Saturday, November 5, 2011: The "Songs My Mother Liked" Edition

Gentle reader, I hope you will indulge me for a little bit here.

I try not to interject too much of my own personal life here on this humble blog, but I feel I must make an exception for just today. See, my mother passed away last week.

I won't bore you with any of the details, just know that she had been in much pain for a very long time, and now she is at peace.

There are a lot of ways a child can remember their parents - I will use today's blog to share some of my mother's favorite music.

First up - Earl Bostic was an Alto Sax player extraordinaire, who can claim influence over a generation of Jazz and Rhythm & Blues players, including one certain John Coltrane. Mom had this 45 from her youth, and claimed that it was one of her favorite tracks ever. One of Bostic's biggest hits, here is his rendition of the jazz classic "Sleep"



My mother did not have exceptionally diverse taste in music, but she did have exceptional taste in music. This is best illustrated by her love for The Chairman Of The Board, Mr Frank Sinatra. And, out of that vast songbook, one selection stands out, 1955's In The Wee Small Hours. The first concept album, this towering achievement has been called "the finest vocal album of American popular songs ever recorded."

All I know is that all you young kids wearing your black clothes and thinking you are depressed - man, you have no idea.  I've heard pop songs, gothic songs, heavy metal and blues songs all thinking they are singing about loneliness and loss, and I'm here to tell you, they haven't any clue. If you want to know about heartache and heartbreak, In The Wee Small Hours, I guarantee you, is one of the saddest, most moving and most elegant albums ever made.



And, lastly, Mom loved Welsh Choirs. She loved all of the old hymns, but there was something about big Welsh Choirs that really made her misty.

So, this last one is for you, Mom. While I know you are now hearing a Heavenly choir that transcends any sounds we have down here, we'll look upwards towards the Heavenly sounds of The Fron Male Voice Choir.

I hope you found your peace.