small TALK (with NOTES)
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
I saw the above quote in (seriously) the comics section of this morning’s newspaper; hence, the idea of composing a post composed of songs composed by great composers of “small” songs”….but first (to help get you thinking small), a bit of small talk in the form of a few more “small” quotes:
“Life is too short to be small.’ –Benjamin Disraeli
“It’s the small things that annoy us: we can sit on a mountain, but not on a tack.” –Evan Esar
“In a small town, a rich man is respected, a great man suspected.” –George Bernard Shaw
And now for the (musical) notes, starting with a song sung by a big lady with a ‘small’ voice and a great feel for the lyrics:
Next, we have a seemingly ‘tipsy’ Jack Teagarden singing a song about a little man (no, not the little man too long in the White House) who wasn’t there in the wee small hours of the morning:
We leave you with a song about a (‘too-big-for-its-britches’?) world in need of a shrink:
Ashley 2:47 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
Wee-ked! đ
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mistermuse 3:44 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
Wee thank you!
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Rivergirl 2:56 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
How have I never heard of Mildred Bailey!
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mistermuse 3:48 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
You’re forgiven because she was a “little” before your time, Rg…..but I bet your parents heard of her, because she was “big” in the Swing era.
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Rivergirl 10:02 am on January 23, 2021 Permalink
I love swing. Such energy!
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smbabbitt 5:18 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
I am so old that “Small Fry” reminds me of “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane.” Thanks for the selections!
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mistermuse 7:14 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
As I recall, “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” was only nine days old, so she was more like an itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy fry. (which may remind you of another song). đ
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magickmermaid 5:38 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
I was not familiar with Mildred Bailey or Jack Teagarden. Really great tunes!
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mistermuse 7:27 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
Jack Teagarden (nicknamed “Big T”) has been dead for decades, but is still remembered by classic jazz fans as an all-time great on trombone, as well as for his blues-influenced vocals. He made some records with Louis Armstrong, who I’m sure you’re familiar with!
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Carmen 7:55 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
Americans are all singing a new tune this week, eh mistermuse? Good stuff! đ
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mistermuse 10:09 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
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SoundEagle đŚ ŕłáŚŕŽŕŽ 8:23 am on January 23, 2021 Permalink
Very nostalgic!
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calmkate 8:03 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
thanks for giving my morning a musical serenade!
Big things from small minds … or is that vice versa?
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mistermuse 10:18 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink |
….or, in the case of Trump & Sons, morally hazy things from crazy minds.
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calmkate 11:33 pm on January 22, 2021 Permalink
ah knew you’d rephrase it better đ
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Carmen 9:26 am on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
Oh and mistermuse – I accidently dropped you from my blog (I was trying to get rid of someone else!) so please re-subscribe! I donât want you to miss my once-yearly blog posts. :). (Well, maybe twice-yearly)
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mistermuse 10:23 am on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
Dumb….I mean DONE! Carmen, you know I’d never accuse you of a dumb mistake (although I wouldn’t put you above a subliminal one)! đ
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Henry Lewis 4:35 pm on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
Wow! Love Streisand’s heart-felt version of this old favorite.
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mistermuse 10:39 pm on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
As you probably know, Streisand sings it at a much slower tempo than other vocalists and bands had performed it since it was composed in 1930. For example:
.
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Elizabeth 5:09 pm on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
I went over and read a long article about Bailey. I was fascinated particularly by confusion over her ethnicity. Apparently some thought she was partly black, a problem because she had married a white man which would have been illegal. She had to constantly refute that conclusion. As for “Small World,” it haunts me to this day. My daughter and I were trapped in the Small World ride at DisneyWorld for about 15 minutes until they got it working again. All the while that danged song played over and over.
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mistermuse 11:17 pm on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
Sounds like you got more than you bargained for on that ride, Elizabeth.
As for Mildred Bailey, who was married to band leader Red Norvo and was the band’s vocalist, jazz authority George Simon wrote this about her:
“A warm, witty, and often charming extrovert, she provided the band with a musical excitement it had never known before.. Her great singing and showmanly finesse were responsible for the band’s commercial success. But Mildred, an extremely overweight woman, was not always easy to get along with. Tremendously talented, with a fantastic musical ear, she was nevertheless unhappily insecure, often asserting herself too emphatically, creating tensions which affected Red, one of the most pleasant, unselfish and unphony men I have ever known.”
But they made beautiful music together, which has long outlived them both.
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