Thinking of 2 sounds from yesteryear

Saying of the Day:
Don' count your bowling balls before they're hatched, Fred!-Barney Rubble

Blog of the Day:
Haven't posted in awhile, but thinking tonight about one of TV's Greatest theme songs, as written by composer Fred Steiner..."The THeme from Perry Mason" turns out to be one of the best TV ever had to offer.This, from a courtroom drama TV Show that ran on CBS from 1957 to 1965, featuring Raymond Burr.
Ive been listening to Fred's arrangment...There is a middle 4 bar part on the vilolins which is very chilling....it is comprised of Violins A and B interweaving to form different intervals...4th's, 5th's, octaves, tritones, etc...It is instructional to seek out these intervals and play them on the piano!
I cant get enough of it...its quite wonderful...This theme was called "PArk Avenue Beat" and is done in 12/8 time...with a triplet feel, like the 50's (actually it was from the 50's - written in '57 - and when I asked Fred back in 1973 what he was thinking of he said "R&B"....

Then in the very early 60's came a wonderful vocal sound from The Four Seasons..a New Jersey doo wop group, that evolved into a hit making machine...
I love the vocals on the records. They were usually arranged by their Bass Player Nick Massi(now deceased)..and the sound could be somewhat dense, based on the voicings, and the tessitura, or lay of the parts...add Frankie Valli's soaring high parts...and you had a great "sound".They were the only groupl able to produce hits before AND During the Beatles invasion of AMerica(along with the Beach Boys)
Ok, just thinking about these 2 sounds tonight!

Steveo

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