Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show Rewind with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1962 Part Two – Little Eva, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Pat Boone

Welcome to The Breakfast Show and the top hits of the 1960s.

Both William and I are working on new projects and as we complete those we hope you will enjoy the series which began in January 2021 again, or for the first time if you are new to the blog.

Each week William and I selected two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 2005. We then did a retro series beginning in the 1940s. We also included some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.

Welcome to the show and we are excited to share decades of music with you again 2023 and 2024. Here is the second of my top 1962 hits which I hope you will enjoy.  William.

News Event – May 5th  West Side Story soundtrack album goes #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album

Little Eva – The Loco-Motion

‘The Loco-Motion’ was a #1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100, and reached #2 on the UK charts. The Little Eva version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film ‘Inland Empire (2006)’. “The Loco-Motion” is ranked #359 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

News Event: July 12th Rolling Stones 1st performance (Marquee Club, London)

Nat King Cole  –  Ramblin’ Rose

‘Ramblin’ Rose’ reached number two on both the Billboard and Cashbox charts and sold over a million copies as a single. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Record of the Year. catman916

News Event – October 1st Barbra Streisand signs her 1st recording contract (with Columbia)

Now time for my picks from 1962 and these are tracks that dominated my teenage years and are still on my playlists today

Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You

“I Can’t Stop Loving You” is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single.

Charles’ version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962.Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks –Ray Charles 

News Event –  October 20th Peter, Paul and Mary’s debut folk album “Peter, Paul and Mary” reaches No. 1 on US album charts

Pat Boone – Speedy Gonzales

“Speedy Gonzales” is a 1961 David Dante alias David Hess song (RCA 8056)[1] about Speedy Gonzales, “the fastest mouse in all Mexico”. It was written by Buddy Kaye, Ethel Lee and David Hess. The song was popularised in the United States as a 1962 single by Pat Boone. The Boone version peaked at the #6 Billboard Hot 100 position in 1962 during a total chart run of 13 weeks, doing better in many national charts in Europe, where it sold a million copies.

News event – December 20th Osmond brothers debut on Andy Williams Show

Additional sources: On This Day – Music – Hits of the 60s: Sixties City – Wikipedia

 Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

 Next week 1963 Part One and we hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1940s – Nat King Cole, Les Brown Orchestra with Doris Day, Peggy Ryan

Welcome to the 2023 series of the music column where I am joined as always by Jazz singer and composer William Price King.  We hope you will join us every Tuesday for some of the chart hits of the big band era from the 1930s through to the 1950s.

Some of the earlier videos are not of the best quality however where possible we have sourced remastered copies to share with you. Considering some are almost 100 years old, it is remarkable that they exist at all.  A testament to the love of the music of that era. Along with our selections each week we will also be showcasing some of the iconic dancers of the era.

Here is my next selection from the Big Band chart in the 1940s from Nat King Cole

Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1946)

“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” was written in July 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé during a blistering hot summer in an effort to “stay cool by thinking cool,” according to Mel. Mel saw a writing pad on his friend Robert Wells’ piano where he had written ‘Chestnuts roasting …, Jack Frost nipping …, Yuletide carols …, Folks dressed up like Eskimos. “Bob didn’t think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics.” The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946, and that original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

Here is my next selection from the 1940s from – Les Brown Orchestra with Doris Day

Les Brown’s Orchestra with Doris Day Sentimental Journey (1945)

“Sentimental Journey” is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Bud Green.

Les Brown and His Band of Renown had been performing the song, but were unable to record it because of the 1942–44 musicians’ strike. When the strike ended, the band, with Doris Day as vocalist, recorded the song for Columbia Records on November 20, 1944, and they had a hit record with the song, Doris Day’s first #1 hit, in 1945. The song’s release coincided with the end of the Second World War in Europe and became the unofficial homecoming theme for many veterans.

