Why this tune?
This week’s tune comes from the songbook of the late great Dave Frishberg, a brilliant pianist and songwriter who passed away in 2021. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember his classic “I’m Just a Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock, or other classics like “I’m Hip” and “Peel Me a Grape” which were performed by Blossom Dearie and many others.
Frishberg wrote “You Would Rather Have the Blues” in 1985, and recorded it on a solo album released that year. That album “Retromania” includes several other classics worth a listen. I admit the song speaks to me personally. I find that on occasion, I have a pessimistic streak, so “when things are looking up, I’m looking down.”
You can hear Frishberg’s influence in many of the songs I’ve written. After he passed, I wrote a song in his honor, “A Little Late,” which I’m recording in October for release on my next album next year.
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
Check it out!
Dave Frishberg