Calendar

August 12, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 1

I recorded “I’ll Be Here with You” with my longtime musical partner, Will McMillan, with piano and orchestration by Doug Hammer, and written and composed in 1987 by David Friedman, a film and theater composer, songwriter, and conductor.

In an interview with Talkin’ Broadway, when asked about his songwriting, Friedman said: “People have said to me that I would have bigger hits if I wrote wrist-slitting songs about how ‘I would die if I don’t have you,’ but that’s just not what I have to say.”

September 6, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 2

“One Song at a Time,” continues with “I Remember,” sung by me, with piano and accompaniment by Doug Hammer, and written by Stephen Sondheim. It’s not one of Sondheim’s better-known songs, perhaps because it was written for a 1966 television musical called Evening Primrose.

Despite its having been written over 50 years ago, Sondheim captured the essence of life during a pandemic.

October 1, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 3

“One Song at a Time” continues with “Over the Rainbow,” sung by me, with piano accompaniment by Doug Hammer, and cello by Andy Blickenderfer. It was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

About five minutes into the film, Dorothy muses to her dog, Toto, “Some place where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place?” I had planned to use a witty and upbeat song for Track 3, but with the pandemic and political and social upheaval, I decided to send you a song more appropriate to the times.

October 28, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 4

“One Song at a Time” continues with “Moon River,” sung by me, with piano and orchestration by the brilliant Doug Hammer. It was composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Performed by Audrey Hepburn, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Commenting on the lyrics “Two drifters off to see the world, There’s such a lot of world to see,” Robert Wright wrote in the Atlantic Monthly, “This is a love song to wanderlust.”

November 19, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 5
THE INCH WORM
Frank Loesser, 1952

“One Song at a Time” continues with “The Inch Worm,” sung by me with my longtime musical partner, Will McMillan, and with piano and orchestration by Doug Hammer. It was written by Frank Loesser for the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen, performed by Danny Kaye.

“The Inch Worm” has been recorded by many singers, including Paul McCartney, Kenny Loggins, John Coltrane and David Bowie. Bowie said that the song was the inspiration behind his 1980 song “Ashes to Ashes”:

“Ashes to Ashes” wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for “Inchworm.” There’s something so sad and mournful and poignant about it. It kept bringing me back to the feelings of sadness that you have as a child, and how they’re so identifiable even when you’re an adult.”

December 16, 2020
ONE SONG AT A TIME, Track 6

“One Song at a Time” continues with “Georgia On My Mind,” sung by me, with piano and orchestration by the amazing Doug Hammer. Like the state itself, the song “Georgia on my Mind” has had a colorful history.

It was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael, a well-known Great American songbook composer, and Stuart Gorrell, a banker living in New York City, who never wrote another song.
Almost 30 years later, Ray Charles, a native Georgian, released it as a single on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Penthouse, a syndicated show out of Chicago. It reached #1 in November 1960, stayed on the charts for 13 weeks, and won a Grammy Award.
Almost 20 years later, in 1979, the Georgia House of Representatives adopted “Georgia on my Mind” as the official state song. Ten years later, Georgia state representative Billy Randall sponsored a bill to make “Tutti-Frutti” the official state song. The bill did not pass…
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine declared “Georgia on my Mind” to be one of the top 50 greatest songs of all time.

In 2015, the Financial Times commented on the ambiguity of Georgia and whether she is a woman or a place. The languid, almost sensuous lyrics of this tune could as easily be about a lover as the U.S. state the song celebrates. But the sense of place is palpable. “Georgia On My Mind” is a brilliant work of imaginative fiction that captures the yearnings of the homesick soul. That fact and fantasy are so out of step only adds to the pathos.