I’ve written a blog on the song “Gloomy Sunday” for the MOJO Blog:
Gloomy Sunday
November 13, 2007 – 4:29 pm
Library show
November 8, 2007 – 10:37 am
On Saturday, November 17th, we’ll be performing at the Nashville Public Library’s main branch. It’ll be me and Molly, joined by our friend Brad Jones on upright bass. We’ll be on the first floor, near the DVDs and CDs. Hope to see you there!
Nature Boy
November 5, 2007 – 4:27 pm
I’ve been listening a lot lately to Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy.” To me, it’s one of the most beautiful and haunting songs ever written. And as many times I’ve heard it, I can’t quite get to the bottom of it. First, there’s the unusual form. It’ s basically two long, ribbon-like verses. The title never actually appears in the song, which was almost unheard of for pop songs in the pre-rock era. Then there’s the language in the lyric, which is simple, yet oddly formal, like something from an old folk tale (”A little shy and sad of eye / But very wise was he”). To look at the lyric on its own, which is a mere thirteen lines, you might not suspect the depth of emotion it can produce. Read aloud, the song’s final couplet - “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn / Is just to love and be loved in return” - may sound like a Hallmark card sentiment. But married to the minor key melody, and sung by Cole, it is one of the most profound moments I’ve ever heard in a popular song.
The writer behind this song is equally mysterious. Eden Ahbez was a hippie fifteen years before the word was even invented. In the early 1950s, he lived under the stars in LA’s Griffith Park, existing on three dollars a week. He ate fruit and raw vegetables, wore long hair and a beard, practiced yoga, lectured on street corners about Oriental mysticism and wrote offbeat poems and songs. Legend has it that he left a lead sheet of “Nature Boy” at the backstage door of a venue in LA where Nat King Cole was performing. It was a few months before Cole looked at the piece of music. But as soon as he did, he knew it was something very special. Before he could record it, he had to verify that this man with the odd name was indeed the author. Ahbez didn’t have an address, so Capitol Records employees were dispatched to locate him, which took days. After “Nature Boy” topped the charts, Ahbez (who was actually Brooklyn-born Alex Aberle) made two albums of exotica/ spoken word for Capitol. He resurfaced in the ’60s as a sometimes pal of Brian Wilson.
Ahbez died in 1995 at the age of 87, after being struck by a car. Of the many songs he wrote, “Nature Boy” was the only one which ever became a hit.
Short People
October 30, 2007 – 2:29 pm
I was listening to Randy Newman’s Little Criminals this morning. One of my favorite Newman albums.
It struck me that “Short People,” which went all the way to #2 on the Billboard chart thirty years ago, could never be a hit today. Mainly, because the pop charts have lost their sense of humor, and so have most of us in America. I remember at the time that there were a few groups who spoke out against Newman’s song, missing the humor in it. Today, I’m sure those same groups would be demanding a televised apology from him and that the song be banned from the airwaves. Musically, the song
would sound out of place too, as the Top 40 is no longer catholic in its acceptance of different styles, but narrow as the eye of a needle.
Favorite records of the moment
October 26, 2007 – 8:41 am
Here are my favorite records of the moment:
Justin Currie - What Is Love For
Richard Hawley - Lady’s Bridge
Stacey Kent - Breakfast on the Morning Tram
Elton John - Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player
Andy Partridge - Fuzzy Warbles
The Bird and the Bee - Clap Your Hands
Blossom Dearie - May I Come In?
Van Hunt - Popular
Phoebe Snow - Best of
Bill Evans - Explorations