January 15, 2009

Bedtime Music: Ray Anthony - Harlem Nocturne

I'm happy to say that this is the 100th post of my Bedtime Music series.

Tonight's song is a familiar melody to me,
Harlem Nocturne, originally written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939. In writing this song, Hagen was trying to imitate Duke Ellington's sound; since then, Harlem Nocturne has become a jazz standard, covered by many artists and bands.

This particular cover is by
Ray Anthony (whose birth name is Raymond Antonioni) from The Ray Anthony Show, a TV variety show broadcast in 1956-57. Anthony is still alive (he turns 87 on the 20th), and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Happy birthday, Ray!

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