On this week's edition of Mark Steyn on the Town, we have hit songs with non-singing parts - plus pigtails, freckles, Cypriots, and eminent composers from Cole Porter to George Michael. Also: Frank Sinatra says his prayers.
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Last week's show attracted a lot of comment. Linda, a Kansas member of The Mark Steyn Club, says:
I absolutely loved today's On the Town ~ so entertaining and informative. The music made me smile, and the bits and bobs, like the Bardot piece, were delightful. Thanks again, Mark, for the joy of this program and your sharing your vast knowledge of the music world.
Nancy writes:
Every Saturday I wonder how Mark can top each musical offering and then he pulls off a show that I did not want to end! Mark Steyn, you had me at 'Hey There' and every song and story thereafter. You are a treasure!
Fraser in England agrees re Rosie and "Hey There":
Well, Mark Steyn's On the Town this week exceeded in dense enjoyment all the previous editions, – something I wouldn't have thought possible. Any show that begins with Rosemary Clooney and pen-penultimately ends with Meg Okura and 'Riot in Lagos' does it for me big time. E.M. Forster ('Only connect') eat your heart out ( from beyond the grave, I hasten to add) for all the wonderful connections woven throughout the show culminating in Sinatra linked to Tommy Cooper by Joe Parnello. And I haven't even mentioned 'Laura' arranged by a peak Gordon Jenkins.
Here's a low-rent, low-down, totally inconsequential listener connection: this author went to the same school (briefly) as Sade! As Steyn would say: 'Oh well!'
That's glory enough for any man, Fraser.
From Washington State, Gary Alexander sends this touching note:
I just wanted you to know I thought that the Sinatra Sextet and this whole On the Town was so gorgeous I asked my wife to listen to it with me tonight, as she rocked in her chair and I looked into her eyes, and our 56 years together came swamping our memories, as we met singing this type of music together in the 1960s. Thank you again for the stories and the songs.
Johnny, a First Week Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, writes from Mid-Ulster:
Hi Mark. Great show.
Your reference to 'This Ole House' brought back memories of your first episode of Passing Parade in February 2021 where you paid tribute to two very diverse people - Calvin Coolidge and Stuart Hamblen. It's still one of my favourites of all your shows and I listened to it again this morning.
I also had a re-run of your Song of the Week July 2020, 'Where Do You Go to, My Lovely?', with its memorable allusion to the girl of the song, the dentist ex-wife. 'Sarstedt spent half a century singing about wanting to look inside her head. And for most of that time Anita has made a living by looking inside everybody else's'. Priceless observation. The song brought back great schooldays memories. Thanks once again. John
Thank you, Johnny. That dentistry line was a bit too hard to resist, I'm afraid.
And one more, from Diane in Maryland:
Many thoughts in all directions, but at top of things to think about is the interesting statement by Jule Styne regarding the genesis of the lyrics for 'Just in Time': 'I didn't let them [Comden & Green] write they wanted to write.' Wonder how he did it...
Listening to Rosemary Clooney sing 'Hey There' made me think about White Christmas (1954) and the negative reviews it gets from some film critics (and more recently, the woke cohort). A real weakness for happy endings and Irving Berlin, so cannot disagree more with them.
Have always like Sade's 'Smooth Operator' and keep it in my head should a SO that reappears sporadically enter the picture. Thought all self-aware women learned early how to recognize a SO, but from what I read, apparently not. Keep that song in mind women. (The only truly dangerous smooth operators are the ones that overlap with unrequited loves.)
Thanks for the program, MS.
Well, to take those points in order, Diane:
*Betty, Adolph, Sammy Cahn and several other of Jule Styne's lyricists told me at various times over the years that, unlike many other composers, Jule pored over the proposed lyrics in great detail. Susan Birkenhead, for example, told me that on "Hey, Look, No Cryin'" he had grave reservations about "à propos" and it required considerable effort to talk him into it.
*In White Christmas, Bing and Rosie - even if they'd never sung a note in that picture - give two great acting performances: as almost always, they're both very real in every scene. Bing's a terrific actor, and (as Sammy Cahn used to say about Sinatra's acting) that's not even what he does.
*"Smooth Operator" is an excellent song by a super-talented lady.
Thanks for all your comments - including the critical ones. On the Town is my weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe/12 midday North American Eastern. You can listen from anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here.
As listeners know, I'm a great believer in old-school appointment listening, and love the way Serenade's Saturday schedule flows through the day. However, we appreciate that many potential listeners are, at the appointed hour, shampooing the cat. So, as a bonus for Steyn Club members, we post On the Town at SteynOnline every weekend. You can find all our previous shows here.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio at the following hours:
Saturday 5pm London time/9am Los Angeles
Sunday 5am London time/12 midnight New York
Steyn's Song of the Week continues at its usual hour on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.
