Welcome to my music blog -
The Soundtrack of My Life!
Many of you have asked me “What’s with all the music, Dr.
Weiss?” Well, as I’ve told some of you:
I personally call every surgery patient on the evening of
surgery just to make sure they are doing well and have no questions that need
answering. Occasionally, I would be at the piano and play a song that we had
listened to that day. I gradually realized that I wanted to go through all the music
that I had played during my life and at least start making a list of the songs that
I had recently played.
Well, there are now about 600 songs on the list and I realized
that it in a way it represented the ‘soundtrack of my life’! And that’s how I got
the idea to record these songs and share them with my patients, friends and family.
After I record them they will reside here, for easy access.
Music is truth. It’s honest. It’s really the first social
media, where in a way, people could share their souls directly. And isn’t that what
the purpose of social media is and why it’s so popular - trying to share who you
really are, as completely and directly as possible?
Finally, it has been (and will continue to be) a genuine
pleasure sharing these different songs with you and I really appreciate all of your
positive feedback!!
On This Day: Al Dubin passed away in 1945. He wrote the lyrics to what is formally called "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)", from the 1933 film Gold Diggers of 1933, sung in the opening sequence by Ginger Rogers. The song's lyrics reflect a positive financial turnaround and a fantasized end to the Great Depression, which in the U.S. began to turn around in early 1933 but wouldn't actually end until the late 1930s. Al Dubin, like me, was a Jewish guy from Philadelphia, perhaps explaining my affinity for this song. He also wrote "Tiptoe through the Tulips", "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Lullaby of Broadway." Harry Warren wrote the music and was the first American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars. He wrote the music for the first blockbuster film musical, 42nd Street, choreographed by Busby Berkeley and over a career spanning four decades, wrote more than 800 songs. Other well known Warren hits included "I Only Have Eyes for You", "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Jeepers Creepers", "That's Amore", "There Will Never Be Another You", [...]
John Walter Bratton, died on this day (February 7) in 1947. Bratton was a Tin Pan Alley composer and wrote “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” in 1907. I guess that makes the song 102 years old! He wrote it without lyrics, and during the silent film era it was used as background music for a number of popular movies and later, even as background music in some of the Looney Tunes cartoons. He wrote over 250 songs, but this song is his only lasting hit. Twenty-five years later, Jimmy Kennedy wrote the lyrics in 1932! Interestingly, Kennedy, in a career spanning more than fifty years, wrote some 2000 songs, of which over 200 became worldwide hits, and about 50 are all-time popular music classics. Until Lennon and McCartney, Kennedy had more hits in the United States than any other Irish or British songwriter!!! [Incidentally, Stephen, Kennedy also wrote “South of the Border”, a popular song describing a trip to Mexico, inspired by a holiday picture postcard he received from Mexico. Frank Sinatra recorded “South of the Border” when I was 2 weeks old! But I digress. “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” was one of the earliest sound recordings, released by Edison Records [...]
"Candle in the Wind", written by Elton John, was released on this day (February 4) in 1974. It was written about the late Marilyn Monroe, famed Hollywood actress and pin-up model of the 1950s. The opening line "Goodbye, Norma Jean" refers to Monroe's real name, Norma Jean Baker. "Candle in the Wind 1997" or "Goodbye England's Rose" is a re-recording of "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to Princess Diana. This version, released in 1997, was one of the best selling singles of all time and was produced by George Martin, of Beatles fame. This song was requested by and dedicated to my friend Heather B, as well as my partner in surgery, Jackie Smith, who recently saw Elton John in concert during his farewell tour! Enjoy! 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!!
