Profile of a Composer: Cole Porter

Anyone that is a fan of Frank Sinatra or the music of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s will recognize songs by the talented composer and songwriter Cole Porter. His songs include I’ve Got You Under My Skin, I Get a Kick Out of You, You’re the Top, Night and Day, Begin the Beguine, Anything Goes, Read More

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves is a popular jazz standard. The song was composed by Joseph Kosma and the original lyrics were written in French by Jacques Prévert. The duo collaborated on the song for  ”Les Feuilles mortes” (“The Dead Leaves”) for the 1946 French film translated into Gates of the Night.  Irene Joachim sung the song in Read More

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing

Love is a Many Splendored Thing was written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster for the 1955 film by the same name. The song was also used for the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, which was based on the movie, and ran from 1967 to 1973. The song won the Oscar Read More

Song Story: Moonlight in Vermont

Moonlight in Vermont is a popular song about the state of Vermont. The song was published in 1944 by John Blackburn {wrote lyrics} and Karl Suessdorf {wrote music}. Margaret Whiting introduced the song in 1944. John Blackburn, the lyricist, has been quoted as saying, “After completing the first 12 bars of the lyric, I realized Read More

Unforgettable

Unforgettable was written by Irving Gordon and published in 1951. Gordon actually conceived of the title being “Uncomparable”, however the music publishing company requested the name be changed to “Unforgettable.” The most popular version of the song is by the legendary Nat King Cole.  His arrangement was written by Nelson Riddle.  He initially recorded the Read More

The Christmas Song

The song has it’s origins in the hot sweltering summer.  Mel Tormé arrived for a writing session in July 1945, at the lake house of his writing partner, Bob Wells.  He noticed the first four lines of the now famous song, written on a note pad on the top of the piano. When he asked Read More

Frosty the Snowman

After Gene Autry found success with Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, he was looking for another seasonal hit.  He recorded the song with the Cass County Boys in 1950. The song was written by Walter Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson, who also wrote Peter Cottontail.  The men brainstormed for months before deciding the song should be Read More

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas season will officially start in just a few weeks, but I thought we would get a head start before enjoying a Thanksgiving song next week. The Twelve Days of Christmas is an English Christmas Carol that resolves around a series of gifts “my true love gave to me.” The song was published in 1780 Read More