Have a diva or two!

Ever notice how often "happy" songs are, strictly speaking, not happy? If you actually listen to the lyrics of "Get Happy" by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, you'll see that umm, well, hmmm, really, I mean...look, it's about dying. In a manner of speaking. But, you know, get happy!

Nevertheless, this performance makes me happy every time anyway--Judy Garland singing "Get Happy" against Barbra Streisand singing Milton Ager and Jack Yellen's "Happy Days Are Here Again":


Video posted by TheJudyRoomVideos

***

We have a bunch of Jewish songwriters here: Harold Arlen ("Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather," "The Man That Got Away") was the son of a synagogue cantor; I can't find much about Ted Koehler ("Get Happy," "Stormy Weather," "Moon Over Dixie")'s personal life, but he seems to be counted among Jewish lyricists; and both Milton Ager ("Last of the Red Hot Mamas") and his frequent collaborator Jack Yellen ("My Yiddishe Momme") were Jewish--and so, of course, is Barbra Streisand.


Comments

Post a Comment

Note: Unfortunately, comments left when using Safari disappear into the ether. Chrome seems to work, though, which I’m sure is a total coincidence. Thank you for going that extra mile!

Popular posts from this blog

"Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King" --James Taylor

Image
Four men on the balcony Overlooking the parking lot Pointing at a figure in the distance Dr. King has just been shot And the sirens long melody Singing Savior Pass Me Not                         -Paul Simon "So Beautiful or So What" by Paul Simon, sung by Paul Simon Video by PaulSimonVEVO Right, so this song is not about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life or his dream, but as Paul Simon told Mojo Magazine, "'So beautiful or so what' is a valid question when you're facing the enormity of the infinite. Or pure Love," which makes it clear where Dr. King's death comes in. *** It's news to precisely no one that Paul Simon is Jewish , with a musical career that began when he started singing with Art Garfunkel when they were both 13. In the six decades (or so) since then, he has picked up 16 Grammys (out of 35 nominations); was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ; landed in the top ten of Rolling Stone's list of 100 Grea
Read more

Thank you, all those who have served in our military!

Image
When I went Googling searching my memory for songs appropriate to Veterans Day, I found I had pretty much the same problem I had looking for appropriate Memorial Day songs--lots and lots of lists of patriotic songs, but not so many that highlighted servicemen and -women. So I thought I would present serviceman Irving Berlin's complaint about army life during WWI, "Oh, How I Hate To Get Up in the Morning": Video posted by MuricaForever Since I've already written about Irving Berlin in posts about "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade," I thought I'd just bring you Irving Berlin himself, singing his own song. And now here's what he had to say about writing it: There were a lot of things about army life I didn't like, and the thing I didn't like most of all was reveille. I hated it. I hated it so much I used to lie awake nights thinking about how much I hated it. [But] I wanted to be a good soldier. Every morning when the bugle
Read more

St. Nicholas Music, Inc.

Image
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," sung by a 13-year-old Brenda Lee: Video posted by Christmas Music "A Holly Jolly Christmas," sung by Lady Antebellum: Video posted by ChristmasEve12345 "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," sung by Ben Rector (in a slightly less familiar fashion than other covers): Video posted by Ben Rector Although he wrote 175 published songs , these three massive hits--and the over twenty other Christmas songs he wrote--led songwriter Johnny Marks to name his music publishing company "St. Nicholas Music." Despite this very public acknowledgment of the importance of Christmas to his career, Marks was Jewish . Here's a little from the man himself--Ian Whitcomb Interviews Johnny Marks: Video posted by adamgswanson I'm afraid that Mr. Marks was being just a wee bit disingenuous there about the inspiration for the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," since it came from a booklet writt
Read more