Other sources: Wikipedia – And: Jazz Standards

Peggy Ryan – Margaret O’Rene Ryan (August 28, 1924 – October 30, 2004) was an American dancer and actress, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O’Connor and Gloria Jean

Ryan joined her parents’ vaudeville act, “The Merry Dancing Ryans”, before she was 3 years old, and appeared in her first film, Wedding of Jack and Jill (1929) when she was 4. She attended Hollywood Professional School.
Her singing, acting, and dancing skills were noticed by song-and-dance actor George Murphy, who helped her get a role in 1937’s Top of the Town.She continued working in small roles until 1942, when she had a solo number in the feature film What’s Cookin’?.

The Gloria Jean-Donald O’Connor-Peggy Ryan team were a great hit with audiences and exhibitors, and the three teens made five features together. Her screen character in these films was usually brash, wisecracking, and boy-crazy. In 1944, Ryan advanced to more elaborate productions, in support of Jack Oakie and Abbott and Costello.

She starred in a number of musicals but also played a recurring role as secretary Jenny Sherman in Hawaii Five-O from 1969–76

In later years, she trained Las Vegas showgirls in tap dancing. Her last public performance, at her 80th birthday party, was a hilarious song-and-dance routine for her former Universal studio colleagues. She continued to teach tap until two days before her death.

  Your Hosts for The Big Band Era

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1940s – Billie Holiday, Glenn Miller, Vera Lynn, Nat King Cole-

Welcome to our show and whilst there has been some great music since 2005, we felt that hits from the 40s and 50s deserved a showcase from now to the end of the year… we hope you will enjoy.

Here is my next selection of top 1940s hits which I hope you will enjoy.

God bless the child – Billie Holiday

“God bless the child” written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, was released on Okeh Records in 1942. In her autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues”, Holiday said the song was inspired from an argument she had with her mother when she was a child concerning money, with her mother saying “God bless the child that’s got his own”

Holiday’s version of the song was honored with the « Grammy Hall of Fame » award in 1976 and is included in the list of “Songs of the Century” by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

News Event: May 7th 1941 Glenn Miller records “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA, it becomes 1st record to be designated “gold”

Glenn Miller – Chattanooga Choo Choo

“Chattanooga Choo Choo”, penned by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren is from the 1941 film “ Sun Valley Serenade “ directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.

News Event – July 19th 1941 BBC World Service begins playing V(ictory) (“…-” in Morse code) (opening of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th symphony)

Now time for my next picks from the 1940s all tunes that were played in our home by my parents who were wonderful dancers and fans of the old musicals.

Vera Lynn There’ll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover

“(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” is a popular World War II song composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to lyrics by Nat Burton. Made famous in Vera Lynn’s 1942 version, it was one of Lynn’s best-known recordings and among the most popular World War II tunes. The American lyricist, Nat Burton, wrote his lyric (unaware that the bluebird is not indigenous to Britain) and asked Kent to set it to music. 1090VIE

News event – October 29th 1941 Cole Porter’s musical “Let’s Face It” opens at the Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs 547 performances

Nat King Cole – Straighten Up And Fly Right 1944

“Straighten Up and Fly Right” is a 1943 song written by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills and one of the first vocal hits for the King Cole Trio. It was the trio’s most popular single, reaching number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten nonconsecutive weeks. The single also peaked at number nine on the pop charts. “Straighten Up and Fly Right” also reached number one for six nonconsecutive weeks on the Most Played Jukebox Hillbilly Records Nat King Cole

News Event: May 29th 1942 Bing Crosby records “White Christmas”, world’s best-selling single (estimated 100 million copies sold)

Additional sources: On This Day – Music – Hits of the 1940s and 1950s: Playback FM – Wikipedia

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

Smorgasbord Christmas Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Music to get you into the festive spirit

Welcome to the Christmas Breakfast Show which we hope you will enjoy. William Price King has selected three of his favourite festive tracks, and I have chosen three of mine.

Thank you for joining us today and I hope your preparations are going well for Christmas Day.. here are three festive songs I hope you will enjoy.

Jingle bells  –  Ella Fitzgerald 

“Jingle bells” was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “The one horse open sleigh” in the autumn of 1857. Supposedly, it was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir, or as a drinking song but became associated with Christmas music in the 1860s and 1870s. It was initially featured in a variety of parlor song and college anthologies in the 1880s and was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder.

