Blue of a Kind singing at the recent Mayor's Emergency Fund telethon where we offered some hope as well as a challenge to viewers to call in pledges while we sang, matching them dollar for dollar. The telethon raised money many times over its' goal to help local folks having hard times and we were proud to be a part of it.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Trouble Soon Be Over posted to YouTube
A video of Blue of a Kind performing "Trouble Soon Be Over" is available on YouTube. You can just click on the title to view it, or search YouTube for "Blue of a Kind".
Second tenor, Ron solos on a recent Melrose MA TV telethon for the Mayor's Emergency Fund. We made a challenge to callers to do a dollar match on all pledges made while we sang and the calls spiked! The telethon raised a sum more than 4 times it's goal. We were proud to be a part of it.
Blind Willie Johnson's song goes back into the 1920's. This treatment is based on Geoff Muldaur's way of performing it, with a little fancy footwork to make it work for a cappella.
Bob
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Blue of a Kind CD project - Michael Clem and Eddie from Ohio
Home Stretch for Blue of a Kind CD, "To the Sky"
We're tracking the solo overdubs, doing little fix ups and preparing for the final mixing and mastering. I gathered some images and ideas and tossed them over to our graphic artist, 2nd tenor Bob Griffin. Bob drove rough ideas to realization. Once he made his presentation, we had a unanimous conclusion: the CD was going to be entitled, "To the Sky". Wait until you see it!
The imagery is stunning, and the font and design decisions were not only professional, but inspired. He connected with the concept.
A trip to HarryFox.com and I was able to secure licenses for the "intellectual property". You need to set up an account (it's free) and then you can search their database for the composer and songs. If you don't find the title or artist there, you still have to track them down. I rely on HarryFox, but there is often someone "outside the box". On the Whiffenpoof CD, this was Fred Hellerman, who wrote "Delia". On this project, it was Michael Clem of Eddie From Ohio, composer of "Walk Humbly, Son".
Eddie From Ohio Rocks!
First, let me say I'm a huge fan of this band. They are 4 diverse talents each of which composes for the "best band you never heard of". In truth, lots of people have heard of them. Blue of a Kind has been singing one of their songs, "Walk Humbly, Son" for a couple years, ever since I heard EFO sing it on a CD I bought from them at Club Passim.
Michael Clem wrote this song. It's full of his slightly offbeat humor, but has a powerful message. I had to do some heavy lifting adapting it for men. In the EFO treatment, Julie drives the melody in the stratosphere. I also wrote to EFO back then and bought the official chart so as to align myself with what Michael was doing harmonically. EFO and I had a little email exchange and they were excited that we were mounting the piece.
Now, it's going on the "To the Sky" CD. And I was not able to locate Michael Clem on HarryFox.com. So the rule is: find the composer and make a negotiation to give them their due. You can look on ASCAP, but I haven't yet figured out how to actually pay the composer there. It must be easy, but....
So I visited the EFO web site and sent an email via their "contact us" link, explaining what we're doing and how I want to pay Michael for his beautiful work.
This morning, he wrote me back. I only have to attribute the song correctly and send him a copy of the CD. He's flattered and pleased that we want to cover his song.
One of the great things about this job
Being a musical director, you get to realize projects over 6 months or a year's time. You get to herd cats, week in and week out. You get to rant and rave, and you have to keep it fun. Don't get me wrong, it is fun and I understand where my guys are coming from.
But one of the great things about this job is getting a response like that from Michael Clem. Or writing to Geoff Muldaur about "Trouble Soon Be Over" to tell him I am arranging the song after his treatment and would he be cool with that, and he writes me back saying, "Have at!" These guys just love doing what they are doing and are downright glad that folks want to cover their stuff.
And they know who we are, that we're just a bunch of guys with a couple hours a week scratching together all the money we made in the last year to make a CD, sell it and have our little place in the sun. That's pretty cool, don't you think?
We're tracking the solo overdubs, doing little fix ups and preparing for the final mixing and mastering. I gathered some images and ideas and tossed them over to our graphic artist, 2nd tenor Bob Griffin. Bob drove rough ideas to realization. Once he made his presentation, we had a unanimous conclusion: the CD was going to be entitled, "To the Sky". Wait until you see it!
The imagery is stunning, and the font and design decisions were not only professional, but inspired. He connected with the concept.
