Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Weekly Song Challenge

 


I believe this is week 8 hosted by Jingle, Jangle, Jungle where she gives 3 themes per week and one has to choose a song that is in the title, the artist or in the lyrics. The 3 themes are:

1. A Body Part

2. A Flower

3. An Instrumental 

1. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes- Jerome Kern-1933

I fell in love with this song when I heard the beautiful Kathryn Grayson sing it in a compilation of MGM musicals called "That's Entertainment". She sang this in the musical "Lovely To Look At" (1952), a remake of Roberta, where this song originated from. I know the Platters made it more famous but I love this version. I have to admit I always loved the change in lyrics by Hawkeye Pierce (M.A.S.H.) while he showers..."Ask me how I knew, her brassiere was blue..."

2. Honeysuckle Rose-Fats Waller-1929

Yeah, on the same film as above("That's Entertainment") I was introduced to the exquisite Lena Horne who sang this song in the musical, "Thousand's Cheer"(1943) and made me want to see more of her. Unfortunately, unless she played something typical like a maid, she wasn't greatly utilised.  

3. Wheels- by the String a Longs(who knew??)-1960 I know it from Billy Vaughn-1961

My mom had this song and always recalled how my brother would start to dance to this song. This was a vivid and happy memory my mom loved speaking about. Somewhere, there is an old film reel showing my brother dancing when he was maybe 1 or 2 yrs old(my older brother was born in 1961. 

Honestly, these were the first 3 that popped into my head.

Which songs come to your mind?

18 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    Kathryn Grayson was indeed a beautiful actress and talented singer. I watched a few of her films (even though they were musicals) and very much enjoyed watching her perform the Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach show tune "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." It's interesting that you first came to know the song through Miss Grayson's rendition in an MGM musical when it was The Platters who famously recorded the song. My memory of "Smoke" was permanently altered the first time I watched the 1986 horror movie Night of the Creeps and witnessed a couple on lovers lane being chopped up by an ax murderer while the Platters' tender ballad played on their car radio.

    I enjoyed reading about the first time you heard the Fats Waller song "Honeysuckle Rose, a rendition by Lena Horne in Thousands Cheer. Yessum, Mrs. Shady and I are working our way through the Columbo TV series. We are currently watching 1971 episodes. Just last night we watched a 1971 episode that had a black butler and maid waiting hand and foot on their rich, white, entitled massa, a sight that I found disturbing.

    I do hope you find and post that old film showing you and your brother dancing to "Wheels." I first became familiar with the catchy tune when I acquired the hit version by the Texas instrumental band The String-A-Longs on a various artists oldies compilation album.

    For my body part offering I pick "Hair" by The Cowsills. See there - Shady is all about musicals!

    For my flower song I pick "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" made popular by Tiny Tim. I met Tiny Tim in 1986 when he came to the TV station where I worked and was interviewed live on the talk show we produced.

    For my instrumental I pick "Telstar" by the English band The Tornados, a chart-topping hit around Christmas 1962.

    See you "At The Movies," dear friend BB!

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    1. I grew up with movies so this is the first time I heard this song. You are right about this Colombo episode and I bet there are many others that show this disgusting bias which we took for granted when watching this. Unfortunately, we don’t have this old reel tape and I was not alive yet. I think my mom told me my brother was about a year old and would just dance like babies do. I know it was an uncle and aunt who had it but both are dead now. If it still exists, it is probably with their daughter..maybe. So cool you met the weird Tiny Tim whom I heard was quite nice. I had a feeling you would pick this song. Look at you go with a musical and that you saw more than one Kathryn Grayson film. I don’t know you last pick.

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  2. You were creative with your music choices.

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    1. Thanks and I wondered what you would have chosen

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  3. The first song always makes me think of Mad Men because that was an episode title. lol

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    1. Yes,..cool! I would love to watch all of these episodes

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  4. I remember Lena Horne as the Good Witch in The Wiz. I like her version of Honeysuckle Rose.

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    1. I forgot she was n that film. It is nice isn’t it.

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  5. Fun pics.
    Hope you are having a pain free day.

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  6. Body parts abound - lots of hearts and arms in love songs! I’d go for Into my Arms by Nick Cave. Flower - I never promised you a Rose Garden. Instrumental - anything by The Shadows, probably Cavatina because it’s less cheesy.

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    1. I know Rose Garden but not sure about the other 2. I will have to YouTube them

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  7. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes reminds me of the movie 'Always' with Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. Wonderful choices this week!

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    1. I haven’t seen this film and will one day as it was Audrey Hepburn’s last film.

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  8. I had to listen to wheels as I didn't recognize that one. You're as good with coming up with songs as you are movies!

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    1. Oh wow...thank you. You will find out I don’t have the same knowledge in music like many others especially in rock, jazz and blues even though I love all of them.

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  9. "Wheels" is one of those songs that sounds simple, but has a lot of feeling behind it. Sounds like driving around with no particular place to go, as Chuck Berry would say...

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    1. You’re right! I never thought of it like that before.

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