Monday Music: Lullabye in Ragtime

From the movie, The Five Pennies, Danny Kaye & Barbara Bel Geddes singing "Lullaby in Ragtime" (music and lyrics by Sylvia Fine, who was Danny Kaye's wife)).

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Monday Music: Some Jazz Classics from the Big Band Era

I happened upon a couple of marvelous clips featuring some jazz greats, including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Lionel Hampton, and the Golden Gate Quartet.

The clips are from "A Song Is Born" (1948). The blurb from the movie states: "A think-tank professor (Danny Kaye) studying jazz falls for a gangster's girlfriend (Virginia Mayo) on the run." To me, this was a great find. It captures some of the top musicians of the day in their own element and at the top of their game.

In the clip below, so many greats come together: Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Benny
Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, The Golden Gate Quartet, (and Gene Krupa on the drums).

Monday Music: Danny Kaye on The Muppet Show

"Always be yourself." That's the advice I was given from early on, and it is good advice. Still, I must admit that part of me would like to be Danny Kaye - he was such a talent, full of grace, humor, and class. Since I cannot be Danny Kaye, I'll just enjoy this clip from The Muppet Show where he sings "Inchworm." Though this was late in his career, his voice was still strong and clear and he does a marvelous job with this children's classic from the movie, Hans Christian Anderson. (You can also see the original version of the song here)