Once Upon a Summertime
Encyclopedia
Once Upon a Summertime is a 1959 (see 1959 in music
) album by Blossom Dearie
.
This is the third in a series of six albums recorded by Dearie for the Verve
label. The liner notes quote Dearie as saying "Norman Granz
called and asked me to make another album with Tom Nola. He had Ray Brown
playing bass, Mundell Lowe
playing guitar, and Ed Thigpen
playing drums. I could pick the songs and write the arrangements. How could a girl go wrong? So, by twisting my arm a few times he seemed to persuade me to go ahead with it... even though I resisted stubbornly."
1959 in music
-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
) album by Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
.
This is the third in a series of six albums recorded by Dearie for the Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
label. The liner notes quote Dearie as saying "Norman Granz
Norman Granz
Norman Granz was an American jazz music impresario and producer.Granz was a fundamental figure in American jazz, especially from about 1947 to 1960...
called and asked me to make another album with Tom Nola. He had Ray Brown
Ray Brown (musician)
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
playing bass, Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe is an American jazz guitarist.Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 March 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz. He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television...
playing guitar, and Ed Thigpen
Ed Thigpen
Edmund Leonard "Ed" Thigpen was an American jazz drummer, best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965...
playing drums. I could pick the songs and write the arrangements. How could a girl go wrong? So, by twisting my arm a few times he seemed to persuade me to go ahead with it... even though I resisted stubbornly."
Track listing
- "Tea for TwoTea for Two (song)"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is a duet sung by Nanette and Tom in Act II as they imagine their future.-Analysis:...
" (Irving CaesarIrving CaesarIrving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. He was born and died in New York.Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was...
, Vincent YoumansVincent YoumansVincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
) – 3:20 - "The Surrey With the Fringe on TopThe Surrey With the Fringe On Top"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" is a show tune from the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! It is the second song of the show, following the opening number, "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'."...
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – 4:16 - "Moonlight Saving Time" (Irving KahalIrving KahalIrving Kahal was a popular lyricist active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville sketches written by Gus Edwards...
, Harry RichmanHarry RichmanHarry Richman was an American entertainer. He was a singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and night club performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s....
) – 1:59 - "It Amazes Me" (Cy ColemanCy ColemanCy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...
, Carolyn LeighCarolyn LeighCarolyn Leigh was an American lyricist for Broadway, movies, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come."-Biography:...
) – 4:16 - "If I Were a BellIf I Were a Bell"If I Were a Bell" is a song composed by Frank Loesser for his 1950 musical Guys and Dolls.-Guys and Dolls:In the show Guys and Dolls, it is sung by the character Sister Sarah, originally performed by Isabel Bigley on Broadway, and memorialized on the original cast album. On a bet, Sky Masterson...
" (Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
) – 3:05 - "We're Together" (Steve AllenSteve AllenSteve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, Don ElliottDon ElliottDon Elliott was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. His album Calypso Jazz is considered by some jazz enthusiasts to be one of the definitive calypso jazz albums. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career...
) – 2:02 - "Teach Me TonightTeach Me Tonight"Teach Me Tonight" is a popular song. The music was written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was published in 1953.Cahn wrote a new verse for Frank Sinatra's 1984 recording on L.A...
" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Gene DePaul) – 2:38 - "Once Upon a Summertime" (Eddie BarclayEddie BarclayEddie Barclay was a French music producer whose singers included Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour. He founded Barclay Records.-Life:...
, Michel LegrandMichel LegrandMichel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, Eddy MarnayEddy MarnayEddy Marnay was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 100 songs, including works for Édith Piaf and Céline Dion. He also wrote the title song for Charlie Chaplin's 1957 film A King in New York....
, Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) – 2:43 - "Down With LoveDown with Love (song)Down with Love is a popular song with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and music by Harold Arlen. It was originally written in 1937 for Kay Thompson, but introduced by her replacement, Vivian Vance, in the Broadway musical Hooray for What!. The song has been performed by Judy Garland and Bobby Darin among...
" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Yip HarburgYip HarburgEdgar Yipsel Harburg , known as E.Y. Harburg or Yip Harburg, was an American popular song lyricist who worked with many well-known composers...
) – 1:39 - "ManhattanManhattan (song)"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme, among many others....
" (Rodgers, Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
) – 4:16 - "Doop-Doo-De-Doop (A Doodlin' Song)" (Coleman, Leigh) – 2:15
- "Our Love is Here to StayOur Love Is Here to Stay"Our Love Is Here to Stay" is a popular song and a jazz standard. The music was written by George Gershwin, the lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the movie The Goldwyn Follies which was released shortly after George Gershwin's death. It is performed in the film by Kenny Baker...
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) – 3:10
Personnel
- Blossom DearieBlossom DearieBlossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
– vocals, piano - Ray BrownRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
– double bass - Mundell LoweMundell LoweMundell Lowe is an American jazz guitarist.Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 March 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz. He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television...
– guitar - Ed ThigpenEd ThigpenEdmund Leonard "Ed" Thigpen was an American jazz drummer, best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965...
– drums