The Thirties

[kevin toner]

Here are two great lists I'd love to share:

 

I’m not sure about the latter one, which in my way of looking at it is a disguise of the former!

 

I may become interested in the 151pp edition, which is practically identical (in all aspects) except for the non-Lawrence Wright Music Co. Songs, which comprise exactly 20 out of 40 scores that vary as per quite different publishers' sets.

 

I’m surprised that the Glasgow’s Mitchell library has quite a few copies of the latter, but not the former to my knowledge.

 

The former is luckily with the family. It’s what’d got me hooked I have to say, not because of the first LWMCo 20 songs, but also because of the remainder.

 

What I find most odd is that, in the edition that I have (the 129pp ed.), the degree of melancholy appears to climax towards the last song, ergo giving the impression of WWII getting closer, notwithstanding that “Stormy Weather” & “Mood Indigo” are in the first half ergo so as not to split up the publishers’ sets.

 

Have a look at the list for an impression, i.e. the former one that I think’s better at this stage!

 

Having seen the 151pp Ed., I’m not that convinced that it’ll have the same magic/sequence of treasures, but I’ll be sampling nonetheless later as I cast my eye onto other future things. I expect to find the untried ones equally captivating.

 

I bet many in the forum have a favourite on the lists.

 

[And by the way!

 

One more interesting thing! The blemished note that I found, conveniently in EC terms, at the third bar of the verse to “Memories of You” is scanned/circled here (and also as first discussed here at post #11) was luckily in this book [both Eds] out of all the others that I’d seen at the library.

 

So critical was that blemish!]

 

A veritable feast of photos; captions/quotes; and of course the sheet music scores.

 

Here's what the front cover of the book states:

 

It started with dole queues and ended with marching columns. But throughout those grim years, people never stopped singing. These are some of their favourite tunes. The Nineteen Thirties were tough, but they were always tuneful.

 

Anyway here are the variant two lists in roughly alphabetical orders, I'll reply with the actual sequence list [of mine's] in a moment:

 

 

A:

 

THE THIRTIES : The Depression Decade (the decades series)

ISBN: 0860012417 9780860012412

EMI Music Publishing Ltd.

129 p. : ill., music 28 cm.

Series Title: Decades series.

designed by Ken Carroll, text edited by Jonathon Green art directed by Pearce Marchbank.

1977

 

A-tisket a-tasket

Auf wiedersehen my dear

Back to those happy days

Basin Street blues

A Bench in the park

Between the devil and the deep blue sea

Blue moon

Careless love

The Clouds will soon roll by

Exactly like you

For all we know (Coots 1934)

Harbour lights

Have you ever been lonely

I can dream can't I

I only have eyes for you

I surrender dear

Ida (Sweet as apple cider)

It happened in Monterey

It's foolish - but it's fun

Lady of Spain

Lazybones

Little white lies

Love is the sweetest thing

Lovely lady

Lullaby of Broadway

Marta (rambling rose of the wildwood)

Memories of you

Mood indigo

On the sunny side of the street

Once in a while

Red sails in the sunset

Serenade in the night

So deep is the night

Song of the dawn

Sophisticated lady

Star dust

Stormy weather

Sweet and lovely

When it's sleepy time down south

Who's taking you home to-night?

 

 

 

B:

 

THE THIRTIES : The Depression Decade (the decades series)

ISBN: 0860012417 9780860012412

Chappell & Co Limited (?)

151 p. : ill., music 31 cm.

Series Title: Decades series.

text edited by Jonathon Green art directed by Pearce Marchbank.

1977

 

A bench in the park

Auf Wiedersehen my dear

Back to those happy days

Basin Street blues

Between the devil & the deep blue sea

Easy to love

Exactly like you

Falling in love with love

Good-bye

Goody-goody

Have you ever been lonely

I apologise

I didn't know what time it was

I'll walk beside you

In the still of the night

Is it true what they say about Dixie?

I surrender, dear

Lazybones

Let's call the whole thing off

Little white lies

Mad about the boy

Marta

Memories of you

Mood indigo

My funny Valentine

On the sunny side of the street

September song

Someday I’ll find you

Song of the dawn

Sophisticated lady

Star Dust

Stay as sweet as you are

Stormy weather

The clouds will soon roll by

The lady is a tramp

The night is young and you're so beautiful

They can't take that away from me

When it's sleepy time down South

Wish me luck as you wave me good-bye

You are my heart's delight.

Edited May 17, 2012 by kevin toner

[kevin toner]

Here's the actual sequence of the edition that I have

 

(Nb: year, writers, copyright, publisher, etc. will follow after other things) :

 

 

Sophisticated lady, p30 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

On the sunny side of the street, p32 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Exactly like you, p35 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

I surrender dear, p38 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Star dust, p41 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Marta, p44 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Stormy weather, p47 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Have you ever been lonely, p50 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Basin Street blues, p52 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Little white lies, p55 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Back to those happy days, p57 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Between the devil and the deep blue sea, p59 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

A Bench in the park, p62 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Mood indigo, p65 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Song of the dawn, p67 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Memories of you, p70 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Lazybones, p75 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

When it's sleepy time down south, p73 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Auf wiedersehen my dear, p78 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

The Clouds will soon roll by, p81 (Lawrence Wright Music Co.)

