MUSIC CLIP - OSCAR PETERSON, “MOONGLOW”

Welcome to Afterglow, a show of vocal jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook, I’m your host, Mark Chilla.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the flowers are beginning to bloom—as Lorenz Hart once said “Spring Is Hear, I Hear.” As we herald the start of a new season, I’ll bring you some songs of springtime this hour. We’ll hear some springtime songs from artists like Bing Crosby, June Christy and Matt Dennis. Tony Bennett will take us a springtime trip to Manhattan, and Fats Waller will give us some spring cleaning tips. All that and more this hour.

It’s Songs Of The Season: Spring, coming up next on Afterglow

MUSIC - DIANNE REEVES, "THERE'LL BE ANOTHER SPRING"

A spring song where spring is just a metaphor for hope and joy. That was Dianne Reeves with “There’ll Be Another Spring,” a song written by Peggy Lee and Hubie Wheeler. That comes from the Grammy-award winning soundtrack to the 2005 film Good Night And Good Luck.

MUSIC CLIP - STAN KENTON, "IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING"

Mark Chilla here on Afterglow. On this show, it’s a salute to the songs of spring. Springtime songs from the Great American Songbook can be bright and cheery, much like the season itself, but they can also be tinged with melancholy. As we’ll hear this hour, although love tends to bloom in spring, there are many songs about spring broken hearts. 

But let’s start with one of those cheerier spring songs. This one was written by Gene De Paul and Johnny Mercer for the 1954 film Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. It’s a bouncy and joyful song—classic Johnny Mercer—and it’s a surprise to me that it hasn’t been performed that often by other artists. Here’s a version from 1976. This is Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire from their duet album A Couple Of Song And Dance Men with “Spring, Spring, Spring,” on Afterglow. 

MUSIC - BING CROSBY AND FRED ASTAIRE, "SPRING, SPRING, SPRING"

Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, together in 1976, with the song “Spring, Spring, Spring,” written by Gene De Paul and Johnny Mercer for the 1954 film musical Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.

Speaking of spring songs written for film musicals… this next song is a classic, from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein film musical State Fair. The tune “It Might As Well Be Spring,” which won the Academy Award for Best Song that year, plays upon the idea of spring fever, and the giddy, restlessness it often brings. New love is in the air, and while it may feel like spring, the Iowa State Fair (which is the setting of this musical) happens every August.

Here is Frank Sinatra in 1962 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It Might As Well Be Spring,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - FRANK SINATRA, "IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING"

MUSIC - JACK JONES, "YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SPRING"

Two songs about the promise of spring. Just now, we heard singer Jack Jones in 1998 from his album Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett with “You Must Believe In Spring.” Music to that tune was written by Michel Legrand, with original English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Before that, we heard Frank Sinatra from his 1962 album Sinatra and Strings with “It Might As Well Be Spring,” a classic tune by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.

I haven’t done an official count, but many (if not most) of the classic springtime songs from the Great American Songbook are tinged with melancholy, completely going against the more hopeful associations of the season. And this springtime irony occurs across all artist genres. Poet T.S. Eliot opened his poem The Waste Land with the line “April is the cruellest month.” And that line inspired poet Fran Landesman to compose the lyrics to our next song.

Here is singer Julie London in 1962 with “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - JULIE LONDON, "SPRING CAN REALLY HANG YOU UP THE MOST"

MUSIC - LOREZ ALEXANDRIA, "SPRING WILL BE A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR"

Two more melancholy spring songs, both recorded in the year 1962. Just now, we heard Lorez Alexandria with “Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year,” written by Frank Loesser. Before that, we heard Julie London with “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” written by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman.

Let’s liven things up a bit, shall we? These next two springtime songs are all about spring months. The first in this set, “April In Paris,” was written in 1932 for the Broadway musical Walk A Little Faster. The lush, chromatic tension in chords as written by composer Vernon Duke has a tinge of melancholy, but the song is made light and airy by Yip Harburg’s romantic lyrics.

