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This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

If this were a radio program, I’d play the first track and ask who you think composed it. As you’re all smart cookies, I imagine you’d say something along the lines of, “Well, it’s rather like Mozart, but not quite. Sort of Haydn, but again just misses. Maybe it’s one of their contemporaries – one of Bach’s sons or similar”. That’s certainly what went through my mind when the radio did just that.

We’re all wrong, of course, or they wouldn’t have asked. It was written by NIGEL WESTLAKE.

“Who?” I hear you ask. Nigel is a young Australian composer (well younger than us – he tuned 60 recently) and this work is nothing like all the others of his I’ve heard.

It sounds like a piano concerto and he calls it Diving with George. George was his uncle and a respected surgeon in Melbourne who liked diving (with scuba gear, not jumping off a board into a pool).

♫ Westlake - Diving with George

GIOVANNI VIOTTI was an Italian composer and violinist whose fame for playing the violin spread far and wide.

Gio was violin teacher to Marie Antoinette, but when the French revolution came he decided it was safer in London. He had some trouble there too, but that was resolved eventually and became a British citizen.

He’s best known for his compositions for violin, but he wrote works for other instruments as well. Going with his strength, here is the third movement of his Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major, G. 44.

♫ Viotti - Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major G. 44 (3)

JOHN FIELD was an Irish composer and pianist.

His father and grandfather were both musicians (violin and organ respectively) so he had a head start. The family moved to London when John was about 10 where he had lessons from Muzio Clementi. Later John and Muzio toured Europe playing piano to great acclaim.

John is regarded as the person who invented the nocturne. Chopin took notice of this and made it his own. Here’s one of John’s inventions, the Nocturne No. 1 in E flat major, H24.

♫ Field - Nocturne No.1 in E Flat Major H.24

I imagine if you’re going to be an opera singer, it might help to have a name that’s one of the most famous in the field; in this case the singer is AIDA GARIFULLINA. Look out for her folks, she’s wonderful.

We won’t have something from her namesake opera, instead it’s by NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV.

Nik wrote the opera “The Golden Cockerel”, but he knew it had no chance of being staged as it was an implied criticism of monarchy, and the Czar would have none of that.

It finally got staged a few years later, and even then he had to change it a bit to satisfy the censors. From that, Aida sings Hymn to the Sun.

♫ Rimsky-Korsakov - The Golden Cockerel ~ Hymn to the Sun

These days, after J.S. Bach, ANTONIO VIVALDI is probably the best known baroque composer.

Tony had a considerable influence on J.S. who grabbed some of his compositions and created variations on them. I don’t know if this is one of those – probably not because he wrote a hell of a lot of music. Here is the second movement of Sonata for Oboe and Continuo RV 53 in C minor.

♫ Vivaldi - Sonata for oboe and continuo RV 53 in C minor (2)

There is a story that Henry VIII wrote the tune Greensleeves. It’s possible, but the odds are stacked against that being true. The tune was certainly around during his time as you’ll hear.

DIEGO ORTIZ was a Spanish composer and writer on various musical subjects who lived in the sixteenth century.

His life coincided with Henry’s and one of his compositions is called Recercada No 7 sobre la Romanesca. To my ears this sounds like a first draft of Greensleeves. See what you think.

♫ Ortiz - Romanesca Recercada 7

JOHANN HUMMEL was born in Pressburg, nowadays called Bratislava in Slovakia. Back then it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Early on Jo caught the ear of Mozart who decided to take him on as a pupil, and also invited him to live with the Mozart family for a while (that turned into two years).

He was later a good friend of both Beethoven and Schubert and he taught Mendelssohn. The piano was his main instrument and today we have the third movement of his Piano Trio No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12.

♫ Hummel - Piano Trio No. 1 in E-Flat Major Op. 12 (3)

ISABELLA LEONARDA was born in 1620 in Novara, Italy.

She was put into a convent when she was 16, and held many posts within that due to the influence of her prominent family. This allowed her to compose music, and she became the most productive woman composer of her era.

Not surprisingly, most of her music was for the church, including her Motet Op. 6 No 5, Ave suavis dilecto. This is sung by LOREDANA BACCHETTA.

♫ Leonarda - Motet Op. 6 No 5. Ave suavis dilecto

JOSEPH-FRANÇOIS GARNIER was a French Composer and oboe player.

He was born into a family of modest circumstances – his father was a cobbler – but his uncle was in the music trade. Unc took young J.F. to Paris and got him a job playing the oboe in the Royal Academy of Music which became the Paris Opera after the revolution.

He was a whiz on his instrument and stayed there a long time. He became their main oboe player (and he occasionally played flute), later premiering some of his own compositions. One of those is his Symphonie Concertante No. 2 for 2 Oboes & Orchestra. This is the first movement.

♫ Garnier - Symphonie Concertante No. 2 (1)

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Today's column might be a bit challenging for people who aren't as in love with the music of THELONIOUS MONK as I am. He is my all time favorite jazz pianist, one who I managed to see a couple of times as he came out to this wide brown land in the sixties.

Monk's music is replete with dissonant harmonies and strange twists as if he were anticipating classical music of the mid-twentieth century. Only Duke Ellington, of all jazz composers, has had more of his compositions recorded by others. It's not others I'm interested in. I like to hear the real thing, and so will you if you stick with me.

Most of the music today was composed by Thelonious, including this one, Hackensack, presumably named after the place in New Jersey.

♫ Hackensack

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach back in 1933. The Platters’ version is the best as far as I’m concerned. Monk puts his distinctive take on the tune.

♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

In Walked Bud is a tribute to his friend and fellow jazz pianist Bud Powell. It seems that Bud once tried to stop police from beating Thelonious but there are varying accounts of what happened next.

Whatever happened, Bud received a severe beating himself that troubled him for the rest of his life, probably causing him to turn to drink and drugs. Thelonious recorded the tune several times, the last one with the great jazz singer JON HENDRIX supplying vocals.

♫ In Walked Bud

Just a Gigolo was written by Leonello Casucci and Julius Brammer in 1924, and was originally called Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo. Irving Caesar supplied English words to it in 1929, and gave it its English title. It’s been recorded often, but never like this.

♫ Just a Gigolo

Straight No Chaser is another of his compositions. It features his long time tenor sax player CHARLIE ROUSE.

♫ Straight No Chaser

GERRY MULLIGAN was THE baritone sax player in jazz.

He started out in California but eventually played with everyone who mattered. He was a main participant in the famous “Birth of the Cool” sessions with Miles Davis. He probably wrote more of that than he is generally credited with.

Here he teams with Thelonious on one of Monk’s most famous tunes, Round Midnight. Everyone’s had a go at this one.

♫ Round Midnight

Thanks to the Columbia Record Club (remember that?), the first album of Monk’s that I owned is “Monk’s Dream”. From that album, here is the title track. Charlie Rouse features on this one too.

♫ Monk's Dream

Duke Ellington knew his way around a piano keyboard. He also knew how to write a good tune or two. Just like everyone else in jazz (and a lot elsewhere) Thelonious tackles one of his tunes, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).

♫ It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

JOHN COLTRANE joins the fray now.

He and Thelonious play Ruby, My Dear, a tune named for Monk’s first love (or so he said). It later had words written for it and Carmen McRae recorded a fine version, but it’s Monk and Coltrane today.

♫ Ruby My Dear

Here is the first appearance on record of Charlie Rouse with Monk. It also has Thad Jones on cornet. The tune labors under the awkward name of Jackie-ing.

♫ Jackie-ing

It has nothing to do with his music, and he was famous for this: he really liked hats. Just thought I’d mention it.

Thelonious recorded quite a few solo albums, just him playing piano. I guess it meant that no one had to anticipate where he was going with his playing, which, if you’ve listened all the way until now, can be quite an exercise.

From his complete solo recordings compilation we have the old standard, These Foolish Things.

♫ These Foolish Things

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

I've done a column on Los Angeles, but Hollywood is rather a special case so it gets its own column (only because there are enough songs to justify that – never let a chance go by).

TOM RUSSELL is fond of writing about real people, and he does it so well.

In this case it's the playwright and author William Faulkner, who spent some time in Hollywood as a screen writer (which included The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not). Tom's song is appropriately named William Faulkner in Hollywood.

♫ Tom Russell - William Faulkner In Hollywood

BONNIE RAITT should know about Hollywood as she was born and brought up there (or thereabouts).

She later went east to college in New York, but more especially to the folk and blues clubs there, also hoping to improve her guitar playing skills. And boy, did that pay off in spades. Her contribution is Marriage Made in Hollywood.

♫ Bonnie Raitt - Marriage made in Hollywood

Someone who has occasionally teamed up with Bonnie for concerts is BOZ SCAGGS.

I’ve always thought of Boz as a fine guitarist but it was his singing that brought him to world notice with several big selling albums in the seventies. Singing or playing, it doesn’t really matter. Here he is with Hollywood Blues.

♫ Boz Scaggs - Hollywood Blues

THE EVERLY BROTHERS certainly seem to know the pitfalls of trying to get a job in Hollywood.

Although by the end of the song we realise that there’s an ulterior motive behind their concern. They just want their baby back, rather than have her become a success. Little Hollywood Girl.

♫ Everly Brothers - Little Hollywood Girl

Although better known as an actor in Australia, JON ENGLISH was also a singer, songwriter and guitarist.

When young, he was a member of several bands in Sydney until he was plucked to perform the role of Judas in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. From then on, Jon alternated between music and acting, including roles on TV as well as Gilbert and Sullivan and the like.

Alas, he died a couple of years ago. From his time as a musician we have Hollywood Seven.

♫ Jon English - Hollywood Seven

CLEO BROWN is yet another artist who was born in Mississippi and went to Chicago. In her case, her family moved when she was still a kid.

It was there that Cleo learned to play the piano. She started playing on the vaudeville circuit and later took over Fats Waller’s radio program when he left.

During the downtime, she had a couple of newcomers play to give them a bit of a break – Dave Brubeck and Marian McPartland. Cleo’s contribution is When Hollywood Goes Black and Tan.

♫ Cleo Brown - When Hollywood Goes Black And Tan

Here’s a first: this is the first time that BILLY JOEL has appeared in my column. Oops, I just checked and found that that was a little fib, he has appeared once before. I’m getting a bit unrememberful in my old age.

Nothing against Billy, it’s just the days are rare when I think, “Oh, I must play some Billy Joel”. Today is one of those days and it’s one of his hits, Say Goodbye to Hollywood.

♫ Billy Joel - Say Goodbye to Hollywood

EDDY BELL (whoever he is) has obviously been influenced by Chuck Berry and also, to a lesser extent, Bobby Bare. Could do worse than those two.

I hope Chuck received some royalties from the song Johnny B Good is in Hollywood.