Carol of the bells  –  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

This Carol was written in 1914 by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky, and is based on the Ukrainian folk chant “Shchedryk.” It has been performed in many genres: classical, jazz, country, metal, rock, pop, and rap, and has been featured in films, television shows, and parodies

Nat King Cole  –  The Christmas Song 

“The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire as it is commonly called, or Merry Christmas to You, as it was originally subtitled) was penned by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells in 1945. According to Tormé, the song was written in July during a blistering hot summer in an effort to “stay cool by thinking cool.” The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946, and this version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974

Now time for my selection and I hope you will be dancing and singing along to the songs.

Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a Christmas song by American singer Mariah Carey. She co-wrote and co-produced it with Walter Afanasieff for her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Columbia Records released it as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994.

It is Carey’s biggest international success, topping the charts in twenty-six countries including Australia, Canada, France and Germany. In 2019, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, 25 years after its original release, thus breaking several records, including the longest trip to number one. The following year, it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom for the first time, spending a record 69 weeks in its top 40 prior to reaching number one. Mariah Carey 

Leona Lewis – Just One More Sleep

“One More Sleep” is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her first Christmas album and fourth studio album, Christmas, with Love (2013). It was written by Lewis in collaboration with Richard “Biff” Stannard, Iain James, Jez Ashurst and Bradford Ellis, and produced by Richard “Biff” Stannard. It was released in the United States on 5 November, in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 29 November and many parts of Europe on 2 December. “One More Sleep” is recognised as one of the biggest recent Christmas songs in the UK according to the Official Charts Company. leonalewis 

Johnny Mathis – It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” is a Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas”. The song has been recorded by many artists, but was a hit for Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra and Bing Crosby recorded a version on October 1, 1951, which was also widely played. This version by Johnny Mathis is one of my favourites.

Additional sources: Wikipedia 

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

We hope you will tune in next Tuesday for the first part of hits from 1985 as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1962 – Part Two

Each week William and I will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 1985. We will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.

Every four weeks at the weekend there will be a spin-off show where we will feature four guests sharing their memories of the music of a particular decade we are working on. An opportunity to share your work and your can find the details: The Breakfast Show 2021

Welcome to our show and we are excited to share decades of music with you in 2021. Here is my second selection of  top 1962 hits which I hope you will enjoy.  William.

News Event – May 5th  West Side Story soundtrack album goes #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album

Little Eva – The Loco-Motion

‘The Loco-Motion’ was a #1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100, and reached #2 on the UK charts. The Little Eva version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film ‘Inland Empire (2006)’. “The Loco-Motion” is ranked #359 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

News Event: July 12th Rolling Stones 1st performance (Marquee Club, London)

Nat King Cole  –  Ramblin’ Rose

‘Ramblin’ Rose’ reached number two on both the Billboard and Cashbox charts and sold over a million copies as a single. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Record of the Year.

News Event – October 1st Barbra Streisand signs her 1st recording contract (with Columbia)

Now time for my picks from 1962 and these are tracks that dominated my teenage years and reinforced my love of music.

Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You

“I Can’t Stop Loving You” is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single.

Charles’ version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962.Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks –Ray Charles 

News Event –  October 20th Peter, Paul and Mary’s debut folk album “Peter, Paul and Mary” reaches No. 1 on US album charts

Pat Boone – Speedy Gonzales

“Speedy Gonzales” is a 1961 David Dante alias David Hess song (RCA 8056)[1] about Speedy Gonzales, “the fastest mouse in all Mexico”. It was written by Buddy Kaye, Ethel Lee and David Hess. The song was popularised in the United States as a 1962 single by Pat Boone. The Boone version peaked at the #6 Billboard Hot 100 position in 1962 during a total chart run of 13 weeks, doing better in many national charts in Europe, where it sold a million copies.

News event – December 20th Osmond brothers debut on Andy Williams Show

Additional sources: On This Day – Music – Hits of the 60s: Sixties City – Wikipedia

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thank you very much for joining us today and we would love you to join us in the spin off shows where we share your memories of the 1960s and your favourite music.. please read how you can take part: The Breakfast Show 2021

 

Next week 1963 Part One.. we hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

Smorgasbord Summer Music Festival with hosts William Price King and Sally Cronin – Headliners Nat King Cole and Billy Joel

The music festivals such as Glastonbury will not be laid on this year with thousands of fans putting their glamping (and less than glam) weekends on hold until next year.

