Why this tune? This week’s song is a soul jazz classic written by Bobby Hebb that BMI ranked as one of the top songs of the 20th century. Hebb’s 1966 recording was a hit, and the song was quickly picked up by vocalists and instrumental performers who recorded over 500 covers of the song. TheContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Sunny”
Tag Archives: solo piano
Tunes on Tuesday: A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening
Why this tune? I’m going back to the standards this week with this song by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson from 1943. Frank Sinatra sang it in the 1944 film “Higher and Higher.” Both Sinatra and the Ink Spots reached the pop hit charts with their recordings. McHugh contributed many standards to the American songbook,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening”
Tunes on Tuesday: The Closer I Get To You
Why this tune? This week’s song is in memory of the great American singer and pianist Roberta Flack, who passed on this week (February 24). She has a special place in the hearts of people from Washington, DC, where Flack started her musical career. She was already an accomplished singer, pianist and teacher when sheContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Closer I Get To You”
Tunes on Tuesday: Road Song
Why this tune? This week’s selection goes back to the standards with “Road Song,” a 1968 tune by Wes Montgomery. It was the title track of his album of that year, a “commercial” project that was also his last album. Montgomery died later that year of a heart attack. The track list includes covers ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Road Song”
Tunes on Tuesday: My Dear Acquaintance
Why this tune? This week’s tune was written by legendary singer and composer Peggy Lee, near the end of her 60-year career that included over 250 songs and 1000 recordings. She wrote the song with Paul Horner for an autobiographical musical “Peg” in 1983. The song was dropped from the show, and the show wasContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: My Dear Acquaintance”
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: 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: 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”
Tunes on Tuesday: Whisper Not
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a jazz classic penned by the late Benny Golson, who sadly passed last week (Sept. 21, 2024) at age 95. “Whisper Not” was one of the many jazz standards he left us in a long career as a performer, composer and arranger for jazz bands, film and television.Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Whisper Not”