28 Feb 08
2 edits
This has to be the second time I've heard a song come on Internet radio, clicked into the window (from here or elsewhere) to identify the chanteuse, only to discover it was Chet Baker from Chet Baker Sings (in this case Look For The Silver Lining). A little creepy. It's not as though he were some sort of drag queen or anything, but every time I hear that voice I think torch-singer.
BTW, are we allowed to recommend a commercial Internet radio site? It's completely ad driven (only visual ads and no pop-ups), so free to use, and really, really nice. The only problem is that, at present, due to licensing restrictions, only U.S. listeners can use the site. (And yes, they check the IP.) I'd like to see it succeed, hence my (unusual for me) desire to give an unpaid testimonial.
29 Feb 08
Originally posted by Mark AdkinsChet Baker the trumpet player from the 50's & 60's?
This has to be the second time I've heard a song come on Internet radio, clicked into the window (from here or elsewhere) to identify the chanteuse, only to discover it was Chet Baker from Chet Baker Sings (in this case Look For The Silver Lining). A little creepy. It's not as though he were some sort of drag queen or anything, but every time I hear th ...[text shortened]... I'd like to see it succeed, hence my (unusual for me) desire to give an unpaid testimonial.
29 Feb 08
Originally posted by Sam The ShamYes. The album Chet Baker Sings was issued in 1956. Here's a link to a page where you can get samples. Unfortunately, the sample for the song I cited (Look for the Silver Lining) is taken from the middle of the song, at a point where the range of his voice doesn't illustrate my point very well: but try the sample for track 10 (My Funny Valentine) which is strongly suggestive of the phenomenon, though still not as much as certain other tracks are when heard at the right points.
Chet Baker the trumpet player from the 50's & 60's?
http://www.amazon.com/Chet-Baker-Sings/dp/B000005GW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204313907&sr=1-1
29 Feb 08
1 edit
Originally posted by Mark AdkinsI can't say as I've ever mistaken Baker's voice for a woman.
This has to be the second time I've heard a song come on Internet radio, clicked into the window (from here or elsewhere) to identify the chanteuse, only to discover it was Chet Baker from Chet Baker Sings (in this case Look For The Silver Lining). A little creepy. It's not as though he were some sort of drag queen or anything, but every time I hear th I'd like to see it succeed, hence my (unusual for me) desire to give an unpaid testimonial.
For those who watch Turner Classic Movies, the short "Sunny Side of Life" intro to films has Baker singing "Look for the Silver Lining".
02 Mar 08
Originally posted by ThinkOfOneHere's a quote from the amazon.com Editorial Review (not a reader review):
I can't say as I've ever mistaken Baker's voice for a woman.
For those who watch Turner Classic Movies, the short "Sunny Side of Life" intro to films has Baker singing "Look for the Silver Lining".
"Recorded with pianist Russ Freeman's ensemble in 1954 and 1956, this is the archetypal Baker release, and the first one to get if you're testing the waters. Baker sings standards (including "My Funny Valentine," of course) as if stepping out of an androgynous dream, although it would take another 20 years of hard living for his voice to take on otherworldly qualities. "
And here are two of the relevant definitions of the word "androgynous", taken from dictionary.com:
"2. having both masculine and feminine characteristics.
3. having an ambiguous sexual identity. "
02 Mar 08
Originally posted by Sam The ShamNothing at all like Mel Torme. More like Lizabeth Scott might sound, if she sang, at least in the passages referred to.
I never knew he sang, I was suprised. I thought he had a great voice for the genre, very silky, smooth, Mel Torme quality. Too bad he turned into such a drug addled doosh.
02 Mar 08
Originally posted by Mark AdkinsAt least you know now that it's not just you. 🙂
Here's a quote from the amazon.com Editorial Review (not a reader review):
"Recorded with pianist Russ Freeman's ensemble in 1954 and 1956, this is the archetypal Baker release, and the first one to get if you're testing the waters. Baker sings standards (including "My Funny Valentine," of course) as if stepping out of an androgynous dream, although i ...[text shortened]... asculine and feminine characteristics.
3. having an ambiguous sexual identity. "
By the way, some of us know what "androgynous" means.
02 Mar 08
Originally posted by Mark AdkinsYou don't know that it's not just you? I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Maybe it's because you don't know what "androgynous" means. The definition appears earlier in the thread. Someone was so kind as to post it. He should be a candidate for sainthood, that one.
I'm quite serious. But yes, it was good.