♫ Eddy Bell - Johnny B Good Is In Hollywood

THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND are mostly thought of as a country influenced band, but they began their existence in Hollywood (or environs).

Of course, around the time they started, The Byrds, The Dillards, Rick Nelson and others were dabbling in country sounding music mixed with rock so it was in the air. They acknowledge both streams that made them a success in Hillbilly Hollywood.

♫ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Hillbilly Hollywood

Trust DORY PREVIN to bring us down with her song, although if you don't listen to the words it sounds rather jolly.

Actually, none of the songs today could be called happy go lucky. But Dory's is particularly depressing. Perhaps that's the general theme of Hollywood.

♫ Dory Previn - Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Even to music obsessives like me, CHIP TAYLOR isn’t exactly a household name. There are a few of us who appreciate his work and I hope that after today that number will increase.

Chip is probably best known, by those who know about him, as a songwriter However, he is also a performer and recording artist as well. We’ll play some of his well known songs as well as some of the others.

Probably Chip’s most famous song is Angel of the Morning. It was recorded by several people until MERRILEE RUSH got a hold of it and made it a hit.

It was later a bigger hit for Juice Newton, but I prefer Merrilee’s version. Many others have had a go at it as well, from Nina Simone to The Pretenders. Dusty Springfield to Bonnie Tyler, and many more. Here’s the pick of them.

♫ Merrilee Rush - Angel of the Morning

Chip was born James Voight and is the youngest of three brothers. The oldest is Barry Voight, who is a geologist and a world-renowned vulcanologist and has been professor of geology at several universities throughout his life. However, when they were young, not yet teenagers, Barry liked to lead the others astray, especially Chip (or James as he was), as you will hear in Barry Go On.

♫ Chip Taylor - Barry Go on

The middle brother is Jon Voight. If that name seems familiar, you’re right: he is the actor and Academy Award winner. That also means that Chip and Barry are Angelina Jolie’s uncles.

Jon was mentioned in the previous song as well as this one, Hey Jonny. The song sounds like an extension of that previous one, as well as another more famous song. It’s really more a tribute to Bill Haley than to his brother.

♫ Chip Taylor - Hey Jonny

I’ll continue the story of sibling rivalry, and this should be familiar to all those out there with brothers and sisters. The song claims to be about how Chip got into the music biz, but perhaps not the way he wanted. Here is Bastard Brothers.

♫ Chip Taylor - Bastard Brothers

The song Wild Thing was a big hit for THE TROGGS in the sixties.

It gained even more fame when Jimi Hendrix performed it at the Monterey Pop Festival and set fire to his guitar and parts of the stage. The song has also appeared in films and, well, just about everywhere.

♫ The Troggs - Wild Thing

For 20 years Chip gave up the music industry and became a professional gambler and a professional golfer. I assume he was successful as 20 years is a long time.

Since his return he has recorded a number of well regarded albums. Some of those were in partnership with CARRIE RODRIGUEZ.

They also toured and performed together. One of the albums they recorded is “Red Dog Tracks”. From that we have Private Thoughts.

♫ Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Private Thoughts

From really early in his career, before the Black Jack and the golf, Chip was essentially a country performer (in spite of being born and raised in Yonkers, New York). His main gig was writing songs for others and he was very successful at that.

The song Getting Older, Lookin' Back sounds as if it could have been a hit for many singers, but as far as I know it wasn’t. I can see Merle Haggard nailing this one.

♫ Chip Taylor - Getting Older Lookin' Back

The same could be said for Clean Your Own Tables. I’m surprised that these songs weren’t covered more extensively. Another one for Merle, I think, but here’s Chip.

♫ Chip Taylor - Clean Your Own Tables

From the album “Cimarron”, an excellent but underrated album, EMMYLOU HARRIS gives us Son of a Rotten Gambler.

I don’t know if the song is biographical (Chip’s biography, that is) or not, but it’s a really nice song.

♫ Emmylou Harris - Son of a Rotten Gambler

Coming right up to date with his latest album, released quite recently, Chip performs the song, The Light in Your Eyes.

♫ Chip Taylor - The Light in Your Eyes

I’ll end with another song about sibling rivalry and respect. It’s obvious that the brothers still like each other and get along but, of course, there’s always that brother thing. The song is Little Brothers from Chip’s album of the same name. I think it should have been called Little Brother, but that’s just me.

♫ Chip Taylor - Little Brothers

That wasn’t actually the end. I thought you might like to hear what Chip does with his two most famous songs. First, Angel of the Morning.

♫ Chip Taylor - Angel of the Morning

And Wild Thing. Chip and Carrie have recorded a live version that owes much to Hendrix, but this is the way Chip first recorded it.

♫ Chip Taylor - Wild Thing

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Recently, as I write this, the Melbourne Cup was run (in Melbourne, big surprise). This is a horse race and the good people of Melbourne actually get a public holiday for it. Imagine that, a public holiday for a horse race.

It’s held on the same day as America’s elections. I bring this up because each year Flemington race course (where it’s held) is awash with flowers and most especially roses.

To my eyes (not being a gambler) this is the best part of the whole thing. It inspired me to write this column.

ÉDITH PIAF remains the singer against whom every other French singer is judged.

Her songs became world-wide hits and this is one of them, La Vie en Rose. Édith wrote the song herself, but due to the arcane copyright laws at the time she didn’t profit from it.

♫ Edith Piaf - La Vie en Rose

BRODERICK SMITH is one of the best, if not the best rock singer Australia has produced.

He first came to general notice as the singer for the rock group, The Dingoes. They were a fantastic live band but the quality didn’t really transfer to their records. Pity.

I’ve met him a couple of times and in person he is retiring and modest to the point of shyness, quite unlike the persona he projects on stage. This is Faded Roses.

♫ Brod Smith - Faded Roses

EMMYLOU HARRIS has seven rose songs that are worthy of inclusion.

I had to choose one, of course, and settled on I'll Be Your San Antone Rose. That was Norma, the Assistant Musicologist’s choice as well. The song was written by Susanna Clark, the wife of the great singer/songwriter Guy Clark.

♫ Emmylou Harris - I'll Be Your San Antone Rose

While we’re on roses from that area it’d be remiss of me if I didn’t follow that song by an obvious one from BOB WILLS.

He recorded a song called San Antonio Rose and then later updated it as New San Antonio Rose. It’s this latter one we have today, as it’s superior to the first one. The singer, as he is on most of Bob Wills’s records, is Tommy Duncan. Bob just makes those irritating comments throughout.

♫ Bob Wills - New San Antonio Rose

Due east of San Francisco you’ll encounter San Joaquin County. It’s the home of the city of Lodi, referenced in one of Creedence’s best songs. We’re not interested in that one today. Someone who sings about that area (and many others) is TOM RUSSELL.

Tom is one of the finest songwriters around at the moment, and there’d be few others in the last 30 years who could equal him. He also sings really well, as you’ll hear on Rose of the San Joaquin.

♫ Tom Russell - The Rose of the San Joaquin

Getting back to Texas, where we were earlier, we stumble across MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY.

The Yellow Rose of Texas was almost certainly written by a black American soldier about his mulatto gal back in Tennessee. This man, whose name is unknown, was with Sam Houston when, along with an army of “Texians”, Tennesseeans and others, attempted a large land grab (of Texas) from Mexico.

Of course, the Mexicans had already accomplished a land grab of their own (as had the French and Spanish previously). The Texians were pitted against General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.

Surprisingly, we know the name of the Yellow Rose. She was Emily West, later adding Morgan after her slave owner. Although from Tennessee, or possibly Bermuda, she was brought to Texas by that owner, James Morgan.

Unfortunately, the town where he set her up was overrun by the Mexicans (James had skedaddled leaving her behind) and the comely Emily caught Santa Anna’s eye. Now, Santa Ana thought he was God’s gift to women; only two weeks earlier he had married another captive, in spite of having a wife back in Mexico.

A couple of days later, Houston was up a tree spying on the Mexican camp. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that this was military rather than voyeurism for Santa Ana didst sport with Em and a champagne breakfast was the order of the day that morning.

Houston ordered an attack and the Mexican army was caught with their pants down, literally in the case of Santa Ana as reports from the time attest.

The Texians won and Emily was granted her freedom for her crucial service and given a ticket to New York. This is the song about her, as close to the original as is possible these days.

Michael Martin Murphey - The Yellow Rose of Texas

I’ll continue the theme of the previous song with DAVE ALVIN. It could be called a companion piece.

To my ears Dave has about the finest (male) voice currently in country and roots music. Actually, some might suggest the previous two singers would be in the running as well and I wouldn’t disagree - after all, it was I who brought that up. Anyway, here’s Dave with Black Rose of Texas, a song he wrote himself.

♫ Dave Alvin - Black Rose Of Texas

At the time everyone was surprised when NICK CAVE had KYLIE MINOGUE along to sing on his album.

That album was called “Murder Ballads” and the combination worked well for the song Where the Wild Roses Grow. You can probably guess from the album title that Nick bumps off Kylie. Just because he can, it seems.

♫ Nick Cave - Where the Wild Roses Grow

THE STATLER BROTHERS don’t perform any more, more’s the pity.

At their best, which was the entirety of their career, they were the finest harmonizing band around. Certainly the best in country music. Here they perform Bed of Roses (or Bed of Rose’s, take your pick).

♫ Statler Brothers - Bed of Roses

From out of left field, or to be more precise, out of the fifties, I give you FRANKIE LAINE.

Listening to the words of the song, I’m struck by the parallels between it and the story of Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). In this case we don’t know if Rose topped herself after Frankie left. We hope not. See what you think about Rose, Rose I Love You.

♫ Frankie Laine - Rose Rose I Love You

The BLACK SORROWS are the brainchild of, and yet another band started by that musical national treasure, Joe Camilleri.

Joe first came to most people’s notice as the main man in Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons; that is most people in Australia. Since then he’s started half a dozen bands, all of which he keeps going. I don’t know how he does it. The Sorrows are the best known of his groups, and Harley and Rose is their best known song.

♫ Black Sorrows - Harley And Rose

I’ll end as I began with an iconic (and I use the word advisedly) singer, PATSY CLINE.

As with Édith, she is the one every subsequent country (and many other) singer is judged, and most are found wanting in comparison. I know this is unfair, but it happens.

Fortunately, we still have a lot of music that Patsy recorded. One of those is A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold).

♫ Patsy Cline - A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Here I am, turning five years old this year and starting to take an interest in music.

The GUY MITCHELL song, The Roving Kind is the first song I can consciously remember having heard.

Naturally, I'd've heard other songs before, but this is the one that has stuck in my memory. I was visiting the next door neighbors, the Harringtons, and we were in their kitchen and the song came on the radio.

