How times flies — basketball season is back. The National Basketball Association began play yesterday, with college basketball to follow shortly. But, for the season opener (Oct. 19) which leads to this post, we have the Harlem Globetrotters, whose famous theme song is the Sweet G song which gets our ‘girl’s-names-starting-with-G-songs’ ball bouncing:
Next, let’s go with this contemporary take-off on a 1937 Count Basie/Jimmy Rushing hit:
Sensing a Geo-centric pattern here? This (from ALFIE, 1966) is the new girl of the bunch:
Last, but no less ‘Geo,’ we have this all-time standard sung by the composer as it should be sung (not that others haven’t done it equal justice in their own way):
NOTE: Sorry about eclipsing my usual limit of three clips per post, but all four songs rose to the level I was seeking in this ‘Geo-desy,’ and I couldn’t bring myself to drop one.
Great picks with Ella and Hoagy Carmichael. Sweet Georgia Brown is usually played as an instrumental and I imagine it’s very hard to sing well. Most people would think of Ray Charles but I like going back in time there.
Don, I think Ella sings Sweet Georgia Brown as well as it can be sung (if you’re into jazz/scat singing). Even as great a vocalist as Billie Holiday couldn’t have sung this one as well because it wasn’t her style. As for Ray Charles, I love his take on Georgia On My Mind, but I chose Hoagy’s version because I too like going back in time to the year it was composed and the way the composer sang it.
Muse you’re right about Ella being the best on this. I got interested and looked up various people singing Sweet Georgia Brown, Some of it was interesting, like Bing Crosby sang it many years ago in what sounded like a rag town band if I that’s what it was. I wasn’t sure.. Then there were other people singing it as some bit from a TV Variety Show like Nancy Sinatra. Nothing wrong there it’s a great song but there was nothing memorable either. The most interesting was a TV version by Jerry Lee Lewis. He let his piano carry most of the tune as he didn’t sing over it. No flies on himn. But who’ da thunk that one. Actually the next best to Ella that I found was by Pearl Bailey. Not sure where or when as it was a recording with a collage of pictures. But Ella was the best.
Contrary to what the above title may suggest, this post is not a narrative of two nabobs of European nobility in medieval times. Rather, it’s about two giants of jazz royalty in Big Band-era America: one whose birthday, and the other whose expiration day, occurred last week. I refer to Duke Ellington (born 4/29/1899) and Count Basie (died 4/26/1984).
If you’re of a certain age, no doubt you’ve heard of them, but unless you’re a pre-rock jazz buff, that’s probably the extent of it. Permit me, then, to introduce you to these musical titans of yesteryear, and to a sampling of their legacy. After all, it’s not every day that you get to meet a Duke and a Count.
I could get carried away with all there is to say about the former, but in the interest of not getting carried away, I will confine my remarks mainly to this quote:
Ellington has often credited his sidemen with the success of his band. But those who knew Duke and his music best — and this includes those very sidemen — will invariably tell you that what set Ellington’s apart is just one thing: the brilliant conductor-composer-arranger-pianist-bon vivant and leader of men, Duke Ellington himself. –George Simon (from his book, THE BIG BANDS)
Here are two of the Duke’s many compositions, the first from the 1930 film CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK, and the second from a European tour decades later:
Let us now turn to that other distinguished composer-pianist-band leader, Count Basie, whose talents weren’t as multifaceted as the Duke, but whose orchestra likewise outlasted the end of the Big Band era. Quoting George Simon one more time:
For several years [after] the days of the big bands, Basie didn’t do well, and he was forced to cut down his group to a sextet. But then he made a comeback and, aided greatly by support from Frank Sinatra, who helped him get lucrative bookings in Las Vegas and appeared with him in a series of successful concerts, the Basie band [again] rode high.
Let’s jump to a conclusion with this swinging rendition (especially the last seventy seconds) of Basie’s own composition and theme song:
Had quite the jazz collection myself in my misspent youth, Sr. Muse, because it was my favorite music to listen to when I was completely baked on hashish. Nowadays not so much, but with cannabis legal here in CA, who knows? I may rebuild it.
