Blog
Dec 13

Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)

“Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)” is a popular song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre, with the well-known chorus, “Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I’m half crazy / all for the love of you”, ending with the words, “a bicycle built for two”.

It is the earliest song sung using computer speech synthesis by the IBM 7094 in 1961, a feat which was referenced in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke witnessed the IBM 704 demonstration and referred to it in the film, in which the HAL 9000 computer sings “Daisy Bell” during its gradual deactivation.

Again, we hear the same three or four chords used in one of the first ‘standards’.

Enjoy,

Dr. Weiss

Bosendorfer piano sound – For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I’ve ever owned!!