Harbour lights, p83

A-tisket a-tasket, p86

Blue moon, p88

Careless love, p90

I can dream can't I, p92

Ida (Sweet as apple cider), p94

I only have eyes for you, p96

It happened in Monterey, p99

It's foolish - but it's fun, p102

Lady of Spain, p104

Lovely lady, p107

Love is the sweetest thing, p110

Lullaby of Broadway, p112

Sweet and lovely, p115

Once in a while, p118

Red sails in the sunset, p120

Serenade in the night, p122

So deep is the night, p124

For all we know, p126

Who's taking you home to-night?, p128

[kevin toner]

This decade cannot be ignored for its contribution to the modern standard, especially when the decade was introduced by the likes of:

 

1) Two of the most covered standards in history, “On the Sunny Side of the Street”; and ultimately

 

2) “Stardust”, as ready to go after two years without lyrics.

 

[The latter is dated 1929, but became historically significant after its ballad [ification] by Jones in 1930 even without the aid of the 1929 lyrics]; and not forgetting

 

3) Two extremely notable numbers by Yellen/Ager: “Song of the Dawn” and “A Bench in the Park”.

 

[Two informed points of view as to what caused such an incredible culturally inventive shift over the ‘30s are:

 

1) Commonly thought to be a response to ‘the Crash’; and

 

2) as I’d like to cite from Borsi, author of “The Monumental Era : European Architecture and Design” 1986, was ‘possibly a converse tendency in anticipation of war’.

 

I think both are equally valid bidirectionally.]

 

NOTE: There are three other books in the series too: THE TWENTIES; THE FORTIES; and THE FIFTIES!

 

“Chattanooga Choo Choo” as currently being discussed on the Videos & Music discussion forum is in THE FORTIES, but will include the full piano score, probably with rather more intoxicatingly good guitar tablature than the basic freely available online humdrum.

 

I’d concur that “It’s Foolish – But It’s Fun” from 1940 and including “Stardust” from 1929 are both aptly considered to be 1930s.

 

NOTE: I’ve included the graphics credit for Carroll particularly because of his cover art for THE THIRTIES book, a perfect example of cross-bed 30s/70s graphics. See pic on Amazon!

 

Marchbank as the art director has actually produced very significant illustration work depicting likewise, one might say, in a non- kitsch idiom here.

 

Also, although I can play all of these already on the treble clef by combined memory/sight-reading, easily, I will be rememorizing the scores with bass clef as I’ve managed to do on “Memories of You”.

 

However, I’ll be starting from the beginning (page 30) and turning the pages forward as I progress on each score.

 

My strategy will be to skip those that are found to be more suitable for a Baritone-Treble (probably not more than half?), which will definitely include "Stardust".

 

This is because I may one day acquire a B-T, which will entail much less doctoring - on the likes of “Stardust” - than if done with a T-T.

 

This goes for every score that I assess. There’s plenty that my T-T is suited for, as “MoY” has proven.

 

I’d begun to flesh out Stardust, prior to “MoY”, and loved every second of it. It is in the key of C, but is flooded with 7th (and Dim) chords to invariably take you onto the outer rows on probably well over 50% of the bars. “Sweet and Lovely”, which I’d also trialled, is likewise intoxicating, but is much less reliant on a B-T in my opinion; and I may therefore keep that one in T-T format.

 

Please don’t be shy to have a go at these printed standards; or to share in further discussion of the songs, some of which have been previously discussed on other forums.

[kevin toner]

...However, I’ll be starting from the beginning (page 30) and turning the pages forward as I progress on each score.

 

My strategy will be to skip those that are found to be more suitable for a Baritone-Treble (probably not more than half? - ps: no idea yet until I get round to them), which will definitely might include "Stardust".

 

This is because I may one day acquire a B-T, which will may entail much less doctoring - on the likes of “Stardust” - than if done with a T-T.

 

This goes for every score that I assess. There’s plenty that my T-T is suited for, as “MoY” has proven...

 

Before I begin assessing "Sophisticated Lady" next week, I may take a look at a 21st LWMCo. number naturally not included in THE THIRTIES series [nor in THE TWENTIES although it may appear in a Chappell&Co version if there is one in addition to EMI's(?)] entitled "Shepherd of the hills" 1927 by the man himself Lawrence Wright (as Horatio Nicholls), perhaps one of his best.

 

"You Do Something to Me" 1929 appears (at a point) to latch on to this number's last phrase of the verses; in the same way that Porter's "Get out of town" 1938 chorus/refrain seems to evoke the chorus of "Once in a While" 1937 - If Porter likes them, then so do I!

 

"SotH" can be found in Vol 1 of LWMCO's "songs the World Sings" series, which I recently bought because it has additional Uke tablature on the 20 LWMCo. numbers that were chosen for THE THIRTIES Decades Series. I'll post all the song lists (VOLs 1-3) on a separate post later, although they're all Googleable.

 

Remember Australians to get practising that "Winter Wonderland" from this Thursday 21 June. I may be doing so too even as a northern hemispherian!

 

ps: on initial inspection "SotH" 1927 largely suits my modified T-T (with the extra Bb) but will entail a B-T at the end of the day:-

 

This is because to launch the anticipated Porter-esque phrase at the words "I" & "she" an uncompromising A2 is involved.

 

Furthermore at the bit on that phrase that's roughly like Porter's (year later) "YdStM" ending at "...is su-preme" & "been in vain" is where an F is hit twice, this will entail the necessity of a model 16 B-T.

 

Now what price are those Model 16s again?

 

Yes, I'd prefer to leave this one for the moment...

Edited June 19, 2012 by kevin toner