More Cole Porter

Porter was both composer and lyricist. "When it comes to lyrics," wrote one critic, "Cold porter is so far ahead of the other boys in New York that there is just no race at all." In the following selection, we don't hear any lyrics. Instead we hear his bright and sassy, haunting and pretty melodies. These are some of the most enduring songs of all time and are at the very heart and soul of what an "American Popular Standard" is all about.
This medley is by Robert Bentley and his Orchestra and was recorded for a Readers Digest Musical Treasure Chest called "Magical Melodies." I don't know anything about Bentley or this collection, except that Readers Digest produced some of the finest sounding vinyl collections anywhere. I picked it up at a Goodwill Store for a dollar.
Here are the featured songs:
Night and Day
Easy to Love
I've Got You Under My Skin
What is this Thing Called Love?
I Get a Kick Out of You
Just One of Those Things

We'll have to do this in two parts.
Part 1:

Part 2:

It's been a while...

...but let's listen to a Cole Porter number. I just heard this at "40s on 4" and enjoyed it so I thought I'd post it here.

"Anything Goes" was  written in 1934 for the show by the same name and made  famous by Ethel Merman.

Friday with Frank #3a

A ring-a-ding-dinger to 

swing your way into the weekend.

 

Friday with Frank #3

Here is one of the best of the medleys Frank performed on his 1960s television specials. This one is from "Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing" and was aired by NBC on November 25, 1968.

The medley consists of parts of four songs.
First heard is the verse of Rodgers and Hart's "Glad to Be Unhappy" from the 1936 musical "On Your Toes."  Then we hear Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's "Here's That Rainy Day" from the 1953 Broadway show "Carnival in Flanders." Next up is "It Never Entered My Mind," another Rodgers and Hart classic. In his later years, Frank used a Nelson Riddle arrangement of the song, along with "The Gal That Got Away" in his concerts. You can find it on the "She Shot Me Down" album. Back to this medley, Frank next sings Allie Wrubel and Herb Magidson's "Gone With The Wind" from 1936, before reprising a bit of "Here's that Rainy Day" and driving away.

Well, since I mentioned it, we might as well take a listen to the "Gal That Got Away/It Never Entered My Mind" medley. "The Man That Got Away" was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy Garland's "A Star is Born." Frank changed the words a bit and recorded it originally in 1954. This performance of the medley is from Carnegie Hall in 1980.

 

And because he only sang a part of the verse from one of my favorite songs, let's hear the whole thing. Rodgers and Hart's "Glad to Be Unhappy," recorded in 1955 and arranged by Nelson Riddle for the "In the Wee Small Hours" album - widely recognized as being the first concept album ever recorded, where all the songs revolve around a certain theme, in this case, lost love.

Top 10 Songs on this day, 1938

According to Mr. Chuck Cecil's The Swinging Years

FDR was the White House, Hitler was Fuhrer of Germany, Spain was racked by civil war, and Japan was waging an undeclared war on China. "Our Town" opened on Broadway. Ella Fitzgerald was the girl singer for the Chick Webb Orchestra. Dick Tracy premiered on the radio.

10. "Whistle While You Work" by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Candians

 9. "The Dipsy Doodle" by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Edith Wright

 8. "Thanks for the Memory" by the Benny Goodman Orchestra with (the liltin') Martha Tilton.

 
 7. "True Confessions" by Mal Hallett and his Orchestra with Jerry Perkins

 6. "Goodnight Angel" by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra with Bob Allan

  5. "I Double Dare You" by  Russ Morgan and his Orchestra with Beatrice Parks

  4. "There's a Gold Mine in the Sky" by Bing Crosby with organist Eddie Dunstetter

  3. "You're a Sweetheart" by Tommy Dorsey and his Clambake 7 with Edith Wright

  2. "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" by the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra

And the number 1 song on this day, 1938 was

"Rosalie" by Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra

It was a fairly new Cole Porter tune made famous by the movie of the same name starring tap dancing queen Eleanor Powell and tenor Nelson Eddy. I couldn't find a version of Sammy Kaye's arrangement on line, but here is the song as song and danced in the film.

My "You and I"

Here's my copy  of Bing's "You and I." I didn't play it on my Brunswick, but on a little portable player I got at an antique store in South Carolina many years ago. It's sitting on my Brunswick.

 

The song was written by Meredith Willson and recorded by Glenn Miller. Willson went on to gain fame by, among other things, writing the words and music to the Broadway musical, "The Music Man." One of his tunes from that show, "Til There Was You," was recorded by The Beatles.

One source says that the song was the theme for the Maxwell House Coffee Hour for a while, but I haven't been able to find any recordings of that program on line to support it. And there's supposed to be a recording by (the liltin') Martha Tilton, but I haven't found that one either.

There have been at least two more recent songs with the same name, a duet my Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle and a very recent song by Lady GagGag.

Not "Me and You" or "You and Me," but...

..."You and I." By Bing. I just like this song. I have this 78, and the only way I can listen is on my wind-up Brunswick. If I get around to it, I'll record it, post in on YouTube, and replace this with mine. Until then...