Thursday, August 27, 2020

Still Wild About Harry (Harry Warren)

 



In 2013, I wrote a post about Harry Warren.  (Oh you know you want to read it again! You may read about the great songwriter just here!) Just in case you don't have time to go and read it, I will tell you that Harry Warren was a great songwriter and chances are you know many of his songs and yet, you don't know this songwriter's name! ("Chattanooga Choo Choo", the music by Harry Warren,  was the very first gold record, meaning it sold over one million records.)

In that post, I mentioned that I had found a great video of Harry Warren singing with Ian Whitcomb but was unable to get the video on that post. Better late than never, I have it here for you!  Looking further, I was sad to learn that Ian Whitcomb passed away in April of this year. He was 78 years old.  (Harry Warren died in 1981 at the age of 87.)  

"Home In Pasadena" was one of the earliest songs written by Harry Warren.  He wrote the music, the lyrics were by Grant Clark and Edgar Leslie.  It was published in 1923.  The British band, "The Pasadena Roof Orchestra" which specializes in 1920 and 1930's swing music was named after the song.  

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If the sun is shining, the butterflies are out on our Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia).  If you want a flower to attract butterflies, I highly recommend this flower! It is like a magnet.  What a pleasure it has been to see all the butterflies! This is a photo that Richard took of the butterfly called "American lady".  I can never remember that name so I always say, "you know, the one on the cover of our butterfly book!"  Ha! It's true, it is on the front of our butterfly guide...it is very distinctive with those very lacy wings. Just gorgeous, but then,  aren't we all that way, my American lady friends?  Well, ya'all are anyway!

Take care everyone! Remember if you hear a song, try to look it up and see who wrote it, music and lyrics. These songs just didn't fall out of the sky, you know! 










27 comments:

  1. That is a very beautiful butterfly, with the powdery pink bits! Great photo as well.
    Yes, songs do not fall from the sky, or grow on trees! I am always amazed of how so very often, the lyrics were written by a different person than the music, and yet it all goes together perfectly - how does the composer manage to fit the notes so perfectly to the words (or the other way round)?

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    1. Richard takes the best photos, he is very talented I think!
      Your last sentence made me smile because it reminded me of one of the lines from "I'll See You In My Dreams" about the famous songwriter Gus Kahn (played by the wonderful Danny Thomas) when his words were criticized in the song "Nothing Could Be Finer". He said, "They fit the n-n-n-notes!" OH! If you don't see one film I tell you about, I wish you would find that one! Doris Day plays his wife and they are both just perfect! AND about songwriting, so you know it is special to me. (Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics to songs when he had many others write the music.)

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  2. I had a butterfly flitter past my car when I was going out and it led me on down the street. Just like offering a day of excitement coming my way. I love to see them too. So many good old songs to be had and yet sadly we've lost a lot of famous people this year. The songs remain on to be sung though.

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    1. Yes! Music is always with us!
      And haven't the butterflies been beautiful in August? We still have the thought of the Monarchs flying over us in their journey to Mexico. We always look for them! xx

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  3. How sweet is that song! Love the harmonizing that they did. Pretty butterfly! Thanks!

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    1. So glad you loved the song too, it makes me so special to know that the elderly gentleman is the one who wrote the music!!
      Looking a bit further, I saw that the other one, Ian Whitcomb, although originally from England, lived and died in California, sadly passing away at a hospice in Pasadena.

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  4. That's a gorgeous butterfly. I have never seen one like it here in Hawaii.

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    1. I just looked it up and while it is rare, you MIGHT see it in Hawaii! Not sure, you can't believe everything you read but look out for it! xx

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  5. Again you have provided me with knowledge. No wonder I love your blog so much.

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    1. Thanks! You know those bloggers who only write of just one thing? HA! Not me, you never know what you will find here although I almost always something to do with nature or with music!!

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  6. That "American Lady" is now one of my favorites. I hope to see it in person someday. Thanks

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    1. I hope you see the American Lady one day! It is really, really pretty!!

