As usual, I have a bunch of posts I’ve been ticky-tacking away at for a while, but haven’t finished, then something grabs me so I write about that instead. Ya gotta love Louis Prima. Man, that cat could swing! Listen to this bit from his fantastic 1956 mash-up of “I’m Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” — later covered by none other than David Lee Roth.
[audio:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2011/Mar/LouisPrima.mp3|titles=Louis Prima: I Ain’t Got Nobody (excerpt)]But get this. Marion Harris recorded “I Ain’t Got Nobody” before WWI!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24dfSxU1S64
Here’s a song that’s familiar to people of a certain age.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjHJ_snG3RI
Marion Harris did that one first, too, the year it was written, 1923.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w0bzYKdXwk
Here’s a favorite by Harris. Listen to her phrasing in “After You’ve Gone,” and you’ll hear Marion’s influence on generations of singers to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA6ulKFXiTA