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 Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:35 pm
Now I was curious if anyone listens to Fred Astaire as a Jazz artist. He introduced songs like "They Can't Take That Away from Me," "The Way You Look Tonight," "A Foggy Day," "One for my Baby," "Isn't This a Lovely Day to Be Caught in the Rain," "Night and Day" and many many more.
Fred was also a very good jazz piano player as one can see in the movies "Follow the Fleet" and "The Broadway Melody of 1940" and an excellent drummer as seen in "Easter Parade" and "Daddy Long Legs."
Bing Crosby acclaimed Astaire's vocal style when making their joint albums in London and Irvin Berlin claimed he would rather have Astaire release one of his songs than any other artist.
This all in addition to being one of the greatist dancers in history.
Any other fans???
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Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:56 pm
i thought night and day was cole porter (which were doin in our jazz feild show this year)
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Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:01 pm
It is. And They Can't Take That Away from Me is a Gershwin brothers song.
I'm actually not too familiar with Astaire as a musician. Whenever I hear the name, I think of dancing.
(Ironically, I blame Cole Porter. He makes a reference to "the nimble tread on the feet of Fred Astaire" in You're the Top.)
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Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:09 pm
Yeah, Fred's Pictures were so popular that the best song writers wrote for them. He was the first to sing many of the hits of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Johnny Mercer all of whom he was good friends with.
I'm a big fan, But I also dance and teach a tap dancing class. When I see an Astaire picture, I have a difficult tiime accepting other people's versions. Many of those songs became famous because of Fred Astaire. I appreciate that despite his limited vocal range and his strany tone, he could still carry a song with his style. It gives my singing hope.
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Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:36 am
This morning I remembered hearing a recording of Puttin' on the Ritz on the radio a long time ago, which (if I remember right) was sung by Fred Astaire.
I DO remember for certain that I liked it.
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Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:33 pm
Puttin' on the Ritz, written by Irving Berlin, was originally sung by Fred Astaire on Broadway when he and his sister Adele Astaire were a broadway team. It was also famously sung in the Movie "Blue Skies" which co-starred Bing Crosby. he dances to a chorus of Fred Astaires behind him. He had to do the routine in each spot. Fred was know as a perfectionist and it took weeks of shooting to get the number the way he wanted it. It is the highlight of an otherwise dull film.
I have both recordings, and it is interesting how the lyrics were changed over the years as certain terms and inflation changed.
Standards I alway associate with Fred are "One for My Baby," From the 1943 movie "The Skies the Limit," "Somethin's Gotta Give," From "Daddy Long Legs," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" Form "Shall we Dance" and "A Foggy Day".
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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:39 pm
I do think of him promarily as a dancer, but I love Puttin on the Ritz... heart I'll have to delve into his music a bit more.
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