'I Can't Get Started' a Bunny Berigan classic

Allposters.com

Q. I heard a great big band recording of a song titled "I Can't Get Started" by a bandleader, new to me, Bunny Berigan. What can you tell me about him and the recording?

A. We agree "I Can't Get Started" by Bunny Berigan and his orchestra is a big band classic. Bunny is the vocalist. Here is the sad tale of Berigan;

Musician/bandleader, Bunny Berigan had a short life...born in 1908 and died in 1942. His career hauntingly paralleled that of Bix Beiderbeck. Both Bunny Berigan's and Bix Beiderbeck's individualistic styles, compromising in playing with commercial bands, losing battle with alcoholism, and disintegration and death followed a similar pattern.

Bunny Berigan's first big hit records were with the Benny Goodman big band. For classic Bunny Berigan solos hear Goodman's version of King Porter Stomp and Sometimes I'm Happy both recorded in 1935. His solo on Tommy Dorsey's recording of Marie is a classic as well.

For up-tempo Bunny Berigan hear Gangbuster's Holiday also recorded with his own band or Blue Lou with the Metronome All Stars of 1939. Bunny Berigan won the Metronome Poll in both 1937 and 1939.

Bunny Berigan's biggest hit was a ballad, recorded under his own name, in which he played and sang was the now classic I Can't Get Started. Bunny Berigan’s recording of I Can’t Get Started was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.


The song, surprisingly, was introduced by comedian Bob Hope. Hope sang it to Eve Arden in the Broadway revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. In a New York Times article, theater and film critic Vincent Canby said, “It was sung for laughs, with (Eve) Arden making caustic comments about Mr. Hope’s passion.”

Here are the Berigan lyrics to the great standard written by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics).
I've been around the world in a plane
I've settled revolutions in Spain
The North Pole I have charted
But man I can't get started with you
And at the golf course I'm under par
Metro-Goldwyn wants me to star
I've got a house and a show place
But can't get no place with you
You're so supreme
The lyrics I write of you
Dream, dream, day and night of you
Scheme just for the sight of you
But what good does it do
I've been consulted by Franklin D.
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
But now I'm broken hearted
Can't get started with you:

If you listen to more modern versions of the song....note that the lyrics change with each decade. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was Frank Sinatra ever arrested?

Q. Was Frank Sinatra ever arrested?

A. Yes....and here is the story....

A YouTube video of Frank Sinatra singing "September Song" contains pictures of  mostly album covers, however, there is also a now infamous picture of Frank. What's the story? Proof of Frank's 'Mob" ties? Not really, it was taken by the Bergen County, New Jersey police . The picture haunted Frank for his entire career. It certainly, didn't help having the poster version on the wall at  TV Tony Soprano's Bada Bing Club.

In I938, Frank was singing at his first real professional gig at the Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, just up the road from the George Washington Bridge.
Even at that young age, the other band members reported that Frank was a big attraction to the ladies. One night, so the story goes, Frank was invited out to the parking lot for a "personal encounter."

Unfortunately, a policeman tapped on the car window sending the woman into a panic....she started screaming "rape." Frank was arrested, and these photos were taken. The next day, the woman, who was married, dropped the charges. Case dismissed. But, the pictures never went away.

Who was first choice to play the singer in The Godfather?

Q. Was Al Martino first choice to play the singer in "The Godfather"?

A. The answer is no, according to Vic Damone in his book "Singing Was The Easy Part"? 
In it Vic Damone  talks about Frank Sinatra and the movie The Godfather.

According to Vic this is the now the legendary conversation with Frank Sinatra that led to Damone's refusal of the role of Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather.
He wrote: "Frank, you know this part. It's like your life story." "Yeah, yeah I know."
"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know," he said. "It's up to you, pal. It could be good for your career, but it's a story about the mob and all that. You've got to make up your own mind. It's your career. I can't tell you what to do."

