Yes, music lovers, it’s time for another birthday salute to a great songwriter from the Stardust Age of popular music. Actually, two such greats were born this day (in 1900 & 1894), but I already dusted off the star of the youngest of them (Mitchell Parish) a year ago.
The other is Jimmy McHugh — if you’ve never heard of him, Don’t Blame Me ….and don’t blame his collaborator, Dorothy Fields, who wrote lyrics to the 1933 hit song of that title, as well as I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, I’m In The Mood For Love, and many others.
Rather than detail McHugh’s songwriting career in this post, I’m going to cut right to the Happy Times (another (McHugh/Fields composition) and invite you to join me in enjoying the music, beginning with vocal (Mills Bros.) and instrumental (tenor sax legend Coleman Hawkins) versions of Don’t Blame Me:
The last clip is the all-time standard I Can’t Believe You’re In Love With Me (written by McHugh in 1927 before his collaboration with Dorothy Fields), vocal by Billie Holiday. It doesn’t get any better than this:
It’s great being introduced to all these oldies. I’ve heard of them, but never heard them (that I know of).
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Great stuff Muse. Another guy I don’t think I ever heard of. I know his music but I didn’t know it was his.
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Oh, that’s wonderful. Thanks.
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Thanks, guys (and gal)….and btw, I’ve switched to a different Billie Holiday clip of the same recording because the first one gave the wrong recording date (1933). It was actually recorded Jan 1938.
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