A while back, one of our Anatomy of a Song posts featured the Lenny Welch classic, "Since I Fell For You." It also mentioned that the song had been written by Buddy Johnson, and was first performed by his band with a vocal by his sister Ella. I thought we should dig a little deeper … Continue reading Buddy And Ella Johnson – The Rest Of The Story
Category: Music
Cornelius Harp Led The Marcels
I was sorry to read that Cornelius 'Nini' Harp, the lead singer of the original Marcels, died recently in suburban Pittsburgh. Harp's age wasn't given in obituaries, but he would have been in his seventies when he died, apparently of natural causes. Although his name might not be a familiar one to some music fans, … Continue reading Cornelius Harp Led The Marcels
Fantastic Foursome – But With A Twist
It's been about a month since our last Fantastic Foursome -- you know, the special feature that gives you the chance to vote for your favorite from among four versions of a song? That particular post featured the song "Moonglow" and also mentioned how I'd always been fascinated by the way it's often partnered with … Continue reading Fantastic Foursome – But With A Twist
Did Gene Pitney Sing For Los Bravos?
In 1966, a lot of music fans thought that "Black Is Black" -- a huge hit attributed to a group named Los Bravos -- was actually recorded by pop star Gene Pitney in an attempt to get around record company restrictions. The story is still bouncing around almost a half-century later, but even though lead … Continue reading Did Gene Pitney Sing For Los Bravos?
The Bookended Career Of Joe Venuti
One of the legends of jazz, a violinist who pioneered improvisational play, Giuseppe 'Joe' Venuti had a career that lasted more than a half-century. In the 1920s and early 1930s he teamed up with his buddy, the equally talented guitarist Eddie Lang, to dazzle jazz fans of that era, and in the decade before his … Continue reading The Bookended Career Of Joe Venuti
Country Catalyst – Singing To The Walls
I always enjoy our 'special feature' posts -- you know, like Anatomy Of A Song and Fantastic Foursome -- because they're a change of pace from our usual stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with our regular posts, but I think it's good to have a breath of fresh air once in a while. With … Continue reading Country Catalyst – Singing To The Walls
Digging Deeper Into Victor Young
I thought maybe it was time we dug a little deeper into legendary composer Victor Young, whose timeless music has already been featured in a couple of our Fantastic Foursome posts. In October of last year we spotlighted "When I Fall In Love" and in January of this year it was "Stella By Starlight." Both … Continue reading Digging Deeper Into Victor Young
The Subtle Style Of Chris Connor
A lot of different words are used by music critics when describing a performer, but while gathering info for this piece I was a little surprised to see 'subtle' applied to the singing style of jazz vocalist Chris Conner. On the other hand, it does seem to fit the talented singer, who died in 2009 … Continue reading The Subtle Style Of Chris Connor
Memorial Day Tickles Nostalgia Bone
I was thinking that we often talk about how something tickles our funnybone, so maybe it's acceptable to say that Memorial Day tickles my nostalgia bone. The reason for that is that even though I know it's a holiday with a traditional meaning, it always makes me think of the start of Summer picnic weather, … Continue reading Memorial Day Tickles Nostalgia Bone
Anatomy Of A Song – The Sound Of Pain And Suffering
One of my favorite movies has been on TV a lot lately, and it's the basis for today's Anatomy Of A Song feature. The film -- O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- starred George Clooney and was broadly based on Homer's Odyssey (in fact, Clooney's character was named Everett Ulysses McGill) but took place in … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Song – The Sound Of Pain And Suffering
Geezer Music Club 