"So that didn't settle anything. In the back of my head I was still thinking. This is definitely the Sinatra story. Who's going to do that better than me? Besides which, the song Johnny Fontaine was supposed to sing at the wedding was I Have But One Heart, my song.

If I took the part I'd be singing my theme song in front of millions of people. On the other hand, the script made him out to be a kind of a weakling, a whiner. Of course, Sinatra had seen the script; there was no way he wasn't going to get hold of it. But he didn't say anything about the characterization to me, only that I had to make up my own mind. I can't imagine he cared much about the way the movie presented him. He was above that. But he was never, ever a whiner. So how could I do that?"

Damone turned it down.

"My excuse was that I wasn't able to cancel my bookings," he writes. "Afterward I got a call from one of the networks ... and they asked if Sinatra wanted me to decline it. I said no, it was my schedule. Of course, I would never ever discuss the fact that I had spoken to Frank at all."

Also Read http://www.examiner.com/frank-sinatra-in-national/the-godfather-and-from-here-to-eternity-true

To buy Vic's music or his book CLICK HERE

                                    "The More I See You" by Vic Damone

Kitty Margolis in San Francisco

"Margolis is an exhilarating and imaginative jazz vocalist of the highest order. Thrilling." - San Francisco Chronicle

Yoshi's San Francisco is pleased to announce an exclusive engagement June 24 by the award winning jazz vocalist Kitty Margolis. Critics have dubbed Ms. Margolis the inheritor of the great vocal jazz tradition passed down by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Betty Carter and Carmen McRae, noting her “sumptuous, heart-stopping ballads” and “scat so rare in this day and age you might think you’ve found the Holy Grail.”  Yet Margolis is very much an innovator within this tradition.  Her live shows have been heralded as “world-class jazz experiences” that take the listener on an exhilarating journey through a repertoire that ranges from Tom Waits to George Gershwin, with stops to visit Mose Allison, Truman Capote and John Coltrane along the way.

Ms. Margolis will be supported by her supremely swinging trio including Murray Low (piano), John Shifflett (bass) and very special guest Allison Miller (drums). One show only...don't miss it!

Get the skinny on Kitty and Allison here:
www.kittymargolis.com
www.allisonmiller.com

Four Freshmen headline New Jersey jazz series in July

The Four Freshmen

The season of swing returns with gusto to Hackettstown, New Jersey, this summer when the 2011 Jazz in July Series  comes to the Centenary Stage with a line-up of Big Band, Dixieland, Swing and incomparable harmonies of The Four Freshmen.  

The series kicks off on July 9^th with the Rob Stoneback Big Band.   Boasting  17 instrumentalists and two vocalists, the Rob Stoneback Big Band  has performed throughout the Mid Atlantic region, often appearing with such luminaries as The Manhattan Transfer, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole and Rosemary Clooney, to name just a few.  Playing a program of great standards and current hits, this dynamic band celebrates thirty years in the business this season.   The Rob Stoneback Big Band will perform  on Saturday, July 9^th at 8 PM in the Sitnik Theater of the new David and Carol Lackland Center on the campus of Centenary College.  Tickets are $25 in advance and $30  on the day of performance.

Celebrating the music of the great two-tenor team,  Zoot Sims (‘Brother of Swing’) and Al Cohn, The Al and Zoot Tribute Band will perform on Saturday, July 16 at 8 PM.   It was the appearance of the Sims-Cohn Quintet that is reported to have changed the fortunes of the legendary Half Note jazz club in lower Manhattan.  Lines formed outside the club on Saturday nights to hear the two tenors’ free-wheeling, hard-booting,  joyous brand of music.    Tenors Lew DelGatto & Bob Keller breathe new life into the memory of the popular  group, backed by Jesse Green on piano, Tony Marino on bass, and Tom Whaley on drums.   Lew DelGatto has been a dynamic figure in the music scene for over 30 years, and colleague Bob Keller has been playing in the jazz scene for over 50 years, with such great big bands as The Buddy Rich Jazz Orchestra, and  Chuck Israel's National Jazz Ensemble.  Drummer Tony Marino’s notable performance career includes a musical stint with the late Al Cohn & Zoot Sims.    Tickets are $22.50 in advance and $27.50 on the day of performance.