Casablanca is consistently rated as one of the most important and influential movies ever made. Many of its elements are synonymous with classic Hollywood - black and white film grain, Humphrey Bogart in a trench coat, the oh-so-quotable lines and of course, the indelible soundtrack! Today's On This Day is a performance of the song "As Time Goes By", memorably performed by Sam in the famed nightclub, in honor of composer Herman Hupfeld's birthday. Interesting factoids: The "piano player" Dooley Wilson was actually a drummer, so the piano was actually played by someone off screen! Also interesting, is that one of the lines most often associated with the film ("Play it again, Sam), is actually a misquote! When Ilsa first enters the Café Americain, she spots Sam and asks him to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." After he feigns ignorance, she responds, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'". Finally, the aforementioned song might have been dropped from the film entirely if not for a haircut Ingrid Bergman got for her next film - making reshoots impossible. So if not for a haircut, we might never have known this song!! Thanks for watching and "here's looking [...]
This romantic ballad was popularized by artists like Sarah Vaughan and Nat King Cole! Jerome Kern, one of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, wrote more than 700 songs, including including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are” and "The Way You Look Tonight. “ He was nominated eight times for an Academy Award, and won twice. At the time of Kern's death, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was filming a fictionalized version of his life, Till the Clouds Roll By, which was released in 1946 starring Robert Walker as Kern. In the film, Kern's songs are sung by Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, among others. 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!!
"Now I Have Everything" is a classic from the Broadway play, "Fiddler on the Roof"! Dedicated to my friend Jerry B. 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!!
Mozart began writing dances when he was five years old! The minuet was slightly old-fashioned by Mozart's time. It was of aristocratic origin, elegant and stately. Mozart passionately loved dancing, and never missed the public masked balls in the theatre or his friends' domestic balls. Although a short piano piece, this is a good example of the simplicity of Mozart’s genius. 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!!
This performance of “Fantasia in D Minor” is dedicated to and requested by my friend Monique B. Fantasy in D minor (composed in 1782), left unfinished by the composer, is one of Mozart’s most well- known and most popular pieces for the piano. For me, one of the most interesting things about this piece (besides its unique beauty) is that it was later discovered that the last 10 measures were completed by another musician - but nobody knew it for over a hundred years! It was only in 1944 – roughly a century and a half after Mozart’s death and the publication of the fantasy – that a scholar questioned the authenticity of the final 10 measures of Mozart’s fantasy. Now we know that the last ten measures of Mozart’s "Fantasy" are not by Mozart, but were composed by his contemporary and admirer, August Müller. Listen for a dominant chord and a long pause just before the final 10 measures - that’s where Mozart left it! Can you imagine the music Mozart would have written had he lived past the age of 35! You may notice that the keyboard that I am playing has rows of lights above the keys. [...]
Nevertheless was composed by Harry Ruby (born January 27, 1895) with lyrics by Bert Kalmar. Their songwriting partnership was portrayed in the 1950 MGM musical 'Three Little Words', starring Fred Astaire as Kalmar and Red Skelton as Ruby. I love those old ’tin-pan alley’ movies! Notable cover versions of Nevertheless: (I especially want to track down the Telly Savalas (Kojak) version!) The Andrews Sisters Fred Astaire Count Basie Bing Crosby Barry Manilow Dean Martin Liza Minnelli Olivia Newton-John Andy Gibb Harry Nilsson Frank Sinatra Rod Stewart Rudy Vallée Betty White Telly Savalas Bob Dylan Other songs by Ruby and Kalmar: “Who's Sorry Now?”, "I Wanna Be Loved by You” (sung by Marilyn Monroe in the film Some Like It Hot), "Three Little Words”, and the television them for “The Real McCoys” (1957-1963). They also wrote the musical scores for three classic Marx brothers films, Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers and Duck Soup which Included the classics “Hello I Must Be Gong”, “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It”, and “Everyone Says I Love You!” 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 [...]
On this day, Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim was born in 1927! "How Insensitive" is one of his more popular songs, having been covered by a large and diverse swath of people - from Ella Fitzgerald and Diana Krall to Liberace, The Monkees and William Shatner of Star Trek fame! Jobim is also known perhaps for his most popular song (and one of the most recorded songs in the world )- The Girl from Ipanema. 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!!