A trip to HarryFox.com and I was able to secure licenses for the "intellectual property". You need to set up an account (it's free) and then you can search their database for the composer and songs. If you don't find the title or artist there, you still have to track them down. I rely on HarryFox, but there is often someone "outside the box". On the Whiffenpoof CD, this was Fred Hellerman, who wrote "Delia". On this project, it was Michael Clem of Eddie From Ohio, composer of "Walk Humbly, Son".
Eddie From Ohio Rocks!
First, let me say I'm a huge fan of this band. They are 4 diverse talents each of which composes for the "best band you never heard of". In truth, lots of people have heard of them. Blue of a Kind has been singing one of their songs, "Walk Humbly, Son" for a couple years, ever since I heard EFO sing it on a CD I bought from them at Club Passim.
Michael Clem wrote this song. It's full of his slightly offbeat humor, but has a powerful message. I had to do some heavy lifting adapting it for men. In the EFO treatment, Julie drives the melody in the stratosphere. I also wrote to EFO back then and bought the official chart so as to align myself with what Michael was doing harmonically. EFO and I had a little email exchange and they were excited that we were mounting the piece.
Now, it's going on the "To the Sky" CD. And I was not able to locate Michael Clem on HarryFox.com. So the rule is: find the composer and make a negotiation to give them their due. You can look on ASCAP, but I haven't yet figured out how to actually pay the composer there. It must be easy, but....
So I visited the EFO web site and sent an email via their "contact us" link, explaining what we're doing and how I want to pay Michael for his beautiful work.
This morning, he wrote me back. I only have to attribute the song correctly and send him a copy of the CD. He's flattered and pleased that we want to cover his song.
One of the great things about this job
Being a musical director, you get to realize projects over 6 months or a year's time. You get to herd cats, week in and week out. You get to rant and rave, and you have to keep it fun. Don't get me wrong, it is fun and I understand where my guys are coming from.
But one of the great things about this job is getting a response like that from Michael Clem. Or writing to Geoff Muldaur about "Trouble Soon Be Over" to tell him I am arranging the song after his treatment and would he be cool with that, and he writes me back saying, "Have at!" These guys just love doing what they are doing and are downright glad that folks want to cover their stuff.
And they know who we are, that we're just a bunch of guys with a couple hours a week scratching together all the money we made in the last year to make a CD, sell it and have our little place in the sun. That's pretty cool, don't you think?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Blue of a Kind CD project
The boys have been working hard. We have "tracked" mostly everything and we have feathered our nest. There are some important notes on what we intend to release.
Here is the probable lineup:
Recorded at Chillhouse studios, November - December 2008:
Under the Boardwalk
Words and Music by Artie Resnik and Kenny Young
Arranged by Mark Brymer
[Steve Francis' solo makes this a total knockout]
You Don't Know Me
Words and Music by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[This really rocks and was requested of me by Saki Okura, one of our founders. I sang it with him on duet one time and it was a memorable moment. Let us say, Saki has a gift.]
Trouble Soon Be Over
Words and Music by Blind Willie Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Based on Geoff Muldaur's treatment of the same tune. This is a folk/blues songs from the late 20's by Blind Willie Johnson that defies description. Songs from that era did not abide by the rules of pop song. It's a honey. I asked Geoff about "stealing" his treatment, and he said, "Go to town!" Ron Serisky's solo really does the number.]
This World Is Not My Home
Words and Music by Albert E. Brumley, Jr.
Additional lyric by Woody Guthrie
[Another Steve Francis solo that drops jaws, I arranged this after hearing Geoff Muldaur sing it at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. Geoff later told me, "Wow, that's a really difficult song!"]
Mobile Bay
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[It's a gem. Marshall Bartholomew's pumping chantey lives on. Bob Griffin's solo makes it special.]
Pirates Chorus
Words and Music by G. C. S. Southworth (Songs of Yale, 1870)
[This song was mined from "Songs of Yale" published in 1870. I doubt it has ever been recorded in either the 20th or the 21st centuries. Blue of a Kind uses it for their marching song when entering the performance hall. This is a particularly moving rendition of a song that dates back to just after the Civil War.]
It's Gonna Rain, Again
Words and Music by Charles Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[The Sensational Nightingales. Need I say more? Tug Yourgrau, Karl Geller and Mike Margolis send this one off into the stratosphere.]
To the Sky
Southern Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[No one has heard this song, but when they do, OMG! Evans brought me this from his voice teacher. I arranged it in like a day and wait until you hear Evans Travis nail it.]
