 Jazz-Pop Standards Shadows of Love 1933 M. Kaufman/M. Kippel I picked up this number from an old Bing Crosby recording. It combines a classic 1930s miserable, lost-love lyric with a fun, catchy tune. The Depression sure did cause folks to write some nutty songs. Pied Piper of Hamelin 1931 N. Gay/D. Carter This song came to me by way of Al Bowlly and Ray Noble. A couple of years ago, I bought a set of 6 Bowlly/Noble compilation LPs in great condition from an old vinyl record dealer acquaintance of mine. Al Bowlly deserves wider recognition as one of the seminal figures in vocal jazz. I had fun recording the rhythm track with the 1920s Lyon & Healy Washburn uke. For the leads, I used the Vega-Arthur Godfrey baritone plus the L&H. Lonesome Me 1933 T. Waller/C. Conrad/A. Razaf A late song by Fats Waller, just filled with pain and sorrow, evincing what the big man no doubt felt inside. I recorded this at the tail end of a bout with bronchitis, and, somehow, was able to control the huskiness in my lungs to come up with a not-too-bad vocal. Played on the Regal-Dobro resonator uke. All or Nothing at All 1930 J. Lawrence/A. Altman Recorded in 2004 at Shabby Road Studios, Brooklyn, NY, Roger Greenawalt, engineer. I recorded this tune with Roger at his Williamsburg studio. We had a grand time that weekend, eating, drinking, being merry, and playing music. Thanks, Rog! My Brooklyn accent comes through on this: "Awl or nothing at awl." Note the insane kazoo solo. Sweet Lorraine 1928 M. Parrish/C. Burwell I will only say that if Sweet Lorraine were ever to hear the disturbing scat solo on this cut, she wouldn't marry me--she'd call the cops. 1920s Lyon & Healy uke. I'm Still Without a Sweetheart (With Summer Coming On) 1932 F. Ahlert/R. Turk From Bing, again. Recorded with poppy seed-sized computer mic, hence the clipped sound and truncated dynamic range. When Sunny Gets Blue 1956 J. Segal/M. Fisher One of the first songs I remember hearing as a young'un. Nice chord changes, difficult to sing, a mid-century jazz/pop classic of the first order. I've Got to Pass Your House to Get to My House 1933 Lew Brown Another somewhat creepy 1930s lyric about being totally lost in love. Also picked up from Bing. Old Crosby stuff offers a treasure trove of not-well-known early pop/jazz. Ill Wind 1934 H. Arlen/T. Koehler The standard Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler tune, reflective of down times during the Depression. Recorded by me before I had decent recording equipment, it's a bit dynamically narrow. Drinking Again 1962 D. Tauber/J. Mercer This song proves that sad tunes were not the exclusive province of the Great Depression. The classic Saloon Song, recorded by Sinatra and Dinah Washington, among others. Sound effects courtesy of Sound Dogs. Born to Be Blue 1947 M. Tormé/B. Wells A fun song to play, loaded with cool chord changes. I picked this up from an Ella Fitzgerald recording. Did I say how much I love Mel Tormé and Ella Fitzgerald? Georgia Rose 1921 H. Rosenthal/A. Sullivan/J. Flynn With its dated "Mammy" reference, this song today might be considered politically incorrect, but during the depths of Jim Crow America, its empathic lyric was thought to be a bold challenge to the status quo of race relations. I picked this up from EZ Folk at a time a couple of years ago when that site's MC Richard Hefner began posting original recordings of songs written prior to 1923. Tony Bennett and Carmen McRae did it fine. Recorded with the Glyph Dias replica ukulele. Truckin' 1935 R. Bloom/T. Koehler The flipside of Depression-era depressives. This tune is counted among the many escapist songs of the time, whose purpose was to get people up and dancing and away from their everyday troubles and into the shops to spend their last pennies on sheet music and records. I picked this up from a Fats Waller recording. The cut was made on cassette tape directly into my old component tape deck, and was included in the first Ukulele Jukebox CD compiled by Griffis Hames, back in--when was it? 2001? 2002? I can't remember. Ancient history. Baltimore Oriole 1942 H. Carmichael/P.F. Webster Recorded in 2004 at Shabby Road Studios, Brooklyn, NY, Roger Greenawalt, engineer. Another tune recorded with Roger. Hoagy is one of the undisputed all-time greats, but did you know that lyricist Paul Francis Webster, who was responsible for penning some classic Standards such as "I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good," "Black Coffee," and "I'll Remember April," also wrote the lyrics to the "Spiderman" theme ("Spiderman, Spiderman, friendly neighborhood Spiderman")? I was pleased with this cut, even though the uke's a bit out of tune (I hate it when that happens). He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped 1947 Dizzy Gillespie This is a happy early Diz tune. The uke track was done with low-end recording equipment, but the vocal was done later with a better mic. Not the best sound quality overall, but a fun take nonetheless. The Younger Generation 1932 Noël Coward This is a quick take, one shot through, uke and vocal. Learned from an Al Bowlly recording. Hats off to the YG. When You Wish Upon a Star 1940 L. Harline/N. Washington Recorded in 2004, before I had decent home recording equipment. The sound is a little muffled, but I thought it was an okay take, performance-wise. I seem to remember playing it on the old Weymann soprano uke. This song was the famous Oscar-winning number recorded for Disney's "Pinocchio" by my favorite singing ukulele player, Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. |    |