Whilst not the same as sitting in the rain and mud, amongst thousands of other fans listening to the headliners, over the next three months, every two weeks, we will be staging a summer music festival of our own.

William Price King has been writing the music column for the last six years, showcasing wonderful musicians and singers of the last 75 years and I will be playing music from those series.

I will be also sharing tracks from my favourite music from the last 50 years across the rock and roll, country and pop charts.

We hope you will enjoy the music…

The first track today is from the first series of music columns in 2014 from the wonderful Nat King Cole.

With success knocking at his door, Nat King Cole decided to widen his base and ultimately his popularity by doing pop-oriented songs for mainstream audiences. This was highlighted by his introducing a string orchestra into his recordings. With his luscious baritone voice he turned out hit after hit, cementing his iconic stature with “The Christmas Song,” which he recorded four times; as a pure trio, with an added string section (twice), and for a double album – The Nat King Cole Story. His hits are legion: Route 66, Nature Boy, Mona Lisa, Unforgettable, to name a few. Here is the wonderful “Unforgettable” uploaded by LFYBzone

Buy the music of Nat King Cole: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

I am a huge fan of Billy Joel and it was tough to choose just one of his songs to share with you but I hope you enjoy this track..

She’s Always a Woman is a song from Billy Joel’s 1977 album The Stranger. It is a love song about a modern woman whom the singer has fallen totally in love with to the extent of falling for her endearing quirks as well as her flaws. The single peaked at No. 17 in the U.S. in 1977, and at No. 53 in the UK in 1986, when it was released as a double A-side with “Just the Way You Are”. It re-entered the UK chart in 2010, reaching No. 29.  Uploaded by  Billy Joel 

Buy the music by Billy Joel: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

 

Thanks for tuning in this week.. William is on his summer break but will be back with a new series in September.. in the meantime we hope you will enjoy the summer of music.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Music Column -William Price King – Summer Jazz – Diana Krall Part Two

Welcome to the next artist in the Summer Jazz series and it is the turn of a current jazz superstar to be profiled and showcased. Diana Krall is a music powerhouse who has developed a wonderfully unique performance style that has contributed to the sale of over 15 million records worldwide. I will let William pick up the story.

For those of you who joined us last week here is how we finished.

In 1990 Diana moved to New York but played mostly in Boston with a trio consisting of herself, bassist Whit Brown and drummer Klaus Suonsaari. This was followed in 1993 with her debut album recorded with Jeff Hamilton, bassist John Clayton with input from Ray Brown. Stepping Out caught the attention of producer Tommy LiPuma who had already worked with some of the best musicians and singers in the business including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Natalie Cole and Anita Baker.

Diana Krall’s first album, Stepping Out, was a wonderful showcase for her stripped back and natural singing voice. The tracks were back to the roots examples of her ability to combine jazz with a lighter element and a touch of humour. Many of the tracks have become classic Krall such as I’m Just a Lucky So & So and This Can’t Be Love. She also brings her own magic to On the Sunny Side of the Street and Body and Soul.

On the Sunny Side of the Street was originally written in the 1930s, allegedly by one of Diana Krall’s early influences Fats Waller, although it is thought he sold the rights to Jimmy McHugh with lyrics added by Dorothy Fields. The jazz standard has been covered by many of the top jazz artists over the decades including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey. It was also widely recorded by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Nat King Cole. I am sure they would all approve of Diana Krall’s version uploaded by RTL – Toujours avec vous

Her second album in 1995, Only Trust Your Heart, produced by Tommy LiPuma was for the American GRP record label. Diana brought her rich alto vocals to the trio ensemble which included Ray Brown or Christian McBride on Acoustic Bass, Lewis Nash on drums and Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone.

