Unfortunately, my love affair at three with Carmen Miranda's singing and dancing ended abruptly when my grandparents moved away and took their TV with them. So for a few years, I had audio only - records and radio - to practice with for my show biz career.
My parents subscribed to a kids' record club, and I had awesome music to sing, dance, and play to.
One play record was called "Me and My Scarf," a play-along album that walked a child through various scenarios in which a scarf was the critical prop - "I am a WWI flying ace with my scarf;" "I trek through the desert with my scarf across my face."
Other favourites were "Puss and Boots," which is still going strong, and Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." (My childhhod tastes were rather eclectic.)
I would swoop around the living room with my father's scarf and sing along with all the music.
My most favourite by far (with the exception of Carmen Miranda!) was "McNamara's Band," a rousing, clanging tune that I played over and over (and over), marching all the while around in a circle, probably with a scarf.
There are several versions of this popular song, but I most liked a big band version, similar to this one with Dennis Day and the Harry James band. The bigness of the music lent great authority and gusto to my routine. I would have been in heaven if I could have seen the video!
2 comments:
Your youtube link is dead so I missed the wonderment of McNamara's Band. I loved Peter and the Wolf as a child and would have loved to have heard it more.
Unfortunately, I live in a house full of brothers who favorite music as youngsters was (I kid you not)John Phillip Sousa. You cannot imagine the noise of three boys stomping and clang to to marching music.
Like you I loved all kinds of music as a child. McNamera's Band was a song I got to hear lots as a child. (Wished we could have seen and heard this version!)
I liked the version done by Bing Crosby. My Irish grandmother was so enamored with that version (And almost anything done by Bing!) that every time we were there visiting we had to listen to it! Because of that I got to know it VERY well!
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