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Thread: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    I've been a fan of the mandolin arrangements of Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni for a long time, and with the release of her third volume of her "Big Book For Mandolins" (Link), she has extended her range to include a fair number of 1910s ragtime/Tin Pan Alley songs.

    I've tried out three of her new arrangements as home recordings for mandolin quartet. Same instrumentation on each one: two mandolins, mandocello and tenor guitar. As this was also the golden age of the mandolin, this instrumentation seems very fitting to the material:

    Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
    1890s Umberto Ceccherini mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar

    1. "(Won't You Play) A Simple Melody)" (Irving Berlin, 1914)

    This Irving Berlin song from 1914 was a big hit for Bing & Gary Crosby in 1950. It has two separate melody lines, each to the same accompaniment, to be sung first separately and then simultaneously as counterpoint (which I have not done in this instance). The title is sometimes gives as just "Simple Melody", or as "Play A Simple Melody".



    2. "Moonlight Bay" (Wenrich/Madden, 1912)

    This song from 1912 became the quasi-title song of the 1951 Doris Day movie "On Moonlight Bay", and the song is now also often referred to by that longer name. Again, Bing & Gary Crosby had a hit with the song as well.



    3. "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" (Edwards/Madden, 1909)

    This 1909 song became the title song of the 1953 Doris Day sequel to "On Moonlight Bay", and a big hit for her. Strangely enough, her co-star Gordon McRae also recorded the song that same year, but on a separate competing record with a different duo partner, June Hutton. Inevitably, there is also a Bing Crosby recording, among many many other covers. I'm taking it at roughly Doris Day's tempo, which is faster than most.



    Martin

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    Registered User Frankdolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    These are the songs I cut my teeth on as a wee boy...

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    Thanks, Frank. Here is another one from Evelyn's book. Same instrumentation.

    "For Me And My Gal" (1917)
    Music by George W. Meyer, Lyrics by Edgar Elslie and E. Ray Goetz
    Arranged by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni


    This 1917 song became the title song of the 1942 Judy Garland/Gene Kelly musical of that name.



    Martin

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    Here is another one from Evelyn's book:

    "Shine On, Harvest Moon" (1917)
    Music by Nora Bayes-Northworth, Lyrics by Jack Norworth
    Arranged by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni

    This is a tin pan alley hit written in 1908, which became the title song of two movies: a 1944 biopic of its composer, Nora Bayes, and a 1938 B-Movie western starring Roy Rogers. It was also sung by Olver Hardy in Laurel & Hardy's movie Flying Deuces.

    Same instrumentation as before.



    Martin

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    "Ballin' The Jack" (Music by Chris Smith, Lyrics by Jim Burris, 1913)
    Arranged by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni


    This is another of Evelyn's new Tin Pan Alley arrangements. This is song was written in 1913 in the foxtrot style (although that dance would only be invented the following year). It's now a swing and ragtime standard. My version is fairly fast as I was checking out the fabulous Judy Garland/Gene Kelly version when I was learning it, rather than the slower Danny Kaye hit.

    Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
    1890s Umberto Ceccherini mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    Here is another one of Evelyn's Tin Pan Alley arrangements:

    "By The Beautiful Sea" (Music by Harold Carroll, Lyrics by Harold Atteridge, 1914)
    Arranged by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni


    This was a big hit in 1914 (number one in Billboard when WWI broke out), covered extensively since then and now a fixed part of the Great American Songbook.



    Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
    1890s Umberto Ceccherini mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar

    I've also re-recorded the lead part on "Ballin' The Jack" -- my earlier upload was a bit rushed and not quite in sync. Here is the replacement one:



    Martin

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tin Pan Alley/Ragtime songs from Evelyn's Tunebook

    Following my initial home recordings of Evelyn's Tin Pan Alley arrangements last year, we have played them at almost every one of our weekly mandolin gatherings -- they're really great fun!

    As we're not meeting at the moment because of the lockdown, I have started to record home videos of pieces from our repertoire folders. Unlike my earlier audio-only takes, these are recorded without click track: shooting the video with my playing melody on mandolin, then overdubbing accompaniment to the audio track afterwards.

    1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin (x2)
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar

    Moonlight Bay/By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (medley):



    Ballin' The Jack:



    Martin

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