Happy Birthday, Cole. He was born in 1891 in Indiana. Such a debonair fellow to be from Indiana. NOT that you couldn't be debonair and be from Indiana...
I wish I had a favorite Cole Porter song but I don't. I just can't choose. But I suppose, "In the Still of the Night," would have to be up there - such a beautiful melody. Then I like, "Every Time We Say Goodbye." Rosemary Clooney has a lovely recording of that one. And then perhaps, "You'd Be So Easy To Love." I could go on but I'll stop.
Do you have a favorite Cole Porter song? If you can't think of one, just think of something/anything Fred Astaire sang. He introduced so many of CP's tunes to the world.
Well, maybe not his musical soul, but something close to it-:).
The CO Boy takes guitar lessons and his reference for guitar is The Roping Dummy and the western music he plays. So he has learned to sing and accompany himself on "The Old Chisholm Trail," and "Don't Fence Me In" is next.
BUT he has recently been listening to my ipod which has selections from the late 70's and early 80's. He loves it, and in particular, he's a big fan of Hall & Oates, just like his mama! He likes this one song called, "Wait for Me." Now for die hard fans, the song is a favorite but the average listener wouldn't probably remember the song. Here's Mr. Hall doing a live version which is actually better than the pop version.
And then we have "Don't Fence Me In," as sung by Roy Rogers. It IS a Cole Porter tune, so can't argue with that. AND Trigger is quite the amazing equine. But I dunno....
So the battle is on!
I love music. Everybody knows that. And I listen to a variety of styles. But I always go back to certain types of artists and I'm in one of those periods right now.
This morning I was on youtube (can't you just spend way too much time on that site??) and watched this video of Blossom Dearie. She is older in this video but still has the same voice I love and plays the piano with such magic. Her song selections are always a treat to hear. Side Note: After I watched this video, the CO Boy woke up and we had to watch "Unpack your Adjectives", the old Schoolhouse Rock video in which Blossom's voice is featured. See. Everyone loves Blossom. Here she is with Billy Taylor. The lyrics to this song make me laugh.
Then fast forward to about a decade ago when I found Stacy Kent. Her phrasing is so deceptively simple...and gorgeous. Her song selections are wonderful and her recent LP is in French with some French standards as well as some current compositions. But one standard that makes it into my all-time Top 10 is "You Are There", written by Dave Frishberg. She has a wonderful recording of this song. Unfortunately no video, but you MUST listen to the song below. Just close your eyes and listen to her the beautiful song. Interestingly enough, Blossom recorded this song but I can't find a video of it either.
And then there's the jazz that is more tinged with Brazilian rhythms. I love Gretchen Parloto. She is so free in her singing but yet she knows exactly where she is. She's singing "Flor de Lis," in this video.
Fast forward to just today and I stumbled upon Jules Day. She and the Roping Dummy are FB friends. They have a lot of mutual jazz musician friends from the Los Angeles days. Her songs are original compositions, and for the most part I like them very much. She looks like Diana Krall just a bit, but not nearly as annoying with an almost-dead delay in vocal delivery (sorry, DK - you're a fab pianist, but listening to you sing brings out such anxiety as I wait for you to get the words out). Jules is a blend of jazz, pop and bossa. I'm diggin' it.
So I'm just gonna samba my way upstairs for the night and sing softly like these ladies, albeit not as beautifully.
This past weekend the RD's band had a gig. This is their second time out and it was a lot of fun. Sounded good and the audience enjoyed it.
As most of you may know, the RD used to be a big band leader. Wore a tux, sang Sinatra, and smoked a cigarette. Well, not so much anymore. Now he wears Roy Roger shirts (that's what I call them), sings Gene Autry songs and no longer smokes. Takes a bit of getting used to but it seems to be working out just fine.
And just for his wife, he's thrown in a couple of songs written by Cole Porter (Don't Fence Me In) and Johnny Mercer (I'm an Old Cowhand).
If you are at all interested in supporting independent music, I invite you to go over to
kickstarter and pledge a few dollars to help with the band's first cd.
I'd never been to Kickstarter before, but it's a neat idea. If your project is approved (has to have a beginning and an end), then you have a page where people can go to invest in your project. There are benefits for folks at various support levels. For instance, if you pledge $25, then you get a copy of the CD. But even if you pledge $10, it would be greatly appreciated. And another neat feature is that your funds are not taken until the project is 100% funded, that way you're not out money if they can't raise the funds. So go over and share in the yippee-yi-yo!
Side Note: The reason the husband is the RD on this blog is because his band is called, "Don and the Roping Dummies." A roping dummy is something used to practice roping steer. Here's what one looks like if you've never seen it:
Welcome! I blogged on Little Ruthie for 7 years but felt it was time for a change. So I hope you join me here.
I was raised on the New Mexico Plains and left as soon as I could. After 17 years in Los Angeles, my former big band leader husband, moved us back to the plains and turned his musical interests to Cowboy/Western swing.
This time I'm in Colorado. I ask myself how I got here. Again.
But our son is thriving and even though I miss the city and L.A. specifically, I'm rediscovering things about semi-rural life that I once enjoyed and forgot. One day I'll walk down a Paris street and order a cup of coffee in French. But until then, this is the right place to be.