As I mentioned, I turned five in 1950, but that was later in the year, so statistically it's most likely I was four when this occurred.

♫ Guy Mitchell - The Roving Kind

I certainly didn’t notice MEL TORMÉ at the time.

It took a little while for his style of music to seep into my brain, but it eventually did. Back in 1950 though, we have Mel singing Careless Hands.

♫ Mel Torme - Careless Hands

Anticipating what was going to happen in only a few years, AMOS MILBURN seemed to be quite prescient.

Perhaps it was something else entirely, as back then rock and roll meant something else from what it later became. See what you think with Let's Rock a While.

♫ Amos Milburn - Let's Rock A While-2

I’ve always associated the next song with Bing Crosby, but I thought I’d try a different version for you. This time it’s DINAH SHORE.

I really liked this song until I listen to the words, and then it creeps me out. It sounds as if she’s singing about the Midwich Cuckoos or the Stepford Wives. Maybe that’s just me; make up your own mind about Dear Hearts and Gentle People.

♫ Dinah Shore - Dear Hearts and Gentle People

When I saw the name of this song I nearly gagged. However, I noticed that it was the INK SPOTS, so I'll forgive them.

It's still a cheesy song but the group just about makes it listenable. The song is Who Do You Know In Heaven (That Made You The Angel You Are). I don’t always include songs I really like.

♫ Ink Spots - Who Do You Know In Heaven (That Made You The Angel You Are)

Band leader JOHNNY OTIS discovered Esther Jones in a talent show when she was 14. He was really impressed and made a recording of her and added her to his traveling troupe, renaming her LITTLE ESTHER.

Esther later took the name Esther Phillips. The song we have today is a duet with Esther singing with MEL WALKER, backed by Johnny’s band, of course.

The song, Cupid's Boogie, made the top of the R&B charts.

♫ Little Esther - Cupid's Boogie

LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS were a bluegrass duo who also fronted the band The Foggy Mountain Boys.

Some of you may think you’re unfamiliar with their music, but I bet you know at least one of their songs: they recorded the theme for The Beverly Hillbillies TV program. That’s not what we have, that one came much later.

Instead is probably their most famous tune Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Anyone who wants to play this style of music must know how to play this one. It has also been used in TV programs and films, most notably in “Bonnie and Clyde”.

♫ Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Around this time, Doowop was very popular. For some reason, many of the groups had bird names, and the one we have today is no exception. THE RAVENS were formed a few years earlier by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Suttles.

The group was considered the standard against which all other similar groups were measured, particularly Jimmy, their bass singer. Count Every Star was the group’s biggest hit.

♫ The Ravens - Count Every Star

Although he thought of himself as a jazz singer, to most of us FRANKIE LAINE seemed to make a career singing themes to western movies and TV programs, and songs of a similar bent.

We have one of those today, Mule Train. This was featured in a film (“Singing Guns”) but was performed by Vaughn Monroe in that one. Frankie’s version took it to the top of the charts.

Frankie Laine - Mule Train

1950 was the year that my grandmother from England came out to visit us. She arrived by ship as people did back then. We lived in a country town about 400 kms from Melbourne and she was dumbstruck about the distance we traveled to return home (by train).

"We're still in the same state", we told her, "and it's the smallest one on the mainland".

Anyway, her name was Lucy and there was a song popular at the time called Put Your Shoes on Lucy that my sister and I would sing to her. Well, you know how kids are. The singer on record (rather than us) was RUSS MORGAN.

When I noticed this song on the 1950 list, I knew I had to include it, if only for my sister and me (and gran).

♫ Russ Morgan - Put Your Shoes on Lucy

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

According to my dictionary (the Macquarie – the official dictionary of Australian English), predilection means a predisposition of mind in favour of something; a partially. That’s how I feel about this music.

Here is a nice sprightly way to start your day, and with, what is generally considered an “unsung” concerto. We’ll rectify that by singing it. The composition was written by JOHANN MATTHIAS SPERGER.

Jo was considered quite a virtuoso and he often played the lead instrument during performances of his own works. It didn’t matter which instrument, he’d play it. Not only that, his works require great technical skill yet they remain cheerful and jubilant in character and temperament.

So, up on your toes and dance around to his Horn Concerto in E flat major, the third movement.

♫ Sperger - Horn Concerto in E flat major (3)

Some days I like to put on Gregorian Chants and let the sublime music waft over me as I read a book. I did that today and thought I’d share it with you - well not the whole CD, but some of it.

The term Gregorian Chants is often used to cover a wide range of early music to which it often doesn’t apply. In this case the term is correct. The music is from an album called “L'Arbre De Jesse” (The tree of Jesse), purportedly showing the family tree of Jesus. The track I’ve chosen is Sequencia sancti evangelii secundum Lucam. Sit back and let it wash over you.

♫ Sequencia sancti evangelii secundum Lucam

Although ANTONIO BRUNI was born and died in Italy, he spent much of his life in France.

This was around the time of the French Revolution where he was appointed a Commissioner of Arts. One of his duties was to make a catalogue of all the musical instruments found in various noble households.

Among them it was noted that there were six hurdy-gurdies. That has nothing to do with his music today, I just found it interesting.

Besides listing instruments Tony was a bit of a composer, which is why he’s present today. He must have been a bit of an obsessive, because apart from a couple of compositions, everything else was in sets of six. From the viola sonatas here is the third movement of his Viola Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 27 No. 4.

♫ Bruni - Viola Sonata in E-flat major Op. 27 No. 4 (3)

JOSEPHA AUERNHAMMER had a couple of music teachers before she became one of Mozart’s earliest pupils.

Mozart was taken with her piano playing and he also dedicated a couple of his own compositions to her. Besides composing and playing music she also worked for a publishing company (which may be why we know so much of her music).

One of those is her 6 Variations on an Hungarian theme. These are short pieces so I’ve included two of them. First the theme.

♫ Auernhammer - Theme

...and Variation 1...

♫ Auernhammer - Variation 1

Not a great deal is known about JOSEPH AUFFMANN. We also don’t have a picture of him. We know that he was a German composer and organist and once held the post Kapellmeister to the Prince-Archbishop of Kempten-Allgäu for seven years. He ended his days in Switzerland.

Few of his compositions are known but one that is is the Sinfonia in D major. This is the second movement.

♫ Auffmann - Sinfonia in D major (2)

You can’t beat a J.S. BACH cantata.

This one tells you to wake up. It’s known in English as “Sleepers Awake”, and it’s one of his best known. I suppose it’s wise to wake up or you’d miss it entirely.

This is the first movement Coro Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme – the famous bit.

♫ Bach JS - Cantata BWV 140 ~ Coro Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme

Keeping it in the family here is J.S.’s oldest son WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH.

He was well trained in music, not just from his father but several other of the best musicians of the era. In spite of being acknowledged as one of the finest organists, composers and improvisers of his time he ended up in poverty, unable to secure a position.

Here is something from before things went awry for him, the third movement of his Symphony for Strings in F major.

♫ Bach WF - Sinfonia In F Major (3)

MARIE JAËLL was a French composer, pianist and teacher.

She was born Marie Trautmann and married Alfred Jaëll, who was already an established concert pianist. It was through him that she met many musicians of the era, including Franz Liszt who described her as having “the brains of a philosopher and the fingers of an artist”.

Husband and wife often appeared together playing piano throughout Europe. Later, after tendonitis put paid to her performing career she took up writing about music and teaching. One of her pupils was Albert Schweitzer. This is the third movement of her Cello Concerto in F major.

♫ Jaëll - Cello Concerto in F major (3)

I’ll end with a shimmeringly gorgeous piece of music, and it will be no surprise to learn it was written by WOLFGANG MOZART.

It’s the second movement of the Sonata for Piano Four Hands in D Major, K381. That means that two people sit at the one piano and try not to get tangled up.

The twenty fingers plinking away at the ivories belong to about the best in the business, DANIEL BARENBOIM and LANG LANG.

Mozart - Sonata for Piano Four Hands in D Major (2)

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

I’m sorry if we missed anyone special to you this year, but for extended times, both Ronni’s and my computers went toes up themselves, thus we were off the air and some may have slipped by without our noticing them. There were other trying periods for both of us as well.

MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ was a Spanish soprano best known for singing bel canto roles – Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini. She was also known as one of the best interpreter of Verdi’s music. She made her debut in true fairy tale fashion, where she came on to sing the lead role after being an understudy to Marilyn Horne and was showered with accolades.

Montserrat was one of the finest singers of the 20yh century and performed in pretty much all the major opera houses of the world. She was also instrumental in introducing José Carreras to the world. From the Puccini opera Manon Lescaut, Montserrat performs the aria In Quelle Trine Morbide. (She was 85)

♫ Montserrat Caballé - Manon Lescaut ~ In Quelle Trine Morbide

RICHARD GILL was an Australian conductor of choral, operatic and orchestral works. He was also a musical educator and a great advocate for musical education for children. (76)

CHARLES NEVILLE was a member of the Neville Brothers, one of the best bands on the planet. He played saxophone in the group and he also had a separate career playing modern jazz. (79)

VINCE MARTIN was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who was popular during the folk music era of the sixties. He often played as a duo with Fred Neil, with whom he also recorded. (81)

DEAN WEBB was the mandolin player for The Dillards, a bluegrass band that expanded the repertoire of the genre by adding electric instruments and playing rock songs as well as traditional fair. (81)

TONY JOE WHITE was a singer/songwriter and guitarist of the first order. He was more a cult figure than someone in the mainstream but he had a few hits over the years. His biggest, Polk Salad Annie, came very early in his career. This song was covered by many, including a fine version by Elvis.

Other songs of his included Rainy Night in Georgia, also covered extensively, and Steamy Windows, a hit for Tina Turner. He kept performing and recording until the end, including a fine blues album released recently. Tony Joe performs High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish, from early in his career. (75)

♫ Tony Joe White - High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish

HENRY BUTLER was a jazz pianist and also an acclaimed photographer in spite of being blind since early childhood. He was yet another in the long list of great Louisiana pianists. (69)

DENNIS EDWARDS was an R&B and soul singer noted for joining the Temptations after their fine lead singer David Ruffin left. He later had a solo career as well as joining David and Eddie Kendricks, the other notable singer from the group. (74)

RANDY SCRUGGS was a guitarist, songwriter and record producer whose songs have been covered by many country stars. He also played guitar on even more artists’ records. He was the son of renowned blue grass player Earl Scruggs and helped to introduce modern sensibilities into Earl’s sound. (64)

ROY HARGROVE was a jazz trumpeter who incorporated elements of hip hop, soul, funk and gospel into his music. Besides leading his own group he performed with most of the best jazz performers over the years. (49)

HUGH MASEKELA played the trumpet, and similar instruments, as well as singing and composing music. He was born in South Africa and became a vocal critic of the appalling Apartheid regime that ruled the country at the time.

