Garner he probably also liked Art Tatum.
Amazon have the Gershwin and Kern album together with an album I don’t know called Musician, which you can get here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magician-Gershwin-Kern-Erroll-Garner/dp/B000003D3Z/sr=8-38/qid=1163108598/ref=sr_1_38/202-4349214-5270228?ie=UTF8&s=music
It’s kind of a shame, because the original album started with Strike Up The Band, which is a great opener, but on this version it’s track ten because the Magician album comes first on this version.
Funnily enough, for the guy who wrote Misty, that song is not at all in his style when you think of how it goes.
Look…. at me…
Wonderful story, though – thanks for sharing it and giving me a Humphrey Littleton moment.
“Well, Mrs. Newton, I can tell you that that album is available on Telarc records…”
I played that Louis Prima song on my show this wee! He is…well, was – pretty cool.
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.