Anyone else like sing-alongs?...

[leashedForLife]

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I love group song - I've sung in church choirs from childhood, in glee club, in community theatre, at open-mike events, in women's barbershop [a'capella 4-part], & I've sung to my animals all my life.
My Arab-cross mare, purchased as an unbroken 3-YO, might never have been trained if I hadn't discovered she loved to be sung to, as she grazed - she'd come closer & closer, reassured by the fact that i wasn't leaping at her, but sitting quietly & making nice noises.

When i was a kid, my parents would invite friends over for socializing, & the end of the evening would often become an hour or so of sing-along from the American songbook - Broadway tunes, top-40 radio hits, folk songs & ballads. If it was summer, we'd be outside, sitting on the grass or in lawn chairs, with the voices rising around us along with the fireflies lifting from the grass, as dark came down. It was wonderful.

Nowadays, I'll sing while i wash pots n pans or run the vacuum, or while I walk down the street - but there's something about singing WITH other ppl that creates a whole 'nother level of magick, it's energizing feedback.

If y'all have any favorite songs to share, i'd love to learn them. I especially like torch songs, traditional folk music, 1920s to 1940s pop standards, & stage or screen numbers.

- terry

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[leashedForLife]

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this is a lovely song - it's from the Broadway musical 'Right This Way', which closed after just 15 performances.
The music is by Sammy Fain, with lyrics by Irving Kahal; it was published in 1938. The first four lines in the melody echo the theme of the last movement, in Gustav Mahler's 'Third Symphony'.
It can be pensive & sweet, jazzy, swing, or blues.

I'll be seeing U... in all the old familiar places
that this heart of mine embraces, all day thru -
In that small cafe', the park across the way...
the children's carousel, the chestnut trees, the wishing-well.

I'll be seeing U... in every lovely summer's day,
in everything that's bright & gay, I'll always think of U that way...
I'll find U in the morning sun, & when the night is blue -
I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing U...
_____________________________________


Linda Ronstadt's version is simple & clean; it includes the intro from the original score -

Jo Stafford's performance of this song can bring tears to yer eyes. Incredibly evocative.

pensive piano, no vocals -

arranged & piano rendition by Newell Oler; photos & video, all property of 65Seasons - filmed in Unterschwein-stiegschneise, Frankfurt, Germany, in different seasons.
Trichterfeldschneise = Funnel-field Path

for advanced singers, Sarah Vaughn does some incredible jazz versions. See her 1963 live performance.

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[leashedForLife]

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an hour-long concert of torch songs, with Linda Ronstadt singing, & a full orchestra backing her, directed by Nelson Riddle -

Her first costume is a skirt-suit, very Chanel in design but with silver soutache in a baroque design on the bodice of the jacket - she wears rhinestone barrettes in her hair, & WW-2 style makeup, with Betty-Boop bow-lips.
If only she wore seamed stockings, she'd be an early-'40s cabaret singer.

song titles -
00:42 "I've Got A Crush On You"
04:26 "What's New"
08:15 "Keeping Out Of Mischief, Now"
11:58 "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"
17:14 "Falling In Love Again"
20:53 "Someone To Watch Over Me"
26:12 Linda Ronstadt's personal message to OPB viewers

Linda, with three other singers:
26:52 "Hey Daddy"
29:38 "Mr. Sandman"
31:48 "Kalamazoo"
34:03 "Dream"
37:54 "Choo-Choo-Ch'Boogie"

Linda again:
40:38 "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You"
44:50 "Lover Man, Where Can You Be"
49:08 "Good-bye"

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[leashedForLife]

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just some marvelous fun -
SYMPHONY OF EMOTIONS by The Committee & Janis Joplin,
in a live performance on the Dick Cavett show, S1 / Ep3, July 18, 1969.

to watch it in high-def -

Each person in the chorus is assigned an emotion by the studio audience, & they produce sounds expressing that emotion as they are "conducted".

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[leashedForLife]

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for a complete change of pace, Steeleye Span - "the Saucy Sailor".
This is a remastered 1972 original recording.

this particular song is great fun, as a set piece.

[man, beguiling]
"Come, me own one, come, me fair one, come now unto me -
Could ya fancy a po-or sailor lad, oo' as just come from sea?"
[woman, sarcastic]
"U are ragged, love, an' yer durrty, luv, an' yer cloes smell much o' tar,
So begone, yew saucy sailor-lad, so begone, yew Ja-ack Tar!"
[man replies]
"If I am ragged love, an I'm durrty, luv, an my cloes smell much of tar,
I 'ave si-ilver in me pocket, luv, an' gold in great store."
[chorus]
"An' whe-en she heard him sa-ay so, on her bended knee she fell..."
[woman, high & sweet]
"I will ma-arry, my dear He-enry, for I love a sailor-lad so well!"
[sailor, broadly]
"Do ya think that I a-am foolish, luv, do ya think that I am mad,
for ta' ma-arry a poor country girl, where no fortune's to be had? -
I will cro-o-o-oss the briny o-o-ocean, I will whistle & sing,
An' as yew have refused the offer, luv, some other girl shall wear the ring! -
I am fro-olicsome, I am ea-ee-easy, good tempered, & free,
& I do-on't give a single pin, me boys, what the world thinks o' me!"

reprise, beguilingly -
"Come, me own one, come, me fair one, co-ome now unto me -
Could ya fancy a po-oor sailor lad, oo' as just come from sea?..."
[fades into distance, still singing...]

