The 20 Greatest American Standards- 2018

Sonny Stitt

It's been 8 years since I published my "20 Greatest American Standards Ever Written" blog and its still one of my popular blogs for visitors.  We all have had life experiences over the past 8 years and I thought it would be fun to revisit the list and make some adjustments that might be appropriate at this time.  In order to qualify for the list, the song must be over 50 years old.  The list represents the very best songs from the "Great American Songbook".  In order to make the list they had to contain both the best music and lyrics.  The oldest song to make the list is the Gershwin tune, "Someone To Watch Over me".  Think about this.... this song was published 92 years ago and it's still being played today to the delight of all ages.  Now that is the sign of a super, great American standard!

Some other interesting observations about the list:

There is one pair of songwriters that has 3 songs on the list:
           Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Several other songwriters who have two songs on the list:

           Cole Porter
           Jimmy Van Heusen
           Johnny Mandel
           George and Ira Gershwin
           Hoagy Carmichael
           Johnny Mercer
           Johnny Burke

The Year 1939 was a terrific year for great songs:,

           4 songs written in 1939 made the list.

The six-year period from 1936 to 1941 was the golden area for great songs;  12 out of the 20 songs on the list were written during this period.




"Someone To Watch Over Me"                    George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin                   1926

"Night and Day"                                            Cole Porter                                                          1932            

"The Very Thought of You"                           Ray Noble                                                           1934

"The Way You Look Tonight"                       Dorothy Fields & Jerome Kern                        1936

" I Got You Under My Skin"                         Cole Porter                                                          1936

 "Where Or When"                                        Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart                         1937

" They Can't Take That Away From Me"   George and Ira Gershwin                                   1937      

"The Nearness of You"                                   Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington            1937

"My Funny Valentine"                                    Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart                     1939

"What's New"                                                 Bob Haggart & Johnny Burke                          1939

"Over The Rainbow"                                      Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg                          1939

"These Foolish Things"                                   Eric Maschwitz & Jack Strachey                     1939

"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"         Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart                    1940

"You've Changed"                                           Bill Carey & Carl Fischer                                 1941

"Skylark"                                                         Johnny Mercer & Hoagy Carmichael              1941

 "My One and Only Love"                               Guy Wood & Robert Mellin                             1952

"Here's That Rainy Day"                                 Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke              1953

"All My Tomorrows"                                       Jimmy Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn                1959

"Emily"                                                            Johnny Mandel & Johnny Mercer                     1964

"The Shadow of Your Smile"                          Johnny Mandel & Paul Webster                       1965 

CD Review: Joan Ellison- "Retrophonic Gershwin"

This will be my last review of the year and I wanted to thank all my fellow Jazz lovers for your support during the past year.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!  The CD I have reviewed below is perfect for reflecting back on past years.

Just found a great new CD for anyone who loves Broadway and the Gershwins, and who doesn't?  The lead artist is singer Joan Ellison who Michael Feinstein called " A rare combination of artist, archivist, and arranger.  This album also features singer Mark Flanders and duo-pianists Jason Aquila and Jodie Ricci.  This talented group of musicians has created some authentic and unique arrangements based on original Gershwin recordings of the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.  In order to make the sound historically correct, the CD was recorded on a RCA-44 reproduction microphone and a pair of 9-foot Steinways at Oberlin Conservatory's Clonick Hall and then mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning audio engineer Robert Friedrich of Five/Four Productions.

Joan Ellison has been praised for her vocal skills and her crystal-clear voice.  All well-deserved compliments as you will hear in the YouTube I have attached below.  Joan has an excellent musical resume including Symphonic appearances in  "Get Happy! Judy Garland In Hollywood" with the Wheaton Symphony,  "Songwriting Giants of Broadway" with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and "The music of Richard Rodgers" with the Erie Philharmonic.

Mark Flanders has had a remarkable career which includes tap-dancing in a production of  "The Boys From Syracuse" under choreographer Donald Saddler at the Ohio Theater in Cleveland, Ohio, the same stage on which Fred Astaire  and Adele Astaire performed, "Lady Be Good!" in 1925.  Mark has also played numerous roles in musical theatre including "A Little Night Music", Juan Peron in "Evita", Joey in "Pal Joey" and Dr. Carrasco in "Man of La Mancha".

Pianist Jason Aquila holds a master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano and Chamber Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music.  He was recently appointed Opera Coach at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and was the assistant music director for Baldwin Wallace's production of La Boheme with conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos.

Pianist Jodie Ricci's experience includes music direction at Cain Park for "Sweeney Todd", "Harold and Maude","Oliver" and "Kiss Me Kate".  Her teaching experience includes instruction in piano and music theory at Baldwin Wallace.  Jodie is currently a member of the performing arts faculty at Hawken School in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

           Album Tracks
1. "Syncopated City Overture"
2. "I Got Rhythm"
3. "Where's the Boy? Here's The Girl"
4. "Who Cares?"
5. "Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!"
6. "Treat Me Rough"
7. "But Not For Me"
8. "Do-Do-Do"
9. "A Foggy Day"
10. "The Man I Love"
11. "They All Laughed"
12. "They Can't Take That Away From Me"

I attached a few wonderful songs from the CD I found on YouTube to share the beautiful sounds from this album.

                                                                  "I Got Rhythm"

                                                          "They All Laughed"


Hit the attached site below and you can hear and see how one of the Gershwin songs on this Cd was developed.


http://www.joanellison.com/blog/2015/4/23/howigotrhythm  

Smokey Robinson's "Timeless Love" CD

I have been a Smokey Robinson fan for years especially when he was pouring out all his Motown hits. But today I want to talk about a CD that Smokey released on June 20, 2006 that I think didn't get enough attention in the music world. The CD is "Timeless Love" and it contains some great songs from the "Great American Songbook". The recent efforts of superstars to recording "Standards" like the ones from Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow, while great commercial successes,  don't do much for me musically. On the other hand,  I do credit these great artists for providing exposure to some great songs to their fans.  Smokey Robinson's "Timeless Love" is different because rather than singing these "Evergreens" in the style of Sinatra or Bennett,  in this CD Smokey interprets each song to perfectly fit his own unique style and voice. When Smokey creates an arrangement, the listener has no doubt that the unique sound he will hear is Smokey Robinson and not an imitation of another popular singer.  The voice and the arrangements are totally Smokey Robinson. Each time you hear the songs on this CD you will increase your appreciation for his talent.  That's what I experience and it's been one of my favorite CDs for the past couple of years.  Some of my personal favorites are:
            1. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" written by George & Ira Gershwin
            2. "I've Got You Under My Skin" written by Cole Porter
I think he interprets these great chestnuts beautifully.  I also liked:
            3. "You Go To My Head" written by John F. Coots
            4. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" written by George & Ira Gershwin
            5. "Time After Time" written by Jule Styne
            6. "I'm In The Mood For Love" written by Jimmy McHugh
If you want to hear some of these songs before you buy, click on the iTunes link on the top right of my blog. You can hear a little of all 13 songs on this great CD.  If any reader already has the CD or has heard it or are just purchasing it, I would love to get your comments.