“Polka dots and moonbeams 2010.” Theschereport.wordpress.com —PG
“A country dance was being held in a garden
I felt a bump and heard an ‘Oh, beg your pardon’
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams
All around a pug-nosed dream.”
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Joe Temperley on baritone sax: “Polka Dots and Moonbeams…”
Posted in Music, tagged MUSIC. Polka Dots and Moonbeams with Joe Temperley on October 16, 2025| 1 Comment »
Johnny Mercer in Savannah….
Posted in Music, tagged Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, MUSIC: Blues in the Night on September 10, 2025| 1 Comment »
Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah Georgia. by Paul Goldfinger.
When he died, he was buried in the family plot at the Bonaventure Cemetery, a famous public location in Savannah. His mother is buried nearby. We visited their site on a rainy day in Georgia. The monument was beautiful that day with all the Spanish moss hanging down as the rain softly fell through the foliage.
Johnny Mercer’s grave has lyrics from his songs, but there is one that was so perfect — at his mother’s site (photo above) — It said, “My momma done tol’ me.” This, of course is from his song (he wrote the lyrics, while Harold Arlen composed the music) to the great classic “Blues in the Night,”
BROOK BENTON. “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
Modern OG history : 2012. Atlantic Wind Ensemble and the Festival Choir Presented a Memorial Day Concert,
Posted in Feature article, Music, tagged Memorial Day concert in Ocean Grove, NJ on May 11, 2025| 5 Comments »
A large crowd assembles for the Saturday night concert in the Great Auditorium of Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA. Photo by Paul Goldfinger
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net Memorial Day 2012. Ocean Grove
Leave it to Harry Eichhorn to come up with a concert that celebrates America while covering the gamut of music, from Dvorak to Irving Berlin and, of course, Ocean Grove’s sentimental favorite, John Phillip Sousa.
Perhaps you are wondering what a wind ensemble is, and how it is different from a band. Well, there’s not much difference, but “wind ensemble” tells you what to expect, while a band could be anything from the Foo Fighters to the Neptune High School Marching Scarlet Fliers.
I guess a wind ensemble contains musicians who blow into their instruments. This definition , or course, doesn’t hold up for the percussionists. After all, did you ever try to blow into a snare drum? But Harry Eichhorn’s group of about 45 musicians and 35 choristers turned on the charm for an audience of mostly senior citizens, some of whom might have actually heard Sousa perform live when he conducted the Marine Band here back in the day.
Harry looked great in his trademark pressed slacks and starched shirt. If he were running for office, he would win by a landslide, even if Lawrence Welk himself were on the ballot.
The concert was predictable with the veterans rising to their feet (those who could actually still stand) and clapping to the rhythms of their theme songs. As always, the smallest group to get up has the most unrecognizable song—the US Coast Guard. But I think that their song is the most beautiful. Sometimes only one or two Coast Guard vets stand. They should wear something special like a life vest.
I get to stand with the U.S. Navy as they play Anchors Aweigh, but I wasn’t a warrior—-my weapon was a stethoscope, but I did get to wear an undrawn sword for dress inspections. I actually keep that sword in my OG bedroom in case a Barbary pirate were to invade my house. Yet I do feel proud getting up during this ritual which is always met with enthusiasm by the crowds that come to Harry’s patriotic musical tributes.
It really doesn’t matter what Harry plays—it will delight the folks, especially when a euphonium player sitting in the back, Ted Freeman, stands to announce the program using his 1940’s era radio voice. I wish, just once , that Ted would say, “”From out of the west with the speed of light and a hearty hi-yo Silver.”
The whole experience of going to a concert like this in Ocean Grove encompasses a lot more than Harry’s merry band digging into one old-fashioned medley after another. The unique ingredients that create that “old feeling” include the Great Auditorium itself, the sea breezes, patriotism, the town’s history, people sitting on the lawn, kids playing in the park, and the polite crowd lined up outside of Day’s.
