Everybody's got them! Mine are:

1.(silliest): If You Want To Be
Happy for the Rest of your Life (Never Make a Pretty Woman Your Wife). Learned it drunk one night at a club in the 60's and played it as a request for a dumn, obnoxious dude with a real "Dog" spouse. They LOVED IT-so did I! Still do it.

2. (most important/personal): What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?. Learned it during my transition to a jazz oriented style as a soloist. Delicious changes and meaningful words. A real personal benchmark. Still do it regularly.

What about you?


Russ

Here's a parody of Help Me Make It that I wrote:
You have to look around the room and use discretion before singing it.

Rip the buttons from my shirt.
Tear it off and throw it down.
I don't want to sleep alone,
And you're the only one around.
Come and lay down on your back,
While we make it through the night.
Then roll over on your face,
So I won't see it in the light.

I don't care if you're old and fat,
And have ratty stringy hair.
I'll be gone tomorrow mornin',
And tonight I'm too damned drunk to care.

Yesterday is up and gone,
And tomorrow I will be too.
And yes it's sad to be alone,
BUT IT'S BETTER THAN WAKIN' UP WITH YOU!

DonM

Dumbest song? That's a tough one... there are so many (you KNOW how much Buffet I do! ). I guess Margaritaville comes pretty close. Mind you, as I drive past guys doing roofing in August here in Florida, I say 'Margaritaville...? Hell yeah! ' Maybe the Banana Boat Song, or They're Coming to take Me Away are contenders (though I don't play the latter any more...! It might come true ))

Deepest personal song? Another tough question, but I'd probably have to go with 'My Funny Valentine'. Learned it as a kid from listening to Ella's Songbook version, was a favorite of my Mum's, had it as my first dance with my wife. Now she has passed, over eight years ago, and I still can't play it without a tear.

Don,

Love the song, just copied it to my songlist, and it will be right up there with the best of them.

In response to Russ' question, there's lots of silly songs, and "I Don't Look Good Naked Anymore" ranks right up there with the best of them. For the most important, that's a tough call. There are lots of songs on that list.

Gary

Gary

Silliest: "I Left My Wife In San Francisco"

My personal favorite: Several...but if I have to pick one it would be - The Christmas Song.

Eddie

Well, Russ and Diki have already named two of my all time favorites, but I have pretty eclectic tastes in music so I guess I'd have to include the one I've asked to have played at my funeral; I Can Stand a Little Rain by Joe Cocker. A couple of others that have a deep personal meaning for me would be Monk's 'round midnight and Benny Golson's I remember Clifford. Donald Byrd's Cristo Redentor would also be right up there at the top.

Silly song- But I Was Cool by Oscar Brown, Jr.

chas

PS: DonM's tune was hilarious. Will probably hit too close to home for some of you....you know who you are.

Dumbest tune, would have to go back a couple decades to my pianobar daze. I guess it would have to be, "My Dingaling" -- another one of those requested by a drunk one night that became something they re-requested forever -- always end that one with, "It takes two hands, to handle a Whopper..."

Most favored or Most memorable songs change with time and ability, right now mine would be a cover of Kurt Elling's superb rendition of Nature Boy. Damn that one took some time for the learnin' curve, but well worth it. Nat owned that song for so many years until Kurt did his version AFAIC.

Straightahead,


--Mac

I also do one occasionally called "If My Nose Was Running Money, I'd Blow It All On You, But It's Not".
It's a REAL song. Check it on Utube.
I'll have to think about the personal ones.
DonM

The accordianist in my dad's band used to sing this when I was a kid. I thought it was great. I just googled it and nothing comes up. Does anybody have the words to this?

Scott

Don, the Help Me..... song is just to great. Can't wait for an opportunity to sing it.

Thanks,

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala