by Jack Viertel | Jan 5, 2017 | Song of the Day
Among pop singer-songwriters Randy Newman stands out in many ways, but most especially in his ability to write for characters nothing like himself. The protagonists of his songs are a rogues’ gallery worthy of Charles Dickens or Ring Lardner. They don’t know who they...
by Jack Viertel | Jan 4, 2017 | Song of the Day
NYFOS’s well-known motto is “No Song Is Safe From Us”, but I sometimes wonder if there are some songs from which NYFOS should be kept safe. Case in point: Leiber & Stoller’s “Idol With the Golden Head.” recorded by The Coasters in 1957, just as the rock and roll...
by Jack Viertel | Jan 3, 2017 | Song of the Day
My love affair with Harold Arlen’s music began back in the ‘70s when I was barely out of college and read Alec Wilder’s extraordinary American Popular Song, probably the first great treatise on the American Songbook. Wilder was certainly controversial, and not short...
by Charles McKay | Dec 23, 2016 | Song of the Day
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I had to close my second week with “Auld Lang Syne” as only Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians could do it, with The Lombardo Trio on vocals. Talk about nostalgic—the memories come flooding back! I dedicate this one to my six siblings, Sandra, Jim,...
by Charles McKay | Dec 22, 2016 | Song of the Day
No better way for getting in the mood for the holidays! This recording takes me back to my earliest memories. It was made in 1946 but it was still very much played in the McKay household at Christmas time in the mid to late 50’s and through the 60’s. As much as I...
by Charles McKay | Dec 21, 2016 | Song of the Day
When I knew I was going to offer a week of holiday music, it was a no brainer that one day would be devoted to Robert Shaw. While at Carnegie Hall, I ran the Professional Training Workshops that included Shaw’s Choral workshops. From 1992 to 1998, for one week each...
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