The third piece on the program was the “Liberty Bell March” by Sousa. It is not well known, but Ted told us that it was played by the Marine Band at the inauguration of the last three US Presidents. So here is the US Marine Band playing the “Liberty Bell March:”
—Paul Goldfinger
Jersey Shore Gallery: Village of Loch Arbour
Posted in Jersey Shore gallery, Music, tagged Photo: Village of Loch Arbour on April 6, 2025| 4 Comments »
The Village of Loch Arbour, New Jersey was founded in 1958. According to the 2010 census, the population is 194. This photograph was obtained on a gorgeous June day at 7 pm—the “golden time” for photography. The image shows a group of homes arranged in a courtyard. It is reminiscent of Ocean Grove with historic houses going back to the early 1900’s. There is a porch culture like ours.
I spoke to a family sitting on their porch having a drink. The kids were doing cartwheels under a giant tree, and we met Mom and Dad, who is a volunteer fireman. The common areas are beautifully tended, and all the neighbors share that expense.
It seems like the kind of a place that would be a setting for a Jimmy Stewart movie. I got the impression that this is a neighborly place, a place where memories are made.
—Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
Loch Arbour. Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net Click to enlarge.
ANITA O’DAY AND CAL TJADER:
Modern OG history—2012: Musical center of gravity shifts from the Great Auditorium to Embury Avenue, but just for a day.
Posted in Music, Ocean Grove Musical Event, tagged Musical extravaganza on Embury Avenue on March 17, 2025| 2 Comments »
Trombone soloist with the Summer Swing big band. Embury Avenue block party comes alive with Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol” (below). Photos by Paul Goldfinger. Videos by Eileen Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
It was Saturday, September 15, at 5 p.m., 2012, and the neighbors on Embury Avenue, near the beach, were about to enjoy their annual block party. But this year they planned something very different; in fact,so different that it undoubtedly was a first in the history of the town. They arranged to have seven live bands perform while the neighbors ate, danced and enjoyed the show until late in the evening.
Audience begins to assemble for the largest block party musical event in OG history. Left click for full view
The prime mover for the event was Embury resident Cheryl Parker, a vocalist who performs with many of the groups that she recruited for the block party. There were three “big bands” and four jazz combos. The big bands specialized in “swing” music, mostly from the 1940’s, and they set up in a driveway. The small combos performed on a porch, while the audience sat at tables in the street and on front lawns, which are common on the beach blocks.
We got to talk to some of the members of “Summer Swing,” a band from the Redington, New Jersey area, near Flemington. They’ve been together for 17 years, and their instrumentation consists of five saxes, four bones, four trumpets, piano, bass, guitar and drums. John Nobile is the leader. He has some contemporary arrangements, but the sound of the big bands is their main concern. — Paul Goldfinger
The song being played by “Summer Swing” below is “The American Patrol.”
Modern OG history—2010 : An odd couple in the Great Auditorium one hundred years ago…
Posted in Music, Ocean Grove history, tagged Caruso and Sousa together in the Great Auditorium on December 28, 2024| 2 Comments »
By Paul Goldfinger (Editor @Blogfinger and owner of a Sousa fan fan)
Prior to the orchestral concert on July 29, 2010 in the GA, Mr. John Shaw, the Hope-Jones organ curator, stood before the audience to offer a prayer and to introduce the program. He also mentioned something that was potentially intriguing to those who are interested in music and Ocean Grove history. He said, and I paraphrase, “Exactly one hundred years ago, John Phillip Sousa and Enrico Caruso appeared together on this stage.” But Mr. Shaw did not elaborate.
