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Last broadcast on Sun, 25 Oct 2009, 21:00 on BBC Radio 2.
Synopsis
Every Sunday Russell Davies presents the history of popular song, spotlighting its greatest exponents.
A new bumper box-set of Rosemary Clooney gives Russell Davies the opportunity to play a rare classic of Ms Clooney's and a typical novelty of the type that made her name. Then the 75th anniversary of a very famous recording by Cole Porter leads to a fine interpretation. The new Willie Nelson album is reviewed and this leads to an introduction of Russell's contribution to Radio 2's Great British Songbook. Russell concludes with an 80th birthday tribute to Dan Morgenstern.
This Week's Show
No singer he – and not the greatest shakes as a pianist either – but Cole Porter could certainly put over his songs with conviction and élan, couldn’t he. Regular listeners to The Song Show may recall the clever re-working of Porter’s two Victor recordings with added backing by Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks. They’re on the 2004 compilation album “Bluebird Presents ‘It’s De Lovely’ – The Authentic Cole Porter Collection” (cat. No: 82876 62180-2).
And while on the subject of the great Cole, we suspected that his “All Of You”, Mel Tormé’s version of which we heard this week, might have additional choruses, (so many of his ‘list’ songs do), so we consulted Robert Kimball’s “The Complete Lyrics” to find nothing but the one with which we’re familiar. What we do discover, though, is the long gestation period of some of Porter’s songs. The idea for ‘All Of You’ can be traced to May 8th 1944 for in Porter’s notebook headed “Titles and Ideas” is the following entry: “The eyes of you, The smile of you, The touch of you, The kiss of you.” Kimball also notes that “a lyric (in progress) dated August 15th 1953 shows the many changes Porter was making to perfect the song”: So a decade in the making. There’s a verse we rarely hear, too. Annie Ross and, of course, Don Ameche sang it but who else?
Robert Kimball’s “The Complete Lyrics Of Cole Porter” is published by Random Books. Our well-thumbed copy is a constant source of joy. We await Robert’s ‘Johnny Mercer’, due any day now.
Ivor Novello: One of the Three Great British Songwriters feaured by Russell Davies
Recommendations
“Rosemary Clooney: Ballads, Blue Songs, Hits and Jazz 1949-1958” is the title of a new 4-CD box from JSP which is full of good things – and some pop ephemera from Mitch Miller that Rosie was not proud of, too. Most of the latter are gathered together on the first CD under “Pop Songs, Hits & Classics” but even here, amongst “Where Will The Dimple Be” and “Shotgun Boogie” there are plenty of good ones like “Tenderly”. And as we progress through “Jazz & Vocal Stylings”, “Ballads & Blue Songs” to “Duets” we find track after track to admire, from her collaborations with Bing, Ellington, Sinatra, Dietrich and others as well as her great mid-50s ballad sides with Percy Faith, Paul Weston and Frank Comstock. It’s a great set, amounting to 106 tracks and in fine sound, too. The number is JSP 961.
AVID’s “Essential Collection – Cole Porter” on 2 CDs contains good versions of almost every famous Porter titles you can think of, some almost too obvious (Bing with The Andrews Sisters for ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ yet again) others inspired (‘Dinah Shore’s “Ev’rything I Love”, Perry Como’s “I Concentrate On You”). There are original cast recordings from stage and screen (Gertrude Lawrence in ‘Nymph Errant’ and ‘The Physician’, Howard Keel’s “Where Is The Life That Late I Led” from ‘Kiss Me Kate’, Gretchen Wyler in ‘Silk Stockings’, Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm in ‘High Society’), and one or two really vintage classics too, all beautifully re-mastered. Ask for AVC 985.
Tracklist
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Rosemary Clooney — Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me
Ballads, Blue Songs, Hits and Jazz 1949-1958
JSP, JSP961c -
Rosemary Clooney — Sailor Boys Have Talked To Me In English
Ballads, Blue Songs, Hits and Jazz 1949-1958
JSP, JSP961a -
Cole Porter — You’re The Top
The Essential Collection
Avid, AVC 985 -
Mel Tormé — All Of YouClassic Recordings From The ‘40s & ‘50s
Music Club, MCCD 198 -
Ella Fitzgerald — Shiny StockingsElla And Basie!
Verve, 539 059-2 -
Tony Pastor — Red Silk Stockings And Green Perfume
Mr Pastor Goes To Town 1937-1950
Living Era, CD AJA 5683 -
Willie Nelson & Diana Krall — If I Had You
Released This Last August
Blue Note, 67197 -
Bobby Short — And Her Mother Came Too
50 By Bobby Short!
Atlantic, 7 81715-2 -
Blossom Dearie — Not You Again
Tweedledum And Tweedledee
Mastermix, CHECD 00101 -
Sarah Moule — The Flowers And The Wine
A Lazy Kind Of Love
Red Ram Records, RAM 001 -
Fats Waller — Old Grand DadThe Complete Works Of Fats Waller
JSP, JSP952a -
Svend Asmussen — After You’ve Gone
Musical Miracle
Phontastic, PHONT CD 9306 -
Daryl Sherman — Music Makes Me
Daryl Sherman – Look What I Found
Arbors, ARCD 19154
Broadcast
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Sun 25 Oct 200921:00
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