This Just In ...

Goodnight everyone, and have a summer-like weekend

Posted by Kevin Fischer on June 12, 2009

Nostalgia

It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just in.

The weekend has finally arrived.

The sun has set.

The evening sky has erupted. 

Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, our theme is the change of seasons with long-awaited summer just around the corner. 

We open with one of the most popular easy listening artists. This performer was a music prodigy, learning to play the violin at 7 and playing piano at movie theaters for silent pictures at 11.  At the age of 15, he gave his first recital at Massey Hall in Toronto. However, he injured his hands in a fire when he was 18. His sister’s clothing caught on fire and he used his hands to put it out. Doctors told him he wouldn’t be able to play piano for at least five years. His dreams of being a concert pianist took a twist as he turned to arranging and conducting.

During the 1930’s, he worked at the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC), but after the budget for his radio program was cut, he moved to Chicago in 1940 and eventually New York. After joining Columbia records in 1950, the true style of his “mood music” sound fully developed.

In 1960, Percy Faith recorded the most popular instrumental of the rock era. “A Theme from ‘A Summer Place’” was the #1 single of the year.

You’ve probably heard this piece countless times, but have you ever actually seen Percy Faith in the conductor’s role?

Percy Faith died in 1976, the same year he released a disco version of this famous theme.

The 1971 film, "Summer of '42" is the story of a lonely young woman, Dorothy whose husband is off at war. Played by Jennifer O’Neill, Dorothy is vacationing at a beach cabin.  At another nearby cabin, a teenage boy seeks his first physical encounter with a woman.

He meets Dorothy and begins doing small jobs for her. After Dorothy receives a stunning telegram about her husband, she seduces the teenager. The film is an example of how movies started to become racier with the start of a new decade.

Michel Legrand has the beautiful theme from the movie.



 

Time for a little bossa nova. Astrud Gilberto sings the classic, “Summer Samba” in Italian.



 

We close with a lush arrangement from 1976 that has an incredibly haunting melody. From the biographychannel.com:

“When Barry was 10 years old, the White family moved from Texas to South Central Los Angeles, where Barry unfortunately became involved with the city’s notorious gang culture. At the age of just 17, he was jailed for 4 months for stealing $30,000-worth of Cadillac car tyres. But whilst in prison, he heard a recording of Elvis Presley singing ‘It’s Now Or Never’ on the radio, which he later claimed helped him turn his life around. Once Barry left prison, his passion for music helped him to overcome the temptation to return to a life of crime.”

Goodnight.

Sleep well.

Have a wonderful weekend.