Sunday

DECEMBER 19TH



HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDITH PIAF!

BIRTHDAYS

1915
Edith Piaf, vocalist. 
b. Paris (Ménilmontant), France
d. Oct. 11, 1963, Paris, France. (Cancer)
Age: 47.
née: Edith Giovanna Gassion.
The name "Piaf" in French means 'little bird' and Edith became widely known as "The sad Little Sparrow" (due to a sad personal life.) She rose from an uneducated Paris street urchin to become an international star. She lost her only child (at age three).
Later, Edith became a victim of drug abuse problems. She managed to survive three car accidents, while taking a seemingly endless parade of lovers, (one of whom died in a plane crash while on his way to visit her). While she helped many of her lovers to become songwriters or singers, some of them badly mistreated her. Many of her recorded songs captured the essence of the French soul, and became world wide hits. Among them were "La Vie en Rose," "Milord," "Mon L'egionnaire," "L'Hymne à l'Amour," and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" among them -- that many of her fans felt. Still revered as France's greatest Popular singer. Her biography is the stuff that legends are made of.

1908

William "Bill" Carlisle, C&W vocals.
member: 'The Carlisle Brothers' vocal group.


1921
Bob Dale, vocalist.
Among the bands with whom he sang are Oscar Rabin (where he replaced Roy Edwards, Cyril Stapleton and Geraldo. Dale is also credited as co-composer (lyric) with Art Strauss, of the tune "Honey Chile", which was later played by the Joe Loss orchestra.

1895
Erskine Tate
Violin/Leader
b. Memphis, TN, USA.
d. Dec. 17, 1978
Erskine Tate was a violinist and leader of a band that played at the Vendome Theatre in Chicago (3143-45 East 31st at State Street) from 1919 to 1928. Among the musicians who played with the Vendome Orchestra were Louis Armstrong, Lil Hardin-Armstong and Freddie Keppard. 

Erskine Tate was active in Chicago as a bandleader until the mid-1930s playing the music for Leo A. Seltzer's Walkathons which were marathon dances. It is interesting to note that comedians Dick "Lord" Buckley and Red Skelton were the masters of ceremonies at these dance marathons. 

Tate left show business in the late 1930s and became a music teacher.






1911
Lu Watters 
Trumpet/Leader
b. Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
d. Nov. 5, 1989, Santa Rosa, California, USA.

He was a young jazz trumpeter in love with a style of music that reached its creative peak while he was still in diapers. Wynton Marsalis? No...Lu Watters, one of the leading New Orleans revivalists of the 1940s. Watters was a die-hard fan of King Oliver's Original Creole Jazz Band (which included a young Louis Armstrong); his Yerba Buena Jazz Band featured the two-trumpet lineup made famous by Oliver. 

Watters and the other white revivalists believed in the primacy of early jazz -- specifically, the music made in New Orleans by black musicians during the '10s and '20s -- eschewing subsequent stylistic developments like swing and bop.
The Yerba Buena Jazz Band was founded in 1939 and Watters drew its members from a large swing group he led in Oakland, CA. His intent was to resuscitate the Oliver style, which he did with a great deal of success. Although Dixieland revivalists were a dime a dozen in the '40s, the Yerba Buena Jazz Band stood apart by virtue of its authenticity and helped spread the revival worldwide.
Lew Waters
The band began playing the Dawn Club in San Francisco in 1939 and the gig continued until Watters was drafted in 1942. The band regrouped after the war and returned to the Dawn Club, where they attained great popularity. In 1947, they moved to Hambone Kelly's in El Cerrito, where they remained until Watters broke up the band in 1950. On its most influential recordings, made in the mid-'40s, the group included Watters on first trumpet, Bob Scobey on second trumpet, Harry Mordecai on banjo, Bob Helm on clarinet, Turk Murphy on trombone, Bill Dart on drums, Wally Rose on piano, and Dick Lammi on tuba.

Scobey and Murphy went on to lead their own popular Dixieland outfits. Besides playing tunes from the trad repertoire, Watters also supplied new arrangements and compositions. Watters retired from playing music full-time in 1957; he studied geology and later became a chef. He began playing again in 1963, performing with Turk Murphy's band at anti-nuclear rallies in Northern California. He made one last record before retiring.
~ Chris Kelsey
Solid! -- Lu Watters and the Yerba Buena Jazz Band


Notable Events Occurring

On This Date Include:


1946. 
Noel Coward's musical "Pacific 1860,"
premieres in London, England.
1973.
Casco Williams
arranger/guitar
died in New York (Harlem), NY, USA.
Age: 79. Worked with pianist James P. Johnson

Songs Recorded/Released
On this date include:

1918

Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orchestra
1924

Ted Lewis and his Band
Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra
1925

Harry Reser and his Orchestra
1929

Zack Whyte and his Chocolate Beau Brummels
1935

Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra
1936

Barney Bigard and his Jazzopators
1938

Mezzrow - Ladnier Quintet
1940

Abe Lyman and his Californians
LYRICS

Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose

I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard

It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose




TubaGirlFin


brought to you by...   
~confetta


Special Thanks To:
Scott Yanow, 
And all who have provided content for this site.
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