What are your silliest and most important/personal tunes?

Everybody's got them! Mine are:

1.(silliest): If You Want To Be
Happy for the Rest of your Life (Never Make a Pretty Woman Your Wife). Learned it drunk one night at a club in the 60's and played it as a request for a dumn, obnoxious dude with a real "Dog" spouse. They LOVED IT-so did I! Still do it.

2. (most important/personal): What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?. Learned it during my transition to a jazz oriented style as a soloist. Delicious changes and meaningful words. A real personal benchmark. Still do it regularly.

What about you?


Russ

Here's a parody of Help Me Make It that I wrote:
You have to look around the room and use discretion before singing it.

Rip the buttons from my shirt.
Tear it off and throw it down.
I don't want to sleep alone,
And you're the only one around.
Come and lay down on your back,
While we make it through the night.
Then roll over on your face,
So I won't see it in the light.

I don't care if you're old and fat,
And have ratty stringy hair.
I'll be gone tomorrow mornin',
And tonight I'm too damned drunk to care.

Yesterday is up and gone,
And tomorrow I will be too.
And yes it's sad to be alone,
BUT IT'S BETTER THAN WAKIN' UP WITH YOU!

DonM

Dumbest song? That's a tough one... there are so many (you KNOW how much Buffet I do! ). I guess Margaritaville comes pretty close. Mind you, as I drive past guys doing roofing in August here in Florida, I say 'Margaritaville...? Hell yeah! ' Maybe the Banana Boat Song, or They're Coming to take Me Away are contenders (though I don't play the latter any more...! It might come true ))

Deepest personal song? Another tough question, but I'd probably have to go with 'My Funny Valentine'. Learned it as a kid from listening to Ella's Songbook version, was a favorite of my Mum's, had it as my first dance with my wife. Now she has passed, over eight years ago, and I still can't play it without a tear.

Don,

Love the song, just copied it to my songlist, and it will be right up there with the best of them.

In response to Russ' question, there's lots of silly songs, and "I Don't Look Good Naked Anymore" ranks right up there with the best of them. For the most important, that's a tough call. There are lots of songs on that list.

Gary

Gary

Silliest: "I Left My Wife In San Francisco"

My personal favorite: Several...but if I have to pick one it would be - The Christmas Song.

Eddie

Well, Russ and Diki have already named two of my all time favorites, but I have pretty eclectic tastes in music so I guess I'd have to include the one I've asked to have played at my funeral; I Can Stand a Little Rain by Joe Cocker. A couple of others that have a deep personal meaning for me would be Monk's 'round midnight and Benny Golson's I remember Clifford. Donald Byrd's Cristo Redentor would also be right up there at the top.

Silly song- But I Was Cool by Oscar Brown, Jr.

chas

PS: DonM's tune was hilarious. Will probably hit too close to home for some of you....you know who you are.

Dumbest tune, would have to go back a couple decades to my pianobar daze. I guess it would have to be, "My Dingaling" -- another one of those requested by a drunk one night that became something they re-requested forever -- always end that one with, "It takes two hands, to handle a Whopper..."

Most favored or Most memorable songs change with time and ability, right now mine would be a cover of Kurt Elling's superb rendition of Nature Boy. Damn that one took some time for the learnin' curve, but well worth it. Nat owned that song for so many years until Kurt did his version AFAIC.

Straightahead,


--Mac

I also do one occasionally called "If My Nose Was Running Money, I'd Blow It All On You, But It's Not".
It's a REAL song. Check it on Utube.
I'll have to think about the personal ones.
DonM

The accordianist in my dad's band used to sing this when I was a kid. I thought it was great. I just googled it and nothing comes up. Does anybody have the words to this?

Scott

Don, the Help Me..... song is just to great. Can't wait for an opportunity to sing it.

Thanks,

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

Silly song: I Am a Cider Drinker by The Wurzels. A daft ditty about cider-swigging yokels in rural England.

I once heard a version of Are You Lonesome Tonight that went:
Are you lonesome tonight
Is your brassiere too tight
Are they falling and drifting apart
Is there a hole in your vest
Showing half of your chest . . . and so on

My 'special' song is that lovely standard, My One and Only Love. I think the first version I ever heard was Freddie Hubbard's, and I loved that tune ever since. Beautiful changes in it, too.