MacNamara's Band
Words and Music by O'Connor/Stamford
Arranged by Lewis Girdler
[My dear friend, Lewis Girdler arranged this piece for the Yale Whiffenpoofs. I sang the solo with the Whiffs in 1972-1973, and my dear pal, George Caruby sang Uncle Julius with me at Saunders Theater in Cambridge, MA for my musical hero, Leonard Bernstein sitting in the front row. As I recall, Lenny and his companion got up and danced while George and I sang. Pinch me! Dan Franklin and Br. Richard Cook give this tune a run for the money.]
South Australia
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[I transcribed the entire "Songs of Yale", copyright 1953 assembled by the great Marshall Bartholomew. In the process, I learned something about arranging sea chanties. Check this one out. I sing the solo. It's a chantey men used to ask to be sung to them on their deathbeds. Stay with me...]
Away to Rio
Tradition Sea Chantey
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[No one does it better than Marshall Bartholomew. Extra verse penned by Evans Travis. I love a man who understands "holy stoning".]
'Linin' Track
Traditional Work Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Chanties were not only sung at sea. This is a chantey sung while aligning railroad track, a particularly grueling task. I got this song and the treament from the great Jug Band master, Jim Kweskin. Also from Club Passim. The place really rocks!]
Rolling Down To Old Maui
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[What can anyone say about the greatest forecastle chantey of all time? (A forecastle chantey was a non-work song sung only for pleasure by the work crews, for the benefit of all.) If you have not heard this song, you will be stuck on it forever once you have. Wayne Leslie solos on this and his unbelievable bass tone must be heard to be believed. Karl Geller and I layer atop Wayne for a duet and later, a trio.]
Roll Jordan, Roll
Spiritual
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[Just listen and smoothe your short hairs down. Solos by Tug Yourgrau, Phil Kukura and Steve Francis.]
Loch Lomond
Traditional Scottish Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Most of this arrangement was mined from an old songbook, but I crafted a front end and a back end and it's totally different, so it's mine! Irish tenor, Br. Richard Cook shows you how it should be sung.]
John the Revelator
Words and Music by Son House
Arranged by Blue of a Kind
[We developed this arrangement ad hoc. Son House was our inspiration. We listened, sang, crafted, re-listened, performed.... This one can really get ya. Solos by Evans Travis, Tug Yourgrau, Mike Margolis]
Nkosi Sikelel i'Afrika (South African National Anthem)
Words and Music by Enoch Sontonga and Samuel Mqhayi
Adapted for men by Bob Eggers
[Tug Yourgrau grew up in South Africa. He also composed the music for a Broadway show name "The Song of Jacob Zulu", which featured "Ladysmith Black Mambazo". Lucky for us, Tug sings with Blue of a Kind. He introduced me to this song and the SATB arrangement. I rearranged it for men. Singing this song used to land a man in jail in South Africa. This version will keep you free.]
Walk Humbly, Son
Words and Music by Michael R. Clem
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Eddie From Ohio. They are from Virginia. Go figure! This is another group I heard at Club Passim. I must buy some more tickets soon. Michael Clem writes the funny stuff they do, but this song also reveals a deep spiritual awareness.]
Sentimental Journey
Words by Bud Green
Music by Les Brown and Ben Homer
Arranged by Walter Latzko
[Walter Latzko. The Chordettes. These 4 girls showed up in NYC and got hired at CBS to sing every week on the Arthur Godfrey show. I watched them as a kid. Each week they were dressed in stunning dresses and sang sultry mens' Barbershop songs like angels. Boys like me, and men twice my age swooned. Later, they went on to become pop and film stars. Walter Latzko was with them all the way, and married one of the dolls. Mr. Latzko has arranged a piece just for Blue of a Kind, but not this one. This is one he did for the Chordettes.]
Live/bonus tracks:
Kentucky Babe (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Words by Richard Henry Buck
Music by Adam Geibel
Arranged by Walter Latzko
[Walter Latzko, again. Also arranged for the Chordettes. You're going to love this performance.]
Morning Prayer (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Words by Evans Travis
Music Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Arrangement by Bob Eggers
[Umpteen years ago, I got snagged by a kid's video from Russia, because the soundtrack was the complete "Children's Album" by Tchaikovsky. Written for his piano pupils, it's a masterpiece no matter how you slice it. I just had to sing "Morning Prayer", a true song without words. I arranged it for men many years ago but could not come up with lyrics. Once I met Evans in Blue of a Kind, he asked me to let him at it. Hope you like it.]