Headlining the 2011 Series on July 23^rd will be the incomparable ensemble, The Four Freshmen, the group which pioneered a revolutionary new style of close-harmony vocals that set the stage for bands like the Beach Boys, Spanky & Our Gang, the Hi-Lo's, the Manhattan Transfer and countless others.   The Freshmen’s characteristic sound married tight harmonies with a lush improvisatory style, and while the names and faces have evolved along the way,  the legendary sound has continued, winning the group a ranking of #1 in both  the Downbeat Magazine and Jazz Times poll (2007)for “Best Vocal Group. ”  

With  smooth vocals and the musical mastery of nearly a dozen instruments between them, the contemporary group not only preserves the Freshmen sound, but enhances it with youth, vitality and talent,  giving a new treatment to the Great American Songbook.     The Four Freshman features Curtis Calderon (vocals and trumpet), Vince Johnson (vocals and bass), Bob Ferreira (vocals and drums), and Brian Eichenberger (vocals and guitar ).  At this performance, the group will also be backed by five swinging trombones.   Tickets for the 8 PM performance of The Four Freshman are $35 in advance and $42.50 at the door, on the day of performance. 

The high-energy, toe-tapping sound of New Orleans jazz will fill the Lackland Center when Clarinetist Dan Levinson leads a Dixieland Bash on Saturday, July 30 at 8 PM.    A specialist in traditional jazz and swing,  Levinson is one of the most prolific musicians on the contemporary scene, equally at home as a leader and sideman.   During a twenty-year career, he has appeared alongside such prominent artists as Dick Hyman, Mel Tormé and Wynton Marsalis.   The Dixieland Bash band includes Levinson on clarinet, Randy Reinhart on coronet, Jim Fryer on trombone, Mark Shane on piano, Brian Nalepka on bass and special guest Stephane Seva on washboard.    The band will perform on Saturday, July 30 at 8 PM.  Tickets are $22.50 in advance, and $27.00 at the door on the day of performance. 

A special subscription package, which includes all four concerts in the festival, is available for $95 and can be purchased through the Centenary Stage Company Box office at 908-979-0900, or online at www.centenarystageco.org.   Patrons may also purchase tickets directly at the Carol and David Lackland Center Box Office, located at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown.     Students under age 18 receive a special discounted ticket price for all jazz events.

Jazz in July is made possible through the leadership of Ed Coyne (Chair of the Centenary Stage Company Advisory Board) and Coyne Enterprises, with the additional support of Heath Village and Skylands Community Bank.   The Centenary Stage Company is a not-for-profit performing arts series, in residence at Centenary College, dedicated to serving as a cultural resource for audiences of the Skylands region with professional music, theatre and dance events and arts education programs throughout the year.   All programs at the Centenary Stage Company are made possible in part through the visionary support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, as well as CSC sponsors Heath Village (platinum sponsor),  Panther Valley Pharmacy, Skylands Community Bank, and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. 

NEW THEATRE:  Performances at the Centenary Stage Company enjoy their new residence in the state-of-the-art theatres of  the new Carol and David Lackland Center, opened just 9 months ago in Hackettstown.  Hailed as the most sophisticated performing arts venue in northwest New Jersey, the center includes the new 500-seat Sitnik Theater,  The Edith Bolte Kutz black box theater, a dance studio, as well as  WNTI, the College’s NPR affiliate station, and CCTV, Centenary’s Comcast-licensed television studio.   Named in honor of Carol Burgess Lackland, A Centenary graduate (Class of 1954), and her husband, David A. Lackland, a Centenary College Trustee, The David and Carol Lackland Center, has been designed to enrich student life and bring new cultural opportunities to northwest New Jersey.