It was 1965 in St. Louis and The Rat Pack performed Birth Of The Blues live as only Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. could. However, you may notice one new member of the group for this particular performance … Johnny Carson! Actually, he held up his end pretty well and his voice wasn’t terrible either. Great song, fast company and some unforgettable shtick.
‘Tis the season to be snowy! New York Voices is the Grammy Award winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great groups that came before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer and, of course, The Four Freshmen, they have learned from the best and taken their musical form to new levels. I couldn’t resist adding some visuals to their marvelous rendition of the Sammy Cahn – Jule Styne tune, Let It Snow … written in July 1945!
Marshmallow World may not be jazz, but it is definitely Christmas … and these two characters are definitely Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (in a 1967 TV special).
Finally, I have brought The Christmas Show forward from our Jazz Scene Podcast page. May you enjoy every minute of this musical Christmas card and have the Merriest of all Christmases with the ones you love!
The earliest known recorded version of Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. This 2017 version has British singer-song writer Seal performing a duet with Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, through the miracle of modern technology. It’s seamless, it swings, it’s great!
It’s A Marshmallow World is an excerpt from Dean Martin’s star-studded 1968 Christmas Special, featuring Dean and a few of the fetchingly beautiful girls he likes to surround himself with … constantly. While Deano is largely thought of as a pop crooner, he is a talented, versatile entertainer [a member of the ‘Rat Pack’] and a performer who definitely adds to the many colors of Christmas!
On New Years Eve everybody sings this tune but most people don’t know what it means. Actually, it’s an old Scottish folk song and the phrase “Auld Lang Syne” roughly translates to “Times gone by”. While no one seems to know who wrote it, a Scotsman named Robert Burns was the first to put it on paper and so is most frequently credited with its composition. Meanwhile Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and a few friends use it here to help us welcome in 2019 with this compilation of TV and movie scenes … and extend my wishes to you for a very HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
In 1957, two giants of music paired up for a Christmas special guaranteed to put you in the Holiday mood. Here are Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, in their prime, singing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “White Christmas”.
“Marshmallow World” may not be jazz, but it is definitely Christmas … and these two characters are definitely Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (in a 1967 TV special). You can’t rub them together without making sparks!
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