I have so many records in my collection that I’m beginning to think I overdid it, Ricardo, so my advice (if you “rebuild”) is Don’t get carried away, or when they carry you away, you’ll leave your heirs to decide the collection’s fate (which will probably be the trash bin).
I’m pretty sure everyone whether they realize it or not everyone is very familiar with the music these men created, even if they don’t realize where it comes from. That’s how ingrained in our culture it is.
I hope you’re right, Don. We all need to know where we came from, if for no other reason than to realize that everything is built on a foundation of what was there before us.
I’m certainly of ‘a certain age’ (meaning getting a bit long in the tooth) Mr M, and had certainly heard of these two musicians and some of their pieces. But I hadn’t realised just how talented they both were, so it was interesting to find out a little more about them here. Great choice of videos.
Thank you, Millie. I think you can tell how much Duke Ellington loved his craft by the title of his autobiography: MUSIC IS MY MISTRESS. Count Basie’s autobio, on the other hand, bore the title of one of his hit records:
Garfield Hug 8:27 am on October 18, 2017 Permalink |
Thanks for sharing the tunes😃
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mistermuse 8:33 am on October 18, 2017 Permalink |
Geo-literally my pleasure!
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arekhill1 3:43 pm on October 18, 2017 Permalink |
The Ray Charles version of “Georgia on My Mind” is the only one that counts, Sr.Muse.
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mistermuse 6:07 pm on October 18, 2017 Permalink |
Can’t argue with that, Ricardo (but then I wouldn’t argue with several other versions, including Hoagy’s).
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linnetmoss 6:04 am on October 19, 2017 Permalink |
I went to school in Georgia, so I appreciated these 🙂
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mistermuse 8:26 am on October 19, 2017 Permalink |
Linnet, in your honor, I offer another GEORGIA song (you probably went to another Georgia school, but I don’t know any other Georgia school songs). 🙂
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linnetmoss 6:14 am on October 20, 2017 Permalink
Darn, could not get the link to work, was it the fight song for University of Georgia? I went to two smaller schools in Macon, Wesleyan and Mercer U.
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mistermuse 7:49 am on October 20, 2017 Permalink
Linnet, sorry about the ‘missing’ link — it was the famous RAMBLIN’ WRECK FROM GEORGIA TECH. 🙂
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Don Frankel 8:04 am on October 19, 2017 Permalink |
Great picks with Ella and Hoagy Carmichael. Sweet Georgia Brown is usually played as an instrumental and I imagine it’s very hard to sing well. Most people would think of Ray Charles but I like going back in time there.
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mistermuse 8:45 am on October 19, 2017 Permalink |
Don, I think Ella sings Sweet Georgia Brown as well as it can be sung (if you’re into jazz/scat singing). Even as great a vocalist as Billie Holiday couldn’t have sung this one as well because it wasn’t her style. As for Ray Charles, I love his take on Georgia On My Mind, but I chose Hoagy’s version because I too like going back in time to the year it was composed and the way the composer sang it.
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Don Frankel 3:10 pm on October 19, 2017 Permalink |
Muse you’re right about Ella being the best on this. I got interested and looked up various people singing Sweet Georgia Brown, Some of it was interesting, like Bing Crosby sang it many years ago in what sounded like a rag town band if I that’s what it was. I wasn’t sure.. Then there were other people singing it as some bit from a TV Variety Show like Nancy Sinatra. Nothing wrong there it’s a great song but there was nothing memorable either. The most interesting was a TV version by Jerry Lee Lewis. He let his piano carry most of the tune as he didn’t sing over it. No flies on himn. But who’ da thunk that one. Actually the next best to Ella that I found was by Pearl Bailey. Not sure where or when as it was a recording with a collage of pictures. But Ella was the best.
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inesephoto 1:17 pm on October 20, 2017 Permalink |
Ah some of my favorite songs here 🙂 Have always loved Georgia On My Mind.
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moorezart 1:35 pm on November 30, 2017 Permalink |
Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
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mistermuse 10:50 pm on November 30, 2017 Permalink |
Thank you! The moore(zart), the merrier!
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