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!!
One of the first color images of Earth, a digital image mosaic taken in 1967. I was playing this song (Help!) the other day and started to imagine that the Earth was trying to talk to us all through the lyrics of a Beatles song. Looking at this image makes us realize that we are undeniably all in this together – whatever happens. In my opinion, the best thing that we could do for the earth is to simply stop trying so hard to kill it! Live sustainably and plan for the future of the earth! The earth needs us now! Dr. Weiss
Ursula Andress - the 1st 007 James Bond Girl (Dr. No 1962) and Burt Bacharach's inspiration for 'The Look of Love' "The Look of Love" was released today, January 29, in 1967 - 54 years ago! It’s a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and originally sung by English pop singer Dusty Springfield, which appeared in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale (definitely not to be confused with the 2006 version with Daniel Craig.) It received a Best Song nomination in the 1968 Academy Awards and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. According to Bacharach, the melody was inspired by watching sex symbol Ursula Andress in an early cut of the film. I agree with Bacharach that the song works great simply as a stand-alone atmospheric instrumental, as you’ll soon hear. WARNING! Music theory discussion ahead! Proceed with caution! Thoughts on jazz improvisation. Talking about instrumentals, many of the songs that I’ve been recording are pretty ‘straight’ without much melodic improvisation. However, in the second verse of this recording of ‘The Look of Love’, I’m improvising using a jazz theory that I’ve recently discovered by George Russell called the ‘Lydian Chromatic Concept of [...]
Moonlight Sonata and Adieu to the Piano Ludwig van Beethoven Well, unfortunately today’s Covid news is not any better since yesterday, but today we do have something momentous to celebrate! Today it has been 250 years since Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. He is one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. Here are links to two of his many popular compositions. I guess I started playing Moonlight Sonata in high school many years ago, and it has given me memories of many hours of peaceful tranquility. Adieu to the Piano is a more recent addition for me, and works perfectly as a ‘Weiss Music Minute.’ Thanks for the memories, Ludwig! Moonlight Sonata (4:30) https://www.drweiss.com/2019/03/29/moonlight-sonata/ Adieu to the Piano (1 minute) https://youtu.be/VqLksqpskT4 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 played!!
A Song For You Leon Russell passed away on this day 4 years ago. In my opinion, this is one of the loveliest love songs ever written. Believe it or not (it's true), I once put on an international multi-specialty medical conference in Deer Valley and I had Leon Russell perform. Pretty crazy, eh? 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 played!!
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller (there he is again) was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. I’ve always loved this song. Of course, the music alone. But how can you miss with ‘leave your worries on the doorstep, just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street’? Artists who have recorded versions include Billie Holiday, The Ink Spots, Tony Bennett, Steve Goodman, and many others. The accompanying illustration is by the comic genius R. Crumb. 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!!
“Them There Eyes” is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey that was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was performed by Louis Armstrong in 1931. This is yet another song made famous by sultry Billie Holiday, who recorded her version in 1939 for Vocalion Records. I know I used at least one of her turns of phrase in my simple version. I always have thought that this song would be a great background for a cosmetic eyelid commercial. 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!!
It’s a “Sin to Tell a Lie” is a 1936 popular song written by Billy Mayhew and popularized by the great Fats Waller. Incidentally, it was said that shaking hands with Fats was like grabbing a bunch of bananas. This song was pretty popular: there are currently over 100 recorded versions of it! Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you how I learned this song. A few weeks ago I was diving deep on YouTube on one of my favorite artists – guitarist virtuoso Steve Goodman – and I came across a live version of Goodman doing this song. It reminded me of how much a guitar prodigy he was and how I first came across him sometime in the 1970s at the Philadelphia Folk Festival (but that’s another story.). Goodman’s version was so over the top amazing that I jumped up and immediately went over to the keyboard to figure it out. I didn’t think anyone could top Goodman’s energy on this song, but then I listened to Fats Waller’s version. Now I don’t know. If you’ve read this far, you probably have at least a passing interest in music. Why don’t you check out both versions on YouTube (make sure [...]
“Pennies from Heaven” is a 1936 popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was recorded by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra, Tony Bennett, Dinah Washington, and many others. Interesting story: I once found myself in Stevie Wonder’s studio (that’s another story) and he asked me to play something on the piano. Well, the first thing that happened to come to mind was this song, so I somewhat nervously sat down and started playing. Suddenly, Stevie nudged me over a little on the bench and sat down on my right. I continued to comp chords on the left, and he started doing a jazz improvisation on the melody. What really blew me away (besides playing with Stevie!) was that he was doing a complex and intricate jazz improvisation with his left hand!! That’s probably why he sticks to music and I stick to surgery! 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 [...]
“Ain’t She Sweet” is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 and typified the Roaring Twenties and ‘Tin Pan Alley’ songs. Ager wrote “Ain’t She Sweet” for his daughter. 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!!
In case you missed the most recent Covid update (the medley was tacked on to the end of the last blog video): For a while, I was too shaken by the pandemic and the deaths to try to trivialize the suffering (in my mind) by putting out much music. However, somehow, life will go on and the healing power of music will go on forever, perhaps as vibrations after we are all long gone. So anyway, in addition to continuing to share Covid insights (as they occur) I will also continue to share music as it occurs. No disrespect to those who have lost loved ones. I have also. However, since I have been personally comforted by recording this music for you, I hope that at least some of you can smile with me for a few moments as you listen to some of my favorite songs. With that said: I was thinking about why the following songs are so popular, have stood the test of time, and why they feel so comfortable and satisfying to play and listen to. The songs were all written between 1927 and 1936. I may have first learned them from a Billie Holiday Greatest [...]