To the Sky (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Southern Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Evans Travis and the boys raise some goosebumps in a live performance in Melrose, MA.]
Trouble Soon Be Over (live at MMTV, Dec. 14, 2008)
Words and Music by Blind Willie Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Ron Serisky rocks the house on local MMTV. Look for a YouTuber version of the same.]
The Blue of a Kind CD
The boys have been working hard. We have "tracked" mostly everything and we have feathered our nest. There are some important notes on what we intend to release.
Here is the probable lineup:
Recorded at Chillhouse studios, November - December 2008:
Under the Boardwalk
Words and Music by Artie Resnik and Kenny Young
Arranged by Mark Brymer
[Steve Francis' solo makes this a total knockout]
You Don't Know Me
Words and Music by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[This really rocks and was requested of me by Saki Okura, one of our founders. I sang it with him on duet one time and it was a memorable moment. Let us say, Saki has a gift.]
Trouble Soon Be Over
Words and Music by Blind Willie Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Based on Geoff Muldaur's treatment of the same tune. This is a folk/blues songs from the 20's by Blind Willie Johnson that defies description. Songs from that era did not abide by the rules of pop song. It's a honey. I asked Geoff about "stealing" his treatment, and he said, "Go to town!" Ron Serisky's solo really does the number.]
This World Is Not My Home
Words and Music by Albert E. Brumley, Jr.
Additional lyric by Woody Guthrie
[Another Steve Francis solo that drops jaws, I arranged this after hearing Geoff Muldaur sing it at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. Geoff later told me, "Wow, that's a really difficult song!"]
Mobile Bay
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[It's a gem. Marshall Bartholomew's pumping chantey lives on. Bob Griffin's solo makes it special.]
Pirates Chorus
Words and Music by G. C. S. Southworth (Songs of Yale, 1870)
[This song was mined from "Songs of Yale" published in 1870. I doubt it has ever been recorded in either the 20th or the 21st centuries. Blue of a Kind uses it for their marching song when entering the performance hall. This is a particularly moving rendition of a song that dates back to just after the Civil War.]
It's Gonna Rain, Again
Words and Music by Charles Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[The Sensational Nightingales. Need I say more? Tug Yourgrau, Karl Geller and Mike Margolis send this one off into the stratosphere.]
To the Sky
Southern Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[No one has heard this song, but when they do, OMG! Evans brought me this from his voice teacher. I arranged it in like a day and wait until you hear Evans Travis nail it.]
MacNamara's Band
Words and Music by O'Connor/Stamford
Arranged by Lewis Girdler
[My dear friend, Lewis Girdler arranged this piece for the Yale Whiffenpoofs. I sang the solo with the Whiffs in 1972-1973, and my dear pal, George Caruby sang Uncle Julius with me at Saunders Theater in Cambridge, MA for my musical hero, Leonard Bernstein sitting in the front row. As I recall, Lenny and his companion got up and danced while George and I sang. Pinch me! Dan Franklin and Br. Richard Cook give this tune a run for the money.]
South Australia
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[I transcribed the entire "Songs of Yale", copyright 1953 assembled by the great Marshall Bartholomew. In the process, I learned something about arranging sea chanties. Check this one out. I sing the solo. It's a chantey men used to ask to be sung to them on their deathbeds. Stay with me...]
Away to Rio
Tradition Sea Chantey
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[No one does it better than Marshall Bartholomew. Extra verse penned by Evans Travis. I love a man who understands "holy stoning".]
'Linin' Track
Traditional Work Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Chanties were not only sung at sea. This is a chantey sung while aligning railroad track, a particularly grueling task. I got this song and the treament from the great Jug Band master, Jim Kweskin. Also from Club Passim. The place really rocks!]
Rolling Down To Old Maui
Traditional Sea Chantey
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[What can anyone say about the greatest forecastle chantey of all time? (A forecastle chantey was a non-work song sung only for pleasure by the work crews, for the benefit of all.) If you have not heard this song, you will be stuck on it forever once you have. Wayne Leslie solos on this and his unbelievable bass tone must be heard to be believed. Karl Geller and I layer atop Wayne for a duet and later, a trio.]
