[Mark]

I love the Judy Collins Playing Favorites. If anyone should have a regular show on the channel, it should be Judy. She paints such beautiful images when going into the songs. I'm loving this replay... again!

[Dan]

Judy is one of my personal favorite female vocalists of all time.
I agree Mark, she should have her own channel! But we need to give Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell one too.

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Harry Connick Jr. Hosts Playing Favorites
Mon 12/8 6:00 pm ET

This week, jazz star Harry Connick, Jr. drops in to celebrate one of his musical heroes, Frank Sinatra. He'll play some of his favorite recordings along with some tracks from Harry's new Christmas CD, What A Night.

Rebroadcast: Thurs., Dec. 11th @ 9 am ET & Sat., Dec. 13th @ 12 pm ET.

Show #53 — Harry Connick, Jr. : December 8–13, 2008

1. Only The Lonely - Capitol 1958
2. How Insensitive (Insensatez) (with Antonio Carlos Jobim) - Reprise 1967
3. Harry Connick, Jr. – Christmas Day *
4. Mood Indigo - Capitol 1955
5. Louis Armstrong – Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
6. April Played The Fiddle (with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra) - Victor 1940
7. Harry Connick, Jr. – It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year *
8. Well, Did You Evah? (with Bing Crosby) - Movie 1956
9. Love Me Tender / Witchcraft (FS / Elvis Presley) - Television 1960
10. That's Life - Reprise 1966
11. Harry Connick, Jr. – What A Night! *
12. What Time Does The Next Miracle Leave? - Reprise 1979
    
    *
    
    Harry Connick, Jr. (November 2008)
    Columbia CD: What A Night! A Christmas Album

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

James Darren Hosts Playing Favorites
Mon 12/15 6:00 pm ET

This week, longtime Sinatra family friend James Darren drops in to honor Frank by playing some favorites spanning the decades. He’ll play some of his own recordings as well, and some holiday music, too.

Rebroadcast: Thurs., Dec. 18th @ 9 am ET & Sat., Dec. 20th @ 12 pm ET

Show #54 — James Darren: December 15–20, 2008

1. (How Little It Matters) How Little we Know - Capitol 1956
2. Witchcraft - Reprise 1963
3. The Best Is Yet To Come - Reprise 1964
4. The Only Couple On The Floor - Reprise 1975
5. I Believe I'm Gonna Love You - Reprise 1975
6. Moonlight In Vermont - Live 1961:The Sands
7. Without A Song - Reprise 1961
8. There's a Small Hotel - Movie 1957: Pal Joey
9. James Darren – A Man And A Woman
10. Whatever Happened To Christmas? - Reprise 1968
11. A Baby Just Like You - Reprise 1975
12. James Darren – More Today Than Yesterday *
13. James Darren – Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You *
14. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Reprise 1961
15. For Once In My Life - Reprise 1969
    
    *
    
    Concord Jazz CD: Because of You (2006)

Someone at Sirius XM is asleep at the switch for Jimmy Darren's show today.

[Added] The horrible cacaphony, which began immediately after High Standards at 6 pm, finally came to an end 40 minutes into the Playing Favorites program. This week's song listing will have to wait until Thursday or Saturday.

Nice version of Darren singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" playing now (6:45 pm), with Monica Mancini (uncredited) harmonizing in the background. That's the first song that could be heard today.

[Jersey Lou]

There was an awful collection of sounds at 6PM ET on Monday due to a switching error between the XM and Sirius satellites.
Unfortunately, I wasn't near a radio at the time and, therefore, didn't hear it until it was too late. Why engineering doesn't pick up on these things is a bit frustrating.

To make up for it, we're re-running the show at 6PM today (Wednesday) as well as in its regular Thursday and Saturday slots.

Thanks, Lou. It really was awful, wasn't it? I wondered if Jonathan Schwartz might have thrown the wrong switch.

I'll discard my recording now.

[David B.]

Something strange happened right after A.J. Lambert's show last night, too. For a while they played two songs simultaneously. It didn't occur during her show, but immediately afterward.

