Jack Normand was a friend of mine.  I met him when I was a senior in high school and he influenced my entire music career, such as it was.  Jack was the “music man” at the Grand Hotel (when it really was a grand hotel), where he and his band performed in the dining room and lounge for upwards of 40 years.

Jack and the band were popular in New Orleans when they were contracted to play at the opening of the Grand Hotel in Point Clear in 1941.  They stayed for six weeks but missed the excitement of the “Big Easy”.  They ended up playing back and forth between the two locations for the next ten years.  Finally, Jack and his family moved to Fairhope in ’51, and the rest is history.

Sitting in the living room of his home one night, “jamming” with him and his kids (all musicians), he told me, “Dave, you can play the heck out of that accordion (I was playing an electronic accordion at the time)…. but if you want to make any money in the music business, you must play piano”.  That was good enough for me – I immediately crossed over the dark line into piano lounges and weddings and nightclubs.  No Zydeco bands for me!

Years later, when I’d go back to the hotel for a visit, Jack was always interested in what I was doing and where I was playing.  He’d even let me sit in for a number or two, which thrilled me to no end. I loved the guy.  He had a grace and dignity about him that is rare in a human being.  And the man could play a piano like nobody’s business.

Jack died in 1990, and they say his ghost still haunts the Grand Hotel.  He ended every evening with this song – “Stars Fell on Alabama” (this is my arrangement, Jack played it much better).  They say when it’s late night, and the wind is just right, and you listen very carefully – you can hear Jack playing this melody from somewhere far away….. oh, I hope so.

  Download with Lead    I’ve always loved the chord changes and lyrics to this song, but I never much cared for the Hank Williams “cowboy” version.  I know… it’s a classic.  But sometimes the original isn’t always the best.

Hank used to say that this tune “bought me and the boys quite a few beans and biscuits”, and I’m sure it did.  Recorded in 1950, it sailed to the top of the country charts even though it was released as the B-side to another, lesser, song (Dear John).  The impetus behind it was his wife, Audrey.  Seems while Mr. Williams was on the road she sort of slept around – a lot.  ‘Course, so did he – so what’s a person to do?  Anyway, she got pregnant by another man (imagine that in 1950) and tried to perform an at-home abortion – which went very wrong.  In the hospital recuperating, Hank went to see her and she threw him out, maintaining this was all his fault (uh…okay).  He went home and told the housekeeper that Audrey had a cold, cold heart and a light bulb went off.

I finally heard an arrangement of the song I really like.  Norah Jones put a jazz touch to it in 2002 and that’s the way we do it today.  I tried to get as close to Jones’ instrumentation as I could and Karen does a splendid job with the vocals.  So can you… it’s on the jazz list without the lead line (midi or MP3).  Work it up and give it a shot on your next hotel lobby gig.

  Download MP3    No matter the genre of music you perform, from 50’s rock to hip-hop (non-music), trotting out a good ol’ boogie-woogie is sure to please. The style of boogie-woogie is really a twelve-bar blues and is sometimes called “eight to the bar”, as it is usually done in 4/4 time with eighth-notes being the driving force behind it all. The origin of the term boogie-woogie seems to come from the African word “booga” – meaning “to beat” or “to dance wildly and tear your clothes off”. That’s exactly what you want your audience to do, isn’t it?
Louis Jordan had a hit with “Choo-Choo Ch’Boogie” in 1946 and topped the charts for 18 weeks. You’re listening to my back-up sequence and you can download it from the Jazz/Swing list.. The lyrics are pretty silly, but it’s the beat that’s important here. After all, what you really want are happy, naked dancers.