He later studied classical music in London. He was mostly a jazz performer but ventured into pop music from time to time – he played with The Byrds on one of their albums. He sings and plays Alright from his album “No Borders”. (78)

♫ Hugh Masekela - Alright

ROBERT MANN was a violinist and the founder of the acclaimed Juilliard Quartet, one the foremost string quartets in the world. He was also a conductor and music teacher. (97)

VIC DAMONE was a crooner much influenced by Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. He had his own radio program and later on a TV show as well. He had a number of hits in the fifties and sixties. (89)

HARRY M MILLER was an Australian music promoter who first brought out Louis Armstrong, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and many others. He also staged the first productions of Hair and the Rocky Horror Show amongst others. (84)

Dominick RANDY SAFUTO was the lead singer for the Doowop group Randy and the Rainbows who had hits with Denise (later covered memorably by Blondie), Little Star and a few other similar songs. (71)

CHARLES AZNAVOUR was a French singer, songwriter and diplomat whose songs spread far and wide, and have been translated into many different languages. During the war he and his family sheltered and rescued many people risking their own lives.

He started performing at a young age and it was when he opened the bill for Edith Piaf at the famous Moulin Rouge that his career began in earnest. His songs have been covered by most of the famous (and less so) performers over the years. From the more than 1,200 songs he wrote I have chosen La Boheme. (94)

♫ Charles Aznavour - La Boheme

BOB DOROUGH was a BeBop singer, songwriter and pianist. He performed with comedians, folk musicians and jazz legends, including adding a rare vocal to a Miles Davis composition. He also had a successful career creating educational songs for kids on maths, history and so on. (94)

NANETTE FABRAY was an actress, singer and dancer who started in Vaudeville and became musical theatre staple. She also appeared in several films. (97)

SONNY PAYNE was the long-time host of the radio program King Biscuit Time that introduced blues music to several generations of listeners. (92)

JIM RODFORD was a bass player for the groups The Kinks and The Zombies. He was also a founding member of Argent. (76)

MARTY BALIN was co-founder and co-lead singer of the San Francisco based rock band Jefferson Airplane. The Airplane was the first group in the burgeoning scene in the mid sixties to make an impact outside the city. Marty’s and Grace Slick’s vocals wove in and out and around each other and their vocals added an element to the music missing from most of the other bands at the time.

Marty sings solo lead on the song Comin' Back to Me from their successful and ground breaking album “Surrealistic Pillow”. (76)

♫ Jefferson Airplane - Comin' Back to Me

EDWIN HAWKINS was a gospel singer who had a surprise hit with his song Oh Happy Day in 1969. His group toured widely and often appeared at music festivals around the world. (74)

TAB HUNTER was an actor and occasional singer, one of whose records my sister owned as a young girl. (86)

THOMAS’S MUSIC SHOP started out selling sheet music and musical instruments in Melbourne. They later added records and CDs. They were the go-to place for classical music. (96)

HARVEY SCHMIDT co-wrote the long running musical “The Fantasticks” (with Tom Jones, not the singer). The pair also created “I Do! I Do!” and other musicals. (88)

NANCY WILSON was a jazz singer who had crossover pop hits, mainly in the sixties, but later on as well. She learned from the best – Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine and others were on the records her father brought home.

Nancy’s career began when, upon meeting Cannonball Adderley he suggested she move to New York where her style would be more appreciated. She took his advice and became an almost instant success. Her albums not only topped the jazz charts, but frequently the pop ones as well. She also appeared on all manner of TV shows.

From early in her career, indeed her first hit, is Guess Who I Saw Today. (81)

♫ Nancy Wilson - Guess Who I Saw Today

LORRIE COLLINS, who along with her brother Larry, formed the Collins Kids who were big rockabilly performers in the fifties. (76)

LAZY LESTER (Leslie Johnson) was a blues harmonica and guitar player as well as the writer of many songs that have been covered by just about everyone who plays the blues, as well as rock and country. (85)

BARBARA ALSTON was a founding member and lead singer for the vocal group The Crystals on their early records. She later became a support singer which she preferred due to her excessive shyness. (74)

RAY THOMAS was a singer and flute player and also a founding member of the progressive rock group The Moody Blues. He continued with the group until early this century. (76)

TERRY EVANS was a soul, R&B and blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He played with many people over the years, notably long stints with Bobby King and Ry Cooder. He also performed with Boz Scaggs, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, Maria Muldaur and many others. He even found time to have a successful solo career.

Terry performs That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me from the album “Blues For Thought”. (90)

♫ Terry Evans - That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me

DONALD MCGUIRE was a singer with the fifties group The Hilltoppers. They had a couple of hits at the time, the most notable being Marianne. (86)

CONWAY SAVAGE was the long time pianist for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He also released solo albums, and was a member of several Australian groups in the eighties. (58)

RANDY WESTON was a jazz pianist and composer. He was influenced by the best – Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole. He made dozens of records, the last, earlier this year. (92)

GEORGE WALKER was a composer, concert pianist and teacher. His compositions included piano sonatas, symphonies, string quartets and many vocal works. (96)

OTIS RUSH was a blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He played the guitar left handed but strung as a right hander which probably contributed to his distinctive sound much imitated by younger blues and rock guitarists. Like many, he moved to Chicago after hearing Muddy Waters play and made a name for himself playing in the clubs.

From the album “Right Place, Wrong Time” Otis sings and plays Tore Up. (83)

♫ Otis Rush - Tore Up

ED KING was a guitarist and songwriter notable for such diverse works as Incense and Peppermints and Sweet Home Alabama. (68)

SPENCER P JONES was a New Zealand born, Australian guitarist who was in several of the leading Australian groups of the last forty years. (61)

DON CHERRY was a singer in the Sinatra mould, who had a number of hits in the fifties. He was also a world ranked golfer. (94)

EDDIE WILLIS was a session guitarist, one of the “Funk Brothers”, who played behind just about every Motown hit. (82)

COLIN BRUMBY was an Australian composer and conductor. He studied in Spain and Britain before returning to Australia to become professor and composer in residence at Brisbane University.

He eventually tired of working in atonal music, and switched to tonal which led to many more commissions and greater acceptance by the public. He wrote operas, concertos for many diverse instruments, two symphonies, chamber works, and notably, a number of operas for children.

Here is the second movement of his Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano. (84)

♫ Colin Brumby Trio for clarinet cello and piano (2)

GEOFF EMERICK was a recording engineer at Abbey Road studios who recorded the Beatles’ records from Sergeant Pepper onwards. He also recorded many other groups. (72)

CHAS HODGES was a singer, pianist and guitarist best known for being half of Chas and Dave. (74)

BIG JAY MCNEELY was an R&B saxophone player who helped to define the sound of early rock & roll. His outrageous onstage antics probably helped as well. (91)

ROY CLARK was a country singer and guitarist who is probably best known for his appearances on “Hee Haw”. I prefer to remember him as a superb guitar player. (85)

ARETHA FRANKLIN, considered the “Queen of Soul”, started her musical career singing and playing organ and piano at her father’s church.

Her first foray into recorded music was unsuccessful as the record company didn’t really understand what she was about. When she found a sympathetic company (Atlantic) the sky was the limit. Her first singles shot to the top of the charts as did most of the following ones.

Besides her music, Aretha was a great champion of civil rights and donated millions to help the poor, the indigenous and many other such causes.

Rather than one of her big hits you’ve all heard many times, here is Crazy He Calls Me. (76)

♫ Aretha Franklin - Crazy He Calls Me

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Well it’s the time of the year when I go on my annual rant about snow, icicles, chestnuts roasting by an open fire, sleigh bells and all that other folderol that seems to infect Christmas songs.

That’s not Christmas where I live and the couple of times I’ve experienced Christmas like that it felt completely, totally, utterly wrong.

Christmas is long warm (or dare I say hot) days with chilled Champagne or cold white wine sipped in the shade with cold prawns, lobster, salads and such for the Christmas feast.

Anyway, that’s enough of my ranting, let’s play some jolly music.

DADDY COOL would certainly know of what I speak as they come from Melbourne too.

They were the biggest band in Australia in the early seventies until they split. They reformed and split several times over the years but alas, no more as only two of the group are still alive.

The song today is from one of their later reformations when they recorded an album called “The New Cool”. The song is The Christmas Bug.

♫ Daddy Cool - The Christmas Bug

JULIA LEE AND HER BOYFRIENDS seem to have some sort of Christmas Spirit.

It’s not the spirit usually associated with Christmas because Santa can’t bring what she wants most. I’ll let her (and her friends) tell you about it.

♫ Julia Lee and Her Boyfriends - Christmas Spirit

KEITH JARRETT, GARY PEACOCK AND JACK DEJOHNETTE perform and record regularly together.

Separately they are some of the best around on their various instruments, so together they play some of the finest jazz going these days. From one of their albums, “After the Fall” we find out that Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Well, we knew that already, but it’s good to hear what they make of that hoary old song.

♫ Keith Jarrett - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

THE HOLLY TWINS want only one thing for Christmas.

Before I tell you what that is, I’d like to say that I know very little about The Holly Twins. The only thing is that they are twins and their names are Jonell and Glenell McQuaig. They sing I Want Elvis for Christmas.

They have the help of Eddie Cochran on this song both playing guitar and impersonating Elvis in between verses. Eddie died in a car crash at age 21.

♫ Holly Twins - I Want Elvis For Christmas

I featured a live video of THE POGUES' song Fairytale of New York in the very first of these Christmas columns and I thought it was time for their original studio version.

In the past I've also used a superior version of the song by Tex Perkins and Claire Bowditch who are also far better looking than SHANE MCGOWAN who sang the song. But then, I'm far better looking than Shane too.

That's Shane, not me. Singing with Shane is KIRSTY MCCOLL, daughter of singer/songwriter Ewan McColl.

Kirsty died in a boating accident in 2000.

♫ Pogues - Fairytale of New York

RUFUS THOMAS is probably best known for his novelty songs, one of which, Walking the Dog, was a nice little earner for him when the Rolling Stones covered it.

Naturally he doesn’t take the season too seriously when he tells his sweetie (or someone): I'll Be Your Santa Baby. He gives it a really funky feeling.

♫ Rufus Thomas - I'll Be Your Santa Baby

ESTHER PHILLIPS, also known as Little Esther, recorded a few songs with MEL WALKER, backed by the JOHNNY OTIS orchestra.

Esther is disconsolate because her baby is so far away, but like all good Christmas wishes, everything comes good in the end. All this is revealed in Far Away Christmas Blues.

♫ Little Esther & Mel Walker with Johnny Otis Orchestra - Far Away Christmas Blues

This year we’ll have a couple of moments of couth to end proceedings.

First up is ARCANGELO CORELLI.

Around his time the Concerto Grosso was top of the pops and he wrote a bunch of them (as did Handel and others). The one I’ve selected is the third movement of Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 8 because it’s also generally called Christmas Concerto, or if you want to be technically correct: Made for Christmas Night.

♫ Corelli - Concerto Grosso n.08 Op.6 (3)

J.S. BACH wrote cantatas for every Sunday of the year and all religious holidays.

He wrote several for the various days around Christmas and the one I’ve chosen is a chorale cantata for the first Sunday after Christmas which is close enough for me. It is the first movement of BWV 122, Das neugeborne Kindelein, or The new born child.

♫ Bach JS - Das neugeborne Kindelein BWV 122 ~ 1. Coro Das neugebornene Kindelein

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

With global warming we may or may not get more storms, but we will get far more powerful and ferocious ones. It’s probably too late to stop this happening. In the meantime, let’s have some songs about storms.

We’ll start proceedings with TOM RUSH and approximately the title of the column.

The song is actually called Galveston Flood, but it has been recorded under the name Wasn’t That a Mighty Storm. Even Tom has done that.

♫ Tom Rush - Galveston Flood

There are two songs today where I found dozens of versions and you’d think it might be difficult to select one. As it turned out, the job was easy as the best one stood out in both. The first of these songs is Stormy Monday, and the standout is T-BONE WALKER.

Just about every blues performer, and quite a few in other genres, has recorded the song. However, T-Bone did it first and did it best. He also wrote the song. He was one of the most influential guitarists of the twentieth century.

♫ T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday

Goodness, it’s been a while since I had LINDA RONSTADT in a column. That will be rectified immediately.

Linda seems to have the help of the celestial choir on her song, Cry Like a Rainstorm.

♫ Linda Ronstadt - Cry Like a Rainstorm

“Blood on the Tracks” was BOB DYLAN’s finest album from the seventies. It was also his “divorce album”, I don’t know if there’s a correlation there.

There were several vicious songs on the album. Okay, it’s not the only album where that occurred. The song Shelter from the Storm isn’t one of them. Well, it is a bit.

♫ Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm

TERRY EVANS and HANS THEESSINK also recorded Shelter from the Storm, but it’s a different song.

Hans, a Dutch bluesman, wrote this one, but I can’t help thinking that he was very familiar with Bob’s song. Terry once sang backup on one of Hans’ records and after that they recorded and toured together. Terry died recently and his last record was with Hans.

♫ Terry Evans & Hans Theessink - Shelter From The Storm

BUDDY KNOX started his career on a radio program in Texas that also featured Roy Orbison.

Roy suggested that Buddy should go to Clovis, New Mexico, where Norman Petty was recording Buddy Holly. Buddy did just that and recorded his best known, and biggest selling song, Party Doll.

He also recorded Storm Clouds. He had another go at that song again later and it’s that version we have today.

♫ Buddy Knox - Storm Clouds

JOHN PRINE can write songs that will break your heart, others that will make you laugh and everything in between.

Whatever category into which a song falls, his attention to details is immaculate. The song Storm Windows seems to be from the in between category, and it’s a bit rockier than most of his songs.

♫ John Prine - Storm Windows

The other song that I mentioned above with all the versions is Stormy Weather. I can hear you yelling your favorites but I’ve gone with LENA HORNE.

The song was around before Lena had a go at it, but she sang it in a film of the same name and since then it’s mostly been associated with her.

♫ Lena Horne - Stormy Weather

BOZ SCAGGS went to school and university with Steve Miller. They were firm friends.

After trying to make a go of it as a solo artist, Boz joined Steve in the Steve Miller Band for their first two albums as a guitarist and singer. After that he once again ventured out for a solo career recording the album “Boz Scaggs”, which in my opinion is his best.

However, it’s not that album that concerns us today, it’s a later one called “A Fool to Care”, from which we get There's a Storm a Comin'. Just setting the mood for the next track.

♫ Boz Scaggs - There's a Storm a Comin'

There’s only one way to finish the column and that is to ride out the storm. Quite a few of you are already saying THE DOORS.

Riders on the Storm was the very last song that the original four members of The Doors recorded together. They went out with one of their great songs and so are we, at least for this week.

♫ The Doors - Riders On The Storm

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

1959 was the year I was uprooted halfway through high school (and halfway through the year) from my small country town and deposited in a really big city (Melbourne).

That was for a couple of reasons: to keep the family together (my sister had already made that move), and to ensure a good education for the next kid (me) as my big sister really had to struggle to do that on her own – she was the only person in her year 12 class.

It was also a pretty good year for music.

It was with the group THE TEDDY BEARS that we first encountered Phil Spector. This was ostensibly a trio; the other two were Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard. There were others who came and went, most notably Sandy Nelson who had a later career as a drummer.

Phil wrote the song To Know Him is to Love Him for the group and particularly for Annette to sing the lead. It was their only hit. Annette later changed her name to Carol Connors and had a successful career as a songwriter.

♫ The Teddy Bears - To Know Him Is To Love Him

Does music from this year get any better than this? That’s a rhetorical question to which the answer is no. That’s because we have THE PLATTERS.

The only question really is which song to play. I decided on one of their best, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.

♫ The Platters - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

BILLY GRAMMER was both a singer a fine guitarist.

He was one of the few who had a signature guitar made and named for him. Not just that but the company changed its name to the Grammer Guitar Company. He had a few hits during his career, the biggest of which was Gotta Travel On.

♫ Billy Grammer - Gotta Travel On

COL JOYE was the second biggest rock & roller in Australia at the time.

He was the one the parents liked rather that the outrageous Johnny O’Keefe whom the kids liked. Sort of like Ricky Nelson and Elvis in that regard. Col’s contribution is Bye, Bye Baby Goodbye.

♫ Col Joye - Bye bye baby goodbye

By this year, FATS DOMINO had been making records for at least a decade, so he knew what he was doing by this stage.

One of the things he did really well was the song, I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Some Day.

♫ Fats Domino - I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Some Day

Along with two or three others, GUY MITCHELL was a breath of fresh air in the early fifties. He, and they, showed this kid that there might be some interesting music out there amongst all the dross.

Guy kept making good records as the decade went on, one of which is Heartaches by the Number.

♫ Guy Mitchell - Heartaches by the Number

FRANKIE FORD was another native of Louisiana who took up music at an early age.

After some minor success he was used as a backup vocalist. When he did this for Huey “Piano” Smith with Huey’s song, Sea Cruise, the record company decided to release Frankie’s version as Huey already had a couple of songs on the charts. Frankie did likewise with the song.

♫ Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise

You can be pretty certain that MARTY ROBBINS would be present this year.

Marty seems surprised that seventeen and eighteen year olds were getting together. Oh, Marty, Marty, Marty they’ve been doing that since we evolved into humans (and no doubt before that). She Was Only Seventeen.

♫ Marty Robbins - She Was Only Seventeen

By now anything the EVERLY BROTHERS recorded was guaranteed to top the charts.

This is a tale of woe that the lads don’t want Mary to know about; that is that they’re banged up in the clink. She might figure that something’s wrong when they don’t come home. Take a Message to Mary.

♫ Everly Brothers - Take A Message To Mary

PHIL PHILLIPS received a pittance from his recording of Sea of Love.

He wrote the song, recorded it and saw that it hit the top of the charts, selling more than a million. He recorded an album but refused to have it released due to the shonky deal the record company struck with him.

He’s still trying to get his due after all this time. It’s particularly galling as the song has been covered quite often and was used in the successful film of the same name.

♫ Phil Phillips - Sea Of Love

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Sunshine is something I know well as I was born and bred in Australia and this country has a lot of it. I’ll bring you some of it in the form of songs.

I’ll start with the title of the column, Do You Know You Are My Sunshine? I think we know the answer to the question, but THE STATLER BROTHERS ask it anyway.

The Statlers are a guilty pleasure for me. I really like their harmony and interweaving singing. Here they are with the title of the column.

♫ Statler Brothers - Do You Know You Are My Sunshine

The answer to the previous question is “Yes”. It doesn’t matter, I’m going to play it and I’m going right back to the source, JIMMIE DAVIS.

Jimmie was a singer and songwriter (and twice Governor of Louisiana) and he wrote the song along with Charles Mitchell. His wasn’t the first recording of the song, but I think he deserves to sing it today in spite of politics: You Are My Sunshine.

♫ Jimmie Davis - You Are My Sunshine

Ain't No Sunshine would be BILL WITHERS’ most famous song.

That’s probably due to the multiple “I Know”s in the song (26 of them). It wasn’t just this song though, he has had quite a few hits over the years, but it’s Ain't No Sunshine we’re going with today.

♫ Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine

I’ve never really known what to think of DONOVAN’s music.

He’s recorded so much rubbish over the years that it’s easy to dismiss him, however, when I listen to the best of his songs, and there are quite a few of them, I’m forced to revise my opinion. So, old flippy-floppy me has chosen Sunshine Superman.

♫ Donovan - Sunshine Superman

I have no such qualms about TOM RUSH though, as long time readers would already know.

Tom’s a regular visitor to these columns and from his fine album “The Circle Game” we have Sunshine Sunshine.

♫ Tom Rush - Sunshine Sunshine

KATRINA AND THE WAVES is a group with both British and American members.

They evolved from the British band The Waves and the American one, Mama’s Cookin’. After getting together and bit of to-ing and fro-ing with various musicians, our group was born. They perform their best known song, Walking On Sunshine.

Norma, the Assistant Musicologist just walked in and said that this one is the pick of the sunshine songs. Not my first choice, but it’s certainly good enough to be included.

♫ Katrina And The Waves - Walking On Sunshine

DION DiMucci is best known to most of us as a Doowop and pop singer from the fifties and early sixties.

After that though, he evolved into a rather fine folk/blues singer. He didn’t sell a lot of records in this style but he certainly impressed the critics. From that period he sings Sunshine Lady from the album “King of the New York Streets”.

♫ Dion - Sunshine Lady

DOUG SAHM first came to be noticed by the general public as the main man from the rock group The Sir Douglas Quintet (from Texas, in spite of the name).

Afterwards, Doug was a leading light in the resurgence of roots music and also Tex-Mex, combining the music of Texas and Mexico. He was a bit of a prodigy and could play pretty much any instrument he lay his hands on. Alas, he died far too young.

From his album “Groover's Paradise” he performs Beautiful Texas Sunshine.

♫ Doug Sahm - Beautiful Texas Sunshine

STEVIE WONDER had the help of Jim Gilstrap and Lani Groves on You Are the Sunshine of My Life.