John Phillip Sousa
Enrico Caruso
So, here is the Blogfinger Historical Fiction Contest springing to life. Send us a brief (no more that 4 sentences) account of what those two musical giants were doing on the stage of the GA in 1910. The top three winners will receive an original Ocean Grove car magnet. (For those of you who want a magnet but do not want to participate, you can buy them at News ‘n Such on Main Avenue)
Here is the first entry by P Goldfinger who is not eligible for a prize:
1910: Enrico Caruso, the great tenor, hit a high note last week at the Met and hurt his groin. He came to the Grove for some R and R, staying at the Abbott House. His old buddy J.P. Sousa was playing a concert in the Great Auditorium and he called Caruso up to the stage to take a bow and to sit in the piccolo section for the playing of “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Caruso, who could not play the piccolo, was content to hum along.
J.P. Sousa: “The Thunderer.”
French food in Florida. Fla-la-la!
Posted in Music, Photographic Gallery, Color, tagged French food and music, Photo: Crepe truck on November 13, 2024|
Channel District. Tampa, Florida. By Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net
If you eat French food, you need a little French music : “Que Reste T-il De Nos Amours” (tr. What remains of our love?) By Charles Trenet
FEMA’s “Waffle House Index” for disaster assessment.
Posted in Feature article, Music, tagged The Waffle House FEMA Index on October 12, 2024| 6 Comments »
Photos and text by Paul Goldfinger. Editor Blogfinger.net. South Carolina. (Re-post 2013)
FEMA has named four corporations as the top companies in the U.S. for disaster preparation. They are Home Depot, Loews, Wal-Mart and the Waffle House chain of fast food restaurants. FEMA has been so impressed by the Waffle House company that they have created the “Waffle House Index” which is a metric that they use to informally guage the severity of a disaster.
Inside a Georgia Waffle House along Route 95. All photos by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net.
A North Carolina Waffle House.
Waffle House is a privately held company based in Georgia. They have 1,700 outlets in 20 states across the south and along the Atlantic corridor from the Carolinas down to Florida. Their restaurants stay open 24/7 and they are known for fresh, fast home cooked food. Waffle House restaurants do not advertise and they have achieved some cult status, being mentioned in movies ( a scene in“The Tin Cup”,) country songs, web sites and comedy routines. Traveling musicians, athletes and police love to stop there, and down south they call it a “cultural icon.” Each unit has a juke box and they strive to use diner lingo such as “scattered” hash browns, meaning spread out on the grill.
Much of their notoriety is because they try to never close during disasters such as hurricanes. They have manuals to guide their employees towards that goal. All the units have generators and other special equipment and they are prepared and supplied to continue cooking and making ice no matter what.
The WH Index was developed by FEMA in 2011 after several catastrophic Class 5 tornados struck in Joplin, Missouri, and 5 of the WH stores managed to stay open when everything else closed.
After a disaster, FEMA checks how the Waffle Houses are doing and they use a color code depending on whether the restaurants are serving a full menu, a limited menu or if they are code red (ie closed.) The commitment of the Waffle House company is so strong that FEMA knows that things are bad if Waffle House can’t function. We spoke to some of their employees who verified that pride and commitment.
Eileen and I stopped at a few of their units in the Carolinas and Georgia. They are small places with lively and pleasant staffs. A couple of times we went in at sunrise, and it was like an oasis with the lights on and the personnel ready.
The shops are spotless, and all the workers wear clean starched uniforms. The cooking is done in the open. The cook faces the stainless steel grill and has a basket of eggs in front. She cooks the eggs in small fry pans reminiscent of what you have at home, and great care is given to prepare your food just the way you want it. She flips the eggs into the air and catches them without any breakage—I think it makes them taste better.
The waitresses discuss your order with the cook, while you watch the action. It seems so comforting to be in one of these restaurants, especially if it is dark out and you’re on a journey.
As far as Hurricane Milton is concerned, many Waffle Houses have closed creating a red alert for them. But they have generators and they will reopen as soon as possible.
ANNIE BATTLE. “Waffle House.”
Modern OG history–2011: This reminds us of what we are missing in the Grove now.
