Some days thinking of the song of the day is easy. I often know days beforehand. But last night when Micah asked me, I had no idea. But it hit me that we haven’t really done any “crooners,” the Dean Martins, Eddy Arnolds of the forties, fifties, and early sixties. And who better to start with than the “king of the hill,” Old Blue Eyes himself?
Micah did the research for me and discovered that on this day, April 11th, 1966, Frank Sinatra recorded his single “Strangers in the Night” for the album by the same name. And since we missed yesterday, we can do a three-for-Thursday feature today and throw in my favorite, “Something Stupid,” which Frank sings with his daughter Nancy. Micah’s favorite is “That’s Life,” so that will round out our Thursday trio of songs.
Speaking of 1966, one of the best pieces of writing about Sinatra was by Gay Talese, and it was published by Esquire that year in May, just one month after recording today’s lead song. If you sign into your google account, you should be able to get one free article before you face the paywall. It’s worth reading, and I can thank one of my fellow librarians from when I worked in Wilkes-Barre. She had us take turns as we read through the essay one night. Here’s the article. And if you can’t read it, you might listen to this young man read it out loud here. It’s called “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.”
My first Eastern Meadowlark of the year was this weekend, and I got treated to great views and songs at two different locations in the county. I was suffering from what I thought were spring allergies (no fever, negative 19 tests, all that), but it may have been a spring cold, because, now Brian has the sneezes and stuffy head and chest. Poor guy. I still tried to get out as many days as I could this last week because generally, the more I was up and moving around, the better I felt, but dang was it cold and windy this weekend.
The weekend also brought Northern Shovelers to my county list and the sighting of my nemesis bird this year, the snipe! Yes. It exists. I know it’s a joke, and my own brothers have played it on me. That old story where they leave you somewhere in the dark with a bag and a flashlight. They told me to just snap the bag with my fingers periodically and say, “Here, Snipe! Here, Snipe!” Meanwhile, they ran off to get into whatever trouble older brothers can get up to. Have I already told you this story? Probably.
The prank probably has its history in the fact that snipes really are difficult to find. But they are not out at night on the edge of a campground parking lot, that’s for sure. They like wet grassy fields, if a stream is soaking up a farm field with tufts of grasses all around, you’re in business. My friends Jessie and Bryce both found them at this particular field where, even with their help, the birds eluded me. Finally one showed up while I was watching the meadowlarks and I was overjoyed. I never would have seen the little bugger had he not lifted off from the grasses on one side of the road to land in the field on the other. There he/she completely disappeared. Check out their camo and that bill!
So, my friend Joel and I were looking for Meadowlark songs last night and I was surprised that there were so many. There’s Adam Young, the guy from Owl City, who released his latest album, Coco Moon, just one year ago. You probably know him best by his electronic magic in “Fireflies.” Coco Moon goes a more spiritual route than his previous albums and includes an old story about two enemies who meet in a field and show each other mercy because of the Meadowlarks singing. You can hear that song here.
Fleet Foxes, who we heard from earlier this year with “White Winter Hymnal,” has a haunting tune called “Meadowlarks.” I found a cool live performance, but the shaking of the cell phone video of the was disconcerting. They’ll be in Harrisburg in June, and now I’m thinking of maybe going.
But the one I’m featuring today is from a maybe obscure musical called The Baker’s Wife. Here it is sung by Lindsay Mendez who played Elphaba (“Gravity”) on Broadway. Her voice is just so amazing. Thanks for the suggestion, Joel! I hope you enjoy this Monday Musical feature of “Meadowlarks.”
It’s Friday, have you figured out what this week’s songs all have in common? There are two answers that could be legitimate, but I’m hoping someone will guess the reason I strung these tunes together. I’ll give you a hint. Tuesday’s song is the least like the others in respect to this week’s secret theme, but I included it because it’s still a contemporary example, and is unlike a most pop music on the radio in this respect. In fact, if you follow the link in Tuesday’s post to Jacob Collier’s studio version (featuring Brandi Carlile), the official video release, you’ll see that it’s completely lacking this feature.
If you know, or want to take a shot at it, please drop your answer in the comments below, or on social media, whatever works for you. However you share or interact with Jeff’s Song of the Day, it helps more people see and hear it. Don’t forget, if you’re not subscribed, you can get these (almost) daily posts in your email.
Today’s song by the Temptations and it is the epitome of this week’s secret theme. In fact, it’s famous for it. I don’t think there’s a better example of it than in this genius piece of music and production which came at the height of Motown in 1972. The edit I’m sharing here is a slick bit of mixing the original group with music from the 1998 movie about the band. This is what the furballs and I were dancing around to in the kitchen this morning at feeding time.
I hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to leave your answer in the comments. What is it that all five songs this week have in common? I don’t know if I have a prize, but you’ll have my awe and admiration and song of the day bragging rights if you get it right!
During the board meeting Tuesday evening, my phone started to blow up. I picked it up to check my calendar as we were discussing the date for an upcoming fundraiser, but I had to keep swiping past the message notifications. I stopped swiping when I realized it was my siblings (anyone else have an ongoing text chat group with your brothers and sisters?). I panicked for a second while my board members waited. Dad has had some health complaints and was recently at the emergency room with a high blood pressure episode.
Turned out though, they were only talking about Dad’s birthday. He turns 91 next month and they were all discussing where to take him for dinner. That was a relief, but I’m also keenly aware that our chances of having many more such birthday celebrations are getting smaller and smaller. I need to do better at keeping in touch with him.
This all got me thinking about Brandi Carlile’s song called “Most of All.”
I haven’t seen my father in some time But his face is always staring back at me His heavy hands hang at the ends of my arms And my colors change like the sea
But I don’t worry much about time lost I’m not gunning for the dreams I couldn’t find ‘Cause he taught me how to walk the best that I can On the road I’ve left behind
The verse about her mother is apt too.
I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in a while But her words are always falling out my mouth My mind and spirit are at odds sometimes And they fight like the north and the south
But I still care enough to bear the weight Of the heaviness to which my heart is tethered She taught me how to be strong and say goodbye And that love is forever
Fun Fact, Brandi Carlile is not just the name of the person, but the name of the band which consists of Brandi and twin brothers Phillip John and Timothy Jay Hanseroth who play bass and guitar. They also cowrite music with her, and between the the three of them, their harmonies are just marvelous.
We’re going to add two more by Brandi for a Two-for-Thursday. First, “The Mother,” which comes as close as I’ve ever heard to explain my feelings about being a father, but it makes me think of my own mother too. We lost Mom when I was only 19. The third song in today’s trilogy is one that I sing to Brian sometimes. “If There Was No You.” I can’t imagine my life without him.
Jeff's Song of the Day 