Roll Jordan, Roll
Spiritual
Arranged by Marshall Bartholomew
[Just listen and smoothe your short hairs down. Solos by Tug Yourgrau, Phil Kukura and Steve Francis.]
Loch Lomond
Traditional Scottish Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Most of this arrangement was mined from an old songbook, but I crafted a front end and a back end and it's totally different, so it's mine! Irish tenor, Br. Richard Cook shows you how it should be sung.]
John the Revelator
Words and Music by Son House
Arranged by Blue of a Kind
[We developed this arrangement ad hoc. Son House was our inspiration. We listened, sang, crafted, re-listened, performed.... This one can really get ya. Solos by Evans Travis, Tug Yourgrau, Mike Margolis]
Nkosi Sikelel i'Afrika (South African National Anthem)
Words and Music by Enoch Sontonga and Samuel Mqhayi
Adapted for men by Bob Eggers
[Tug Yourgrau grew up in South Africa. He also composed the music for a Broadway show name "The Song of Jacob Zulu", which featured "Ladysmith Black Mambazo". Lucky for us, Tug sings with Blue of a Kind. He introduced me to this song and the SATB arrangement. I rearranged it for men. Singing this song used to land a man in jail in South Africa. This version will keep you free.]
Walk Humbly, Son
Words and Music by Michael R. Clem
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Eddie From Ohio. They are from Virginia. Go figure! This is another group I heard at Club Passim. I must buy some more tickets soon. Michael Clem writes the funny stuff they do, but this song also reveals a deep spiritual awareness.]
Sentimental Journey
Words by Bud Green
Music by Les Brown and Ben Homer
Arranged by Walter Latzko
[Walter Latzko. The Chordettes. These 4 girls showed up in NYC and got hired at CBS to sing every week on the Arthur Godfrey show. I watched them as a kid. Each week they were dressed in stunning dresses and sang sultry mens' Barbershop songs like angels. Boys like me, and men twice my age swooned. Later, they went on to become pop and film stars. Walter Latzko was with them all the way, and married one of the dolls. Mr. Latzko has arranged a piece just for Blue of a Kind, but not this one. This is one he did for the Chordettes.]
Live/bonus tracks:
Kentucky Babe (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Words by Richard Henry Buck
Music by Adam Geibel
Arranged by Walter Latzko
[Walter Latzko, again. Also arranged for the Chordettes. You're going to love this performance.]
Morning Prayer (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Words by Evans Travis
Music Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Arrangement by Bob Eggers
[Umpteen years ago, I got snagged by a kid's video from Russia, because the soundtrack was the complete "Children's Album" by Tchaikovsky. Written for his piano pupils, it's a masterpiece no matter how you slice it. I just had to sing "Morning Prayer", a true song without words. I arranged it for men many years ago but could not come up with lyrics. Once I met Evans in Blue of a Kind, he asked me to let him at it. Hope you like it.]
To the Sky (live at Fitch Home, October 16, 2008)
Southern Folk Song
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Evans Travis and the boys raise some goosebumps in a live performance in Melrose, MA.]
Trouble Soon Be Over (live at MMTV, Dec. 14, 2008)
Words and Music by Blind Willie Johnson
Arranged by Bob Eggers
[Ron Serisky rocks the house on local MMTV. Look for a YouTuber version of the same.]
Saturday, December 6, 2008
More Attribution Mysteries
The Whodunnit plot rethickens
Believe it or not, the story continues, and maybe Robert "Missing" Link is indeed the missing link in the evolutionary process of "(That Slippery) Slide Trombone". Robert recently wrote me, saying,
I should have told you that I knew Bill Oler when he was a freshman and I
was a senior; I assume that he's the reason that Song Fest got into the
Whiff repertory. Also, a many years friend of mine is Brower McClintock,
'40, a founding member of O&Bs. If it's in the O&B repertory, I assume that
Brower got it there.
So the trail has not gone cold. Oler, Brower.... Connections and all part of the evolutionary process.... By the way, Mr. Link was made an honorary Whiffenpoof in 1947, as I said before, but is also an honorary O&B. Connections....
Connections... and another Whodunnit
Another fun whodunnit story surrounds the classic Whiff arrangement, "I'll Take Romance". I engraved this long time favorite many months ago from a manuscript that was marginally readable. Before and after screenshots of a few measures this piece can be found on our home page, Acappellanation.com. Of side interest, this note: there is an error in that screenshot that has since been corrected in the actual engraving.
