by Peter Cates Connie Francis Now 83 years old but still active, Connie Francis is a living legend in pop music. Her 1957 megahit, the lovely Bert Kalmar/Harry Ruby Who’s Sorry Now, was one truly fine song, made extra special by CF’s totally sincere rendition, even if a tad smothered by sentimentality. That year, American […]
by Peter Cates Robert P. Tristram (continued…) Up until a few weeks ago, I was offering weekly paragraphs from Robert P. Tristram Coffin’s essay Kennebec Crystals, which is contained in the 1989 Maine Literature Project anthology, Maine Speaks. To briefly summarize previously offered information Professor Coffin (1892-1955) wrote 40 books that included poetry, novels and […]
by Peter Cates Record rescue operation I have been receiving avalanches of free 78s the last few Sundays from a friend who needs to empty his locker. I call it a rescue operation of these records. Otherwise they end up in dumpsters because too many folks want everything modernized. As far as I am concerned, […]
by Peter Cates Against All Odds Soundtrack- composed by Michel Colombier; Atlantic 80152-1-E, stereo LP, recorded 1984. I have never seen this Jeff Bridges/ Rachel Ward thriller but, having read the Wiki synopsis, am now curious. The soundtrack itself is a first class mishmash of instrumentals underscoring the action and individual tracks by Peter Gabriel, […]
by Peter Cates Russ Morgan and his Wolverine Band Everest SDBR 1095, stereo LP, recorded 1960. Russ Morgan (1904 -1969) led one of the best dance bands during the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, until his death. The above LP, however, is a bit more animated than his usual standard. Wolverines being a clue, Morgan assembled […]
by Peter Cates Emil Gilels In 1955, Russian pianist Emil Gilels (1916-985) made his debut in the United States, being one of a handful of musicians allowed to tour outside the Iron Curtain. His entourage, like other touring musicians from the Soviet Union, included several ‘friends’ who were KGB operatives prepared to shoot in case […]
by Peter Cates June Valli A June 11,1953, seven-inch RCA Victor 45 record – 47 5368 – features June Valli (1928-1993) singing Cryin’ In the Chapel, which reached #4 on the Billboard charts. Artie Glenn wrote the song for his son Darrell, who recorded it a few months before Valli and had success. Numerous other […]
by Peter Cates The Boston Pops A very good 1982 Philips cassette, Pops Around the World, features the Boston Pops under its former Music Director John Williams (1932-) playing seven Overtures – two from the U.S. and from Russia, and one each from France, Italy and Austria. The American Overtures are Leonard Bernstein’s for his […]
by Peter Cates Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata In 1818, Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Hammerklavier Sonata, #29 of his 32 Sonatas for piano; it is the most technically demanding of the group, a genuine knuckle buster, and very powerful music that, like the composer’s other masterpieces, ranges through many moods. The third movement Adagio is one […]
by Peter Cates Robert P. Tristram Coffin continued Continuing the weekly series of paragraphs from Robert P. Tristram Coffin’s essay Kennebec Crystals: “Then a sharp blue wind came up out of the northwest, the mercury in the thermometers tumbled. The pines roared on into the dark, the stars snapped in the skies like sapphires. Good […]