Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Time for another musical interlude. This song was written by the man who wrote JFK's 1960 Presidential Campaign song, Jimmy Van Heusen. 

His given name was Chet Babcock, and he had a whole other career under that name as an advanced test pilot for Lockheed. They never knew he was the famous songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen. And, a great songwriter he was. He wrote a lot of songs for his close friend Frank Sinatra, including Come Fly With Me.  In fact, Sinatra sang more Jimmy Van Heusen tunes than any other composer's. That included All The Way which won the Academy Award for Best Song. Here is Celine Dion singing it live with a posthumous Frank Sinatra. It's amazing how they can do that. This is beautiful, solemn and haunting, like a hymn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxps4ggfoy4

Jimmy Van Heusen also wrote Swinging on a Star for Bing Crosby, which also won the Academy Award. It's also the epitaph on Jimmy's headstone. He also wrote Call Me Irresponsible for Jackie Gleason, which also won the Academy Award. He also wrote Nancy with the Laughing Face which was to honor Frank Sinatra's first-born, Nancy. The list goes on and on. The man was a musical genius and an aeronautical genius. How many people can claim that? 

And, he also wrote this nifty little number, It Could Happen To You which is still very well covered today by the singers of old jazz standards, such as Diana Krall, precisely because: it's a nifty little number.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__3veguO0h0&feature=youtu.be

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