Indeed, Jim sang the first two lines and Lani the next two. Stevie finally gets to warble along after that. The song made the charts around the world and topped them in several countries.

♫ Stevie Wonder - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

WILLIE NELSON launches into jazz mode for his sunshine song.

Well, sort of jazz, it’s still Willie, of course, and I’ve always thought of him as essentially a jazz performer working in country music. Anyway, Willie asks us, or someone, to Bring Me Sunshine.

♫ Willie Nelson - Bring Me Sunshine

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Continuing with the series of music that has caught my ear.

It seems that JOHANN AMON could play any instrument that he wrapped his hands, mouth, fingers or anything else around.

He was also a particularly fine writer of pretty much every genre of music you can imagine. Why he’s not better known is a mystery. As an example of what he could do here is the first movement of his Quintet for flute, horn, violin, viola, cello and bass I expect he could play all of those.

Quintet is the title of the piece, but I counted six instruments. (Throws up his hands). Anyway, it’s Quintet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 118.

♫ Amon - Quintet No. 2 in E minor Op. 118 (1)

EDVARD GRIEG is best known for his marvelous piano concerto and the music he wrote for Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt. He later pulled apart that music and created several suites that have become hugely popular.

On his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Ed wrote a piece of music as a present for his wife called Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (where they were married). How good is that?

♫ Grieg - Wedding Day at Troldhaugen

The song, O Waly Waly dates from the sixteen hundreds. Many have tinkered with it over time including Benjamin Britten who wrote a couple of arrangements for it. Others have orchestrated it as well.

It was a standard for folk artists in the sixties and they generally called it The Water is Wide. In a classical setting here is YVONNE KENNY, the Australian soprano, usually associated with the music of Mozart and Handel.

♫ Britten - O Waly Waly

MARKUS GRAUEL probably wrote the next piece of music but that “probably” is good enough for me. He doesn’t seemed to have stood still long enough to have his photo taken, so we don’t know what he looks like.

He was born sometime in the early eighteenth century, no one seems to know exactly when, the somewhere is what’s now Germany. There are only six known compositions of his – a few are thought to be lost (maybe more than a few).

This might be one of his though (probably), the Concerto A Major for violin & viola. Here is the first movement.

♫ Grauel - Concerto A Major (1)

MICHÈL YOST was a French clarinet player from the middle of the eighteenth century and by all accounts a brilliant one. He’s another for whom no picture seems to be available.

Mike also wrote music, pretty much for that instrument (although there are some for others as well). That’s pretty much the sum total of what we know of him. One of his works is the Clarinet Quartet No. 1. This is the first movement.

♫ Yost - Clarinet Quartet No. 1 (1)

Here is something by that prolific composer ANONYMUS. That is not a misspelling (well, it is but it's the name on the CD), and in this case it refers to anonymous Habsburg violin music. That’s as much information that I have, apart from the name of the composition: Sonata No 4 in D major.

♫ Anonymus - Sonata (N°4) in D major

MICHAEL BALFE was an Irish composer who started his music career as a violinist and an opera singer (simultaneously, it seems).

He also wrote operas (29 of them), some of which were very successful at the time (mid-nineteenth century), not just in Britain, but France, Germany, America, Australia even.

From his opera “Satanella (or the power of love)” we have Thanks, Thanks, My Friends. The characters singing are Count Rupert (a landowner) and Stella (a princess) plus various others warbling along in the background.

♫ Balfe - Satanella ~ Thanks Thanks My Friends

FRANZ FREYSTÄDTLER was an Austrian composer and piano teacher. We’re really having a bad day for visual representations – that’s the problem with selecting rather obscure composers.

He was taught composition, piano and the organ by Mozart and Michael Haydn’s father-in-law. Talk about learning from the best.

At one stage he was thrown in the clink for apparently stealing a piano from the Austrian army (just think about that for a moment). Mozart intervened and things were smoothed over.

His compositions are pretty much all for piano in some form or other, including the interestingly named Concerto Facile in D major. This is the second movement. To my ears that’s a forte piano being played, rather than the modern instrument.

♫ Freystädtler - Concerto Facile in D major (2)

JEAN-BAPTISTE JANSON was pretty much contemporaneous with Mozart.

J-B though, as you might be able to guess, was French. Although he was principally a cello player he became a teacher of the bass at the Paris

Conservatoire. He managed to survive the reign of terror, but didn’t live too long into the nineteenth century. Here we have him with his preferred instrument with the first movement of his Cello Concerto in D major.

♫ Janson - Cello Concerto in D major (1)

We can fade out now, just as this piece of music does. The composer is GIACOMO PUCCINI.

The music is from one of his most famous and best loved operas, “La Bohème”. It’s the duet at the end of act one when the lovers (as they are by now) wander off to meet their friends at the café. It’s called Ehil Rodolfo! O soave fanciulla.

♫ Puccini - Ehil Rodolfo! O soave fanciulla

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

With Nothing, Something and Everything out of the way, that means that now Anything goes. So it shall be.

It’s obvious that I should start with Anything Goes, the song written by COLE PORTER.

Although many have recorded the song, to me, having the writer sing his own song is always my first preference. And so it is today. This is Cole’s version.

♫ Cole Porter - Anything Goes

Although far from the best singer in the world, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON sure can write a good song. He’s a pretty good actor too, but that’s going a bit off topic.

Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) originally turned up on his “The Silver Tongued Devil and I” album. A while ago, he went back into the studio and rerecorded many of his famous songs, including this one.

That album is called “The Austin Sessions”, and it’s that version I’m using today.

♫ Kris Kristofferson - Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)

KEELY SMITH is most remembered for her partnership with Louis Prima.

However, after that partnership sundered as well as their marriage, Keely went on to have quite a decent solo career. From that later career we have I Would Do Most Anything for You.

♫ Keely Smith - I Would Do Most Anything For You

ELVIS gets into act with a song fairly early in his career, if 1962 can be called fairly early for him.

It’s a song I was only vaguely aware of called Anything That's Part of You. This was the b-side (remember when records had two sides?) to Good Luck Charm, and is notable for the distinctive sound of Floyd Cramer playing the piano, and I think it’s a really nice song.

♫ Elvis - Anything That's Part of You

From the previous generation of performers, someone who was also quite influential in his own way is BOB WILLS.

Bob’s music was also part of the various streams that lead to rock & roll, but this track is probably not one of those. It just goes by the name of Anything.

♫ Bob Wills - Anything

TIMI YURO had one really big hit, but she also had quite a few others that made the charts back in the sixties.

Her song today isn’t one of those, it turned up on one of her albums and is called Be Anything (But Be Mine).

♫ Timi Yuro - Be Anything (But Be Mine)

The SONS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN obviously modeled themselves on the Sons of the Pioneers.

They are a family band with two brothers and a son, and they harmonise and otherwise sing beautifully. Their repertoire is mainly cowboy songs and the like. One of those is That’s Why I'll Never Want To Be Anything But A Cowboy.

♫ Sons of the San Joaquin - That s Why I'll Never Want To Be Anything But A Cowboy

There were several contenders for the song I Can’t Give You Anything but Love. In the end I went for MEL TORMÉ.

It was a tough call as it’s one of the most recorded songs in history. Even I don’t have all of those, but of the many I have I liked Mel’s the best. Sorry Billie, you missed out today. A rare occurrence.

♫ Mel Tormé - I Can't Give You Anything But Love

HOWARD TATE was a soul singer who wasn’t particularly well known by the general public.

He was well known in the music industry though, and Janis Joplin recorded a couple of his songs. He had a number of charting songs in the sixties and retired from the music biz in the late seventies.

An enterprising DJ rediscovered him early this century which led to a second career until his death in 2011. Howard’s contribution is You Don't Know Anything About Love.

♫ Howard Tate - You Don't Know Anything About Love

BONNIE RAITT was destined to be a musician.

Her father was the Broadway actor and singer, John Raitt and her mother was the pianist, Marjorie Haydock. Bonnie received a guitar for Christmas when she was eight years old and hasn’t looked back.

Later, instead of studying in college, she’d hang around blues clubs and gig with various blues legends. That paid off as she’s one of the world’s great slide guitarists. Although she probably doesn’t believe this, she sings I Don't Want Anything to Change.

♫ Bonnie Raitt - I Don't Want Anything To Change

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

We’ve had Nothing and Something. I imagine it’s time for Everything, and here it all is, and I think we cover just about every genre of popular music today. Well, every one worth considering.

Well, everything I’ve ever said about BILLIE HOLIDAY still holds true today.

She was unique, and I use that word advisably. Often given second rate material to record, she made them into polished gems of songs. And when she tackled great songs Billie made them even greater.

Billie suggests that Everything Happens For The Best. I don’t know about that, but let’s hear what she sings.

♫ Billie Holiday - Everything Happens For The Best

KEITH JARRETT made a couple of albums with the late great jazz bassist CHARLIE HADEN which are really fine if you like elegant stripped back jazz.

Charlie’s swinging bass playing gives an added dimension to Keith’s lyrical piano playing. Everything Happens to Me.

♫ Keith Jarrett - Everything Happens to Me

With her contribution CATHERINE RUSSELL sounds like a throwback to the thirties.

She isn’t from that era, of course. Catherine is quite up to date. From her recent album “Strictly Romancin'” she sings in her inimitable style, Everything's Been Done Before. I can see her singing this in a Paris club, backed by Django and Stéphane.

♫ Catherine Russell - Everything's Been Done Before

PAUL KELLY is unusual in the ranks of male songwriters because he writes many songs from the female point of view.

He took a short story by Raymond Carver and turned it into the song, Everything's Turning to White. The story was called “So Much Water, So Close to Home”, which is the name of Paul’s album from which the song is taken.

♫ Paul Kelly - Everything's Turning to White

JOHNNY ADAMS had a multi-octave singing voice that he used often to great effect.

He was yet another talent from New Orleans and was quite at home singing soul, jazz, blues, gospel and rock & roll. Today’s song, I Want To Do Everything For You, is mostly in the soul genre.

♫ Johnny Adams - I Want To Do Everything For You

The BELLAMY BROTHERS are a successful country duo whose music has crossed over into the mainstream pop arena.

This isn’t confined to the obvious places – America, Australia, the UK – they’ve had charting songs in Europe, Japan and several African countries. The song today is from a rather fine album called “Rebels Without a Clue” called When The Music Meant Everything.

♫ Bellamy Brothers - When The Music Meant Everything

You don’t hear whistling much in songs anymore, it used to be quite common. The whistler today, okay, it’s quite short, is CHRIS SMITHER.

Chris is a blues/folk/singer-songwriter of renown. His life performances, usually just him and an acoustic guitar, are really worth catching. Here he sings (and whistles) Everything on Top.