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  7. Thanks, now "Chattanooga Choo Choo" will be my earworm for the rest of the day. Luckily, it's a fave song of mine! So bouncy and upbeat -- a true classic.

    I must tell you -- tomorrow afternoon My Rare One and I are going to a small local recital being held outdoors in a curling rink parking lot (for social distancing). It's a performance of Vera Lynn songs by a young acquaintance of ours! Well, she's probably in her 30s, but that's young to us. Vera Lynn lives!

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    1. I am so envious! That concert sounds just like my cup of tea!
      Only thing, I still hope that y'all will wear masks even with social distancing. Promise me that you will!
      I have been singing "Nothing Could Be Finer" all day!

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  8. I really liked that song which I had never heard before. What a great duet. And that butterfly. I don't think we ever get ones like that in northeast Oho. The orange lantana I have on my deck this year, which is a very similar color to your Mexican sunflowers, really attracts a lot of butterflies. Richard does take wonderful photos!

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    1. Glad you liked the song too! It makes me so very special to me since one of those singing wrote the music! We have lantana also but trust me, the butterflies just fly right by that for the Mexican sunflowers! And you know I agree with you on Richard's photos, I am quite honestly amazed at how good he is!

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  9. What a beautiful butterfly! I saw a really big Monarch (I think it was) yesterday and was really surprised. For some reason it seems we don't have as many butterflies in this area as we once did. I wonder if it's because it gets so hot here. Or maybe I just don't have enough blossoms around to attract them. By this time every summer most everything has fried!!!! My daddy used to play guitar and he would sometimes sing CHATANOOGA CHOO CHOO:) Hadn't thought about that in years!!!

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    1. Hi Cheri! WE love butterflies!
      https://georgiagirlwithanenglishheart.blogspot.com/2012/10/arabia-mountain-under-butterflys-wing.html
      There, if you copy and paste you will see a close up of a Monarch! That was a post of mine from 2012! LOL!
      Guess what??? Oh, it makes me giggle but the thing that made me think of doing this post was because my husband JUST started playing Chattanooga Choo Choo on the guitar (he plays all the time but found that The Shadows had done this song and it made him pick it out). It sounds great on the guitar too!
      (My husband and son both play guitar and they are GREAT!!)

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  10. That butterfly is jaw-droppingly lovely. I'd never heard of that variety. What a beauty!

    I do look up the names of musicians and lyricists. At church (pre-Covid) I always looked to see who wrote the hymn tunes and lyrics. It's fun and fascinating!

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    1. Thank you, fellow American beauty! :-)
      It tickles me that I always identify it as the one on our butterfly book, Richard always has to tell me the name! Maybe I will remember it by doing this post.
      I also have spent a great deal of time researching the history of hymns, I think I could write a book!
      Hope you are doing well, Sue. It's lovely to see your comment here! Take care!

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  11. Dear Kay, thanks for the song and its rendition by the composer and a fellow singer. When I was growing up in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, my mom sang throughout the day, no matter what she was doing. So these older songs really speak to me and bring her joyous embrace of life back to me.

    And thanks also for this introducing me to this gorgeous butterfly. Did you really see it in your garden???? And is this a photo that your husband took! I marvel. Peace.

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    1. So glad you love songs like this and that they bring back such fond memories. Yes, the American beauty butterfly was on our Mexican sunflower,Tithonia and Richard took that photo. It looks very professional, doesn't it? He is very good at everything! Peace be with you. x

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    2. Dear Kay, yes, to catch that moment of beauty takes real skill. Peace be with you ever and always.

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    3. Peace. It is such a wonderful word, is it not? Just the sound of it makes you breathe easier.
      Richard knows how to appreciate beauty. After all, he married me! HA HA! :-)

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  12. That is one beautiful butterfly. Delicate pastel colours.

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    1. Thank you, Bob! We have some beautiful butterflies in our garden this year and I am lucky to be married to a photographer!

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  13. American Lady? Wow! I've NEVER seen that butterfly before. It is stunningly beautiful. And what an amazing photo! How awesome that Richard was able to capture that beauty before it flew away!

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