Air (Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermott)

The wonderful musical show, "HAIR" opened in New York in October 1967.It was the brainchild of two young actors, Gerome Ragni and James Rado, who developed it over a three-year period, 1964 - 1967.

I first heard of it in 1969 when my housemate had it among his record collection. I listened and was blown away. Magnificent tunes and meaningful lyrics, something I didn't think existed outside traditional folk music. I saw the stage play first chance I got when it finally came to Melbourne, and loved it.

This is just one of the many great songs from "Hair" - a comment on air pollution which was perhaps before it's time, though, of course, folksingers like Malvina Reynolds had brought up the subject in songs before.

Here is my rendition.

Can't Help Falling in Love (George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore)

This song is based on the French song Plaisir d'Amour by Jean Paul Egide Martini. It was rewritten for Elvis Presley to sing in the film Blue Hawaii. (1961) It became one of his most popular songs, and he often used it as the finale to his live performances.

The Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir has a tradition of singing this song as a tribute to the hostess at any gathering we are invited to, often together with a few more songs depending on how much we've been drinking. A good example is this performance at the Twentieth Wedding Anniversary party for choir member Tony Wong and his wife Gidget at the Bankers Club in Hong Kong.

The Donkey Serenade (Robert Wright, George Forrest)

The songwriting team, Robert Wright and George Forrest, collaborated on many musicals. In 1937, they adapted a Rudolf Friml piano piece called Chansonette. It became The Donkey Serenade, a smash hit sung by Allan Jones in the movie adaptation of the musical, The Firefly. It has also been sung by Mario Lanza and Perry Como.

I grew up with this song. My parents had a 78 recording of the original Allan Jones hit, and I loved to play it, though I didn't really understand why someone was singing to a donkey. Come to think of it, I still don't!

Here is my attempt at singing the song.

I Have a Song To Sing O (Gilbert and Sullivan)

This song, from The Yeoman of the Guard, is a variation on the old song, Come And I Will Sing You or The Twelve Apostles. There are several songs in the folk tradition that use the method of adding on extra lines until you end up with a very long final verse. Some examples are Green Grow the Rushes, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Rattling Bog and The Court of King Caractacus.

The song tells the old story of the man who is rejected by the woman he loves, as she is aiming higher. When she in turn is rejected, he is quite happy to take her back.

Peter, Paul and Mary included this song on their children's album, Peter, Paul and Mommy. (1969)

Here is my rendition of the song.

Over the Rainbow (Harold Aitken and E.Y. Harburg)

This classic song, written for Judy Garland to sing in the film "The Wizard of Oz," (1939) became her signature tune. It is number one on the list of "Songs of the [twentieth] Century" compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America. MGM's head, Louis B. Mayer initially cut the song from the film as he thought it "slowed down the picture" and the star "sings it in a barnyard.' Fortunately it was largely reinstated, though one verse was left out. The melody draws on "Song to the Moon" from Dvorak's opera, "Rusalka".

The escapist message obviously appealed to people in those difficult times, with the innocent belief that we can go to some magic place where "troubles melt like lemon-drops". American troops in Europe during World War 2 saw it as symbolic of the United States which, after long years of war, seemed like a dream land far away over the rainbow.

This video, dedicated to my grandson, Axel, is just a home movie of us singing around the piano while Axel rocks contentedly, hopefully enjoying the music. Thanks to my wife for filming this.

The Philosophers Drinking Song (Eric Idle)

One of my favourite songs from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was written especially for their live shows, where is is sung by members of the Philosophical Department of the University of Woolloomooloo. (Though I am Australian I have no knowledge of a university in this part of Sydney.) The song was added to a skit, originally part of the television series, in which all the lecturers are named Bruce. They are welcoming a new member and are confused by the fact that his name is not Bruce. They quickly solve this problem by giving him a new name - Bruce.

The song reveals the drinking habits of several famous philosophers, and cleverly touches on some of their main philosophical concerns. Kant is "very rarely stable," a reference to his stable universe theory, John Stuart Mill becomes ill "of his own free will," a reference to his arguments in favour of liberty that does no harm to others, and, of course, in Descartes' famous "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am) - the word "think" is rewritten as "drink."

