This has been another day during which I drove 400 miles down to London and back, so it's just possible I will slump forward over the keyboard before I finish slamming out this posting.
Humphrey Lyttleton was once described as "that cat in England who swings his ass off". By Louis Armstrong, no less. If you do nothing else this week, listen to "Bad Penny Blues" on YouTube. If you do so, you'll hear him saying that the piece did not exactly set the hit parade on fire in 1955. What he is (so typically) too modest to mention is that it was the first jazz music ever to appear in the UK Top 20. And could you name any that has made the Top 20 since 1955 ? Plus listen carefully to the piano part and hum "Lady Madonna" by The Beatles (written over a decade later).
He was arguably better known as a gifted comedian, who could deliver a line like he could blow a horn. No-one ever got so many laughs from the word "Hmmm?".
England is poorer country for his passing : I hope they put up a plaque in Mornington Crescent tube station.
OK - I'm tired now. "Mad Men" will have to wait for another time.
No comments:
Post a Comment