Why this tune? This week’s tune “Hanukkah Time” is brand new, written earlier the same day as this post and the Tunes on Tuesday video. Songwriters are often asked if the words or the melody come first when writing a song. The answer for this one is neither. This song started with that drum loopContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Hanukkah Time”
Author Archives: Oren Levine
Tunes on Tuesday: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a classic by Frank Loesser that has become one of the standards of the American holiday season. Loesser wrote it as a standalone song in 1947, and it was quickly picked up by performers in a variety of genres. The song was an R&B hit for The OriolesContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Tunes on Tuesday: What Kind of Fool Am I?
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a classic written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse in 1962 for the musical “Stop the World – I Want to Get Off.” Sammy Davis Jr. recorded it that same year, scoring a hit record and a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1963. I found theContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: What Kind of Fool Am I?”
Tunes on Tuesday: The Nearness of You
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a classic by the great American composer Hoagy Carmichael, born on Nov. 22, 1899. “The Nearness of You” is one of 50 (!) hit songs he wrote in a long career as a writer, pianist, singer and actor. Carmichael’s music supports Ned Washington’s lyric to create a sincere,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Nearness of You”
Tunes on Tuesday: Here I Am
Why this tune? This week’s tune is very much a work in progress, another song in my “Torah Tunes” series inspired by the weekly Torah portion. “Here I Am”, for Parashat Vayera, takes its cue from Abraham’s first response when G-d calls him to sacrifice his son Isaac. The song doesn’t deal with that story,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Here I Am”
Tunes on Tuesday: It Might As Well Be Spring
Why this tune? As the weather gets colder in DC, I turned to an American classic about spring by Rodgers and Hammerstein, written for the 1945 film “State Fair.” “It Might As Well Be Spring” is not really about spring as a season, but as a metaphor for joy and new beginnings. Thereare many otherContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: It Might As Well Be Spring”
Tunes on Tuesday: Stand Right (Election Day 2024)
Why this tune? On this Election Day Tuesday in the USA, I added a new introduction to an old song, hoping to share something we can all agree on. I wrote “Stand Right” soon after returning to Washington, DC in 2010, when I learned about the etiquette expectations on the local subway system. The DCContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Stand Right (Election Day 2024)”
Tunes on Tuesday: Haunted (Not Haunted)
Why this tune? I’m not a big fan of Halloween, but as a songwriter think its worth having some topical material for the season. I wrote the first draft of this song “Haunted (Not Haunted)” in 2023 during the annual 50/90 challenge at fawm.org. It started in a song “skirmish,” an exercise that gives youContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Haunted (Not Haunted)”
Tunes on Tuesday: Terminal
Why this tune? I started this week’s tune “Terminal” in January, and only got around to finishing it this week. It’s a musical complement to “In the Lounge” from my 2018 album, but this time about all those people who don’t have “the right to be in the lounge.” Even though I don’t travel asContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Terminal”
Tunes on Tuesday: Ask Me Now
Why this tune? Tunes on Tuesday marks the birthday of the great Thelonious Monk (Oct. 10) with hislovely tune “Ask Me Now.” Monk recorded the tune in his first recordings as a leader, which were released first in 1952 on a then-new 10″ album format. He recorded other versions later on, including a solo pianoContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Ask Me Now”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 