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How things change.


leschirons
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After 45 years of playing rock music, I've just gone over the set list I played tonight. Included were,
Come fly with me
Got you under my skin
That ole devil called love
Love letters
Fly me to the moon
Can't take my eyes off of you
Up on the roof
Will you still love me tomorrow
Big spender
Never can say goodbye

Must admit though, I enjoyed it.

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We were once asked to play Fly Me To The Moon for a wedding and it was so popular that we've played it a few times since.

The second time we played it, we opened with it after announcing we'd be playing a few new songs and it was quite funny to watch people's reactions before we launched into the rest of the originals set :lol:

It's a fun walking bassline to play, though I play it with a dollop of, er, 'improvisation' shall we say rather than sticking rigidly to the sheet music.

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There is a reason why many songs become 'oldies but goldies'. At the risk of sounding even older than I am, there is an element of 'They don't write 'em like [i]that [/i]any more'. Many of that repertoire come, not from any ephemeral 'chart toppers' list, but rather from very popular musical shows or films; how many of the current hit parade successes are forgotten the week after..? Anyway, quality is quality. Plenty of scope for imprinting one's own personality onto those songs, too; after all, that's what the masters do..!

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1406977922' post='2516382']
There is a reason why many songs become 'oldies but goldies'. At the risk of sounding even older than I am, there is an element of 'They don't write 'em like [i]that [/i]any more'. Many of that repertoire come, not from any ephemeral 'chart toppers' list, but rather from very popular musical shows or films; how many of the current hit parade successes are forgotten the week after..? Anyway, quality is quality. Plenty of scope for imprinting one's own personality onto those songs, too; after all, that's what the masters do..!
[/quote]

Yup, surprising how many tunes there are out there that are just so enduring after all those years. Quality compositions that are so much fun to play. Luckily, I have the singer that can pull them off too. Can't believe how well they go down with the audience.

To be honest, it has taught me a lot too by exposing some huge gaps in my theory.

I suppose my next logical step is to get myself a cheap EUB and have a go to complete the image :D

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[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1407027738' post='2516801']
Working on 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square' at the moment. I don't think the words have held up well, but the tune is great :)
[/quote]

Fabulous song. Nat King Cole really did the best rendition imo. Prefer his version over all the others I've heard over the years.

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Someone recently asked "What is a standard?" A look at the OP,s list should answer that question.
Someone at a gig recently asked us to play "Shaking all over!" I never played it before but had a go. Its simple pentatonic bassline shapes the whole song!

Edited by Hobbayne
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You lot would have to tell me how they tend to go down in the UK when you throw the odd one in. Here in central France, it was a real surprise how well they were received. I'm not sure how much of what we call "standards got here in the 60's so I don't really know if they applauded because they were accessible quality tunes or if it was due to recognition.

I've played with quite a few very good French musicians who have actually asked me who Sinatra, Carole King and Billie Holiday were. Maybe they were just too wrapped up with Jonny Halliday and Serge Gainsbourg at the time although they are more familiar with the old rock'n'roll numbers as mentioned in the last couple of replies.

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It is a lounge bar gig... played in hotels and bars but defo not pubs around here
unless those pubs have that sort of clientele but the people who would go to them
aren't buying big drinks so maybe there would have to be a food pub.

For that set, we had a monday night residency which turned into buffet musak..
Occasionally, you'd get a few functions out of it,

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[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1407084512' post='2517170']
Try 'La Mer' by Charles Trenet on 'em, Les.
[/quote]

One of my fave all time tunes.
Particularly the big band versions from Bobby Darren and George Benson.

I am the reverse of the OP, I was playing all those tunes in a function band when I was sixteen (1973),
apart from Never can say goodbye, it was not even released then! (Well not the Disco version).
It was a good introduction to learning all the Jazz standards, and not to mention busking.
The only time I get to play those tunes these days is during dinner music (sometimes) at
Corporate functions in the West End hotels.