Songwriters:
Maddy Prior, Nigel Pegrum, Rick Kemp, Tim Hart.
Saucy Sailor lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
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[Mad Murphy]

I sing when Im alone . Im a diva with a duster a star in a cheap car. ! OH and I used to go to a Christmas event called mingle and jingle a pot luck dinner with carols .. Sadly the lady who organised it cant do it anymore.

 

[leashedForLife]

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this is a great song from the Depression -

Grab yer coat & get yer hat, leave yo' worries on the doorstep -
just di-rect yo' feet to the sunny side of the street.
Can't U hear the pitter-pat, & that happy tune, it's yo' step -
Life can be so sweet, on the sunny side of the street.

I used to walk in the shade, with those blues on parade -
now, I'm not afraid, this rover... crossed over.
If I never get a cent, I'll be rich as Rockefeller -
gold dust at my feet, on the sunny side of the street.

[in recordings of the era, the bridge was often whistled here as a reprise -
then it was sung, as the finale'. ]

music by Jimmy McHugh; lyrics by Dorothy Fields. pub'd 1930.
It became a national hit on the pop-chart after appearing in the score for the Broadway musical 'Lew Leslie's International Revue', & then became a jazz standard.
===================================


The "dust" in the song was literal - most roads outside of major cities weren't paved; in some towns, Main St might be paved, but side-streets were dirt, with some gravel flung on them, now & then.

"Sunny Side of the Street" became a solid entry in the American songbook - radio was everywhere, & pop-music was heard as well as orchestras, out the open windows of apartments or homes, in pubs & saloons. // My maternal grandparents owned the 1st radio in their neighborhood, so after dinner, Pop would put the headphones that radios came with, in those days, into a crystal punch-bowl as an amplifier, so everyone could hear.
Neighbors would bring folding chairs & wives brought snacks to share, & they'd all listen to dramas, mysteries, comedies, music, & the news, while the children would either wiggle or leave the room to play - outside, if the weather wasn't bucketing down rain, & it wasn't 20-below. // Women brought handwork - mending, crochet, knitting, joining pieces for a quilt. Men weren't expected to bring anything, unless they wanted to drink - anything but iced-tea or lemonade was too costly for the host to provide, so BYOB was the rule for booze.

Radio was relatively new in the '20s, so making music at home was still a common thing; prior to radio & recordings, homemade music was all they had, so the habit of teaching children or oneself to play an instrument hadn't yet withered. Even blue-collar folks could afford a used guitar, or might have an instrument they'd inherited, a harmonica, a concertina, a violin, a piano... so if the radio went on the fritz due to electrical storms, an impromptu ensemble would form & they'd sing, or if no-one had an instrument, they'd sing a'cappella.
The Great Crash of '29 affected virtually everyone - not only millionaires owned stock, anyone with an extra penny bought some, the milkman carried stock tips from house to house on his horse-drawn delivery rounds, so the Wall St big-shots got the headlines & leaped out windows, but the ordinary working stiff who'd invested hundreds of hard-earned dollars was proportionally just as devastated, if not more so. Hard times.

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[leashedForLife]

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another from the same era - "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" .
it's another Jimmy McHugh (music) / Dorothy Fields (lyrics) gem. It debuted in Jan-1928, sung by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in NYC; later that year, she sang it again, as part of the score in the highly successful
Blackbirds of 1928 - 518 performances on Broadway, then in 1929, the show moved to the Moulin Rouge, Paris, for another successful run.

I can never hear this without smiling, b/c i instantly recall the screwball comedy of the same name; dingbat Kate Hepburn drags bumbling paleontologist Cary Grant from her straitlaced aunt's dinner table, to try to lure a cranky leopard to them [sent as a gift, the cat's escaped] by singing - yes, the cat was trained to come to this tune. Of course, the song fails to bring the cat in, & much hilarity & confusion ensue.
I'll add the lyrics later.

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[leashedForLife]

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Lawrence Welk's orchestra is playing "That old black magic", & seeing his name reminds me - I read his biography years back, & his father, who'd taught him to play the accordion, worried that his son was crazy, wanting to make "a career" out of music.
Dad was a farmer; music was something U did in the evening, at home, when chores were done, or it was something U shared at a county square-dance, or a wedding, with the community coming together for fun & celebration. It wasn't a JOB.

Lawrence Welk made a dandy living from music for over 50-years. Sorry, Dad.

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[arealhuman]

Oh, I love a good singalong....

 

[leashedForLife]

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thanks for sharing, ARH -
I don't know that band. How would U categorize it, heavy-metal thrash?

I had some trouble making out the lyrics, & at one point, it looked as if the lead singer was being attacked by blackfly - he kept slapping his head. [Maybe his ears rang? ]

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[leashedForLife]

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Love Annette - pure pipes, & lots of '20s warble.
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[leashedForLife]

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This is amazing -
Sweet Emma plays stride-piano & sings, "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jelly-roll"

It's too bad they cut the recording just as that hot trumpet solo began. // UPDATE: found a better one, but they still cut the trumpeter off. Rats.

Sweet Emma began performing in 1923, wasn't recorded until 1961, & continued to perform into the '70s; a stroke in the mid-70s forced her to play one-handed, but as some observed, she could make more music with one hand than some musicians did with 2. // By '77, she was in a wheelchair, still playing. Helluva pianist, & a strong, rich voice.

Sweet Emma Barrett - Wikipedia

E.T.A.:
Just found Emma, playing 'Jelly Roll' in 1982 - one--handed, in her wheelchair.
"Jelly Roll" starts at 4-mins, if U want to skip ahead.

The German gentleman who shot the video did a wonderful job. Thanks, Konrad!

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[leashedForLife]

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another double-entendre song - U tell 'em, Ruth.

woo-ee! She lays it right out. . The song, BTW, is about a chair for sale - & some cheap dude comes by, & complains it's too expensive. She sends him off with a bug in his ear.

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[arealhuman]

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thanks for sharing, ARH -
I don't know that band. How would U categorize it, heavy-metal thrash?

I had some trouble making out the lyrics, & at one point, it looked as if the lead singer was being attacked by blackfly - he kept slapping his head. [Maybe his ears rang? ]

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It's certainly a unique video/track. There's lots of categories you could put this in! I just like this track, an acquired taste I know, and just realised it's actually 18 years old!!!

 

[leashedForLife]

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"Playmates" [come out & play with me] was a popular sing-along tune, but the melody was direct theft from a prior work - the composer sued, & settled out of court.



this is a swing version, but the period photos are marvelous - kids from the late-20s thru the early-30s, playing marbles, hopskotch, ring-toss onto staves, a hoop & a stick to drive it, Duck-duck-goose, & other schoolyard or street games.

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[leashedForLife]

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"Side by Side" was another Depression-era hit -

Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money,
Maybe we're ragged and funny,
But we'll travel along, singin' a song -
Side by side...

Don't know what's comin' tomorrow,
Maybe it's trouble and sorrow,
But we'll travel the road, sharin' our load -
Side by side...

Through all kinds of weather,
What if the sky should fall,
Just as long as we're together,
It doesn't matter at all -

When they've all had their quarrels and parted,
We'll be the same as we started -
Just travelin' along, singin' our song,
Side by side.

See that sun in the mornin',
Peekin' over the hill?
I'll bet you sure, it always has,
And it always will.

Well, that's how I feel about someone,
And somebody feels about me,
We're sure in love with each other -
And that's the way it's gonna be.

Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money
Maybe we're ragged & funny,
but we'll travel along, singin' a song,
Side by side…
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Words & music by by Harry M. Woods - he wrote a number of popular songs, & composed them on piano, despite being born with a fingerless left hand. "When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)", "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover", & "Try a Little Tenderness" are more of his 1920s standards.

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[leashedForLife]

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a 1915 marching tune from WW-1 London that found a firm place in the American songbook --

This was a popular sing-along at kids' summer camps, Boy Scout & 4-H picnics, & other public & private gatherings - it was also a popular tune for marching bands, brass ensembles, & other orchestras.

Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag
And smile, smile, smile...
while you've a lucifer to light your fag,
smile, boys, that's the style...


What's the use of worrying,
It never was worthwhile! - So,
pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,
And smile, smile, smile.

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
And smile, smile, smile.
Just pucker up and whistle [whistle tag]
[Whistle entire line]...

What's the use of worrying -
It never was worthwhile! So,
pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile....


Written by: Felix L. Powell, George Asaf [Welsh brothers]

For the authors, the song had a tragic after-effect.
Chapter and verse: The surprising story of the song 'Pack Up Your

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[leashedForLife]

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I caught a 1960s performance of magician & ventriloquist, Jay Marshall, on "Ed Sullivan" the other night -
I thought it was delightful. His humor is very gentle, more absurd than mean.

"If I had my way, dear"
I'd like to make your golden dreams come true, Dear
If I only had my way...
A paradise this world would seem to you, Dear
If I only had my way...

You'd never know a care, a pain, or sorrow
If I only had my way...
I'd fill your cup of happiness tomorrow
If I only had my way...

If I had my way, Dear, forever there'd be
A garden of roses for you and for me -
A thousand and one things, Dear, I would do
Just for you, just for you, just for you...

If I had my way, we would never grow old,
And sunshine I'd bring every day -
You would reign all alone, like a queen on a throne,
If I had my way...


Music by Rev Gary Davis, words by Lou Klein


a lovely piano solo, with lyrics shown as text -

Tom Smith's interpretation of this 1913 song, from the waning days of vaudeville.


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