197 - Copland's Fanfare for The Common Man & Appalachian Spring Suite, Rodeo, Billy Kid

As I walked through the deserted streets of Edinburgh at the start of this week, I was listening to my retro pink iPod and a track from one of my favourite classical CD came through the earphones. The piece was from Copland’s Appalachian Spring suite that was conducted by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. For me, it captured both the beauty of Edinburgh on a fine April morning and the uncertainty everyone in the world is facing with the current COVID19 crisis, and if I could have only one classical CD in my life, it would have to be this one.

Why I hear you cry? Simple I have a history with this CD. My recording of this CD is a copy taken from my Dad’s collection. I think he originally purchased the CD, Copland: Fanfare For The Common Man, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy Kid, conducted by Leonard Bernstein: New York Philharmonic Orchestra, in the early 1990s, and it had a blue colour. Of course, Fanfare For The Common Man is a very familiar piece of music with a cracking trombone part which incited me in, and Shaker Melody The Gift to be simple was the tune to one of the hymns we sang at Girls Brigade (and we would later sing at my wedding). The first time I think I really listened to the music was with my sister who talked my through all the different pieces in the Billy the Kid Ballet Suite. If you think this might sound really odd for sisters to talk about teenage music in their teens. Both of us studied music at high school and come from a very musical family so we’ve always had a wide range of music available to listen to. I don’t know or remember what led us to listen to talk about that music but from that day, I think I was enchanted and engaged with this CD from that moment on.

So much so, that I adopted the CD as part of my exam preparation and for every exam I have sat (Standard Grade, Higher, University etc), I have listened to this CD and it has given me both hope and courage. For me, the different tempos of the pieces from Springtime - Allegro to the Rodeo - Buckaroo dance gave me whatever I needed to get myself in the mood to sit exams and give me the strength to get through the test.  

Although this music takes me back to exam times, it doesn’t make me think of exams. It is not like having songs which remind you about a past relationship. In fact, it just reminds me that with the right music you can get through anything. Someone said to me last week that I am a very positive person, which I am, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not wobbling during this time of COVID19, because I am but music is one of the things which settles me and brings me back to a place of calm. You may have no interest in ever listening to Copland’s music but I hope if you enjoy listening to music there are pieces that are helping you get through the strange times we live in.

As I would normally do, here is a little bit of knowledge on Arron Copeland. Born in Brooklyn New York in 1900, he started writing songs at the age of eight and took piano lessons with Leopold Wolfsohn between 1913 - 1917.  After a period in Paris in the early 1920s, Copland to New York enthusiastic about the future and his musical opportunity. Living in the Upper West Side, he stayed there for nearly 30 years of his life. In America, the Jazz movement in the 1920s which brought George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong to the front of popular, Copland felt his own musically style had moved away from this style of music however the swing bands of Benny Goodman and Glenn Millar renewed his interest in the genre. 

At the same time (in the 1930s) Copland established himself as a spokesman for composers of his generation and became a well-respected lecturer and writer on European music. During the 1930s and the great depressions, Copland travelled extensively to Europe, Africa and Mexico. His time travellers would influence the development of his ballet Billy The Kid, which together with El Salón México, which was his first commercial successes. Music like Stravinsky’s ballet scores in Russia, Copeland established himself as an authentic composer of American music and give choreographers music for their dance repertory. 

The end of 1930s lead to a very productive 1940s, where his ballet Scores for Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring (1944) were huge successes along with Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) and his Clarinet Concerto (1948) and a number of film scores. 

Unfortunately, Copland’s political views in the 1950s didn’t sit while with the FBI and he was caught up with the Red Scare in America in the 1950s and much of his music was discarded, much to the annoyance to the musical community. Although the politics didn’t stop his musical composition, the moon of the period changed and Copland spent much of his later life focusing on conducting, rather the creating music.

Before I leave you with the links to some of my favourite parts of this CD, I would like to talk briefly about the Shaker Melody “Simple Gifts.” This was composed in 1848 and is attributed to Joseph Brackett, and it was Sydney Carter who turned the medley into a hymn entitled Lord of the Dance, for those who will be quick to correct me that Copland didn’t write it.