Edited by lowdown
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[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1407084512' post='2517170']
Try 'La Mer' by Charles Trenet on 'em, Les.
[/quote]

We did it, I just forgot to put it on the list :D She sings the French version too and not the Beyond the sea version. Went down well.

We also threw in Sway (a la Dean Martin)

Admittedly Never can say goodbye is the odd one out but at the moment it's my all time fave feel-good number. The band had doubts but it's a winner.

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[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1407092305' post='2517268']
Admittedly Never can say goodbye is the odd one out but at the moment it's my all time fave feel-good number. The band had doubts but it's a winner.
[/quote]

There was a few versions of that knocking around about the same time, done in different styles.
Gloria Gaynor, Isaac Hayes and The Jackson 5. And it is a feel-good tune, punters love it.

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A good tune is a good tune. Melody and lyric to me - the rest is open house. Makes no difference how the original version was arranged or what musical gendre they were first done in. Having said that , of course , the tastes and intentions of the songwriter will obviously have influence and certain styles will fit a particular song better than others. One of the great pleasures of my musical life in recent years has been taking songs from any gendre and putting our Doc B pub/rock spin on them. I'd love to play the OP's set list - some cracking songs - but for me the freedom to play around with them would be the greatest joy. I wouldn't be interested in trying to do a straight cover as close as poss to the originals , though that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with that approach which has it's own merits and skill set. I suppose some may say that 'mellowing' from a bang bang rock and roll approach to a softer style in both playing terms and song choice is just a sign of getting old BUT I for one am happy to admit that the reason I wouldn't have played that set at 20 is because I plain wasn't good enough !

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[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1407027738' post='2516801']
Working on 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square' at the moment. I don't think the words have held up well, but the tune is great :)
[/quote] I don't know about that. Among older folk looking back on their lives there's a few eyes it'd put a tear in !

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1406977922' post='2516382']
Many of that repertoire come, not from any ephemeral 'chart toppers' list, but rather from very popular musical shows or films; [/quote]

Not as many as you (and I) would think, Dad. Most are 50s and 60s hits.

Come Fly With Me - was written for Frank Sinatra, and was the title track of his 1958 album of the same name.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin - is a song written by Cole Porter. Written in 1936, the song was introduced in the Eleanor Powell MGM musical, Born to Dance

That Ole Devil Called Love - is a song written in 1944 by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher. It was first recorded by Billie Holiday, who released it as the B-side of her hit "Lover Man" in 1945.

Love letters – is a 1945 popular song with music by Victor Young and lyrics by Edward Heyman. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the movie of the same name, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song for 1945.

Fly Me To The Moon - originally titled "In Other Words", is a popular song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song in 1954

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - is a 1967 single by Frankie Valli (the title is actually ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Of You’)

Up On The Roof – is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King (once James Taylor's partner) and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters: released late that year, the disc became a major hit in early 1963, reaching #5 on the U.S. pop singles chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart.[1]

Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is also a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and originally recorded by The Shirelles. It has been recorded by many artists and was ranked among Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at No.126. The song is notable for being the first song by an all-girl group to reach No.1 in the United States.

Big Spender - is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical Sweet Charity, first performed in 1966 (much later than I expected). It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess "girls"; it was choreographed by Bob Fosse for the Broadway musical and the film. It was not written for Shirley Bassey.

Never Can Say Goodbye is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes to record; however Motown decided the song would be better for the Jackson 5. Released as a single in 1971, it was one of the group's most successful songs. The

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1407423064' post='2520370']
Released as a single in 1971, it was one of the group's most successful songs. The
[/quote]
'The' what? What were you going to tell us next? Please don't leave it like that. The suspense is too much to bear. You've got to tell us. You've simply got to. I can't stand it, I tells ya. I can't take no more. Please. I beg you. Please end the uncertainty. Please. How can you leave me hanging like this? It's cruel. So very cruel. Oh god the inhumanity. Nooooooooooooooooooo

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