A commonplace book
More ’70s nostalgia. I don’t think I ever managed to make it to the film, the third(?) remake of “A Star is Born.”
In the clip below, Babs seems less-self indulgent than I remember at the time. And a hirsute Kris K was even sort of fetching. Still it all seems kind of trapped in the aspic of the Carter administration.
Today’s classic, not from a movie for a change, is “I Left My Heart in San Francisco, ” a 1950s tune from homesick San Franciscans in NYC.
Although Tony Bennett owns it, Julie London’s smokey version has a nice feel too:
Not strictly speaking sheet music, but a closely related phenomena the “vocal selections” — a set of hits from a show, generally with simplified arrangements. Got a lot of mileage out of this one, a show as omnipresent in its era as Wicked is today.
And the big finale:
And an old TV special with Mikhail Baryshnikov:
Another song that was a mega-hit, and seems more or less forgotten. Although that dress, once seen, does stay with you. And Judy Collins is still going strong–touring at age 74.
Hard to believe what a mega-hit this was back in the day.
When I heard my father sing it (with his operetta-size baritone), I was mostly puzzled about why the protagonist of the song was going from Phoenix to Oklahoma, and how he made such good time. It made no sense to a 7 year old.
Wikipedia explains the that Jim Webb the composer knew the geography was borked. It also has the remarkable fact (if true) that this was the third most popular song from 1940-1990 according to BMI.
Here is the man who made it famous:
Back to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for today’s selection. The great solo from Carousel, Soliloquy, a scene and aria by any other name. Love the illustration…
Why or how this came into our house, I’m not sure. Although it was a big hit for Frank Sinatra, so that might be the reason: both my parents were certainly fans. Wikipedia has a somewhat suspect entry on the origin of the piece and its American incarnation. And for a taste of what it sounds like, how about Michael Bublé, who seems to be time traveling back to the heyday of “101 Strings”:
“Where is Your Heart?” from John Huston’s 1952 film “Moulin Rouge,” has yet another great melody. Apparently Zsa Zsa Gabor’s character sings it in the film (dubbed by someone else). The music is by George Auric, of Les Six, a group of French composers who tried to find a new path in the shadow of Debussy and Ravel.
Nice montage inspired by the film:
And Chet Atkins’s surprising take:
And the over the top sheet music cover:
The one sheet is pretty tasteless, the 1967 movie was forgettable (at least to me), but the Bacharach and David tune, at least in the relaxed style of Dionne Warwick, is quite winning. (And that cast makes for great six degrees of separation fun: Orson Wells and Woody Allen?)
This unforgettable tune has a mostly forgotten history. It originated in a prison film based on a book called Prisoners Are People.
In the film it is sung by Todd Duncan, the operatic baritone, a performance that is surprising with so many later versions in one’s ear.
A Few Reasonable Words 