And so another Christmas Day flashes by – and they sure do flash past when you reach the age of 82, as I did a few days ago…
I don’t usually wax lyrical or philosophical, but I thought – what the heck..! – at my age, I’m entitled to a little nostalgia.
So when, a few minutes ago, someone mentioned a certain John Wilson Orchestra, which performed on the telly for us Brits on Christmas night, I certainly felt a lyrical and philosophical mood drift over me.
You see, John Wilson’s Orchestra was performing an evening of ‘my’ music. In other words, swing music – the kind of music that was composed by such greats as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Sammy Cahn, Ray Noble, and all the others that my antiquated memory can’t drum up at the moment.
As a youngster, I loved swing music. Well, it was my music, wasn’t it? In fact, my generation would go so far as to call it ‘our’ music.
We don’t get ‘Swing’ any more as a popular broadcasting subject, and when we do get these rare occasions, I find the music has such therapeutic contrast to that which is termed ‘popular’ music, these days.
Well, it has for me, anyway…
As a youngster, I played the piano in a small combination of what we called a ‘band’ in those days. And it was the swing music of such composers as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Sammy Cahn, Ray Noble, etc. that we played – not to mention our futile attempts at trying to copy the so listenable renderings that came from our musical heroes of the day – Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and, of course, our own British Eric Winstone, Cyril Stapleton, Joe Loss, Sid Lawrence, to name but a few.
The four members of our little band were rank amateurs, each one of us self-taught on our various instruments. But we hired the local church hall for practice, and we rehearsed and rehearsed until we decided: ‘Yeah. We’re OK. Let’s do it…!’
So we flung ourselves onto the community and plied for hire…
We did alright, too. First time out, we found ourselves pictured with a write-up in the local paper. And the height of our achievements came when I found, as the pianist, that I was required to note down every tune we played – for ‘copyright’ purposes…!
I, personally, practically floated and wallowed and swam in the very concept of ‘swing music’; the music of the Forties and the Fifties; the music of my era.
But then came Calamity!
Some geezer by the name of Bill Haley gambolled into Great Britain and sent us all rocking round the clock.
Bill Haley started the trend in Great Britain of a completely different sort of music – a sort of music whose lyrics weren’t rhyming poetry; a sort of music that became something called ‘Rock’.
Along with these developments came an avid acceptance by the youth of the day, who wildly embraced this new kind of music – a kind of music that required its exponents to shout the words of the ‘lyrics’ rather than sing them; a kind of music that carried with it undertones of violence and aggression; a kind of music the words of which, most of the time, I cannot decipher…
I swear it is ‘rock’ that causes the outbreak of many fights and brawls outside night clubs at closing time. After all, these kids have been dancing all night to a sort of music that reminds me of that which accompanies tribal dances in Africa before primitive warriors go on the rampage…
Anyway, when ‘rock’ came on the scene it was as if an iron curtain had clanged down in front of me. I didn’t like it.; I didn’t want it; I couldn’t – and wouldn’t – play it.
The same went for my mates in the band, so we packed up. In any case, the demands of my daily job had changed somewhat and I was called upon to work on some Saturday nights -which, of course, is the most popular night for which a band might be required.
I still play the ‘piano’ occasionally, but, these days, it’s one of those new-fangled musical keyboards on which I find it impossible to use the syncopation technique I used in the old days…
‘But, I can honestly say about the days of swing music: “those were the days” – and I’ll never forget them. And thank Heaven for orchestra leaders like John Wilson, a new acquaintance whose music I shall certainly be chasing up from now on…
Happy New Year, everybody.!