Posted in Music, Ocean Grove Musical Event, tagged MUSIC. Paul Anka show on September 17, 2024| 9 Comments »
PAUL ANKA BRINGS VEGAS TO THE GREAT AUDITORIUM. SUMMER 2011. Blogfinger reports:
Paul Anka in the Great Auditorium. Photo by Tracey James, Blogfinger staff.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
Shelley Belusar, who books the acts for the CMA, was amazed when Paul Anka’s crew arrived at the GA on Saturday morning. He brought a synchronized production team that included sound, lighting and staging personnel. They set up a massive backdrop of drapes that turned out to be dazzling light reflectors. They placed small platforms around the auditorium for Anka to stand on as he moved through the room, and they prepared a multimedia presentation that recreated Vegas.
When Anka came on stage, he was surrounded by a 12 piece orchestra. The allocation of musicians was a bit peculiar: 2 trombones, 1 sax, 3 trumpets, synthesizer and a bongo player—in addition to the mandatory piano, bass, drum and guitar. But they were a superb stage band with a big brassy sound. The show was a model of professionalism, showmanship and glitz. The program included a wide array of musical styles, performed with great zest and skill; it was a satisfying show in terms of musicianship. Among the best songs were Mack the Knife, For Once in my Life, Jump, She’s a Lady, It Doesn’t Matter Any More, and many other famous hits.
We tend to think of Paul Anka as a rock and roll kid whose friends included performers like Buddy Holly and Annette Funicello, but those years passed and Anka became a show business great whose mentor was Frank Sinatra and whose friends included the big stars of that Copacabana, Las Vegas, New York-New York and Hollywood era. Over the last half century, in addition to performing, he wrote music for many stars besides himself, including the theme song for the Tonight Show.
Last night, Paul, dressed in a dark three piece suit, shirt and tie, was a dynamo for 1 1/2 hours of pure energetic entertainment. He is tan, trim and fit, and his voice is still magnificent. You couldn’t avoid imagining Frank Sinatra on stage, because Paul Anka is built like Frank, sounds like him and even has mannerisms like “old blue eyes.”
A remarkable element to Anka’s performance is his enthusiasm. He seemed to be having a wonderful time as he went out into the audience and interacted with the crowd in a way that had a few thousand people standing, shouting, whistling and even running up and down the aisles.
Paul Anka works the large crowd in the GA. Photo by Tracey James
The show was less about his famous hits (“Diana, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, etc.”) than it was about music from his entire career. He paid tribute to Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Van Halen and Sammy Davis, Jr.
A giant screen came down several times to show photos of himself as a chubby kid and then a teen-age heart-throb. He showed a movie performance of Sammy Davis singing an Anka song, “Let Me Try Again,” and then, in a brilliant staging maneuver, the band and Anka seamlessly joined in that performance from fifty years ago . It was thrilling.
Here’s Paul Anka with a song from his album “Live in Las Vegas.” He sang “For Once in My Life” last night in the GA.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Shelley and the CMA for bringing this exciting show to the GA. It should be noted that Paul Anka, like Tony Bennett, remarked on the uniqueness of the Great Auditorium. Performers love the structure, the crowd and the acoustics. Parking gets tight on such a Saturday night, but the concerts tend to be only about 2 hours long.
Did you ever get ideas when you danced?
Posted in Music, tagged Getting ideas on September 14, 2024|
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor@ Blogfinger.net. BF re-post from 2013.
Tony Martin was a handsome crooner who always performed in a tux. He was married to a gorgeous dancer, Cyd Charisse. I was with my parents in New York City when we spotted Tony and Cyd. Mom made me go over and get her autograph (Tony was in a phone booth). I should have asked her to dance, but I was ten.
The ’50’s and ’60’s were a time when ballroom dancing was popular. People took lessons and learned fancy dances like the merengue and the mambo, but ultimately, at its core, dancing was about sex; let’s face it–especially the slow numbers. So it’s not surprising that the song below became very popular. It’s interesting that most of the recordings were by men, except for the sultry Peggy Lee.