Eddie-Christmas Song is one of my all-time favorites. Sometimes, in a quiet dining room setting, I play it in July, just to do those great changes. Diki, heard Ella do Valentine live in 1962 and went right home and learned it, with Ray Brown's help. Now, I'll play it several times a year as a silent dedication to "you guys". And, if the alternative was digging ditches in the Florida sun, I'd "out Buffet" you in a heartbeat. Mac, hadn't thought about it for years, but My Ding-a-ling was one I did and had lots of fun with, believe it or not (Gotta love the "duckwalk dude"). And, I've been playing Nature Boy since 1961. My first exposure was a top 40 AM pop record recorded about then...the guy who did Splish Splash...Bobby Darin. Previously, the version I liked was an obscure George Benson recording. Like the one you referenced a lot better. Don, I now do a country parody called "Bald Heads Shining In the Rain". I like to do it, but it's a little too close to home when it comes to the hair department.

And, Chas, as always, when it comes to music and individual tastes, "we're joined at the hip".


Russ (closet Stooooopid song freak) Lay


BALD HEADS SHINING IN THE RAIN
(Funk Version)
(Written for a regular namend Bob)


In The Twilight Glow I see it
Bob's bald head shining in the rain
(Bob stands, removes his hat and bows)
He'll never need another haircut
And he'll never use Brylcream again


Someday, when we meet up yonder
We'll take off those ballcaps and then
We'll look like twin Uell Brenners
(Russ and Bob take off caps and bow)
Twin bald heads shining in the rain
And we'll never go to the barbershop again.

(Chas, PLEASE don't shoot me on my next trip to Atlanta. At least I do it with a "Miles" arrangement and feel(LOL))!



[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 08-06-2009).]

Mac, thanks so much for the Kurt reference. I recognized the name, but wasn't that familiar with his material. Just checked him out for about 1/2 hour. Particularly liked a tune I found with Al Jureau (Take Five). Al is one of my all-time favorites. Although it wasn't a contest-Kurt more than held his own.


I then Googled Nature Boy by Bobby Darin (my first exposure to it)-then by George Benson (previously, my favorite version)and then Kurts version. His is now my favorite (loved the scat). There's an object lesson here. The Darin version was obviously bubble gum pop. Nat Coles version is the classic. George added the funk in this version and Kurts version is the one that now blows me away.

Shows how very important putting your own "brand" on a tune is.

Thanks for calling this "monster" to my attention. Don't think Kurt needs to audition for any tribute bands anytime soon(LOL).


Russ


[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 08-06-2009).]

Re: Kurt Elling's Nature Boy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra backing --- I am out of breath. Bobby Watkin's drum solo blew me away. I'm not a Jazz Player per se...but I sure do appreciate many flavors within the Jazz Genre.

Thanks to Mac and Russ which motivated me to watch the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXprs8-U5nA

Eddie


[This message has been edited by btweengigs (edited 08-06-2009).]

Yes that performance with the Sydney Symphony (Sidney, Australia, not Cincinnati, Ohio) is a good strong performance where Kurt and the band translate it to Pop Orchestral style.

The original recording, without symphony and featuring the jazz combo and Kurt, is an even better listen.

Kurt Elling is a jazz singer's jazz singer, seriously studying all those who came before him and standing squarely on their shoulders, any Kurt Elling disk is a treat.

We need more singers capable of paying tribute like that, bringing the Lambert, Hendrix and Ross as well as the many famous male jazz singers' contributions out to the forefront like he does.

Kurt's strong performances manage to touch just about everybody, jazz aficionados or not.

The Yellowjackets


--Mac

Screwed up. My personal favorite (today) would be Shirley Horn's 'Here's to life'. If you have not heard this tune, do yourself a favor and give it a listen (several dozen listens, actually).

chas

PS: I didn't actually 'know' Shirley but did have the opportunity to meet her several times (although I think of myself as a 'philly guy', I actually grew up in Washington, DC).

Chas-listened to the Horn recording twice...obviously a great voice and great inflection. The rest is sort of growing on me. Going to listen to more of her material this week-end.

Man, you do have ecclectic tastes.


R.

Shirley be good listenin' too, yessir.

This one are FUNNY, at leat I think so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j41iifdv1IY&feature=related

GJ

[This message has been edited by Gunnar Jonny (edited 08-08-2009).]