Gloria Lynn (b. 1929-2013) was from New York City. She started out as a pop singer having a big hit in 1964 with ”I Wish You Love” which became her signature song. Later in her career she became known as a jazz singer.
The song was written by the French singer and composer Charles Trenet in 1942, and its first lyrics were in French.
Keely Smith had the first hit in English in 1957, and the song was featured in several movies including the French “Stolen Kisses.”
Ironically, the French version, sung by Mr. Trenet, appeared in the American movie “Something’s Gotta Give,” and we present that version below.
The Battle of Monmouth took place in the vicinity of Monmouth Courthouse in Freehold. The vista above is from Combs Hill where the Continental Army had placed their artillery. The battle took place on June 28, 1778 when Gen. George Washington attacked the British in the midst of a 100 degree heat wave to regain that territory. The park is a beautiful place where you can visit, picnic, ride horses or sleighs. The visitor center is near where I was standing to make this photograph.
I enjoy photographing battlefields, although this is only my second. The first is Gettysburg which we have visited quite a few times. Battlefields are evocative of so many qualities of man including bravery, fighting for right and freedom, loyalty and sacrifice. It seems as if you can time travel back in such a place like this, and that is an emotional experience.
I tried to capture that mood in this photograph which is much better felt in black and white than with color. —Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
BAND OF HM ROYAL MARINES: “Main Theme from Saving Private Ryan” (2006) Written by John Williams.
By Paul Goldfinger, Photography Editor @Blogfinger
My photo was taken of Central Park after the 1969 blizzard. I climbed to the top of Mt. Sinai Hospital and took the picture with my Pentax Spotmatic 35 mm single-lens reflex camera which a friend had brought back from Korea. I only had one lens, a 50mm. I made the print in my darkroom using traditional wet/chemical methods .
Years later, as I learned more about photographic history, I admired the work of André Kertèsz, a Hungarian born photographer who lived in France and then came to America where the third phase of his career elevated him into the ranks of the most famous fine art photographers.
He and his wife moved into a 12th story apartment overlooking Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in the early 1950’s. He loved to shoot images with a telephoto lens out the window at the park. He especially enjoyed snow scenes.
From Photograph Magazine via Swann Galleries, New York.
When I saw his image (above) from 1954, I was struck by the similarity to mine. But my photo was not derived from his, since I was unaware of him in 1969. At least I don’t believe I ever saw it before.
But art always owes a debt to the work of those who came before, and that is why artists must study the history of their genre in order to build on the past. The influence of one generation of artists onto later ones is sometimes unconscious on the part of those who may be borrowing without even realizing.
Because of our two similar images, and I am not comparing myself directly to Kertèsz, I feel that there is a kindred spirit—a connection— that somehow exists, and that is something that is both weird and exhilarating.
Have any of you artists/writers out there (and there are some in Ocean Grove) ever felt such a relationship?
JENNIFER THAYER (This song was featured in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair and sung by Noel Harrison)
DORIS DAY. Here’s how it works: You go to Rome and visit the Trevi Fountain. Then you turn around and throw your money over your shoulder into the water. Then you get your wish. Really? And “thrown by three hopeful lovers.” But who’s keeping score?
Phillip Seymour Hoffman* was a great actor, although he sometimes made weird movies. In 2010 he directed his first film called “Jack Goes Boating.” It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy, but the four characters are depressing. I forced myself to watch it for the sake of the soundtrack, but we couldn’t get past the first half.
The music, on the other hand, is varied and interesting. We recently posted one of the songs on BF — a re-do of “Blue Moon,” which is quite wonderful. Here is the link:
The song which opens the film, however, is “The Rivers of Babylon” by a reggae style (“rock steady”) Jamaican group from the 1960’s and 1970’s called the Melodians who had embarked on some Rastafarian themes in their work, resulting in an international hit called “The Rivers of Babylon” recorded in 1969.
The song was chosen to open the movie, and I really liked it. Then I listened carefully to the lyrics (I’m always first attracted to the music — then the lyrics.)
It turns out that the Melodians were using parables taken from Psalm 137 which tells the story of the invasion of the ancient kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE. This Jewish nation was destroyed by the Babylonians who , after demolishing the first holy Temple, carted off most of the Israelites to Babylon (now Iraq).
The rivers in the song title refer to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. What does this Bible story have to do with the movie? — I ‘m not sure.
The middle east around 586 BCE.
But here is “The Rivers of Babylon” from Jack Goes Boating. — (*Phillip Seymour Hoffman passed in 2014.)
A scene from Boardwalk Empire. Don’t miss it when it returns. Re-post from 2012.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor@Blogfinger
This delightful tune is brief but poignant. It is from the soundtrack of Boardwalk Empire, the HBO hit series. Stephen DeRosa is the singer, and if he were appearing at the Great Auditorium, I bet we’d have some protesters there.
But we’ll let him have his say on Blogfinger, and remember, this show is set in wild Atlantic City back during Prohibition days.
The band for this album is Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. They won an Emmy for the soundtrack.
For the music historians out there, Eddie Cantor made this song his own in 1923.
