Once I had a fine chapeau...
A fancy chap with a classy hat might catch the eye of ladies strolling by. My friends know me for being a funny, quirky, off the wall kinda guy. But this song brought out a dixieland, barber shop style I'd not done before. I honour the 1920's when folks proudly wore their fine chapeaus.
The special part about this song is the sexy clarinet solo played by Jack Stewart who was over eighty at the time. A pro like Benny Goodman, Jack blows velvety, smooth tones that give you goosebumps. After my finger picking intro, Lea strums in with a tenor banjo which she learned for this song. She also sings along just enough to make it cute. Shawn Stewart and Tom Covernton play fantastic bass lines on this swing town melody. Shawn did a great job as our sound engineer trading time for haircuts, food and wine. We went to Langley to record at Hangover Studios. It took over two years to complete our 'Swing Some Blues Some' album but we loved every minute of it.
For the album art, we went to Penticton for a photo shoot with Lea's dad. Dan Lybarger, a famous Okanagan photographer, luthier and renowned painter took some interesting shots down by the lake.
Hats, formal and or casual, are forthright influentially piquant, in a tasty fashion, ravishing and a significative treat to behold and display. Love your hats!
Thank you for listening to me on Spotify and other music platforms. I found out today that I have a listener in Adelaide, Australia as well as one in Sweden. This world keeps getting smaller and smaller. TIme to float down the river and sing along...
click on the link below to hear the song on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4R1d66MJlbCURG01Ja3b9x?si=rvbTYvr-Rmq2Dcmhi2oyhA
Then you can sing along with the words:
FINE CHAPEAU
Once I had a fine chapeau
Sporting feather and a bow
Fedora and I would always go together
Daily strolling through the square
I’d tip my brim to ladies fair
Indeed it was a very fine chapeau
A fancy top if I dressed in suits
A cowboy hat when I wore boots
Such couture in any kind of weather
Dashing and so bon vivant
Always dapper; back or front
Indeed it was a very fine chapeau
Black as darkest midnight, silver buttons too
I wore it slightly tilted as a gentleman should do
The women folk would sigh as I wandered by
And I always tried to wander by a few
Black as darkest midnight, silver buttons too
I wore it slightly tilted as a gentleman should do
The women folk would sigh as I wandered by
And I always tried to wander by a few
Life was oh so debonair
Beneath my bonnet savoir-faire
Crafted from the very finest leather
Simplistic and yet so elite
Exquisite and so complete
Indeed it was a very fine
I could wear it any time
Indeed it was a very fine chapeau.
Written by Mark Sheldan copyright 2018 Socan
#bennygoodman#swing#banjo#fingerpicking#clarinet#songsabouthats#finechapeau#marksheldanonspotify#swingsomebluessome#standupbass#bigband#fedora#offthewall#pentictonphotoshoot#quirky
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