STOCKHAUSEN INK
They Don't
Sing Love Songs Like That Anymore
By Sharron
Stockhausen
I miss the old love songs. Like many of my generation, I have a wonderful collection of long playing (LP) record albums that brings me hours of relaxing reminiscing. Each singer brought something special to their music.
Flip through the colorful square cardboard record jackets and you’ll quickly see I had a thing for Andy Williams in my days as a single. His voice wooed me into visions of amber sunsets as he sang “The Days of Wine and Roses” or any number of other romantic lyrics.
Of course I also thought Dino (Dean Martin, the straight man in the comedy duo of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, for the younger readers) was the sexiest singer around. His crooked smile and full head of dark hair framed his sparkling eyes. Of course, some said his eyes weren’t sparkling, but were really glazed over from his familiarity with liquor. Many still think that was more part of his public persona than his personal preference. I don’t know and I don’t care. He’s gone and I still love to hear his unique style.
Dino had many hits, but one that made it big was “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.” The song goes on “You’re nobody till somebody cares. You may possess the world and all of its gold. But gold won’t bring you happiness when you’re growing old.” I’m sure some of you can hear his trilling vibrato in your heads as you read this.
I don’t own as many Martin albums as I do Williams’, but I think that’s because I preferred looking at Martin and listening to Williams.
Another one of my favorites was Perry Como. To me he was always upbeat and easy to understand. I may be wrong, but I think Perry sang “Hot Diggity Dog.” Some of you must remember these profound lyrics, “Hot diggity dog diggity boom, What you do to me. It’s so new to me, What you do to me. Hot diggity dog diggity boom, What you do to me, When you’re holding me tight.” They just don’t write songs like that any more.
Before you think I only enjoy male crooners, you should know that I thought Julie London was the sexiest woman singer of her day. Her biggest hit, “Cry Me A River,” still captures my attention when I hear it. It’s about a former lover who decides he made a mistake by leaving her for another woman and wants to come back to her so much that he’s crying about it. Her response is “Cry me a river, Cry me a river. I cried a river over you.” She sings that song with such conviction that you can’t help but feel her pain.
I really love Ella Fitzgerald’s voice too. I didn’t select any specific songs she sang because I love absolutely everything she did. I look for her CDs every time I’m in the music department and found one the other day I just had to have. Her music speaks to both the heart and the soul of anyone who’s ever felt anything in life.
Now you’re probably wondering where old “Blue Eyes” fits into this column. Actually-brace yourselves-he doesn’t. Perhaps it’s a genetic flaw, but I never acquired a taste for the “Chairman of the Board.” While I agree he has a very nice voice, he just didn’t do it for me in my younger years. It wasn’t until “New York, New York” that I paid any attention to Frank Sinatra’s music. Perhaps it was because he was such a mega star with so much notoriety. Perhaps there was some other reason I didn’t jump on the Sinatra bandwagon. I don’t know. I do know I didn’t follow the swooning crowd. Instead, I did it “My Way.”
By now you may remember some of your old favorites like “Always,” “To Each His Own,” “More,” “Blue Moon,” “That’s My Desire,” “It Had To Be You,” and “Side-by-side” and wonder why I didn’t mention those. Or you may think of your favorite singers like Frankie Laine, Mel Torme, Patty Paige, Doris Day, Tony Bennett, and Steve and Edie. I thought of those songs and singers too and decided I couldn’t fit them all into my allotted space. I’ll leave that walk down memory lane up to you.
As you take your nostalgic stroll, you may agree that it’s too bad they don’t sing love songs like that any more.
Sharron Stockhausen, MMA, is an award-winning author, speaker, trainer, coach, and consultant. She owns Stockhausen Ink and is CEO of Expert Publishing, Inc. Visit her and her companies at www.stockink.com and www.expertpublishinginc.com.
