Al Jolson Medley

Under the title Just Jolson, this is a set of five songs associated with Al Jolson. The songs are:  April Showers - Carolina in the morning - You made me love you - Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody - California here I come. They are arranged throughout for 2-part male choir with some unison passages. The audience could be invited to join in.  Piano - Roberton Publications 53180 - price code Z - duration c.5'45"

Bewitched

Over 26 years, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote 650 songs, 34 Broadway shows and 27 movies. the Musical Pal Joey (1940) was their absolute pinnacle, and its biggest hit was the classic Bewitched, bothered and bewildered. The first notable recording was by the Benny Goodman orchestra in1941. It has been a ‘standard’ ever since. Piano – Roberton Publications 53204 – price code X – duration c.2’35”

The Birth of the Blues

Written in 1926, the song was later a hit for Frank Sinatra and frequently performed by popular singers like Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr and Shirley Bassey. The film Birth of the blues was released in 1941 and starred Bing Crosby. Piano – Roberton Publications 53184 – price code X – duration c.2’20”

Blowin' in the Wind

Blowin' in the Wind was Bob Dylan's first important composition. He recorded it in 1962 and it made his name. Dylan addresses what he thought was man's greatest inhumanity to man - indifference. The result was one of the greatest protest songs ever written.  Piano - Roberton Publications 53172 - price code X - duration c.3'45"

Blue Skies

Irving Berlin wrote Blue Skies in 1926. It became one of the first songs to be featured in a 'talkie' when Al Jolson sang it in The Jazz Singer (1927). Since then it has been used in ten other films.  Piano - Roberton Publications 53178 - price code X - duration c.1'30"

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Chattanooga choo choo was written by Harry Warren in 1941 for the film Sun Valley Serenade. The movie featured the Glenn Miller orchestra, and his subsequent recording of the number was the first record to achieve 'gold disc' status as it sold over a million copies.  Piano - Roberton Publications 53173 - price code X - duration c.1'55"

The Deadwood Stage

The film Calamity Jane  was a huge hit for Doris Day, and she produced one of the legendary performances in movie history. Everyone has probably heard  the  Oscar-winning Secret Love, but that is definitely a woman’s song. The Deadwood Stage ran it a close second and is much more appropriate for a male choir, so “Whip crack away”! Piano – Roberton Publications 53185 – price code X – duration c.2’10”

Don't Fence Me In

“Give me land, lots of land under starry skies above” sang the original ‘Singin’ Cowboy’ Roy Rogers, but many would have first heard it as sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Crosby entered the studio in July 1944 without having seen or heard the song. Within 30 minutes they had recorded the song. It went on to sell over a million copies. The writer was Cole Porter. He always said it was his least favourite composition! Piano – Roberton Publications 53205 – price code X – duration c.3’30”

Ghost Riders in the Sky

Subtitled A Cowboy Legend, Stan Jones' song describes an old cowhand's vision of red-eyed, fire-breathing cattle thundering across the sky. They are being chased by the ghosts of long-dead cowboys. More than 50 different artists have recorded versions of this classic Country and Western epic.              Piano - Roberton Publications 53181 - price code Y - duration c.3'15"

The Glory of Love

This is one of those songs where the first couple of lines are better known than the title itself. “You’ve got to give a little, take a little and let your poor heart break a little” sings Peggy Lee/Dean Martin/Otis Redding/Bette Midler, etc.  This arrangement is for two-part male choir. Piano - Roberton Publications 53198 - price code X - duration c.2'

Great Day

Vincent Youmans (1898-1946) is best known for Tea for Two and I want to be happy - songs from his hit Musical No, No, Nanette. Four years later (1929) Great Day was the title song of another of his (eleven) Broadway Musicals. The show was a failure, but this optimistic number - "When you're down and out, lift up your head and shout,'There's gonna be a great day!'" has endured.  Piano - Roberton Publications 53176 - price code X - duration c.1'30"

I Dreamed a Dream

Les Misérables is the longest-running Musical in the West End. There have been professional performances in 38 countries and in 21 languages. Written in 1980, the Musical is based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same name.         Piano - Roberton Publications 53171 - price code X - duration c.2'45"