Here is my all time favourite song. So many of the great singers of the "Golden Era" have paid it homage-too many to mention here,but I must admit to a special love of Ella Fitzgeralds' version. Have a listen to mine, but please remember, this is NOT A STUDIO PRODUCTION so its a "rough cut" so to speak. Enjoy........
12/10/2011
Video of Ken Eden singing "S'Wonderful" a Fred Astaire classic.
Check out Ken singing just a few of the Great American Songbook tunes. We will be adding on a regular basis-so check back often!
Starters:
What is the great American songbook? Well if we turn to our old friend WIKIPEDIA we discover the following:
The Great American Songbook is a construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century[1][2][3] principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity. The Great American Songbook became (and remains) a vital part of the repertoire of jazz musicians, who describe such songs simply as "jazz standards".
The early years
Since the 1930s, many singers have explicitly recorded or performed large parts of the Great American Songbook.
Ella Fitzgerald's popular and influential Songbook series on Verve in the 1950s and 1960s collated 252 songs from the Songbook.
Other influential early interpreters of the Great American Songbook include Fred Astaire, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Nat "King" Cole, Barbara Cook, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Doris Day, Jo Stafford, Blossom Dearie, The Four Freshmen, Judy Garland, Eydie Gorme, Johnny Hartman, Billie Holiday, Al Jolson, Jack Jones, Cleo Laine, Frankie Laine, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Helen Merrill, Wayne Newton, Dinah Shore, Bobby Short, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand (particularly in her earlier work), Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Andy Williams.
In 1970, Ringo Starr released Sentimental Journey, an album of 12 standards arranged by various musicians. In 1973, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson released a critically well-received album of 12 classic standards, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was re-issued on CD in 1988 with a total of 18 standards sung by Nilsson. Also in 1973, Bryan Ferry, of Roxy Music fame, released These Foolish Things, and he has subsequently recorded several such albums. In 1978, country singer Willie Nelson released a collection of popular standards composed by such notables as Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin titled Stardust. This was considered risky at the time but has become perhaps his most enduring album.
In 1983, popular rock vocalist Linda Ronstadt released What's New, her first in a trilogy of albums of standards. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote:
In 1991, Natalie Cole released a highly successful album Unforgettable... with Love, which spawned a Top 40 hit "Unforgettable", a virtual "duet" with her father, Nat "King" Cole. Follow-up albums such as Take a Look were also successful.
Since the mid 1980s, vocalists such as Michael Feinstein, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, and Ann Hampton Callaway have been notable interpreters of the Songbook throughout their careers. Michael Feinstein in particular has been a dedicated proponent, archivist, revivalist, and preservationist of the material since the late 1970s.
John Stevens, a 2004 American Idol contestant, also gave exposure to this trend. Steve Tyrell has forged a successful solo career with his interpretations of songs from the Great American Songbook. His version of "The Way You Look Tonight" for Father of the Bride (1991) was noticed and kept in the film at the insistence of its star, Steve Martin. This led to several albums, including A New Standard, Standard Time, and Bach to Bacharach.
The Great American Songbook is a construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century[1][2][3] principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity. The Great American Songbook became (and remains) a vital part of the repertoire of jazz musicians, who describe such songs simply as "jazz standards".
The early years
Since the 1930s, many singers have explicitly recorded or performed large parts of the Great American Songbook.
Ella Fitzgerald's popular and influential Songbook series on Verve in the 1950s and 1960s collated 252 songs from the Songbook.
Other influential early interpreters of the Great American Songbook include Fred Astaire, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Nat "King" Cole, Barbara Cook, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Doris Day, Jo Stafford, Blossom Dearie, The Four Freshmen, Judy Garland, Eydie Gorme, Johnny Hartman, Billie Holiday, Al Jolson, Jack Jones, Cleo Laine, Frankie Laine, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Helen Merrill, Wayne Newton, Dinah Shore, Bobby Short, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand (particularly in her earlier work), Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Andy Williams.
Contemporary singers
Over the last several decades, there has been a revival of the Songbook by contemporary singers.In 1970, Ringo Starr released Sentimental Journey, an album of 12 standards arranged by various musicians. In 1973, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson released a critically well-received album of 12 classic standards, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was re-issued on CD in 1988 with a total of 18 standards sung by Nilsson. Also in 1973, Bryan Ferry, of Roxy Music fame, released These Foolish Things, and he has subsequently recorded several such albums. In 1978, country singer Willie Nelson released a collection of popular standards composed by such notables as Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin titled Stardust. This was considered risky at the time but has become perhaps his most enduring album.
In 1983, popular rock vocalist Linda Ronstadt released What's New, her first in a trilogy of albums of standards. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote:
| “ | What's New isn't the first album by a rock singer to pay tribute to the golden age of the pop, but is ... the best and most serious attempt to rehabilitate an idea of pop that Beatlemania and the mass marketing of rock LP's for teen-agers undid in the mid-60s. During the decade prior to Beatlemania, most of the great band singers and crooners of the 40s and 50s codified a half-century of American pop standards on dozens of albums, many of them now long out-of-print.[5] | ” |
Since the mid 1980s, vocalists such as Michael Feinstein, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, and Ann Hampton Callaway have been notable interpreters of the Songbook throughout their careers. Michael Feinstein in particular has been a dedicated proponent, archivist, revivalist, and preservationist of the material since the late 1970s.
Other singers
Since 1980, various established singers in unrelated genres have also had success in treating the Songbook. Beginning in 2002, Rod Stewart has devoted a series of studio albums to Songbook covers. Other rock and pop artists who have utilised the work include Keith Richards, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Caetano Veloso, Queen Latifah, Joni Mitchell, Boz Scaggs, Robbie Williams, Sting, Ray Reach, Pat Benatar, Morrissey, and Rufus Wainwright.John Stevens, a 2004 American Idol contestant, also gave exposure to this trend. Steve Tyrell has forged a successful solo career with his interpretations of songs from the Great American Songbook. His version of "The Way You Look Tonight" for Father of the Bride (1991) was noticed and kept in the film at the insistence of its star, Steve Martin. This led to several albums, including A New Standard, Standard Time, and Bach to Bacharach.
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