Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy
Originally the flip side of TAKE THE "A" TRAIN.J-h:n wrote:One overlooked Ellington tune I really like for dancing: The Sidewalks of New York, recorded in 1940. Musically it's a trifle, but it's got a great, relaxed but driving mid-tempo groove going.
From the 19th century! Tune title is actually THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK, though some people refer to it as 'East Side, West Side'.J-h:n wrote:What for? Where's the song from originally?Eyeball wrote:Yeah - really good in 4/4 time instead of the as written 3/4.
A song all NYers know to this day.
Welcome!J-h:n wrote:Thanks! So now I know where the phrase "trip the light fantastic" comes from. You know, I could have just googled it, but then I would have totally missed both the old street scene and that great Barnet version. Who's the scat singer?
The singer/tap dancer is Bunny Briggs.Eyeball wrote:I dont know who the singer is with Barnet - he looks vaguely familiar.J-h:n wrote:Who's the scat singer?
To bring this thread back to Ellington: An ingenious pairing like that is something you'd expect on a 45 from a clever artist in the '70s or '80s (probably with some sort of visual clue - a two-sided black/white cover or different colored labels or somesuch). You'd certainly not expect it in 1941.Eyeball wrote:The Sidewalks of New York
Originally the flip side of TAKE THE "A" TRAIN.
I doubt that he put any thought into it b/c it was likely the producer's clever decision. Plus - "A" Train was a BMI tune, so it could get radio play in 1941 when all ASCAP music was banned from the radio. "Sidewalks" was *likely* ASCAP, but could have been P.D. by then or even gone over to BMI (I don't know - just hypo-ing) giving them 2 tunes that could receive radio play.J-h:n wrote:
I wonder if Duke put a lot of thought into this (and the implications - the black song representing the future, the white one representing the past). I'd guess he did, but most likely he wouldn't have told anyone - that man was nothing if not subtle.
What implications would they be?J-h:n wrote: (and the implications - the black song representing the future, the white one representing the past).
Hey! Don't ruin my neat theory with your stupid facts! No, you're probably right, I'm reading way too much into this. But it's a tempting thing to do, and if anyone needs a thesis for their musicology paper, they're welcome.Eyeball wrote:I doubt that he put any thought into it b/c it was likely the producer's clever decision. Plus - "A" Train was a BMI tune, so it could get radio play in 1941 when all ASCAP music was banned from the radio. "Sidewalks" was *likely* ASCAP, but could have been P.D. by then or even gone over to BMI (I don't know - just hypo-ing) giving them 2 tunes that could receive radio play.
Like I said: that black music represents the future and white music the past. Of course, Duke would never ever have said that (indeed, it's quite possible that Duke had nothing to do with the decision to put those two songs together). But even if nobody consciously meant to say that, the very juxtaposition of those songs does suggest the thought.Eyeball wrote:What implications would they be?
Hey - oddball and reading too much into it theories are the territories of Jazz fans all over the world! Once I was wondering why the Modernaires happened to wind up on Columbia when they left Glenn Miller instead of Bluebird where they had been or on Decca who were big on vocal groups and I was formulating theories based upon all sorts of intel, but then I called their manager, Tom Sheils, and asked him and he said "I was walking down 52nd street in NYC and saw Mannie Sachs the A&R man at Columbia and I asked him if he'd like to have the Modernaires and he said, "sure - come on over and sign the paperwork." Hahahaha!!! All that ruminating for nothing.J-h:n wrote:Hey! Don't ruin my neat theory with your stupid facts! No, you're probably right, I'm reading way too much into this. But it's a tempting thing to do, and if anyone needs a thesis for their musicology paper, they're welcome.Eyeball wrote:I doubt that he put any thought into it b/c it was likely the producer's clever decision. Plus - "A" Train was a BMI tune, so it could get radio play in 1941 when all ASCAP music was banned from the radio. "Sidewalks" was *likely* ASCAP, but could have been P.D. by then or even gone over to BMI (I don't know - just hypo-ing) giving them 2 tunes that could receive radio play.
Huh? Is this lost in the translation? What makes you think such a thing or that DE would think that?J-h:n wrote: Like I said: that black music represents the future and white music the past.
You have one super modern song written by a young black composer, celebrating Harlem.Eyeball wrote:Huh? Is this lost in the translation? What makes you think such a thing or that DE would think that?J-h:n wrote: Like I said: that black music represents the future and white music the past.
Ya - OKeh - but that is not what you originally wrote.J-h:n wrote:You have one super modern song written by a young black composer, celebrating Harlem.Eyeball wrote:Huh? Is this lost in the translation? What makes you think such a thing or that DE would think that?J-h:n wrote: Like I said: that black music represents the future and white music the past.
You have one super old-fashioned song written by a dead white composer, celebrating downtown New York.
What's not obvious?
