Classic Hifi Care

The public radio music station has a Sat. night "standards" show, and tonight one of the tunes was "Stardust," sung by Nat "King"Cole--a nice version. This is one of my favorite tunes so I looked to see what Wikipedia had to say. It has been recorded over 1,500 times (!), which is a pretty good measure of quality. It was originally just a jazz band tune, and lyrics came later. Hoagy Carmichael was the first to record his composition, on Gennett, in 1927. Listen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyHc9bQ8Mm0

Amazing, isn't it, that just sitting here at my computer, I can pull up a 1927 recording?

Of course, YouTube tempted me with other offerings, including one guy's take on the 17 most important 1950s cars. I wouldn't turn down any of them if they showed up in my driveway, but surely other people might make different selections. See it here, if you want some car pix.

https://facty.com/network/answers/thing ... irst-wave/

Chris Campbell

Not an easy tune to sing. It's very "rangey" with lots of highs and lows. It's a singer's song. A lot of people wouldn't record it.

Hoagy was quite a talent. Had a regular role on the 50s western "Laramie". Never think he was the same guy who wrote one of the most famous songs of the 20th century.

I have this version on a 45. I am not familiar with this group. Perhaps you guys will enjoy it.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHRtrpW7FUo

Nice version. The remarkable thing about this composition is that so many artists played it, some as a pop tune, some as a basis for jazz improvisation.

Chris Campbell

Willie Nelson recorded an album of standards back in the 1980's. He recorded "Stardust". Willie is noted for singing off-key with "lagging tempo" style, but his rendition of the song is admirable.

electra225 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 22, 2024 2:47 pm Willie Nelson recorded an album of standards back in the 1980's. He recorded "Stardust". Willie is noted for singing off-key with "lagging tempo" style, but his rendition of the song is admirable.

It is indeed. This is a song that musicians choose. That's what makes it so interesting, apart from its intrinsic value. How do we define that value? Our public radio music station has a Saturday morning request show. People request a wide variety of music. Reardless of genre, some is good and some is bad. The other day, one was a song from a musical called "Wicked." The song had no substantial tune or any other redeeming virtues. Within a decade it will be consigned to the dustbin of history. Meanwhile, new artists will be recording "Stardust."

Chris Campbell

Stardust was one of the first songs I learned to memorize when I was taking organ lessons. It has always been a favorite of mine, partially because I had to memorize it, and I still can play it without music, and because of the way it was written.

Bill