17 August 2007

Sing Sing Sing




The problem with being in different generations is the music from one rarely passes completely to another, and the newer artists who come along aren't appreciated by those who didn't grow up with them. Someone truly wonderful is almost always lost along the way.

I've forced my children to listen to music from the '30s and '40s passed to me by my parents and my granddaughter has dragged me kicking and screaming to sometimes enjoying rap. There is no way they will appreciate all the artists I know simply because they have never heard of them outside of maybe one song on constant replay on some very oldies station such as KIXI. Nor will I ever like something containing previously forbidden four letter words no matter how socially relevant the other lyrics or the beat.

If you were born after 1980 when mentions by Harry Anderson on Night Court gave his career a new familiarity with youngsters born after the Beatles, let me introduce you to Mel Torme. He may have first gained fame as a WWII pretty boy singer mass produced to the world as the Velvet Fog. He became simply one of the best jazz singers ever, and to this day jazz afficianados adore him. Here is a small taste of a concert with George Shearing. Prowl around all the music on this You Tube link and your next stop may be everything available on Amazon.

Here is the wonderful Salon dot com obituary written for Mel Torme for later reading, but in the meantime, who do you really love that may end up forgotten unless you remind others they existed?

27 comments:

BrianInNYC said...

Anita O'Day

Corey said...

That's a tough call. I've learned a lot about the older artists through today's artists. The new artists like Michael Buble , Jamie Cullum etc...have made me aware of all the great artists in the past.

pogo said...

Hell, jamie, that would include just about every singer from the 50s and before other than Frank Sinatra. I'd say Perry Como fits that bill, although anyone born before 1960 may remember his tv show.

Durward Discussion said...

Pogo, I almost did Petty Como as an example. He is so good once you get past some of the bubblegum hits and just listen to that wonderful voice doing standards.

Travis Cody said...

Mel Torme had a truly beautiful instrument.

I don't have an answer to your question. There are lots of artists that I love who are not in the mainstream, and aren't getting what I think is their due exposure to a wider audience. Sometimes the commercial aspect sucks.

But the cool thing about blogging is that we can share the art and artists the we enjoy, and hopefully expose others to something they may not have given a thought to on their own.

Finian said...

Mel.............
I saw him in concert more than any other artist. He used to appear regularly at the summer pops in SF
and also at the Venetian room at the Fairmont.

The velvet fog...

Anonymous said...

Oooohhhh....KIXI! I've been trying to remember my favorite Oldies station for about three months now...why didn't I just ask you?

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Did it again...anon is Sheila

pogo said...

jamie, is c-list down?

Anonymous said...

I knew I'd find the answer over here....
apparently C-list is down....

and Jamie.... Mel Torme had the nicest voice....

I miss the Brat Pack....

pogo said...

renee, what message do you get when you try to go there?

Durward Discussion said...

We are FORBIDDEN to enter. Craig pleads not guilty. I can only assume that the White House has discovered our nefarious plots and banished us to outer darkness.

Durward Discussion said...

Travis,

Spread the joy. What are some of your favorite unknown artists? How can we hear them?

pogo said...

jamie, that's what I got. I was hoping it wasn't our IT guys.

Durward Discussion said...

Sheila,

Go here for the webcast of KIXI

Anonymous said...

SHeila here,

I have a voice crush on Andy Williams....wow....

Thanks Jamie, KIXI is now and forever more in my computer. YAYAY!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh course, Perry Como's "It's Impossible" can always squeese a tear from me too.

Sheila

Durward Discussion said...

For those still cast into outer darkness, there is is a great WaPo article Gonzo

Anonymous said...

Yikes! I thought I broke crawfordslist! Glad to find out I'm not the only one FORBIDDEN access to the magic page.

Hi, guys!

Durward Discussion said...

harbor,

I can't make that chat link work so I'm going to see if anyone is over on the You Tube link

Dexter said...

I took my wife to see Mel Torme at the fabulously restored Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne. I was first to order tickets and we had front row center...first and only time I ever had that opportunity.
In commemoration of Kerouac's "On the Road"'s 50 anniversary, I am re-reading it for about the fifth time. I just read the passage where Jack and Neal (Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty) see George Shearing live in 1949.
Shearing played every Christmas season in Chicago...I knew all about this from friends but I missed it...never saw those shows...

Dexter said...

Jamie, Julius La Rosa was a great singer in addition to being remembered for the on-air firing by Arthur Godfrey.
He has a nice website at juliuslarosa.com

Durward Discussion said...

I was able to see Mel Torme live only once, but it was the perfect venue: The Lounge at the Sands in Vegas. Small room, intimate cocktail tables, Mel Torme on a stool with his guitar and a microphone. One of the best evenings of entertainment I can remember.

Durward Discussion said...

All this about past performers made me think of the one whose career was ruined by scandal. May not have been a nice man, but boy could he sing. Eddied Fisher

Anon-Paranoid said...

jamie...
I just got a comment through, it should show up at the bottom if you click on comments.

I ran into the trouble yesterday afternoon at Craig's.

Perry Como and the Kraft Music Hour. That was one of my grandmothers favorite shows. Along with Hit Parade and many other musical themed shows.

Lets not forget Welk, Sullivan or Mitch Miller either.

God Bless.

Anonymous said...

I heard the last lines of an old waltz song sung by Perry Como: "Now and forever more I'll be yours." Does anyone know the name of it?

Durward Discussion said...

Anonymous,

You need to give me a way to reach you.

It could be Forever and Ever If it isn't, you could check out the Perry Como Song List.