What’s interesting about these pieces of music in today’s world is all three of them were written at a time of great uncertainty; the Great Depression and WW2 and it make you wonder what the great composers of this century are up to during this period of isolation the whole world is in. Perhaps we will feel like the pioneers of  Appalachian Spring and look at life with an unnerving excitement when it is safe to go out and explore again. Until next time, happy listening. 

1. Appalachian Spring - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e3rVcSy3IQ
2. Rodeo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3_FRgBKD4o
3. Billy the Kid - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL-j2etBTek

Song 196 - Tiny Dancer by Elton John

Just in case you thought the last blog entry was a one-off, I thought I would follow it up with this hit from Elton John, who like Freddie Mercury has been immortalised in film over the last few years. Interesting fact, the director of both Starman and Bohemian Rhadsopy was Dexter Fletcher, who played Spike in Press Gang. Why I am telling you this? Probably because I was already thinking about becoming a writer when Press Gang was on TV as well as having a massive crush on Dexter Fletcher.  But I am getting sidetracked here, let us get back to song 198 of the jukebox - Tiny Dancer by Elton John. 

I think for me, Elton John has always been one of those artists that have been there in the fabric of my music. Never, someone, I would have rushed out to buy his latest album, but on a trusty, homemade tape mix, his songs would appear and over the years, I have found myself collecting his music. This year has seen the release of the highly delayed, Rocketman, a film charting the early years of Elton’s music journey and struggles with addiction. Having loved the film about Freddie Mercury, I was ready to hate this film as I wondered how they could tell a truthful account of the life of someone who is very much alive. Having now seen it, I was blown away by the whole movie. I thought the use of his music in the movie and the reimagined songs, sung by Aaron Egerton and Jamie Bell to mention the two leads, was incredible. You have to praise Elton John for being able to hand over his life and allow others to tell his story. Yes, I know he had control over the final cut of the movie, but even being in control, you are handed over your life to others to tell your story and that has to be brave. I think we sometimes forget that celebrities are real people and what makes a really good story, requires people to open up themselves and allow people to walk through memories, both bad and good.

For me, I count myself lucky, I have actually seen Elton John live. Not because I spent months planning my tickets, because I  found myself there when other people weren’t able to go.  We saw Elton at St. Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park in Perth. A small gig compared to the dizzy heights of Madison Square Gardens, in New York, but here we were listening to one of the most iconic pop stars. I am glad I can say that I have experienced his music live, even though we didn’t know all the hits. 

Out of all the Elton John hits, Tiny Dancer stands out for me as it makes me think of one of my own character, who I created about 13 years ago, Little Pink. Little Pink is a very personal character as she is a version of myself, who challenges me and reminds me to keep exploring life. When the character first appeared on my page, I saw her as a vision of pink dancing in a hospital corridor, and the lyric from Tiny Dancer, which goes, “Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand. And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand”, fits Little Pink. Although Little Pink is the tiny dancer in my head. 

Written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin, there is a relaxed hopefulness in the song, which never fails to bring a smile to my face. Released in February 1972, it wasn’t an overnight success, and it wasn’t released as a single in the UK as it faired badly in the USA. However, the Canadian markets loved it, and over time it has become one of the most popular songs released by Elton John. The lyrics were written after Bernie Taupin’s first trip to the USA.  I still find it crazy to think that whilst Elton John is one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, Bernie Taupin is a name everyone knows but he could walk past me in the street and I wouldn’t know him from the next guy. And coming back to Rocketman, the beating heart of the movie was the friendship between John and Taupin, who conquered the world with their music but maintain their friendship. I think in life we sometimes forget how important friendship is. Everyone talks about falling in love and being loved, but equally, friendships are so important. You need to have people who are there supporting you, whether you are just about to play live at Wembley or when you feel lost to the whole world. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves and should always be celebrated. 

For me, friendship comes through in the song as it has one of the tunes which makes me think of having big adventures with friends and chilling out afterwards reflecting on the fun you have just had. I don’t know how it makes you feel but I hope you enjoy it:

Listen here to Tiny Dancer

Tiny Dancer by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

Released: 7 February 1972

Album: Madman across the water

Song 195: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Originally, many thought this song would never be a commercial success because of its length of nearly 6 minutes when most hit singles were around 3 minutes long. Also, it wasn't written in the normal convention of a pop song,  verse/chorus/verse/chorus. Despite being told the record would never be played on the commercial radio, the single would be the Christmas Number 1 in 1975 and stay at the top of the chart for nine weeks. Then 16 years later, it would reclaim the number one spot for another 5 weeks (the only record to be Christmas Number one for the same artist). It has been at number one for a total of 14 weeks. Yes, the song to relaunch the Juke Box is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

Formed in London at the start of the 1970s, Queen started life as a four-piece rock band consisting of Roger Taylor, Brian May, John Deacon and Freddie Mercury. They first charted in the UK with their second album in 1974 and it wasn't until the release of A Night at the Opera did they achieve international success. Their catalogue of hits range from We will Rock You to The Show Must Go On, and it is hard to imagine the world pop scene without their influence, especially as they have sold in the region of nearly 300 million records, And, if their music wasn't iconic enough, their performance at Wembley for Live Aid is one of those moments in history, where people remember where they were when they saw Queen at Live Aid in 1985. But let's go back to Queen's first number one,  Bohemian Rhapsody as it is still one of the most iconic songs ever written. 

Written by Freddie Mercury for Queen’s 1975 album A night at the Opera, the song is an opera in its own right. Throwing out the normal conventions of a pop song, the tune is split into sections, which contains some of the most powerful lyrics of any modern-day pop together with some of the most fun lyrics to sing at the top of your voices with friends. It is one of those songs which makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, especially when I’ve not heard it in a while.

Part of the success of Bohemian Rhapsody was down to the fantastic Kenny Everett, who teased his radio audience with parts of the record on his radio shows. The snippets of the song left his audience wanting to hear more. Everett would play the song 14 times in 2 days to keep his audience happy and the rest is history. 

Many people debate what Mercury meant when he wrote the song, and I am glad that no one, or perhaps only a very few people, actually knew the meaning behind all the lyrics. There are a thousand theories out there, which you can read about, but for me, I would recommend that you just listen to the music and enjoy it for what it is. 

Mercury’s untimely death in 1991 sent ripples around the world, and I remember listening (and tapping) the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert off the radio and listening to the songs over and over again. The concert for those who haven’t listed to it entwined live performances with clips of Freddie talking about his career. I always remember one of the questions he was asked was “What would he do if he wasn’t a singer” and Freddie said “a Stripper”, which lead to the question, "what songs would you strip to?”, his reply was “to all the songs I’ve written.” 

The song is reported to be the UK's 3rd best-selling single of all times, and it is the most downloaded song of the 20th century, having been streamed/downloaded 1.6 billion times. The 2018 film of the same title brought Queen to a new generation of fans, together with the We will Rock You musical, opened in the West End in 2000.

For me, I never really think of myself as being a Queen fan, but when I look at through my music collection, the number of Queen songs within my library might lead anyone to disagree. I do remember that my headteacher at Primary School was a massive Queen fan and I have vivid memories of her having an 'It’s a kind of magic' t-shirt, which she wore. 

Many of you are probably wondering why to start this blog again after nearly a two-year absence, perhaps because the world has changed so much over the last two years and I want to finish what I started. I have to thank my nephew, Luke, for helping me choose this song. I asked him what was one of his favourite bands and Queen was his answers. Yesterday was Luke's 13th Birthday so I hope he enjoys being the inspirations to get his Auntie back writing again. Thanks, Luke and I hope we can share more music together soon. 

Watch  Bohemian Rhapsody here.

Released: 31 October 1975

Album: A Night at the Opera 

Written by: Freddie Mercury

Performed by: Queen