Thanks to Sirius XM for expanding my understanding of music in the 50's and 60's - which I've always enjoyed - with their dedicated channels. Romantic 50's. Virtually nothing negative-refreshing. Also the 40"s channel reveals the upbeat creativity and fantastic cohesive bands. Rock had to come along as it was nigh impossible to maintain the caliber of the fabulous bands; uber expensive. So grab a couple of guitars and make music for kids.
For older guys
On a recent Good Will LP foraging trip, I came across a Perry Como album new still in wrap .
Now, I never cared about Perry as a kid growing up but I had had a very beloved aunt
who adored him, and in her honor bought the album .
Spun it today and ,through the tears for my aunt, I saw why she adored him.
What I took for a sap when I was a kid had changed into a master of what
he did , perfect phrasing and timing , he just made his art, and art it was, seem easy and I was the sap.
Now, I never cared about Perry as a kid growing up but I had had a very beloved aunt
who adored him, and in her honor bought the album .
Spun it today and ,through the tears for my aunt, I saw why she adored him.
What I took for a sap when I was a kid had changed into a master of what
he did , perfect phrasing and timing , he just made his art, and art it was, seem easy and I was the sap.
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I'll wait until his stuff come's out on MFSL. Just kidding!! When I was young I was fortunate to be offered free unwanted records. MANY were of artists that my friends would scoff at referring to them as "corny". I discovered much great music, arrangements, etc. just give them a chance and often you'll be pleasantly supprised. |
I also inherited a Johnny Mathis LP that is incredible! Unfortunately, it's pretty scratched up so I unpacked an old turntable and got a conical stylus for the Stanton 500 in it. It helps quite a bit. Now I can play Joni James (never heard of her before I went through the old stash. Very cool!) Louis Prima, Nat King Cole. Speaking of singers who could hit the true notes, Verve's Ella Fitzgerald collections are very good. |
Don't listen to many of the guys you mentioned for their mainstream music but I have Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters Christmas music. Two singers I do love are Nancy Wilson (the jazz singer) and Doris Day. I inherited one of Nancy's LP's from my mom "Just For Now." People from that era could sing (on key). None of that "let the machine adjust my off-key notes" for any of them. |
I’m imagining a duet with Perry Como and Janis Joplin, doing Summertime. It would be somewhat like the duet David Bowie and Bing Crosby did together. https://youtu.be/b_ReMi7tVWA |
Recently I've started washing some of my parents oldies. The word got out and now I'm inheriting my aunt's and uncles's collections faster than I can wash. My parent's copy of PERRY COMO SINGS HITS FROM BROADWAY SHOWS survived in good shape. I grew up with Como, Harry Belafonte, Teresa Brewer, et. playing on the old magnavox. My mother called Perry 'Dreamboat'. Now I like to collect various versions of my favorite songs. I had 6 of SUMMERTIME. I loved Sam Cooke's arrangement with the female soprano in the background. When I played the Como LP, there was SUMMERTIME with the soprano and Perry sounding more soulful than I could have imagined. It gives me another level of admiration for a musician known as a perfectionist. He just lets it flow. PS. When I saw the Second City skit on TV, I chuckled; but I was a little pissed off, too. How would my Mom have felt? |
I am in my mid 40's and last year inherited my Mom's record collection. She was a teen in the 60's and was a huge Beatles fan. I was fortunate enough to basically get everything they put out in the 60's. But also in her collection were some of my grandparents' vinyl. Big band, some of which I can remember listening to on their console system in the 70's. There is an awesome Glenn Miller box set that I enjoy. I am fortunate to enjoy most types of music, I definitely appreciate the talent and artistry in almost any genre. |
schubert, Thank You. *G* I 'hammer' at a lot of things, and have no reluctance at being the 'Devil's Advocate' with regard to some subjects. When it comes to 'the music', it's all tastes and preferences IMHO. And that's a Good Thing. If we all liked the same thing, it'd be all shades of grey and not a lot to discuss. My personal preferences would likely send some screaming towards the nearest porcelain porch to revisit lunch, but that's another matter...;) How you prefer to listen to what you like is, again, subject to preference. I'd hope that one is listening to the music vs, listening to and for the flaws in the reproduction of it. Self-defeating, IMHO....but then, I have my 'flaws', as my spouse will happily expound upon. ;) New stuff, old stuff...there's always the good, the bad, and the ugly. *L* Some things never change, they just...well, they're There. Just play it, any of it, and Enjoy. |
Yet again we discover that 'artistry' isn't limited nor constrained to the present, although 'classical' music from the past is generally worshiped... Como, Crosby, Martin, et all...they were the 'top of the pops' in their era. My parents loved them, and they can still be appreciated in that context. I always liked the Andrews sisters and their style, which later I admired again as a fan of the Roches. And what's old can be new, yet again...*S* It's not my 'daily fare', either....but I can listen and appreciate the more 'popular' selections of the era, putting myself into the context of 'when'. When men fought and died in foreign lands, listening to that...what they danced to, made love with, worked to, played to.... Later, they came home and put their lives together and created us. We have no right to sneer. But we can stop, think, and try to appreciate. And really, it's hard to do Astaire 'moves' to hiphop or EDM....;) |
In the mid-70’s I was playing in a Jump Blues/Swing band, and the singer was quite a character. He had a pompadour (in the 70’s?!), wore suits casually, had a 78 collection, and smoked reefer. You know, a "cat". He proposed we do Sinatra’s "That’s Life", and though I had my doubts, it was great. The lingering hippies in the Bay Area looked at us like we were from Mars. |
It also took me a lot of years to appreciate Perry (and Dino). On a recent (mostly country/cowboy) gig, out of nowhere the singer produced a medley of Hot Diggity Dog Diggity and That's Amore. It was a lot of fun. I also recall being at a rehearsal about 30 years ago and, during a down moment, running through an impromptu Catch A Falling Star with (God of hellfire) Arthur Brown on vocals. What a great tune! Minkwelder, that SCTV skit is an all-time favorite of mine. Gene Levy is brilliant. |
They called Perry "Mr. Relaxation". Here's the old SCTV gang having fun with that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5A7W-0zPY |
Another guy similar to Perry Como was Andy Williams, who made some music I really like. They both had songs by the best writers around at the time. Andy's "Can't Get Used To Loosing You" and "Moon River" (written by Henry Mancini, of course) are fantastic. Each also had his own variety TV show, watched by pretty much all families in the U.S. |
