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Last broadcast on Sun, 12 Jul 2009, 21:00 on BBC Radio 2.
Synopsis
Subjects appearing in this week's show include cheerful, upbeat songs in the minor mode. The subject of Winston Tharp gives us, among others The De Castro Sisters' hit Teach Me Tonight and an investigation into the sisters reveals their presence on Disney's Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.
A new release of Annette Hanshaw material reminds us of her regular sign-off That's All, in turn linking to Ethel Barrymore's famous That's All There Is; There Isn't Any More.
This Week's Show
Emails continue to pour in – far too many for us to comment on each on – but here’s a typical reaction to our recent ‘Eyes’ programme – from listener Freddie P:
“Dear Russell, Loved your show on the theme of eyes. I thought there was a hint in your selection of what turned out to have been the last song, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, of eyes, or weeping eyes, not being directly referred to in the song title, or even its words. The suggestion was planted in my mind, and possibly those of thousands of other listeners, that you were going to leave the greatest eyes song of all to the end. But, sadly, no! I refer, of course, to Misty, as in misty eyes… Perhaps too familiar to include? In which case, I readily defer to the wisdom of the decision, but three quarters of the way through ‘Smoke’ I found myself busily speculating on which of the myriad versions you may have gone for.”
A good one, too, Freddie! Many listeners had similar thoughts, though interestingly yours was the only offering to cite ‘Misty’ – everyone had a different song to ‘sell’! As to whose ‘Misty’ we might have chosen - well, whichever we’d have plumped for, we could be sure of a dozen correspondents saying ‘why didn’t you play ‘X’.
We really should keep a note of these Fats Waller compositions that Fats never himself recorded, for they’re mounting up. This week we spotlit another one – ‘The Panic Is On’, one which, in Marty Grosz’s interpretation, we can almost hear the authentic voice of Fats.
Recommended: Fats Waller
Recommendations
Looking for a good copy of Artie Shaw’s “Say It With A Kiss”, we found that by far the cleanest, brightest transfer on our shelves was not on a Shaw CD but a compilation album from that excellent little company who produce a small catalogue of vintage material – Past Perfect. This disc: “What Is This Thing Called Love” subtitled ‘Cool Love Songs Of The 30s and 40s’ contains a varied assortment of styles and performances, all of them American and all splendidly re-mastered. Opening with Ella’s poised reading of ‘Taking A Chance On Love’ from 1940, we meet such familiar figures as Nat King Cole, The Dorseys, Bing, Billie Holiday and Glenn Miller along with fine but lesser-known ones like Nan Wynn & Thelma Carpenter. In total, 22 tracks to enjoy on PPCD 78114.
An old friend of the Song Show is Marty Grosz. His new CD is out on the Arbors label – ‘Marty Grosz and The Hot Winds, The Classic Sessions’. It’s an album full of delights: some magnificently hot playing from reedmen Dan Block and Scott Robinson and from trombonist Panic Slim, humorous vocals and great guitar, a programme that mixes greats like ‘Just One Of Those Things’ ‘I Must Have That Man’ and ‘Under A Blanket Of Blue’ with rare gems not found elsewhere (another Fats Waller discovery – ‘Caught’ – for instance) all underpinned by sterling rhythm from drummer Rob Garcia and multi-bassman Vince Giordano. It’s a joy from start to finish, complemented by Marty’s funny notes. Number is: ARCD 19379.
Tracklist
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Bobby Darin — I Found A New BabyThe Defintive Pop Collection, Atlantic/Rhino, 8122 70809-2 -
Marty Grosz And The Hot Winds — The Panic Is On
Hot Winds: The Classic Sessions, Arbors, ARCD 19379 -
Fats Waller and His Rhythm — You’ve Been Taking Lessons In Love
Fats Waller Volume 3, JSP, JSP 946 -
The DeCastro Sisters — Teach Me Tonight
1955 British Hit Parade Part 1, Acrobat, ACTRCD 9008 -
James Baskett & Cast — Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
The Very Best Of Disney, Pickwick, DISCD 471 -
Annette Hanshaw — Telling It To The Daisies
My Inspiration Is You, Sounds Of Yester Year, DSOY779 -
Nat King Cole — That’s All There Is: There Isn’t Any MoreWhere Did Everyone Go / Looking Back, Capitol/Emi, 7243 4 98885 2 4 -
Jimmy Durante & Ethel Barrymore — There’s A Place In The Theatre For You
Club Durante, MCA Special Products, MCAD 20889 -
Matt Dennis — A Cottage For Sale
Play Melancholy Baby, BMG (Japan), BVCJ-37543 -
The Modernaires — Say It With A Slap
Complete Modernaires On Columbia Volume 2, Collectables, COL-CD-7470 -
Artie Shaw Orchestra With Helen Forrest, Vocal — Say It With A Kiss
What Is This Thing Called Love, Past Perfect, PPCD 78114 -
Matt Dennis — Melancholy Baby
Play Melancholy Baby, BMG (Japan), BVCJ-37543 -
Hugh Shannon — Everything Happens To Me
New York Cabaret Music, Atlantic, 7 81817-2 -
Doris Day — Everybody Loves My BabySecret Love, Bear Family, BCD 15746-5 EK
Broadcast
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Sun 12 Jul 200921:00
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