I had forgotten about this tune until Sunday night when the provocative HBO show “Girls” closed its latest episode with this old song. Of course it was a new version of that old song. The lyric bore some resemblance to the plot line, although there was no dancing in the script.
I tried to find a version that was a little different than those tired old recordings and I found this one by Stuffy Shmitt, a contemporary performer who likes to cross over from one era to another.
“When we are dancing
And you’re dangerously near me
I get ideas, I get ideas”
If that isn’t love it will have to do, until the real thing comes along.
Posted in Blogfinger News, Music, tagged Coleman Hawkins, Until the real thing comes along on June 1, 2024| 2 Comments »
Coleman Hawkins with Miles Davis at the 3 Deuces Club in New York, c. 1947. From the Library of Congress
This song is beautiful. It lends itself to low lights and slow dancing. Many great performers have recorded it, but I have never liked the lyrics much. That’s because the message is murky.
The singer tells how much he/she loves the recipient of the song: so much that he/she would “die for you,” ”tear the stars down from the skies for you,” and even ”move the earth for you.”
But then he/she declares, “If that isn’t love, it will have to do…until the real thing comes along.”
What a let down! How ungrateful can you get? Is there no way possible that love can be proven? It’s annoying.
That’s why this song is being presented here without the words — only the big fat tenor sound of Coleman Hawkins, aka “Hawk,” who was born in Missouri and died in New York City (1904-1969). Make up your own lyrics. — Paul Goldfinger
MUSIC. The Secret Sisters: “Tennessee Me.”
Posted in Music, tagged MUSIC: The Secret Sisters on May 30, 2024| 3 Comments »
Laura (L) and Lydia Rogers: The Secret Sisters
Laura and Lydia Rogers are really sisters from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They are country singers who have been performing together since they were kids in church and with their very musical family. In 2010 they released their first album which contained this song, written by Laura, called “Tennessee Me.”
They are very traditional young ladies who made their first album on analogue equipment using one old fashioned microphone. This past week they performed in concert on Public Television together with T-Bone Burnett , Jacob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and an ensemble of excellent musicians including the superb steel guitar player Robbie Turner. They are currently working on their second album. This music isn’t what you usually hear at the Country Music Awards where there is a lot of fusion going on. The Secret Sisters’ choice of songs takes you back to another era. –Paul Goldfinger
NOTE: There is a young woman named Lorraine O”Brien who grew up in Ocean Grove but eventually wound up in Los Angeles. She is Executive Vice President of a company that brings “Broadway to Hollywood.”
She and her parents and 3 sisters lived in a sprawling Victorian a block away from our house at Mt. Hermon Way and Delaware. And they have kept their OG home for over 40 years .
But Lorraine always finds her way back to the Grove. Recently she moved with her husband to a farm in Tennessee.
And now Lorraine has reappeared, and she likes to follow Blogfinger to keep in touch with town. So we were chatting and I was trying to recall some songs I had used which mention Tennessee.
I found one post from 2013 which featured a song called “Tennessee Me”. But Lorraine didn’t know it. After all, it’s not a show tune.
So now she knows. PG
MUSIC. The Battle of the Sexes. Paul Simon
Posted in Music, tagged MUSIC: Paul Simon, Song: "Quality" on April 13, 2024| 1 Comment »
By Paul Goldfinger Re-post on Blogfinger..
Are men and women wired differently? Perhaps you have seen the new HBO show “Girls.” It’s tough but eye-opening.
So consider this conversation in the Paul Simon song “Quality,” below, from the 1998 show “Songs From The Capeman”:
He: The way you move
It’s got quality
Come on baby, let’s go downtown
Little girl, you sure look good to me
The way you move
It’s got quality
Come on baby now don’t be shy
Step in the light so I can see
The way you move
It’s got quality
She: I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy
Or just another love
Passing through my life
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife.