So how many versions of this song (played at the Etihad Stadium before every home game) do you know...? » Supra - Blue Moon (Man City Version) Probably far less than you thought. Below are a good number I've collected and this is still the tip of the iceberg. There are still more out there. Before we begin though, one more Man City version - this to celebrate the FA Cup win [...]
It was December, 1994 and I was looking for a holiday story. I was working at KTRH Radio in Houston at the time and I had the idea of putting together a montage of artists who had performed "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" to celebrate the song's 50th anniversary. But in the end, I didn't think that would do the song justice, so I had the bright idea of calling up one of the song's composers, the incomparable Mel Torme'. I had interviewed him the year before when he played with the Houston Symphony and had his [...]
Mel Torme holds a special place in the hearts of Gen Xers because of his re-occurring appearance on Night Court and his classic guest stint on Seinfeld. In fact, Torme put in quite a bit of time ... Continue reading "A Modern Throwback: Mel Torme's Christmas Songs" >
The story of Blue Moon — its transition from a movie song that was rewritten several times to jazz song and then pop hit — was told in The Originals Vol. 40 , which included the first version, The Bad In Every Man, sung on film by Shirley Ross. This collection of 38 versions covers all manner of approaches. There are the early jazz interpretations, most of them with vocals (though Gene Krupa, Django Reinhardt and in 1944 the Cozy Cole Allstars do it instrumentally). Then it became something of a torchsong number in the hands of [...]
With the death of Charlie Louvin, one of the longest-running performers in music has passed on. With his brother Ira, he started performing in the 1940s as the Louvin Brothers. The country and gospel act was massively influential. Elvis Presley was a huge fan (the brothers were his mom's favourites). Ira, a racist drunk, died in a car crash in 1965; Charlie continued to record and perform for the next 45 years. Alas, the Louvin Brothers are often remembered only for the cover art of their 1960 album Satan Is Real (the story of which is HERE [...]
I couldn't resist using the title of this post this week. I knew it had to be a three-song post at week's end. Fortunately, there are plenty of great songs available. k d lang : Black Coffee [ purchase ] We've been hearing the name Peggy Lee a lot lately, and yes, Black Coffee was one of her signature tunes. It was also recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, so it certainly qualifies for our theme. K d lang did this wonderful version with the legendary Nashville [...]
Filed under: News , R.I.P. Canadian big band leader and trombonist Rob McConnell , according to the New York Times . The 75-year-old passed away from cancer on May 1. As a jazz artist, McConnell was an influential composer and arranger, choosing to continue with a big band style of music that was mostly popular between the '20s and '40s. Starting in the late '60s, when popular jazz artists such as Miles Davis , John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins were getting [...]
Photography by krmenxa Mel Tormé Earlier today I happened to stumble upon The Duke Ellington & Count Basie Songbooks by one of the 20th Century's greatest performers: Mister Mel Tormé. He may not have been much of a looker, or as Dorice Tepley put it he was actually pretty "fugly", but that voice! And the timing! Anyway, why I'm drooling about this is because I played this song again for the first time in maybe 20 years today and I still love everything about it. This is the [...]
Well, it is Christmas Eve now and we have come to the end of our week long salute to Christmas songs concurrently with this week's Throwback Thursday. And what better way to end than with some classic old-school Christmas songs, led by none other than the man himself......GOULET! Robert Goulet - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - From The Great Songs of Christmas Mel Torme - The Christmas Song - From The Great Songs of Christmas Have a Merry Christmas everybody from DBF, be safe out there. [...]
My girlfriend and I went to see An Education the other night; while the social mores of 1960's Great Britain were interesting to observe, overall, the film was kind of disappointing. Peter Sarsgaard was just kind of creepy, but the female lead – Carey Mulligan – was fantastic. If you ...
I saw An Education last night. A good watch with some great acting, if maybe a movie that the talk afterwards shifted a little too much with what was wrong with it. But that's beside the point. This movie is about the sixties. While it's a true story and a story worth telling, it exists to revel in the clothes, styles and hair of a time we choose to remember as steeped in sophistication, not matter how much that true story may say otherwise. One scene stuck out: glammed up [...]
Based on my Seinfeld scholarship and the citations below, I would say Mel crooooons sooooooo smoooooth. Beyond that, further research is needed. I can't do everything for you people, though I would agree to personally evaluate the Mel Tormé of coffee.
EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Tuesday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. Listen: "Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives" by Mel Torme from Mel Torme At the Movies View: Image search results for Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives - above image is from the [...]
This coming weekend one of the many famous Man City fans... No, the other one. Not him either... ...now you are just taking the piss. I mean the boxing one: Ricky Hatton (nickname: The Hitman) will be fighting Manny Pacquiao (nickname: Pacman) in Las Vegas . [...]
The Christmas Song (Jay Rodriguez and Rev Scott Remix) - Mel Torme [mp3] (itunes) Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt [mp3] (itunes) All That I Want - The Weepies [mp3] (itunes) Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow - Frank Sinatra [mp3] (itunes) Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Mason Jennings [mp3] (itunes) I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas - Gayla Peevey [mp3] (itunes) Oh Santa! - VeggieTales [mp3] (
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So it's really Christmasy today! Snowy and cold and cheery and there's only one song to play on a day when you don't want to think about the economy and the war and how horrible the world is sometimes. That song has to be Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Christmas Time Is Here." You might have heard it a time or three on A Charlie Brown Christmas . I grew up with that. It marked the beginning of the season. We waited desperately for that show to come on TV. Our parents watched the Sunday paper's TV guide to make sure [...]
The Get You Goin' Track Mel Tormé - Comin' Home Baby What's this? The Velvet Fog is really going to get us going this week? Surely you jest, Paul ... No, not at all. Despite his longstanding relegation to crooner status -- which isn't a bad thing, especially as it helped round out arguably two of the funniest minutes in television history -- there was a time when he kicked some ass, albeit somewhat [...]
Columbus, Ohio Mel Tormé - Comin' Home Baby
I don't usually like writing on this topic, because I always end up sounding like the very individuals I'm criticizing, but ... (deep breath) ... here goes. Writers are assh*les. Ah, that felt good. Now, I know what you're thinking: "But Paul, aren't you gainfully employed as one? Does not your business card read 'Staff Writer' as your title under your name?" Yes it does, and yes, I obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing-Intensive English from Marquette. And it was while sitting through the (perceived to be easy) workshops on different styles [...]
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