♫ Chris Smither - Everything on Top

I could have done without those strings on the next song. After all, when you have NAT KING COLE and THE GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET, that should be enough. It certainly is for me.

Nat and George and friends (and those damn strings) give us Everything Happens To Me.

♫ Nat King Cole and George Shearing - Everything Happens To Me

SAM COOKE should need no introduction from me for the readers of this column.

It’s generally considered that he invented soul music, along with Ray Charles, but he didn’t live long enough to see its full blossoming. Such a pity. He sings I Lost Everything. I guess that’s a little prophetic.

♫ Sam Cooke - I Lost Everything

I like to throw a song from left field into columns now and then, and today’s contribution is from the LOUVIN BROTHERS.

The Louvins were an influential duo whose songs were taken up by later country and rock performers, most notably The Byrds and Emmylou Harris. It seems they have Plenty of Everything but You.

♫ Louvin Brothers - Plenty of Everything but You

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Israel Beilin (or Baline according to some) was born in Tolochin, in Russia and went to America when he was five. Somewhat later he acquired the name IRVING BERLIN.

Besides the hundreds of songs, Irv wrote the score of a couple of dozen Broadway musicals and 15 or so films. Pick the name of a singer out of a hat and she/he will have sung something of his songs. Here are just a few.

Alexander's Ragtime Band was one of his first hits, and one of his biggest. He wrote it in 1911 and he also performed it that year. Over time, many have recorded it, some several times. One (or two) is (are) BING CROSBY and AL JOLSON.

The version today was recorded in 1947.

♫ Bing Crosby - Alexander’s Ragtime Band

I Got Lost In His Arms was written for the musical “Annie Get Your Gun” and was sung in that by Ethel Merman. Ethel is a long, long way from being my favorite singer, so I’m glad the ROSEMARY CLOONEY recorded it.

Several more people have recorded the song including, rather surprisingly to me, Suzi Quatro.

♫ Rosemary Clooney - I Got Lost In His Arms

Blue Skies was written after Irv and his wife Ellin had had their first daughter. It’s an optimistic, forward looking song as befits that occasion. The song first saw light of day in a Ziegfeld production, and later Al Jolson performed it in the first talkie, “The Jazz Singer”.

It’s been recorded many times and been to the top of the charts quite often, including fairly recently when WILLIE NELSON recorded it (and other similar songs). Naturally, if Willie is around I’ll probably choose him.

♫ Willie Nelson - Blue Skies

There were several candidates for the song Heat Wave, but I narrowed it to two. I played them both for Norma, the Assistant Musicologist, and she instantly went with SOL K. BRIGHT & HIS HOLLYWAIIANS.

I was leaning in their direction as well, so it was unanimous.

♫ Sol K. Bright & His Hollywaiians - Heat Wave

Change Partners is a song that Irving wrote for the film “Carefree” in 1938, where it was sung by Fred Astaire. Since then there have been quite a few versions that made the charts. The one I’m interested in today came from considerably later, 1967, from an album that FRANK SINATRA and ANTÔNIO JOBIM recorded together.

It’s lucky Frank sang, as otherwise it sounded rather like elevator music to me.

♫ Frank Sinatra - Change Partners

Apparently, I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm is a Christmas song. It mentions icicles and snow and all that palaver. That doesn’t sound like Christmas where I live – all sunshine, shorts, T-shirts, drinking cool white wine in the shade. Anyway, I’ll just skip over that and let the MILLS BROTHERS warm you up.

♫ Mills Brothers - I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Irv didn’t think the song Say It Isn't So was much good so he put it away in his bottom drawer. Somehow or other Max Winslow heard the song and took it along to Rudy Vallée who sang it on his radio program and made it a big hit.

Rather than a vocal version, I thought that the BENNY GOODMAN QUARTET captures it beautifully.

Like Nat King Cole down below, I’ve always preferred Benny in his quartet to the big band. Somebody must have liked the big band though, as they were very popular.

♫ Benny Goodman - Say It Isn't So

ROSEMARY CLOONEY makes a return visit, this time as a duet partner of GUY MITCHELL.

Irv wrote You're Just in Love for his musical “Call Me Madam” where it was sung by Ethel Merman and Russell Nype. As mentioned earlier, I’ll skip Ethel if I get the chance.

Fortunately, several other versions made the charts. Rosemary and Guy’s was the biggest seller, and the one I prefer.

♫ Guy Mitchell & Rosemary Clooney - You're Just In Love

Irv was rather fond of counterpoint, or “double songs”. The previous one is an example of that, as is this next one, Play a Simple Melody. The version I’m using was originally attributed to “Gary Crosby and Friend with Matty Matlock's All Stars”. Of course it was immediately obvious who his “friend” was.

Here are BING CROSBY and GARY CROSBY with the song.

♫ Bing Crosby & Gary Crosby - Play a Simple Melody

It was difficult trying to select which version of What'll I Do to include, as several of my usual automatic inclusions were present; most notably Chet Baker and Julie London. In the end THE NAT KING COLE TRIO trumped them all.

His trio is the way I like Nat best, and this is a beautiful version.

♫ Nat King Cole - What'll I Do

As an indication of his longevity, I’ll end with a tribute, a song Irv didn’t write. It’s by IAN TYSON.

The song is Irving Berlin (Is 100 Years Old Today), and it shows his incredible influence in all genres of music.

♫ Ian Tyson - Irving Berlin (Is 100 Yrs Old Today)

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Here is some more music, seemingly at random, for your delectation.

LOUISE FARRENC was born Louise Dumont into a family of sculptors.

She decided to eschew the hammer and chisel for the piano and became very good at it indeed. She also took up composing and married Aristide Farrenc who played the flute.

After a bit, he grew tired of traveling around and settled down as a music publisher. Louise flourished as a composer, initially just for piano, but later chamber music which turned out to be what she was best at. One of those pieces is the Piano Quintet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 30, the fourth movement.

♫ Farrenc - Piano Quintet No.1 in A minor Op.30 (4)

JIŘÍ LINEK was a Czech composer whose output was mostly religious music. Apparently Jiří didn’t ever sit still long enough to have his picture taken.

He especially liked the harpsichord and quite a few of his other works were for the instrument. Jiří was really prolific, more than 300 compositions to his name and he like to incorporate Czech folk tunes into his music, in the mean time he was really aware of the current developments in music. That’s demonstrated in his Symphony Pastoralis in C major, the first movement.

♫ Linek - Symphony Pastoralis in C major (1)

I was lying in bed the other morning listening to the radio and I heard this next piece of music and thought it was delightful. I also wondered if I had it. It turns out that I did.

The composer is Antonín Vranický who is probably better known as ANTON WRANITZKY.

He was yet another Czech composer (thus the first name) who spent a lot of time in Vienna (the second of his names) where he was taught by Mozart and Haydn (talk about learning from the best). Possibly because of this he later became a well respected music teacher.

He also wrote music – his symphonies and violin concertos are especially well thought of. Decide for yourself about one of the latter, the third movement of his Violin Concerto in C Major. Op. 11.

♫ Wranitzky - Violin Concerto in C Major. Op. 11 (3)

JEAN SIBELIUS is the best known Finnish composer.

He is, in my opinion, the second best Finnish composer – I’d give the title to Bernhard Crusell. Of course, you may disagree, and I hope you do as that’s what this column is all about.

Anyway, Jean is a staple on concert platforms, especially his symphonies and tone poems such as Finlandia and the Karelia Suite. However, I rather like his short pieces for piano, especially the ones released as Impromptus, Op. 5. This is the sixth of those.

♫ Sibelius - Impromptu VI Op. 5

Here is something rather unusual, at least it is from my point of view. It may even be from yours. I’ve discovered amongst my music collection something called a Choral Concerto, and the person who devised such a thing was named DMITRY BORTNIANSKY.

Dim (or Dm I suppose) was from the Ukraine, and is best known for his liturgical works and, as mentioned earlier, choral concertos (a whole bunch of these).

These latter compositions feature singing rather than instruments in the traditional concerto form. To demonstrate this (and I don’t hear much in the way of actual instruments backing the singers in this one) here is the first movement of his Choral Concerto No. 27.

♫ Bortniansky - Choral Concerto No. 27 (1)

CARL DITTERS VON DITTERSDORF, or Old Ditters to us who know him well, was a friend of both Mozart and Haydn.

Indeed, the three of them used to play string quartets together bringing in Johann Vanhal as the fourth member. In that arrangement Mozart played the viola, but today I have a viola sonata by Ditters – he was very versatile. It’s the fourth movement of the Viola Sonata in E-flat major.

♫ Dittersdorf - Viola Sonata in E-flat major (4)

I really like string quartets; I’ll have one of those in most columns of this sort. The one today is by FRANZ RICHTER.

Franz is another who straddled the divide between Baroque and Classical music, and unlike most who did that, he mostly came down on the Classical side. He was extremely prolific, with more than 80 symphonies under his belt. There were also 39 masses and other religious compositions, several concertos, sonatas and the like, and six string quartets.

Here is the third movement of String Quartet in B flat major, Op.5 No.2.

♫ Richter - String Quartet in B flat major Op.5 No.2 (3)

It’s seldom that you get the double bass as a featured instrument but this is one of those times. There are a couple of composers who like to feature the bass and JOHANNES SPERGER is one I hadn’t encountered before.

It’s not surprising to learn that Jo was a bass player himself, but he didn’t restrict himself to that instrument. He was quite prolific and wrote 44 symphonies, lots of concertos, sonatas, choral works and all sorts of other things. However, it’s the bass that we’re interested in today; this is the third movement of his Double Bass Concerto in D major.

♫ Sperger - Double Bass Concerto in D major (3)

Somewhat later than everyone else today is AUGUST RITTER.

He was a contemporary of Mendelssohn and was apparently an excellent organist. Most of his compositions were for that instrument, but I have instead the first movement of his Sinfonia Concertante in B. To my ears it sounds as if was written much earlier, around the time that Mozart was doing the same thing.

♫ Ritter - Sinfonia Concertante B-dur (1)

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

1932 certainly produced some terrific artists and fine music. Here is some of it.

I’ll start with the old groaner himself, BING CROSBY.

You need no introduction to Bing, and I imagine you need no introduction to one of his most famous songs, Please.

♫ Bing Crosby - Please

I’ll always welcome the MILLS BROTHERS into my columns.

They seem to like listening to rumors (and spreading them as well). Well, who doesn’t? The song is I Heard. They also indulge in a little scat singing.

♫ Mills Brothers - I Heard

Speaking of scat singing, here’s the man who invented it. LOUIS ARMSTRONG is also another who is pretty much an automatic inclusion.

Louis is very laid back on this song, he even plays his trumpet with mute, at least for the first half. He lets rip later on during Body and Soul.

