This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Good evening everyone, and have a quintessential weekend - Part One
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, a special two-part series.
Like many bloggers, I occasionally post about music, and have been doing so since I began This Just In….
Earlier this year, I began doing the weekly Friday night Goodnight feature with the thought in mind that the weekend is finaly here. It’s a time to unwind. Fish fries. A night out. A relaxing period. I might want to hear some soothing music after a hectic, eventful week. And I might want to share that music as well.
But I didn’t want to just throw up music on the website and say, hey, here’s Frank! I envision this blog as a throwback to my days at public radio when I did more than a few pieces with heavy production and a goal of creativity to hold the listeners’ attention.
My very first blog I wrote that I would treat This Just In as a talk show. That means I write about subjects, issues, and lighter material that I am interested in because if I’m not into it, you won’t be, either.
I’m gratified at the response the Friday night blog has received, including inquiries and news from record labels and recording artists across the country. Even if it just inspired a reader to run out and buy a CD, that's nice.
Tonight, our feature is a two-part special series as I bring you what I feel are the ten pieces of music that truly fit the theme of what I’m trying to present every Friday night. These are not necessarily the best of any genre, like the best love songs. But I believe they stand out for what I’m trying to accomplish every week.
The bottom five are here with the top five coming your way at 9:00 tonight. I hope you’ll tune in because the real and best way to soak in this particular blog is when it comes out, at night, on a Friday as the weekend begins.
This is, of course, highly subjective, but imagine yourself out on a Friday night at a place with live music. My feeling is that if any of these pieces popped up, you’d not be disappointed.
We begin with #10.
Crawdaddy magazine writes about the famous 50’s TV series, Peter Gunn:
“Peter Gunn was the first TV show to make music, real music, an integral part of the show. The program’s noir look, sculpted by producer Blake Edwards, was perfect for the late ’50s, when people were finally fighting off the Cold War jitters and looking for alternatives to the deadening conformity that was the hallmark of the decade. The cool jazz and unflappable James Bond-like charm of PI Peter Gunn, masterfully underplayed by Craig Stevens, gave us a new hero. Gunn was a playboy crime solver with a hip girlfriend and a cooler hangout, the smoke-filled jazz den Mother’s, where the house band included drummer Shelly Manne, sax man Plas Johnson, trumpeters Uan Rasey, Conrad Gozzo, Frank Beach, and Pete Candoli, British vibes player Victor Feldman, bass man Rolly Bundock, pianist John Williams, who went on to compose the music for Star Wars and other blockbusters, and guitarists Barney Kessel and Bob Bain.
In truth, Mancini didn’t teach the band to play, but he did hire West Coast musicians who were in the process of inventing the
Henry Mancini wrote it. Here he is conducting the orchestra as Sue Rainey sings from Peter Gunn, "Dreamsville."
I'm in Dreamsville
Holding you
A dreamy view
Just we two alone with love
In Dreamsville
Time is new
We're here to love
And we do
We can see the rest of the world
Below us
From our pink cloud
There's no boundary to this magic land
As we go exploring
Hand in hand
To dreamy Dreamsville
Far away
I'ts here we'll love
Here we'll stay
Dreamy Dreamsville
Far away
I'ts here we'll love
Here we'll stay
Next, # 9.
It is, quite simply, a beautiful, wonderful piece of music that is arguably the greatest instrumental of all time.
Barry White insisted to his record company that he wanted to produce an all instrumental album. He got his wish, and the super hit single “Love’s Theme” is recognized today all over the world.
Imagine, a bunch of old white guys playing violas and French horns conducted by an obese black guy, and millions thought it was cool.
Here’s Rick Braun playing the flugelhorn (Think Chuck Mangione) and his terrific rendition of “Love’s Theme.”
At # 8, our next performer is lucky to be alive. In the late 80’s he was the victim of random gun violence, shot in the throat by juveniles outside Room 335, his private studio near
My #7 selection first appeared on the Mr. Lucky Goes Latin lp. The legendary Henry Mancini did a new version of the lush, “Slow Hot Wind (Lujon)” on his 70’s album, “Symphonic Soul,” recorded at a time when everyone, and I do mean everyone was doing disco music.
But this lovely tune is far from disco.
And finally for this segment, my #6 pick.
Some of the greatest music of all-time came from Glenn Miller.
From The American Songbook:
“In 1935, while a student of Joseph Schillinger, Glenn Miller wrote a simple composition as a mathematical exercise. Miller picked up the piece years later when he was a member of Ray Noble’s orchestra and Edward Heyman supplied a lyric titled, ‘Now I Lay Me Down to Weep.’ A new lyric was subsequently written by historian George T. Simon titled, “Gone with the Dawn’ and yet another was tossed on the pile by Mitchell Parrish (who specialized in new lyrics to old songs) called ‘Wind on the Trees.’ He finally came up with the winner, ‘Moonlight Serenade.’ That title was inspired by Miller’s recording of Frankie Carle’s ‘Sunrise Serenade’.”
Later tonight, around 9:00, I'll unveil my top five smooth and mellow pieces. For now, we close the way Glenn Miller always opened.....
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