December 15 - David W. Guion; Dave Clark (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 15th are here: David Guion (2019), Ludwig van Beethoven [sic] (2020), A. P. Carter; Christoph Demantius (2021), Michel Richard Delalande; Alan Freed (2022). Stan Kenton (2023), and David W. Guion (2024)

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David W. Guion (15 December 15, 1892 – 17 October 1981) was a composer whose music and arrangements contributed to the fad for singing cowboys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yippee-ki-Aloha-Oe

Since he was Texan, not Hawaiian,

Cowboy composer David Guion

Wrote his songs out on the range,

And would have found it rather strange

To shun his native Texan ways

For ukeleles, poi, and leis.

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

David Clark (b. 15 December 1939) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur. Clark was the leader, drummer and manager of the Dave Clark Five. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over and Out… (or Not)

A lifelong bachelor with no children and no known romantic liaisons…

– https://gaycultureland.blogspot.com

Just one remark

About Dave Clark:

His sexual history

Remains a mystery.

 

 

 

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Febraury 14 - Víkingur Ólafsson; Fred Scott (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 14th are here: Renée Fleming (2020), Aida Overton Walker (2021), Francesco Cavalli; Alexander Dargomyzhsky (2022), Francesco Cavalli; Fernando Sor (2023), and Michael Costa; Irving Gordon (2024)

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Víkingur Ólafsson (b. 14 February 1984) is a Grammy Award-winning Icelandic classical pianist.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Dactyl for V. O.

NB. A double dactyl is a biographically inspired humorous poem with very strict structural rules. Here are links to two  definitions for those who are curious. The first from the  Poetry Foundation is clearer but less accurate than the second, from Wikipedia.  Take your pick.  The classic statement is the book Jiggery-Pokery:  A Compendium of Double Dactyls by Anthony Hecht and John Hollander (New York, 1967).

 

But now I find another metaphor more apt: that of a grand oak tree, no less magnificent, but somehow organic, living and vibrant, its forms both responsive and regenerative, its leaves constantly unfurling to produce musical oxygen for its admirers through some metaphysical, time-bending photosynthesis.” – Víkingur Ólafsson on Bach’s Goldberg Variations at www.theguardian.com

Higgledy-piggledy

Víkingur Ólafsson

Played through the Goldbergs

Again and again,

Thereby affecting his

Neurobiology,

Since Bach brings Nirvana

To mere mortal men.

 

 

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Fred Scott (14 February 1902 – 16 December 1991) was an American actor best known as a singing cowboy star in Westerns during the 1930s and 1940s. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sic transit

A household name

   Fred Scott

   Is not,

He staked a claim, 

   Was hot

   To trot, ---

But who's to blame?

   He got

   His shot.

 

 

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September 29 - Gene Autry (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 29th are here: Richard Bonynge; Gene Autry (2019), Vincent Lübeck (2020), Madeline Kahn; Maria Hester Park (2021), and Jerry Lee Lewis (2022)

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Gene Autry (29 September 1907 – 2 October 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball owner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be (Singing) Cowboys"

At radio station WLS in Chicago, Autry donned cowboy clothes and sang cowboy songs and became so popular that he was invited to Hollywood, where he set off the “singing cowboy” craze and spawned many imitators.   --- adapted from www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/singing-cowboys-branches-of-country-music

Perhaps it was more than a tad

Surprising when Gene Autry had

A cowboy act where he

Sang songs on the prairie

That ignited a national fad.

 

November 5 - Roy Rogers (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 5th are here: Hans Sachs (2019), Art Garfunkel (2020), and Myron Floren (2021)

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Roy Rogers (5 November 1911 – 6 July 1998) was an American cowboy singer, actor, and television host. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roy Toy

Roy Rogers's notoriety spurred the production of all sorts of merchandise, from cap guns and lunch boxes to character wristwatches, alarm clocks, and View-Master reels. Today, Roy Rogers is a ubiquitous brand in the vintage-toys landscape.-- adapted from collectorsweekly.com/toys/roy-rogers

 

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger,

With good old American vigor,

Sold millions of toys

To girls and to boys

As the franchise grew bigger and bigger.

 

 

 

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September 23 - John Lomax (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 23rd are here: John Coltrane; Ray Charles; Bruce Springsteen (2019), John Lomax; Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (2020), and Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder (2021)

 

John Lomax (23 September 1867 – 26 January 1948) was a pioneering American ethnomusicologist who did much for the preservation of American folk music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ballad of Lomax

Way out in the West

Where the tumbleweeds blow,

A man with a quest

Once decided to go

And find him some cowboys,

Although it seemed strange,

And then he said, “Now, boys,

“Sing songs of the range.

“Sing songs of the prairie

“Signs songs of the camp”

He found a spot where he

Could work by his lamp

As he gave his attention,

To music and word,

And without condescension

Transcribed what he heard

And thus, unrehearsed,

He was able to collect them, –

John Lomax, the first

To explore and respect them.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]