But I digress, don't I? During some months last Summer after making that engraving, I also engraved another half dozen or so arrangements by the same Whiff arranger, but these from his undergrad years in the Bakers Dozen. This arranger is Lewis Girdler, known for "MacNamara's Band" as well as "When Sunny Gets Blue", among other gems. I wrote about him before as the man I believe introduced the faux string bass line in a cappella singing. This humble genius probably turned the a cappella singing world on it's ear in the late 1950's and opened the door to some of the expression we have seen flourish in our genre ever since. That's another investigation....
I'm still digressing, but it's a story! Well, I attributed the arrangement to him because I could make out his name in the top, right corner where it emerged from a black cloud caused by too many xerox generations. I also recognized the handwriting, but so many of the works I engraved had been recopied by others hands making this evidence less credible. However the style of the arrangement, it's voicings, pace and rhythms all sounded like classic Girdler, so I had no reason to doubt it was his.
Arranged by "Unknown"!
Nonetheless months after I submitted it, our lead editor and musicologist bounced it back to me saying to change the arranger to "Unknown". I looked at the original xerox (interesting combination of words there). Girdler's name was clearly legible at the top and I was baffled. Perhaps the black cloud from which it emerged had said, "copied by", but the rest of the evidence suggested otherwise.
Luckily, I had come to know Mr. Girlder while doing the Bakers Dozen engravings, and I sent him a copy of the copy asking, "What about it?". Yes, he replied, and thanked me for sending the manuscript so he could say for certain. It turns out our lead editor had asked Lewis about 10 years ago at some Whiff function if he'd arranged "Romance" and well, he wasn't sure he had. So rather than take credit for what might be someone else's work, he said, "No." Remember what I said about humble? Besides, Mr. Girlder's contribution to both the Whiff and Bakers Dozen repertoires is vast and this is but one sweet "Romance" that slipped his mind. ;-)
Once Mr. Girdler recognized his own hand writing, we'd solved this whodunnit. Luckily, he's still matriculating along with the rest of us, otherwise this piece might have remained forever "Unknown".
Dick Peaslee's Garden of Earthly Delights on Broadway now!
Quick note before I depart: Dick Peaslee, another Whiff and Bakers Dozen arranger I've mentioned in earlier blogs, has a new musical on Broadway, called "Garden of Earthly Delights". Click on the name to visit the web page about it. The man is a powerhouse. I am currently engraving another bunch of his works from the 50's that he'd saved away in his attic and there are some great songs there!
Bob
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The case of (That Slippery) Slide Trombone, continued
"Missing" Link is found and tells all!
Robert Frederick "Missing" Link wrote me back and has relieved me of my position that he is the "missing link" in the case of (That Slippery) Slide Trombone. I hate to see this theory blown, but oh, what fun!
First, Robert made clear he was merely an honorary Whiff. He actually graduated in 1942 but was made an honorary member of the 1947 Whiffenpoofs. I'm sure there's another story there and I won't venture any guesses beyond saying the guys at Yale during the War years didn't pass and become forgotten at the usual rate of 4 years apiece. Robert may never have sung with the Whiffs or he may have done a ton of pick-up singing to fill the ranks - this I don't know yet. He says he probably got the song in his head hearing the '42 Whiffs sing it.
But Robert was the man whose hand wrote the pages of music I described. First he wrote me that he had little if anything to do with Slide Trombone, certainly had not arranged it. He said he might have written it down in 1946 among a group of songs he called "Song Fest" that he and a bunch of guys probably sang together at least once, maybe many times. He said songs like that were floating around being sung and shared. He suggested perhaps the "Silver Dollar Quartet" was the inspiration the arrangement of Slide Trombone.
Well, that seemed like a dead end, but I thought I'd see if my mysterious song cycle happened to be this "Song Fest", so I wrote him back, naming all the songs I mentioned below. Well, he said, if I looked at the piece "Slow Motion Time", "There should be a picture of feet sticking out from a sombrero" on the last page. Indeed, when I brought up the scan and scrolled to the last page, there was his little hombre in the sombrero.
Oh, how I laughed to know something about the source of these charts.
What can be known about anything?
Many years ago, I read "The Perfect Storm" and the author said the thrill of writing that book was creating a story about an event that was not witnessed and about which nothing could be known. But in the process of researching narratives of others in that storm, some kind of knowledge clearly emerged.
Sometimes, you can't know anything about certain things, but every once in a while you can get a glimpse. I just read "Shadow Divers" about one of my schoolmates named John Chatterton who was diving a deep wreck off New Jersey, a vessel that from his first dive, he thought might be a submarine. On one of his first dives, he found a dish and in 200 feet of cold, turbid water and he turned the dish over to find a swastika on the underside. For some long minutes, John was the only person in the world who knew the wreck he was diving was a German U-boat from the big War. A sudden glimpse, and it made him laugh.
So I laughed!
A link was made way into the past, concerning documents I had seen in 1971 and gave me pause. Other SOB compadres have also observed and wondered about these same charts. My thoughts about the genesis and life of these songs, of this manuscript, including where these particular songs went in published records have been shared by everyone who has seen them. And now, for a few moments I know something! They are "Song Fest", recorded in 1946 by Robert "Missing" Link.
And they're definitely part of that whole "oral tradition" thing. As Robert wrote to me, "Sometimes songs arrange themselves in an evolutionary way." He doesn't really know how he knew all the pieces, note for note. Really quite a bit of knowledge there. His explanation: "I osmosed them somehow when I was there."
So who arranged (That Slippery) Slide Trombone? Maybe "WBB" is short for "we'll never know".
Still on the trail,
Bob
Robert Frederick "Missing" Link wrote me back and has relieved me of my position that he is the "missing link" in the case of (That Slippery) Slide Trombone. I hate to see this theory blown, but oh, what fun!
First, Robert made clear he was merely an honorary Whiff. He actually graduated in 1942 but was made an honorary member of the 1947 Whiffenpoofs. I'm sure there's another story there and I won't venture any guesses beyond saying the guys at Yale during the War years didn't pass and become forgotten at the usual rate of 4 years apiece. Robert may never have sung with the Whiffs or he may have done a ton of pick-up singing to fill the ranks - this I don't know yet. He says he probably got the song in his head hearing the '42 Whiffs sing it.
But Robert was the man whose hand wrote the pages of music I described. First he wrote me that he had little if anything to do with Slide Trombone, certainly had not arranged it. He said he might have written it down in 1946 among a group of songs he called "Song Fest" that he and a bunch of guys probably sang together at least once, maybe many times. He said songs like that were floating around being sung and shared. He suggested perhaps the "Silver Dollar Quartet" was the inspiration the arrangement of Slide Trombone.
Well, that seemed like a dead end, but I thought I'd see if my mysterious song cycle happened to be this "Song Fest", so I wrote him back, naming all the songs I mentioned below. Well, he said, if I looked at the piece "Slow Motion Time", "There should be a picture of feet sticking out from a sombrero" on the last page. Indeed, when I brought up the scan and scrolled to the last page, there was his little hombre in the sombrero.
Oh, how I laughed to know something about the source of these charts.
What can be known about anything?
Many years ago, I read "The Perfect Storm" and the author said the thrill of writing that book was creating a story about an event that was not witnessed and about which nothing could be known. But in the process of researching narratives of others in that storm, some kind of knowledge clearly emerged.
Sometimes, you can't know anything about certain things, but every once in a while you can get a glimpse. I just read "Shadow Divers" about one of my schoolmates named John Chatterton who was diving a deep wreck off New Jersey, a vessel that from his first dive, he thought might be a submarine. On one of his first dives, he found a dish and in 200 feet of cold, turbid water and he turned the dish over to find a swastika on the underside. For some long minutes, John was the only person in the world who knew the wreck he was diving was a German U-boat from the big War. A sudden glimpse, and it made him laugh.
So I laughed!
A link was made way into the past, concerning documents I had seen in 1971 and gave me pause. Other SOB compadres have also observed and wondered about these same charts. My thoughts about the genesis and life of these songs, of this manuscript, including where these particular songs went in published records have been shared by everyone who has seen them. And now, for a few moments I know something! They are "Song Fest", recorded in 1946 by Robert "Missing" Link.
And they're definitely part of that whole "oral tradition" thing. As Robert wrote to me, "Sometimes songs arrange themselves in an evolutionary way." He doesn't really know how he knew all the pieces, note for note. Really quite a bit of knowledge there. His explanation: "I osmosed them somehow when I was there."
So who arranged (That Slippery) Slide Trombone? Maybe "WBB" is short for "we'll never know".
Still on the trail,
Bob
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