At first I thought it was a previously unreleased duet between Frank and Ella...but soon realized they were two separate recordings being played at once. I don't know exactly how long it went on because I changed the channel after a couple of songs.

[Ted]

Dan writes:

Judy is one of my personal favorite female vocalists of all time.
I agree Mark, she should have her own channel! But we need to give Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell one too.

I know you're not going to see this Dan (and Happy trails BTW)
But....It's futile to compare either Baez or Collins with Joni Anderson AKA Mitchell
Her songwriting acumen is beyond reproach, “River” and Case of You” (Diana Krall’s live Paris rendition is heart stopping (excuse the hyperbole)
As a quick aside, (Nancy will love this****)
What famous Joni song was a notable NY DJ referring to when he said FAS “ should not have recorded it because he just didn’t get it?

[Mark Blackburn]

“Both Sides Now” I'm guessing, Dan.

Coincidentally, I heard, for the first time (recently, on Sirius 75 – where else?) Frank Sinatra singing "BOTH SIDES NOW" --- the song that is (arguably) Joni Mitchell’s most famous [leaving aside “Big Yellow Taxi,” the song by Joni many of her contemporaries cherish for its ‘gone-with-the-wind’ closing refrain:

“Don’t it always seem to go – that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone? They paved Paradise to put up a parking lot!”]

And I thought, while enjoying Frank singing BOTH SIDES NOW, that our favorite singer chose to interpret the song “straight up” -- same tempo and pretty similar phrasing as Joni Mitchell employed on the original – and thus true to the spirit of the song as Joni interpreted it . . .way back THEN.

In more recent years, Joni Mitchell herself decided to re-visit BOTH SIDES NOW (the title song on her magnificent album of standards, arranged for a 70 piece orchestra (mostly) by Nan Schwartz (who did some delightful symphonic arrangements for Natalie Cole’s latest “STILL UNFORGETTABLE” cd).

And on this more recent, ‘orchestral’ take on BOTH SIDES NOW, Joni appears (it seemed to me) to be emulating Frank Sinatra’s wonderful phrasing – throughout an album that is truly Joni Mitchell’s finest hour).

On this particular track the listener can see how Joni imagined Frank might have sung her greatest song as a ballad in the 60s (had he given Nelson Riddle or Don Costa (or Bob Farnon) free reign to arrange it as a slow ballad.. [Incidentally there is one song (I forget which one) on Joni’s BOTH SIDES NOW album that features an actual Gordon Jenkins arrangement!]

Just as an aside, I have stayed away from the thread about a New York DJ who is a ‘legend in his own mind,’ on the reasoning (best expressed in an old Walt Disney song) that – “If you can’t say something nice . . . say nothing!”

I tuned in to the Jonathan Schwartz Sirius/XM Radio show for half-an-hour this week – and switched to a jazz station, after NOT hearing a single song by Sinatra, (but lots of self-indulgent, rambling comments, and anecdotes that suddenly ended without any point being made, beyond the “look at me! I am somebody in the world of music.” Greater minds than mine decided this belongs, for many hours a week, on the one station I purchased Sirius radio in order to hear (?)

And now this extravagant opinion, quoted in the question above {How did you put it, again?)

“What famous Joni song was a notable NY DJ referring to, when he said FAS ‘should not have recorded it because he just didn’t get it?’”

The presumption in that statement! It’s not calculated to endear the speaker to the Family here. (Or doesn’t he care?) On the drive-home today (in a few minutes) I’ll be tuned in to one of the two great Sirius/XM Jazz stations. And will resume listening later this evening when Channel 75 resumes playing Frank Sinatra every third or fourth song!

Hope it’s warm where you are!

Mark B-of-the-frozen-North

[Ted]

Hi Mark
It was me, not Dan who brought up JS, Joni and FAS.
Hey, I just report the news.
I realize I’m a bit acerbic, but every family needs someone like me to spice things up every now and then.
No matter what Schwartz says about any other subject in the world, his devotion to FAS can’t be disputed. (Today more than ever)
I don’t think FAS would want any of his fans to be sycophants.
Some tracks are better than others
It isn’t always as simple as “All or Nothing At All
Anyway, we’re in for a lot of snow (Yay!)

[SinatraFan]

Coincidentally, I heard, for the first time (recently, on Sirius 75 – where else?) Frank Sinatra singing "BOTH SIDES NOW"

Frank's version is great! I thought he interprets the song perfectly and it's one of my favorite tracks from the album Cycles.

Also, I really like Doris Day's ballad version. It's available as a bonus track on The Love Album.

[Mark Blackburn]

I finally got to hear James Darren's "Playing Favorites" on the drive-in to work this morning. It was terrific!

Until Nancy played one of his songs -- a lovely ballad (I forget which one) about a year ago, I didn't realize that James Darren was such a good singer. Since then, I'll be listening to Channel 75, and -- hearing some beautiful ballad, and unable to "spot the voice" I'll check to see who's singing, and often it is James Darren.

His "Favorites" show today included his version of a song I've always loved to play on the guitar -- "A Man and a Woman" (from a French film of the same name).

I was struck (not for the first time) by the fact that James Darren's vocal timbre (especially noticeable on that particular track) is very much like Frank Sinatra's . . . more so than any other male singer I can think of. He's a terrific singer! And a really likeable personality on radio.

I loved his choices, including the more "obscure" song from Pal Joey -- including Darren's anecdote about being on the set "every day" when that movie was filmed, and his delight at seeing Frank and Rita and Kim working together.

And I liked his introduction to "one of the best Holiday love song ballads -- Jimmy Webb's WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CHRISTMAS?"

I think this "Playing Favorites" show by was the best since Tita Cahn's delightful (2) programs. My thanks to the programmers at Siriusly Sinatra for inviting James Darren to host this one!

[Leigh Ann]

I was listening also and really enjoyed it! I didn't know he is A.J.'s godfather. How sweet!

The programs on Siriusly Sinatra are just fabulous!

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Playing Favorites with Pat Boone
Mon 12/22 6:00 pm ET

Last Christmas, Pat Boone hosted Playing Favorites and this year we're replaying the show. Hear Pat playing songs by Ella, Perry, Bing and Frank and more.

Rebroadcast: Thurs., Dec. 25th @ 9 am ET.

This program is a repeat of Show #16 from Dec. 17–25, 2007.

[Mark Blackburn]

Thanks, Bob. I remember with great fondness Pat's Christmas special and look forward to hearing it again! (Can't wait to enjoy Nancy & Chuck's four hour Christmas special tomorrow!)

Speaking of Christmas favorites on the station where "great music has a home," I heard the most amazing version of "Silver Bells" -- by the (much-maligned) Barry Manilow: a simply stunning choir -- unaccompanied, a capella, and I could not believe that Barry was providing ALL those (multi-tracked) voices. The bass voices, especially! -- combined with the tightest possible harmonies, in a truly outstanding jazz arrangement (chord voicings I couldn't replicate on guitar!) It sounded, to my ears, like Barry plus "Take 6" (sp?) -- a group I've only seen on musical TV specials, (Nancy's played them once, I think --- forgive me if I'm misremembering the group's name!)

I went in search of "Silver Bells, Barry Manilow" over at the world's biggest website, and immediately found a "used, like new" copy of "In the Swing of Christmas" (one of three Christmas albums by Barry). It's only half-an-hour of music (and, oddly, not available in Canada -- not listed at Amazon.ca).

I have Jersey Lou (and who else?) to thank for introducing me (once again) to great music -- more "new favorites" I would not otherwise have heard, here in the "frozen North."

Everyone in the spirit? Keep warm!

Mark Blackburn
Winnipeg Canada

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Playing Favorites with Debby Boone
Sat 12/27 12:00 pm ET

Listen to this wonderful hour of music handpicked by Debby Boone featuring her favorite Frank songs, some recordings from her own catalog and, of course, a few by Debby’s beloved mother-in-law, Rosemary Clooney. It’s a special encore presentation.

This program is a repeat of Show #15 from Dec. 10–15, 2007.

This week's Playing Favorites is unannounced, but it appears to be a repeat of Tony Danza's appearance: Show #35 from June 2, 2008.