Slim Gaillard and Jo Stafford's "For You"... & Patti Page's Jazz

Jazz Standards

Chapter 7 of "Singing is Heaven: Jazz Songs" spotlights "For You." There are many other song titles listed, but this chapter, too, is difficult to identify specifically—while the song titles are clear, details like the singer and version are often things like, "I'm sure it was... maybe?" In the first place, this is not a purchase guide book; as the great Irokawa-sensei says, "It's a spur-of-the-moment thing..."—the attempt to trace memories, vaguely saying "What I can do is (by Kinba)... mumbling mumbling (by Shinsho)," is also a pleasure.

Because of that, there is room for reflection and imagination, which is a feature—in a sense, the correct answer depends on the reader, but in the process of digging into this book, one naturally ends up learning about pre-war jazz. By the way, as a whole, the Irokawa book introduces over 200 songs, but the master hedges by saying he is not a music expert. By learning from works like those by Masahisa Segawa and filling in the missing pieces, the Imperial Capital's music scene from the pre-war to the reconstruction period should appear more three-dimensional.

(For the light theater and reviews of that time, please also refer to "Wartime Asakusa" included in "War-Raised Debauchery Disease".)

Now, the title song "For You" is a 1930 work (composed by Joe Burke, lyrics by Al Dubin), and I believe the original vocal version is by Bing Crosby (a song from the 1932 film "Billboard Girl"). There are many versions of this standard, but first, Jo Stafford. This one is mentioned on the record, from the 1960 album "Jo+Jazz." Officially.

The roots of this recording are likely from a 1960 LA session.

The lineup in LA was: Ray Nance, Don Fagerquist, and Conte Candoli on trumpet; Lawrence Brown on trombone; Johnny Hodges on alto sax; Ben Webster on tenor sax; Harry Carney on baritone sax; Russ Freeman on celesta; Jimmy Rowles on piano; Bob Gibbons on guitar; Joe Mondragon on bass; Mel Lewis on drums; and the conductor was Johnny Mandel.

Next, "For You" by Patti Page. Patti Page has a fixed image as a country and waltz singer, but is this a track from her 1959 jazz album "Indiscretion" or "Tenderly" (a jazz album from around 1960, perhaps a Japan-only release)? Anyway, I checked her records one after another and found it, so I'm not very confident... This is all I could find, and there might be other versions. Officially.

What I have on hand is "Tenderly (SM-7057)," and this shares almost half of its tracks with "Indiscretion." It is a rare record now, but data such as the recording year is not listed in the liner notes, and given the release timing, it is likely the same recording as "Indiscretion"? By the way, this person was a pioneer of overdubbing with magnetic tape after the war (for example, the one-person quartet in "Tennessee Waltz").

Finally, the wandering jazzman, Slim Gaillard, with "For You." A track from the 1956 album "Smorgasbord...Help Your Self," officially.

This chapter was published in 1983, and the previous year, 1982, saw the release of a domestic reissue of "Smorgasbord...Help Your Self"—Verve's "23MJ 3196." Given the timing, couldn't Irokawa-sensei have been listening to this "23MJ 3196" record when he wrote it? (However, since he was a fan, perhaps he also owned the original old record?)

The original lineup: Slim Gaillard on guitar, Clyde Lombardi on bass, Charlie Smith on drums, Maceo Williams on piano, Buddy Tate on tenor sax, and Bennie Green on trombone.

Slim Gaillard was featured in the January 1986 issue of "Record Collectors," which included a long interview. The rare content is recommended, but it is already out of print (it is available at the National Diet Library). Also, for anecdotes, please refer to another book, "Hana no Sakari wa Chika-do de" (if you are interested!). The daughter of an acquaintance of the master (Ms. YoYo?) had a friendship with Slim Gaillard and Cab Calloway, jazzmen in their twilight years, and that episode is written there.

And speaking of Slim Gaillard, "Cement Mixer" is also highly recommended by the master, officially.

The roots of this are likely an LA recording from the end of 1945. The LA lineup: Slim Gaillard on piano, Tiny "Bam" Brown on bass, and Zutty Singleton on drums.

By the way, in this book, one often encounters descriptions like, "So-and-so and so-and-so were in such-and-such's band, so both of them sing this song..." This might need an explanation. For example, this "For You" is a Tommy Dorsey Orchestra number, so the aforementioned Jo Stafford and Frank Sinatra naturally sang it... and so on (at the time, both were exclusive singers under Tommy Dorsey). That is a point that differs from today's music scene; in short, it was the era of so-called "band singers" (mainly the 1930s dance scene, according to Hiroshi Aoki's view).

Belonging to a band was the shortcut to becoming a star, which simply meant singing the band's repertoire (not about having songs as an individual singer). That is why the introduction of songs in the master's writing is dependent on the singer's affiliated band. The popularization of the modern singer debut (solo) seems to be largely due to the success of Sinatra's solo debut (1942-43).

Etcetera on Singing and Songs

Moving away from the main topic, about the kanji character "唄" (uta) used in Takehiro Irokawa's works. This is a mystery; in this book, too, it is actually used throughout, and the kanji "歌" (uta) is not used at all. At first, I thought it was because singing on stage (classically) = verb = that was the "唄" notation (intentionally). But that doesn't seem to be the case; anyway, it is unified as "唄".

However, the "歌" in lyrics or singers is an exception, and there is one other exception—yes, the "歌" in the subtitle "The Second Most Important Song in Life," where "歌" is used for the sound (uta), the only case. This is rare for a book published at that time, in the 80s (entertainment-related books). There is probably nothing else (at least I don't know of any; even in literature related to classical arts, it is usually "歌"). So here, I have followed the master's style and used "唄" throughout, but there must be some reason (a preference?) for it... it is unknown, a mystery, I don't know.

Wishing you relief from the intense heat. From the 1994 album "Have a Little Faith," here is the official music video for Joe Cocker's "Summer in the City" (this was also played on Mutoma back in the day).

It's a unique summer song that begins with a negation of summer—lamenting the extreme heat by saying, 'I can't stand it during the day, so I'll enjoy the nightlife instead!'

Part 17 [Roppa Furukawa's Showa Diary (Singing is Heaven: Jazz Songs)]
Part 19 [The Trumpet of Massacre in the Black Bottom]