Here is Billy Eckstine in 1952 with “April In Paris,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - BILLY ECKSTINE, "APRIL IN PARIS"

MUSIC - MATT MONRO, "ONE MORNING IN MAY"

Two songs about spring months. Just now, we heard Matt Monro in 1962 with Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish’s “One Morning In May.” Before that, Billy Eckstine in 1952 with Vernon Duke and Yip Harburg’s “April In Paris.”

MUSIC CLIP - NEW MAYFAIR DANCE ORCHESTRA, "ONE MORNING IN MAY"

We’ll have more songs of the spring season in just a bit. Stay with us.

I’m Mark Chilla, and you’re listening to Afterglow

MUSIC CLIP - CLAUDE THORNHILL AND HIS ORCHESTRA, "APRIL IN PARIS"

MUSIC CLIP - STAN GETZ, "SUDDENLY IT'S SPRING"

Welcome back to Afterglow, I’m Mark Chilla. We’ve been celebrating the songs of the spring season this hour on the show. Despite the spring season generally being full of cheer, as we emerge from our winter cocoon, ironically, many of the songs of the spring are a little on the sad side. We’ll hear a few of those sadder spring tunes in a moment.

But first, let’s kick off the second half of this show with a lively springtime number. This next song was written by the duo of Bob Haymes and Marty Clarke, originally performed by Blossom Dearie in 1958. Here is cabaret singer Bobby Short in 1993 with “They Say It’s Spring,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - BOBBY SHORT, "THEY SAY IT'S SPRING"

MUSIC - JUNE CHRISTY, "SUDDENLY IT'S SPRING"

A muted yet hopeful spring tune. That was June Christy and guitarist Al Viola with the Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke song “Suddenly It’s Spring.” That comes from her 1963 album The Intimate Miss Christy. Before that, singer Bobby Short with the ebullient tune “They Say It’s Spring,” off of his 1993 album Swing That Music.

Let’s turn our attention now to some of those sadder springtime songs I mentioned earlier. This first one I’ll play recognizes that spring is typically a time for hope and love, but not when you’re feeling sad and brokenhearted. Those feelings of joy can happen some other spring.

This is singer Dakota Staton in 1958 with the Arthur Herzog and Irene Kitchings tune “Some Other Spring,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - DAKOTA STATON, "SOME OTHER SPRING"

MUSIC - MATT DENNIS, "SPRING IS HERE"

Singer Matt Dennis in 1957 with a melancholy spring tune. That was the Rodgers and Hart tune “Spring Is Here,” off of Dennis’s album Play Melancholy Baby. Before that, Dakota Staton in 1958 with “Some Other Spring,” another melancholy spring song, this one made famous by Billie Holiday.

Let’s play now a few springtime songs which are a little more off the beaten path. Whereas some spring songs like Rodgers and Hart’s “Spring Is Here” or Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It Might As Well Be Spring” have been performed by hundreds of artists over the years, these next two tunes are ones that are really only associated with their original artists. Luckily, those original artists just happen to be two of the greats: Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald.

We’ll start with Tony Bennett. Here’s a single he recorded in 1963. This is “Spring In Manhattan,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - TONY BENNETT, "SPRING IN MANHATTAN"

MUSIC - ELLA FITZGERALD WITH CHICK WEBB'S ORCHESTRA, "I GOT THE SPRING FEVER BLUES"

Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb and His Orchestra in 1936 with “I Got The Spring Fever Blues.” Before that, another rare springtime tune. That was Tony Bennett in 1963 with “Spring In Manhattan.”

I have one more spring tune for our Songs Of The Season episode. As we brush away the blues of winter, and make room for spring and all the joy and love it brings, it means that it’s probably time for a little cleaning. So to close off this hour, we turn to singer and songwriter Fats Waller with some words of advice.

This is Fats Waller in 1937 with the tune “Spring Cleaning,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - FATS WALLER, "SPRING CLEANING"

Fats Waller in 1937 with “Spring Cleaning,” written by Leonard Whitcup, Teddy Powell, and Walter Samuels. And thanks for tuning in to this Songs Of The Season: Spring edition of Afterglow.