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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You – A Love Song?

Love makes me treat you the way that I do
Gee baby, ain’t  I good to you
There’s nothin’ too good for a girl that’s so true
Gee baby, ain’t  I good to you
Bought you a fur coat for Christmas, a diamond ring
A Cadillac car, and everything
Love makes me treat you the way that I do
Gee baby, ain’t I good to you.
(lyrics Don Redman and Andy Razaf;  music Don Redman)

I’m prompted to write about this set of lyrics after having a conversation with a colleague from Indigo Jazz Voices, who said that she considered this to be a love song. I did too, until I examined the words. The giver of the gifts shows up his true motives in the self-congratulatory line ‘Gee baby, ain’t I good to you’. Is he a sugar Daddy, expecting utter praise and devotion in return? Or maybe just a very demanding younger lover?  The gifts listed, fur coat etc are over the top.  It is as if the lover was trying to ‘buy’ the girl. ‘and everything’ emphasises this, although this may have been a chance rhyme to go with ‘ring’, who knows? ‘Love makes me treat you the way that I do’ is highly ironic, as the lover’s motive is not love at all.
What happens if you substitute ‘boy’ instead of ‘girl’ in the line ‘There’s nothing too good for a boy that’s so true?’ Interesting, and feasible in these days when some women earn more than men. Is she trying to bully him into marriage with the diamond ring? Is the ring necessarily an engagement ring? Am I reading far too much into what appears, at first sight, to be a straightforward lyric?
The song is a fascinating challenge to sing, trying to get the ‘sleazy’ feel across.  I sometimes add bits at the end, such as ‘cos I say so’, but maybe that is a cop out, as the original words should speak for themselves. It’s a great song to sing, especially with a 12/8 bluesy feel.  I like to think of the Blues as sadness with attitude.
I’d love to read about how other people interpret this song on BSH.
Ann Alex

4 comments :

Hilary Say (on F/b) said...

I remember the lovely Pete Gascoigne singing this...x

Lance said...

I found a couple of Cherry B's and a packet of Cheese and Onion crisps to be more cost effective but, maybe I was operating in a different league!

Liz said...

Denys loved this number, I find it hard to fathom, is he questioning her love for him now that he has showered her with these goodies? Maybe she has given him the brush off...who knows? still a good song, and yes Lance, whatever it took in those far off days eh?

Steve Andrews said...

In the original words as sung by Don Redman, it's a "Packard Coupe" (pron. coop), not a Caddie........... I read somewhere that this song and others composed and recorded by Redman in 1929, such as "The Way I Feel Today", and "Miss Hannah" were the result of his unrequited love for the said Miss Hannah, so perhaps it WAS meant as a love song, rather than the song of a demanding sugar daddy?

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