Fasc Facts October 2018
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Daily Sparkle CD - A Review of Famous Songs of the Past ‘Fascinating Facts’ October 2018 Track 1 My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean Although the song's origin is uncertain, its subject may be Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie’). After the defeat of the Prince at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 his Jacobite supporters could have sung the tune in his honour. Thanks to the ambiguity of the term "bonnie", which can refer to a woman as well as to a man, they could pretend it was a love song. In 1881 sheet music for "Bring Back My Bonnie to Me” was published. People had been requesting the song at sheet music stores in the 1870s, and the song became a big hit. Mitchell "Mitch" Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was prominent in the American music industry. Miller was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, working as a musician, singer, conductor, record producer and record company executive. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. Track 2 Dashing Away with a Smoothing Iron by Dws Chorale Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron is a traditional English folk song written in the 19th century about a housewife carrying out her linen chores. In 1973 the tune was used by the English composer John Rutter for the fourth movement of his Suite for Strings under the title ‘Dashing Away’. Dws Chorale is a one man choir with all the sounds put together by one man in one small space with one microphone, to create the effect of a whole choir. He uses his own voice which is countertenor. Track 3 Autumn Leaves by Nat King Cole Autumn Leaves is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les feuilles mortes" (literally "The Dead Leaves") with music by Hungarian-French composer Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. The American songwriter Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics in 1947 and Jo Stafford was among the first to perform this version. "Autumn Leaves" became a pop standard and a jazz standard in both languages, both as an instrumental and with a singer. On December 24, 1950, French singer Edith Piaf sang both French and English versions of this song on the radio programme The Big Show, hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show. Cole fought racism all his life and rarely performed in segregated venues. In 1948, Cole purchased a house in an all-white neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, still active in Los Angeles well into the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving in. Cole retorted, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain." Cole maintained worldwide popularity throughout his life and even since his death. Track 4 When The Saints Go Marching In When the Saints Go Marching In is a Belgian Christian hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a American gospel hymn, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band. Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as a cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a big influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognisable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing (vocalising using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics). Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin-colour was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man. Track 5 Bell Bottom Blues Bell Bottom Blues became Alma Cogan’s first hit in April 1954. Alma Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. She was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. In 1953, while recording "If I Had A Golden Umbrella", she broke into a giggle, and then played up the effect on later recordings. Soon she was dubbed "The girl with the giggle in her voice". Cogan was one of the first UK record artists to appear frequently on television, where her powerful voice could be showcased along with her bubbly personality and dramatic costumes. These hooped skirts with sequins and figure-hugging tops were reputedly designed by herself and never worn twice. She never married but lived with her widowed mother in Kensington in a lavishly decorated ground-floor flat, which became a legendary party-venue. Regular visitors included Princess Margaret, Noël Coward, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Caine, Frankie Vaughan, and a host of other celebrities. Track 6 Here in My heart Here in My Heart is a popular song, written by Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson, and Bill Borrelli, and published in 1952. Here in My Heart remained in the top position for nine weeks in the United Kingdom, setting a record for the longest consecutive run at number one, a record which, over 50 years on, has only been beaten by five other tracks. Al Martino (born Jasper Cini, October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners",[2] and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather. However, his success also attracted the attention of the Mafia, which ordered him to pay $75,000. After making a down-payment to appease them, he moved to Britain and continued to perform and record successfully in the UK. He later returned to the USA. One of his biggest hits was "Spanish Eyes. Martino's run of chart success faded after the mid-1960s. Track 7 We Plough the Fields & Scatter This is an English hymn commonly associated with harvest festival. The hymn was originally German, by poet Matthias Claudius, 'Wir pflügen und wir streuen' published in 1782, and set to music in 1800. It was translated into English in 1861. It is amongst the most performed of hymns in the United Kingdom. Helen Beaumont A popular modern singer. Track 8 Goodbye Dolly Grey Goodbye, Dolly Gray is a music hall song by Will D. Cobb (lyrics) and Paul Barnes (music). Popularised as a Boer War anthem, it was written during the earlier Spanish-American War. It has featured in many plays and films; Coward's Cavalcade and the movies Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Alfie (1966) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Florrie Forde (1875-1940), music hall artist, was born on 16 August 1875 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. She first appeared as a singer in a vaudeville programme. On August Bank Holiday 1897, she made her first appearances in London at three music halls—the South London Palace, the Pavilion and the Oxford—in the one evening, singing You Know and I Know. Immediately booked for three years on the circuit, she never looked back. With clear diction, and a commanding stage presence, she had the ability to select songs with catchy choruses and to lead an audience in singing them. Her early successes included Down at the Old Bull and Bush in 1904, which became a music hall anthem. Other numbers that she made popular and recorded included Pack Up Your Troubles, It's a Long Way to Tipperary, Oh! Oh! Antonio, Hold Your Hand Out Naughty Boy, Goodbye-ee and Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly. Track 9 Did You Ever See a Dream Walking? Is a popular song, introduced by Art Jarrett in the 1933 film Sitting Pretty. The music was written by Harry Revel, the lyrics by Mack Gordon. The song was originally published in 1933. Harry Lillis ‘Bing’ Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings and motion picture hits. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.