♫ Louis Armstrong - Body and Soul

It sounds to me as if LONNIE JOHNSON listened carefully to Cab Calloway, who also appears today.

Lonnie’s song definitely sounds like Cab’s most famous song. Lonnie even sounds just a little like Cab on Winnie the Wailer.

♫ Lonnie Johnson - Winnie The Wailer

AL BOWLLY really traveled the world, which was a little unusual in the early years of the 20th century.

Not just to the places you’d expect, but to Africa – Mozambique, South Africa – and Asia – India, the Philippines, Indonesia. He also seemed to have two bands, one used for recording and the other for live performances.

Alas, he was killed in an air raid in London during the war. The Billy Cotton Band wasn’t his usual recording band (that was Ray Noble) and with them we have I Can't Get Mississippi Off My Mind.

♫ Al Bowlly Billy Cotton Band - I Can't Get Mississippi Off My Mind

I’ve already mentioned the next artist. CAB CALLOWAY made a career out of his song Minnie the Moocher.

Not just the actual song that he performed pretty much for the rest of his life, but variations on it as well. This is one of those: Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day.

♫ Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day

Like Bing, FRED ASTAIRE’s song is one of his most famous.

Not just Fred, this song has been associated with quite a few other singers as well. It’s Night and Day, written by Cole Porter for a Broadway musical "Gay Divorce". That play was later filmed as "The Gay Divorcee" that starred Fred and Ginger Rogers.

♫ Fred Astaire - Night And Day

Nobody who is reading this column needs me to tell you about PAUL ROBESON.

Okay, a little reminder, he was a star athlete, a lawyer, an actor in both film and stage, a champion of civil rights and an advocate for indigenous peoples around the world. He was also a great singer as you will hear on Got the South in My Soul. In spite of the name of the song, he was from Princeton, New Jersey.

♫ Paul Robeson - Got The South In My Soul

I’ve always been amused that NOËL COWARD affected an umlaut on his first name which suggests that he pronounced it with two syllables, as in the Christmas variant, rather than one which is usual for that name.

That, of course, was the sort of person he was (or tried to be). This year he gave us his most famous song, along with Ray Noble and His Orchestra, Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

♫ Noel Coward with Ray Noble & His Orchestra - Mad Dogs and Englishmen

GEORGE OLSEN started as a drummer and later became a band leader of the group called George Olsen and his Music.

After he retired, he owned a successful restaurant in New Jersey. Several singers made a name with his group; one whose name isn’t familiar to me is Paul Small, who sings vocal refrain on It Was So Beautiful.

♫ George Olsen - It Was So Beautiful

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

We had Nothing last week, so naturally, we have to have Something this week. Nothing was pretty much soul based and Something seems to have a theme as well - most of the songs are from the sixties.

That’s just the way they fell out after selection. I guess something happened during that decade.

One of the things that happened was that DIONNE WARWICK happened to meet Burt Bacharach, and a writing/singing combination was born.

One of the songs Burt wrote (with Hal David) is Always Something There to Remind Me. Dionne recorded it as a demo and other people released the song before she did. She finally got around to doing it for real and I think hers is the definitive version.

♫ Dionne Warwick - Always Something There to Remind Me

Tom Rush recorded songs by several songwriters in the sixties before those had done so themselves. One such was JAMES TAYLOR.

One of the songs that Tom recorded was Something in the Way She Moves. James got around to recording it on his first album, the one few people remember, before “Sweet Baby James”.

♫ James Taylor - Something in the Way She Moves

James Taylor’s first album was recorded and released by Apple. I don’t know if George Harrison lent an ear to what was going down on that record, but it’s instructive to find that the first line of his song Something is the same as James’s.

THE BEATLES’ song was recorded a year or so later on the “Abbey Road” album.

I’m not suggesting any impropriety, but it’s interesting to me. I prefer James’s song to George’s.

♫ Beatles - Something

DOLLY PARTON first came to general attention when she recorded with PORTER WAGONER and appeared on his TV program.

They performed together on and off for about eight years until others started performing Dolly’s songs and she started as a solo artist. However, from back in the day, here is the pair of them with Something to Reach For.

♫ Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner - Something To Reach For

For some reason HERMAN'S HERMITS seemed to be a lot bigger in America than in their native Britain (or Australia, for that matter).

However, we certainly knew of their music and quite a few of their songs made the charts, including I'm Into Something Good.

♫ Herman's Hermits - I'm Into Something Good

In the period between his writing songs that became hits for other people, and becoming a success himself, GORDON LIGHTFOOT recorded a number of albums that are really interesting.

Probably the best of these was “Did She Mention My Name” where he began the process of leaving behind simple folks songs for more interesting and complex material. From that album is the song, Something Very Special.

♫ Gordon Lightfoot - Something Very Special

Getting away from the sixties briefly, we have TIFT MERRITT, a young person.

Tift has obviously listened to Emmylou, Dolly and Joni and run with it, creating her own sound. Like those three, she writes her own songs that are really worth hearing. One of those is Something Came Over Me.

♫ Tift Merritt - Something Came Over Me

The album “Between the Buttons” from 1967 contained mostly typical ROLLING STONES material.

I don’t know if they ran out of songs or just decided to have a bit of fun with us with the final track on the disk, Something Happened to Me Yesterday.

♫ Rolling Stones - Something Happened to Me Yesterday

Something’s Got a Hold on Me was written by ETTA JAMES, Leroy Kirkland and Pearl Woods.

It was recorded by Etta at that bastion of blues music, Chess Records, and produced by Leonard and Phil Chess themselves. Talk about blues music royalty. The song sounds more gospel than blues, with pop overtones.

♫ Etta James - Something's Got A Hold On Me

Another brief foray away from the sixties, this time in the other direction, we have ROSEMARY CLOONEY.

Something's Got to Give was written by Johnny Mercer and we first saw it performed by Fred Astaire in the film Daddy Long Legs. It was recorded by quite a few people at the time, but I like Rosemary’s version.

♫ Rosemary Clooney - Something's Got To Give

SAM & DAVE were the preeminent soul duo of the sixties. Or any time, really.

In concert, no one could hold a candle to them. I suspect that few performers lined up to follow them. They were splendid recording artists as well. One of their big hits was When Something Is Wrong With My Baby, a bit more mellow than most of their output.

♫ Sam & Dave - When Something Is Wrong With My Baby

This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to take over the column. He's been here each week ever since delighting us with his astonishing grasp of just about everything musical, his humor and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here.

Nothing ain’t nothing.

Nothing is a roiling mass of quantum effects where particles and anti-particles wink into existence and return to nothingness. This happens billions of times a second. Once upon a time one of those random events got out of hand and created the universe – it expanded exponentially (generally called the Big Bang), then slowed down, then speeded up again.

Oops, sorry, this isn’t a physics column, it’s all about music. On with the nothingness.

After I had collected the songs, I noticed that it had pretty much turned into a column replete with soul music. That’s fine with me; I hope it is with you as well.

I’ll start with the greatest soul singer, OTIS REDDING.

He says that I'll Let Nothing Separate Us. I hope he’s right, but this is the real world.

♫ Otis Redding - I'll Let Nothing Separate Us

Next we have the only singer who could have taken Otis’s crown from him, if there hadn’t been that “incident”, SAM COOKE.

Sam could sing songs from just about any genre of music and make it his own. Not just his own, but better than just about anyone else. His song is Nothing Can Change This Love.

♫ Sam Cooke - Nothing Can Change This Love

For a change of pace, we have the song that inspired this column. When I saw a vid of the rather fine British group, The Beautiful South, perform a cover of a song by IRIS DEMENT, I knew I had a column.

Iris was also in their show. Naturally, I’m going with her original version of You've Done Nothing Wrong.

♫ Iris DeMent - You've Done Nothing Wrong

TOUSSAINT MCCALL only had two songs that made the charts, and only one that got to the pointy end.

That song is Nothing Takes the Place of You. I don’t know why he wasn’t more successful as he was a fine singer, but we know how fickle the music industry is.

♫ Toussaint Mccall - Nothing Takes The Place Of You

JAMES HUNTER had the help of VAN MORRISON on his first album “Believe What I Say”.

This was a really terrific soul/rhythm & blues-based album that’s worth seeking out, as are James’s subsequent records. From that first album, with Van in tow, we have Ain't Nothing You Can Do.

It was written by Deadric Malone and Joseph Scott and first recorded by Bobby Blue Bland, whose version is excellent.

♫ James Hunter - Ain't Nothing You Can Do

Here are PAUL MADIGAN and ROSS HANNAFORD from an impromptu jam session they performed a few years ago.

Paul sings and plays acoustic guitar and Ross plays electric guitar and sings a bit towards the end of the song. Ross was the guitarist for the group Daddy Cool (and others as well). He was easily the finest rock guitarist Australia has produced. Unfortunately, he died recently.

The song they perform is There's Really Nothing You Can Do.

♫ Ross Hannaford & Paul Madigan - There's Really Nothing You Can Do

THE BEARDS are completely tongue in cheek but you wouldn’t know because they all have big beards so you can’t see any cheeks.

According to their song, it seems that you can achieve anything if you have a beard - world peace, stop global warming and perform several rather more interesting things. I can attest to that - after all, There’s Just Nothing Better Than a Beard.

♫ The Beards - There’s Just Nothing Better Than a Beard

There were a number of contenders for the next song but with BILLIE HOLIDAY in the mix, it’s a done deal as far as I’m concerned.

The song is from the recordings she did that later became known as The Ben Webster, Harry Edison Sessions where some of the finest songs of the era were recorded. One of those was Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me.

♫ Billie Holiday - Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me

CLYDE MCPHATTER is one of several singers that first came to prominence as lead singer for The Drifters.

He then went on to have a successful solo career. He was one of the best of the pop/soul singers and this song is an example. Although having said that, the song sounds more like a gospel song with some of the words tweaked to fit in, but then a lot of soul music does just that. I really like it. Without Love (There Is Nothing).

♫ Clyde McPhatter - Without Love (There Is Nothing)

It tickles me that PETER PAUL & MARY always had an ampersand in their name rather than the word “and”.

That’s just me; I get distracted by these rather trivial things. Anyway, they perform a song of Bob Dylan’s, not too much of a surprise there.

This is one from the period when he was recovering from his motor cycling accident when he wrote songs and sent them out to people he knew would do a good job with them. PP&M certainly did that with Too Much of Nothing.

♫ Peter, Paul & Mary - Too Much Of Nothing

I’ll end as I began, with a great soul singer. This time it’s PERCY SLEDGE.

Percy is another in the top echelon of soul singers - there are quite a few of them as this genre seemed to attract really good singers, many from gospel backgrounds.

Percy is best known for his classic song, When a Man Loves a Woman. From around the same time we have When She Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters).

♫ Percy Sledge - When She Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters)