"Skylark's" melody began life as a Bix Beiderbecke inspired composition for a proposed motion picture on Beiderbecke's life. It's basically a jazz "lick".
variations on a theme. composers have done it down through the centuries and since the inception of popular music singers too only, they call it interpretation. nothing wrong with that; invariably makes a piece more interesting.
but you can't fool with skylark; it's so perfectly natural, it's exquisite. step outside the simplicity of it and you chance falling flat on your face.
The arrangement is fantastic, and Ms. Forrest's voice is lovely. I can't stop listening to this song. Pure poetry. I love when she says "I don't know if you can find these things". Haunting.
Just brilliant, this version. I was flipping through Peter J Levinson's 'Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James' yesterday and apparently Helen Forrest "was firmly against recording the song and had a problem with the bridge". Now I think the bridge is arguably the best bit, apart from her little ascending semitones trick on the last three notes (wh always raises the hairs on the back of my neck), but I sure am glad someone convinced her to record it.
Helen Forrest was the greatest! So many beautiful songs!!! So many great memories of Helen Forrest, and all those great dance bands. How do we get America back on the dance floors with all those great bands again??? And all those great singers???? Thank goodness there's the CD's we can buy.
What can I say?? They just don't write songs like that anymore!!!!!!!!! And: Where are any of the great musicians these days..??? Maybeeee Someday????
If you want to get this kind of music 24/7, get an internet radio receiver. Grace Digital makes several, and you can set it up to get several Big Band, 1940s type channels. I like Radio Swing Worldwide, the 19200s network, AOL Big Band and Swing.
I had the privilege of meeting her in Pittsburgh before she passed away (it was in the early 1990's don't recall the precise year) and it was a real thrill for me. She had a beautiful voice, and as I recall she still wanted to sing. Thank you for posting this.
I'd like to share a moment with you about this song, I collect old radios and love the big band era, I have this recording, and was listening to it one night on a feed though one of my old sets, this song came on and I closed my eyes, I was at the stage, looking up at Helen sing this song... I noticed every detail, I was in the era for a moment... I love this song, it's so exquisite, I wish I had the chance to meet Helen before she died, I'd have cried I'm sure, her voice is heaven.
Your about 10 years older than me but I really like to hear these songs from the 30' & 40's the EXACT same way.
It's rare these days to find an AM radio station in the area that plays these great old standards. With the aid of a small AM transmitter ( either home brew or bought), the source of this type of music for broadcasting to these old radios is endless, thanks to the internet and computers!
Now that Danny Stiles has died, there isn't a fitting station to tune into off-air.
Thank you very much for posting this song. It has been my favorite song ever since I first heard it in the 1940's while listening to my father's many 78 rpm records. I am 69 years old now and it is still my favorite. Great band. Great arrangement. Great vocal. For me it captures the feeling of the '40s.
Helen said she had a terrible time with the melody of this song and asked for a guide vocal in recording it. She said she found it difficult to discern where to come in with her vocal and to keep on key and in meter with the complicated instrumental. It was worth all the worry and work because this is an absolutely brilliant recording which has justly won a place in American musical history. Helen is considered the greatest singer of the big band era, even by other singers.
Agree full with AJNorth, a truly magical recording of this beautiful song, in my opinion this is the best version. James trumpet and Helen's voice are both unbelivably good. Just amazing.
Amongst many fine recordings of this great song, one stands alone. With a superb arrangement featuring James' muted trumpet at the intro, subtle shifts in tempo and ear-catching retards, and complimented by the glorious voice of Helen Forrest, this is pure musical magic. Forrest said in an interview late in life that that the big band era was the greatest period of popular music; that was an understatement.
@Freyja1133 Of course they can; in the case of MS Forrest's observation, however, the writings of virtually every musicologist who has written on the subject bear her out.
After all, on a strictly analytical basis, the songs written between roughly 1925 and 1955 (which would include those from Broadway and the cinema, as many of them became popular standards as well) comprise the largest-selling recordings (and sheet music) in popular music history.
@AJNorth I agree with you AJ... there have been some R&B songs which have become popular stanards ,for other generations... weren't the songs from the swing recorded on 78s?
@Freyja1133 Certainly many works of R&B have become hugely popular, along with other genres of music that might generally be referred to as "popular" (as opposed to, say, the "serious" music of the extensive - and wide - classical repertoire).
And, yes; after the migration from cylinder to flat discs in the 1920s, the 78 RPM format (nominally a 3 mil grove width) became the standard until Columbia successfully marketed the 33 1/3 RPM "Microgrove" Lp (with a 0.7 mil groove width) in 1948.
@Freyja1133 Sure; all sorts of musical genres, from virtually every type of classical music to traditional, from folk to Broadway (and just about everything in between) have been adapted and transcribed into some other musical form (or forms). For example, numerous classical melodies have been arranged as swing tunes, pop and rock songs. As to why the majority of the female singers were altos, my guess is that their voices were were easier to arrange for and listen to, as is the case for tenors.
@Freyja1133 Thank you; you are entirely welcome. Would that more (most) folk who post here (and elsewhere) acted with what used to called 'common courtesy' (really, isn't life too short for the alternative?).
Now, as you enjoyed this song, explore others. Helen Forrest, for instance, had a rich & remarkable career, starting with Artie Shaw, then Benny Goodman & finally Harry James; she made classic recordings with each. There are too many great singers to mention here, but check out Bea Wain.
@Freyja1133 Well, wouldn't that be akin to someone casually calling them self a "historian" without either the training or accredited degree? Looking the term up, you will discover that a musicologist is one who is engaged in the scholarly scientific and historical study of music. Since words have agreed upon defined meanings, it behooves all of us to be familiar with those we use to communicate with one another (and hopefully learn some new ones to add to our vocabularies along the way).
Actually, the music was composed by Hoagy Carmichael. He turned it over to Johnny Mercer for the lyrics. Johnny supposedly worked for about a year getting the lyrics to fit beautifully with the melody.
@11777766 This great song is by Hoagy Carmichael with some words thrown in as an after thought by Mr.Mercer - Merecer never composed any "music" in his entire life!!!!!
"Skylark's" melody began life as a Bix Beiderbecke inspired composition for a proposed motion picture on Beiderbecke's life. It's basically a jazz "lick".
everybodylovesmybaby 1 month ago
variations on a theme. composers have done it down through the centuries and since the inception of popular music singers too only, they call it interpretation. nothing wrong with that; invariably makes a piece more interesting.
but you can't fool with skylark; it's so perfectly natural, it's exquisite. step outside the simplicity of it and you chance falling flat on your face.
macmanhattan 1 month ago 3
The arrangement is fantastic, and Ms. Forrest's voice is lovely. I can't stop listening to this song. Pure poetry. I love when she says "I don't know if you can find these things". Haunting.
NoIvory1 2 months ago 4
Helen simply had the dreamiest, classiest voice of the Big Band era
scotnick59 2 months ago
You don't know how long I've been looking for this. Thank you so much for uploading - it's my favorite version.
KataclysmKat 3 months ago 2
Wonderful version of Skylark. Check out this fabulous young lady from the Milwaukee area who sings the 40's and 50's. The sound system is not great.
Rae Cassidy with The Chris Hanson band
tommyjayII 3 months ago
Just brilliant, this version. I was flipping through Peter J Levinson's 'Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James' yesterday and apparently Helen Forrest "was firmly against recording the song and had a problem with the bridge". Now I think the bridge is arguably the best bit, apart from her little ascending semitones trick on the last three notes (wh always raises the hairs on the back of my neck), but I sure am glad someone convinced her to record it.
wpl955g 4 months ago
Helen Forrest was the greatest! So many beautiful songs!!! So many great memories of Helen Forrest, and all those great dance bands. How do we get America back on the dance floors with all those great bands again??? And all those great singers???? Thank goodness there's the CD's we can buy.
MsAble99 5 months ago
What can I say?? They just don't write songs like that anymore!!!!!!!!! And: Where are any of the great musicians these days..??? Maybeeee Someday????
MsAble99 5 months ago 3
If you want to get this kind of music 24/7, get an internet radio receiver. Grace Digital makes several, and you can set it up to get several Big Band, 1940s type channels. I like Radio Swing Worldwide, the 19200s network, AOL Big Band and Swing.
brianr10 6 months ago
"And in your lonely flight, haven't you heard the music of the night?"
everybodylovesmybaby 6 months ago
Yes, without any doubt, this is THE definitive version of Skylark. Listening to any other version leaves little doubt.
okbridges 7 months ago 3
I really love the melody of this song. It is so American.
everybodylovesmybaby 7 months ago
Sorry. I mean "definitive".
Sprongo 8 months ago
Is this the difinitive version of Skylark?
Sprongo 8 months ago
I had the privilege of meeting her in Pittsburgh before she passed away (it was in the early 1990's don't recall the precise year) and it was a real thrill for me. She had a beautiful voice, and as I recall she still wanted to sing. Thank you for posting this.
28drago 8 months ago
I'd like to share a moment with you about this song, I collect old radios and love the big band era, I have this recording, and was listening to it one night on a feed though one of my old sets, this song came on and I closed my eyes, I was at the stage, looking up at Helen sing this song... I noticed every detail, I was in the era for a moment... I love this song, it's so exquisite, I wish I had the chance to meet Helen before she died, I'd have cried I'm sure, her voice is heaven.
Thanks.
35GEmonitorT 8 months ago 7
@35GEmonitorT
Your about 10 years older than me but I really like to hear these songs from the 30' & 40's the EXACT same way.
It's rare these days to find an AM radio station in the area that plays these great old standards. With the aid of a small AM transmitter ( either home brew or bought), the source of this type of music for broadcasting to these old radios is endless, thanks to the internet and computers!
Now that Danny Stiles has died, there isn't a fitting station to tune into off-air.
525wireman 8 months ago
Fallout ;')
Shawnium101 8 months ago
Thank you very much for posting this song. It has been my favorite song ever since I first heard it in the 1940's while listening to my father's many 78 rpm records. I am 69 years old now and it is still my favorite. Great band. Great arrangement. Great vocal. For me it captures the feeling of the '40s.
Ginger32000 9 months ago 4
Helen Forrest did this one best. Glad to find her version on youtube.
FoxPlant2006 10 months ago 2
Sublime recording...a priceless gift to us from the mid-20th century.
somersetdc 1 year ago 5
When did she sing this? It's the closest version to the rhythm my grandma used to use when used to play this before she died.
CreaganFhithich 1 year ago
Helen said she had a terrible time with the melody of this song and asked for a guide vocal in recording it. She said she found it difficult to discern where to come in with her vocal and to keep on key and in meter with the complicated instrumental. It was worth all the worry and work because this is an absolutely brilliant recording which has justly won a place in American musical history. Helen is considered the greatest singer of the big band era, even by other singers.
waynebrasler 1 year ago 7
another great local talent from the atlantic city area. what a voice
chriskcr 1 year ago
All the superlatives I could think of would not do justice to Helen Forrest, Harry James and Hoagy Charmichael. What a winning combination!
BrickPa 1 year ago 2
Agree full with AJNorth, a truly magical recording of this beautiful song, in my opinion this is the best version. James trumpet and Helen's voice are both unbelivably good. Just amazing.
uostman 1 year ago 5
I'm sorry, but to use Madonna's name in the same sentence as Helen Forrest is obsurd.
oldexdoowopdj 1 year ago 7
Miss Helen Forrest...
Sillach 1 year ago
Madonna has the ability to sing very well, if she would just sing more alto and less like a little girl.
Lyriapersiana 1 year ago
@Lyriapersiana Madonna has no singing ability whatsoever. If she'd only shut her mouth the world would be a better place.
zappacrappa2 1 year ago
Amongst many fine recordings of this great song, one stands alone. With a superb arrangement featuring James' muted trumpet at the intro, subtle shifts in tempo and ear-catching retards, and complimented by the glorious voice of Helen Forrest, this is pure musical magic. Forrest said in an interview late in life that that the big band era was the greatest period of popular music; that was an understatement.
AJNorth 1 year ago 29
@AJNorth Miss forrest said that because she was band singer back then?
Everyone can say the same thing about any era/decade.
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@Freyja1133 Of course they can; in the case of MS Forrest's observation, however, the writings of virtually every musicologist who has written on the subject bear her out.
After all, on a strictly analytical basis, the songs written between roughly 1925 and 1955 (which would include those from Broadway and the cinema, as many of them became popular standards as well) comprise the largest-selling recordings (and sheet music) in popular music history.
AJNorth 10 months ago
@AJNorth I agree with you AJ... there have been some R&B songs which have become popular stanards ,for other generations... weren't the songs from the swing recorded on 78s?
Curious
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@Freyja1133 Certainly many works of R&B have become hugely popular, along with other genres of music that might generally be referred to as "popular" (as opposed to, say, the "serious" music of the extensive - and wide - classical repertoire).
And, yes; after the migration from cylinder to flat discs in the 1920s, the 78 RPM format (nominally a 3 mil grove width) became the standard until Columbia successfully marketed the 33 1/3 RPM "Microgrove" Lp (with a 0.7 mil groove width) in 1948.
AJNorth 10 months ago
@AJNorth Could/can swing be brounght ion to a new genre ...let's say power metal?
would it be a difficult thing to do?
one last question: why were most of the band singers( even those who were on the air/radio) altos?
( the girl singers)
curious
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@Freyja1133 Sure; all sorts of musical genres, from virtually every type of classical music to traditional, from folk to Broadway (and just about everything in between) have been adapted and transcribed into some other musical form (or forms). For example, numerous classical melodies have been arranged as swing tunes, pop and rock songs. As to why the majority of the female singers were altos, my guess is that their voices were were easier to arrange for and listen to, as is the case for tenors.
AJNorth 10 months ago
@AJNorth thank you for being a gentleman ,aj
I can sing one of Jane froman's song ( blue oon) in my range which is soprano...
And It sounds pretty good .. with a song in my heart also
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@Freyja1133 Thank you; you are entirely welcome. Would that more (most) folk who post here (and elsewhere) acted with what used to called 'common courtesy' (really, isn't life too short for the alternative?).
Now, as you enjoyed this song, explore others. Helen Forrest, for instance, had a rich & remarkable career, starting with Artie Shaw, then Benny Goodman & finally Harry James; she made classic recordings with each. There are too many great singers to mention here, but check out Bea Wain.
AJNorth 10 months ago 2
Musicolgist is only a title that one can give to oneself... kind of like historian
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@Freyja1133 Well, wouldn't that be akin to someone casually calling them self a "historian" without either the training or accredited degree? Looking the term up, you will discover that a musicologist is one who is engaged in the scholarly scientific and historical study of music. Since words have agreed upon defined meanings, it behooves all of us to be familiar with those we use to communicate with one another (and hopefully learn some new ones to add to our vocabularies along the way).
AJNorth 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Ella Fitzgerald also had fine rendition of this classic also.
araggedman 1 year ago
Ella Fitzgerald also had fine rendition of this classic also.
araggedman 1 year ago
Yes great version, but Maxine Sullivan's 1947 version just edges it for me.
closedcircle1 2 years ago
The song is by the great composer Johnny Mercer and is a classic. Helen Forrest made Skylark famous.
11777766 2 years ago 2
Actually, the music was composed by Hoagy Carmichael. He turned it over to Johnny Mercer for the lyrics. Johnny supposedly worked for about a year getting the lyrics to fit beautifully with the melody.
everybodylovesmybaby 2 years ago 3
@11777766 This great song is by Hoagy Carmichael with some words thrown in as an after thought by Mr.Mercer - Merecer never composed any "music" in his entire life!!!!!
OlymPigs2010 1 year ago 2
This song is neglected, in my opinion. It's an American classic.
everybodylovesmybaby 2 years ago 4
Heard many versions of this classic, in my opinion, this is the best ever !! Thank you for posting this truly great masterpiece.
VJ254 2 years ago 5
Real talent. Like to see Madonna sing this.. To me Madonna sounds like she is about 12 and sounds like a dog barking.
amorroni 2 years ago 6
Madonna's only "talent" is marketing herself through many reinventions. Helen Forrst is REAL talent.
artemis2854 2 years ago 22
@artemis2854 uh why do you have ot bash Madonna she's talented in her own way too
MountainQueen 1 year ago
@MountainQueen Yes she his.
wallpole 11 months ago
@MountainQueen madonna's voice can become very unnerving & annoying after a while...
Can she actually sing a true girl groups,or singers song?
Let's hear her sing MAybe I Know,or you Don't own me with out using that irritating false soprano of hers
Freyja1133 10 months ago
@artemis2854 I agree
Freyja1133 10 months ago
Absolutely love this version of this classic. Thank you for posting it.
VJ254 2 years ago 5