Here is a video of the sketch from their live show at the Hollywood Bowl.

Here is my rendition of the song. I recently performed this song with three other members of the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir, complete with Aussie bush hats, at our recent End of Season Party. Unfortunately our camera was out of action so we were unable to capture the event for posterity.

However I do have this performance by Robin Lynam who sang it at a session of the Hong Kong Folk Society at The Canny Man in Wanchai.

The Policeman's Song (Gilbert and Sullivan)

The Policeman's Song from The Pirates of Penzance was one of the first Gilbert and Sullivan songs I ever heard - sung by Danny Kaye on his 1949 album "Gilbert and Sullivan and Danny Kaye."

Here is my rendition of the song.

The Rhythm of Life (Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields)

Sweet Charity is a musical based on Federico Fellini's movie, Nights of Cabiria, which in turn became a movie, starring Shirley MacLaine.

The original Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse opened in January, 1966, at the Palace Theatre and ran for 608 performances. It was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning for Fosse's choreography. Fosse also directed and choreographed the film version in 1969.

The Rhythm of Life, which is performed early in the second Act, is probably the best-known song from the show, and is popular with choirs.

Here it is sung by the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir, at the 20th wedding anniversary party of Tony and Gidget Wong. It has been partly rewritten for Hong Kong audiences. This is not a concert performance and there are other things going on, so there is a lot of background noise, but it is a chance to see the choir in casual mode, without the usual rule about not drinking before a performance.

Stout-Hearted Men (Romberg and Hammerstein)

This song comes from an operetta called The New Moon, with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg, following The Desert Song (1924) and The Student Prince (1925). It opened on Broadway in September, 1928 and closed in December 1929 after running for 519 performances. MGM made two films based on the show, one in 1930, starring Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett and another in 1940 starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

Here it is sung by the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir at Tony and Gidget Wong's 20th wedding anniversary.

Tit Willow (Gilbert and Sullivan)

Another song from Gilbert and Sullivan's light opera, The Mikado, (1885) It tells the story of a sorrowful dicky-bird who sings "willow, tit willow, tit willow" until he plunges himself into the river flowing beneath his tree. The singer interprets the bird's action to be due to unrequited love, and uses the story to warn his love that if she doesn't return his affection he could suffer the same fate.

Here it is performed by the Muppets and here is my rendition.

Tomorrow is St Valentine's Day (William Shakespeare)

This song, from Shakespeare's Hamlet, is sung by Ophelia as she descends into madness in Act IV Scene V. The conventional story is that Hamlet has broken Ophelia's heart and then killed her father. But many scholars believe there are strong suggestions that Hamlet has seduced her, and that she is probably pregnant. They point to this song as one of the key pieces of evidence. This and the suggestive language she uses elsewhere seems to indicate she is not as innocent as she is often believed to be.

The usual melody for the song is 'Who list to lead a soldier's life,' a traditional tune which has been used for several songs.

I first heard this song sung by Tina Date, an Australian folksinger who performed in Melbourne in the early 1960s, and now lives in New York. The song is from Single Girl, her only LP, which presents a series of songs on the theme of being a single girl.

Here is my performance of the song.

Unchained Melody (Alex North and Hy Zaret)

Alex North used this melody as a theme for the obscure prison film, Unchained (1955). Todd Duncan, the baritone who performed in the original Porgy and Bess, sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.

Since then, this has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.

One of the most popular versions was that done by Bobby Hatfield (of The Righteous Brothers). Others who have recorded it include Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Gene Vincent and U2.

Here it is performed by the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir at our End of Season party at Helena May.

A Wandering Minstrel, I (Gilbert and Sullivan)

The Mikado (1885) was always my favourite Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta and I particularly liked this song, which I used to play on the piano many years ago. I still love the song - perhaps I would like to be this character, able to adapt my songs to whatever might be the whims and desires of the immediate audience.

Here is my video of the song - my five hundredth upload to YouTube.