Slightly OT: What's the first music you remember? ... EDIT
Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 12:09 pm
As kind of friendly analysis of oneself's musical foundations.
In my case, the very first music I remember hearing at home was Mahalia Jackson's In The Upper Room , plus Myriam Makeba's Pata-pata which still has a powerful appeal on me.
I also remember listening to Ray Conniff's sounds on those late 1950s LPs, 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, etc. with his versions of Lullaby of Birdland, Where Or When, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, The Very Thought Of You, They Can't Take That Away From Me, all these old songs marvelously arranged with a very syncopated rhythm. Of course, a strong dish was always Geza Anda's version of Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto (hmv LALP-169, I believe).
Another music that fascinated me was a Mercury LP of Harpo Marx with his son Mikey Katz orchestra. That LP had Yesterdays, The Guardian Angel, My Funny Valentine, etc. I believe this, issued in Spain, was the very same edition as the original US lp. The Ray Conniff's lps were slightly different from the original US Columbias. They were reissued by Philips in Spain under different couplings or song combinations.
Also I remember the French songs of Franck Pourcel, Gilbert Bécaud, the Italians as Domenico Modugno, etc. and many EPs of Los Cinco Latinos with the incredibly meaty, vibrant and powerful voice of Estela Raval. Those were my infancy musical souvenirs.
Then, when I was 14, my father brought home his parents' 78s with the aim of copying them onto reel tapes. He brought only six or seven dozen records, and I assisted him with the recordings on uncountable Sunday afternoons. I liked them all, but specially the many Bing Crosby songs were a revelation to me. Jack Hylton version of The Song Of The Dawn also impressed my young soul very intensely. Those records were later returned to its place, and when the heirloom was organized, they went far from me. But I still keep my father's tapes, and I slowly have rebuilt that collection of 78s one by one with other copies. Hylton song was one of the more reluctants to appear, but finally 20 years ago I managed to find two copies of that record, which I immediately acquired. One has never been played on an acoustic Gramophone, for the powerful orchestral bass sounds usually break the groove walls under the needle. That orchestra was not Hylton's, the German syndicate didn't allow the British musicians to play in Berlin, so Jack had to assemble a new orchestra there and let the musicians learn the arrangements. I suspect many of them came from Marek Weber's orchestras, for later Weber records show a clear Hylton influence. The sound this Hylton recording is also different from usual. It might have been recorded in a big theatre, for the acoustics are overwhelming. These were Electrola recordings made in Berlin, may 9th, 1930, in a venue named Beethovensaal. I want to thank my parents and grandparents, that had such an extended taste in music, which they transmitted to me faithfully and lovingly, and it's my only life treasure, the best present they could have given to me.
In my case, the very first music I remember hearing at home was Mahalia Jackson's In The Upper Room , plus Myriam Makeba's Pata-pata which still has a powerful appeal on me.
I also remember listening to Ray Conniff's sounds on those late 1950s LPs, 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, etc. with his versions of Lullaby of Birdland, Where Or When, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, The Very Thought Of You, They Can't Take That Away From Me, all these old songs marvelously arranged with a very syncopated rhythm. Of course, a strong dish was always Geza Anda's version of Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto (hmv LALP-169, I believe).
Another music that fascinated me was a Mercury LP of Harpo Marx with his son Mikey Katz orchestra. That LP had Yesterdays, The Guardian Angel, My Funny Valentine, etc. I believe this, issued in Spain, was the very same edition as the original US lp. The Ray Conniff's lps were slightly different from the original US Columbias. They were reissued by Philips in Spain under different couplings or song combinations.
Also I remember the French songs of Franck Pourcel, Gilbert Bécaud, the Italians as Domenico Modugno, etc. and many EPs of Los Cinco Latinos with the incredibly meaty, vibrant and powerful voice of Estela Raval. Those were my infancy musical souvenirs.
Then, when I was 14, my father brought home his parents' 78s with the aim of copying them onto reel tapes. He brought only six or seven dozen records, and I assisted him with the recordings on uncountable Sunday afternoons. I liked them all, but specially the many Bing Crosby songs were a revelation to me. Jack Hylton version of The Song Of The Dawn also impressed my young soul very intensely. Those records were later returned to its place, and when the heirloom was organized, they went far from me. But I still keep my father's tapes, and I slowly have rebuilt that collection of 78s one by one with other copies. Hylton song was one of the more reluctants to appear, but finally 20 years ago I managed to find two copies of that record, which I immediately acquired. One has never been played on an acoustic Gramophone, for the powerful orchestral bass sounds usually break the groove walls under the needle. That orchestra was not Hylton's, the German syndicate didn't allow the British musicians to play in Berlin, so Jack had to assemble a new orchestra there and let the musicians learn the arrangements. I suspect many of them came from Marek Weber's orchestras, for later Weber records show a clear Hylton influence. The sound this Hylton recording is also different from usual. It might have been recorded in a big theatre, for the acoustics are overwhelming. These were Electrola recordings made in Berlin, may 9th, 1930, in a venue named Beethovensaal. I want to thank my parents and grandparents, that had such an extended taste in music, which they transmitted to me faithfully and lovingly, and it's my only life treasure, the best present they could have given to me.
I still have the tapes. That very first program also aired 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' by the Boswell Ss, also very catchy, and also one of the latest years acquisitions on 78. I learned those tapes by heart. God! How impressed we got with the music we heard early in our lives!