Tracks included some of the best loved jazz standards such as I’ve Got The World on a String and The Folks Who Live On The Hill. Here is the title track of the album written by Benny Carter and Sammy Cahn written in 1964. Uploaded by gallegomenendezg

As a traditionalist at heart, it was understandable that Diana Krall would pay homage to Nat King Cole, which she did with her next album for the GRP label, All For You in December 1996. Produced by Tommy LiPuma the line-up apart from Diana on vocals included Benny Green on Piano for If I had You, Paul Keller on Bass, Steve Kroon on percussion for Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Russell Malone with guitar. It is tough to pick a track from this album as they are all very evocative of that special time in music history when the Nat King Cole Trio were at the height of their popularity. Despite being a tribute to the trio, the album is very much Diana Krall with fresh and vibrant arrangements of the old classics.

Whilst 1996 ended on a high note with her latest album, 1997 started very well indeed as well with a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

Diana was in the studio again with another album Love Scenes released in August 1997. The album reached number one in the Top Jazz Albums and went platinum in the US with a million sales. This time the trio for the whole album consisted of Diana on piano with Russell Malone on guitar and Christian McBride on acoustic bass. The tracks included All Or Nothing At All written by Arthur Altman with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. A hit for Frank Sinatra in the war years; since then for Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and more recently Jack Jones. Here is this classic given the Krall treatment uploaded by The Pleasure of Jazz

The last Diana Krall album of the 90s was When I Look In Your Eyes in June 1999 and it was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. This was a record in itself as that most prestigious of awards had not been given to a Jazz album for 25 years. Whilst not taking that award home it did win two Grammys for Best Jazz vocal and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. It reached number 9 on Billboard’s Top Jazz albums of the decade and went platinum in both Canada and the US.

This album featured two other producers in addition to Tommy LiPuma; David Foster and Johnny Mandel. A new group of musicians featured on the various tracks including Larry Bunker on Vibraphone, Pete Christlieb on saxophone and Lewis Nash on drums.

Diana Krall ended the 90s having become the brightest and most successful jazz artist by stripping the music back to its core roots and infusing it with her own special magic.

To end this week’s post here is a track from When I Look In Your Eyes the well-loved Cole Porter number, I’ve Got You Under My Skin uploaded by Puerto Libre

Buy Diana Krall’s music: http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Krall/e/B000AQ6RNS

Find out more about Diana Krall: http://www.dianakrall.com/

Diana Krall Current Tour Dates: http://www.dianakrall.com/tour

About William Price King

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

His debut jazz album was entitled “Home,” and was a collection of contemporary compositions he composed, with lyrics written by his wife Jeanne King. His second album was a Duo (Voice and Guitar) with Eric Sempé on the guitar. This album included original songs as well as well known standards from contemporary jazz and pop artists. The “King-Sempé” duo toured France and thrilled audiences for more than three years before going their separate ways. King has formed a new duo with French/Greek guitarist Manolis, and is now exploring new ideas, in a smooth jazz/soul/folk direction.

In addition to singing and composing, King has been collaborating with author Sally Cronin over the past few years on her blog “Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life,” with the series “A Man And His Music – Jazz, Contemporary, Classical, and Legends” and now, the “William Price King Music Column.” Working with author Sally Cronin has been an exhilarating experience in many ways and has brought a new dimension to King’s creative life. King has also created a micro blog, “Improvisation,” which features and introduces mostly jazz artists from across the jazz spectrum who have made considerable contributions in the world of jazz; and also artwork from painters who have made their mark in the world of art. This micro blog can be found on Tumblr.

His vocal mentors are two of the greatest giants in jazz, Nat King Cole and Mel Tormé. King has a distinctive wide-ranging voice which displays a remarkable technical facility and emotional depth.

William Price King on Tumblr – IMPROVISATION – https://williampriceking.tumblr.com

Connect with William

Website – http://www.williampriceking.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPriceKing
Twitter – https://twitter.com/wpkofficial
Regular Venue – http://cave-wilson.com/ 
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/william-price-king/id788678484

You can find all of the Music Column series in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-music-column/

and all the previous posts on jazz, classical and contemporary artists here: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-a-man-and-his-music-jazz-contemporary-classical-and-legends/

Thank you for tuning in today and I hope you will join us again next Tuesday for the third part of the Diana Krall story –  Thanks Sally and William.