Finds With A Musical Theme

By " a musical theme", I mean simply that they either PLAY music, ARE printed music, or are ABOUT music - you get the idea........
Here we go, with the latest:
I found this huge and fabulous book about the Gershwin Brothers at a thrift store.  It's a beautiful book. It was published in  1973 , and it cost twenty-five dollars back then. There is no way I would have been able to afford to spend that much on a book at that time. But, I have it now, and that's what matters. Oh, and it only cost me one dollar:

Some sheet music - two great songs, here:

  Annie, The Original Cast Recording of the "New Musical", which was produced by none other than the fabulous Mike Nichols, back in 1977:

The next one is a cute album.
"Songs Children Love To Sing".
 How cute are they, sitting around their record player, clapping happily?
Now, that's not something you see every day, is it?
Or, like - ever, anymore?

Yes, I bought this next one because of the butterfly artwork on the cover!
But it has some great songs inside, too:

Three more terrific songs are seen below.
Basically, if I see a piece of vintage sheet music and the price is right, and it's a piece I don't have, and/or a song that I know (although that isn't necessarily a criteria, now that I think about it!), I buy it:

I have a collection of Herb Alpert's albums, but I didn't have this one:

 And my most recent finds were a couple of older pieces of music (1927 and 1930) and a lonely little old dust jacket without it's book, below:

And then, I was really excited when I found THIS book, below, too!

"A Nostalgic Tour Of Popular Sheet Music".
You had me with the cover.

It's the perfect find for a vintage sheet music lover - and collector - like myself!

Belated Congratulations To A Wonderful Dame (Hint: Mame)

Special congratulations are in order (although the actual event took place last month) for one of my favorite Dames ever!
The fabulous Angela Lansbury was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II on April 15th.
A more deserving lady I cannot imagine:

I decided to do this post today because it was on this date in 1966 that the First Preview performance took place at the Winter Garden Theatre, starring (Dame) Angela as "Mame" in the Jerome Lawrence/Robert E. Lee musical play with music and lyrics by the marvelous Jerry Herman.

 Oh, how I wish I could have been there in person to see her play this part on the Broadway stage!
I'm still upset that she was not the one cast in the film version.
 (Don't get me started on it, please....)
The photos shown on this post are from this great vintage issue of Life Magazine:

 "You coax the blues right out of the horn..."

 I love the music from this production. The original cast  album is one that I can listen to over and over again.

The Life Magazine pull-out cover:

With Frankie Michaels:

 Here she is with the late, great Bea Arthur - "We'll always be bosom buddies......"

"We Need A Little Christmas" is honestly one of my all-time favorite songs - whether it's Christmastime, or not.
And it has to be HER singing it; no one else will do for me!

 Congratulations, Dame Angela Lansbury.
 You are an one-of-a-kind, true and genuine superstar, and I completely and utterly adore you!

I have had the cassette version, CD, songbook, and the Life magazine for many years, but I only recently found this LP at a thrift store.
It was waiting there only for ME, don't you know.

One of the best soundtrack albums EVER.

The Sound Of Music Live

Is anyone else looking forward to this as much as I am?
 I am really quite excited about it!

After watching the NBC television program "The Making Of 'The Sound Of Music Live!" on the night before Thanksgiving, and then seeing the pair who will portray Liesl and Rolf  perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday morning, I can hardly wait. I have been a Carrie Underwood fan since her very first song on American Idol, and I adore Tony winners Audra McDonald and Christian Borle, as well.
I have known - and loved - this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical for my entire life. From the Broadway soundtrack album with Mary Martin that Mother had  (a copy of which I also own myself, of course), that we listened to when we were growing up, to the fabulous film and soundtrack with the iconic and unsurpassed Julie Andrews, I have never tired of the music, and have seen every possible local production I could over the last 30 years.
I was absolutely fascinated and enthralled by the "making of.." show the other night, watching as they selected the cast of Von Trapp children, constructed the sets, rehearsed, etc. - and I can hardly wait to see the live production on December 5th! That behind the scenes peek definitely has whetted my appetite, just as I am certain they intended. Hey, NBC - it worked on me!
How about you?

We'll Miss You, Andy

I truly will miss Andy Griffith. So much. If I had to choose one word to describe him, I think I would pick "beloved". I mean- didn't you love him, too? The Andy Griffith Show was simply television perfection. It will never get old.
I picked up this original Broadway cast recording album of "Destry Rides Again" last year at a thrift store. I like the picture of him on the cover, so it seemed a fitting one for this post.
I was a true fan; I also watched Matlock - every single episode.
I hope he knew how much he was loved, and I like to think that he probably did.
Goodbye, Andy.

No, No, Nanette

I found this great souvenir theater program from a production of "No, No, Nanette" at a thrift store in Folsom:
I love the fabulous art deco styling! This production was presented in Washington in the 70's. Don Ameche, Evelyn Keyes (from "Gone With The Wind" and Ann B. Davis were members of the cast.
The program cover is so gorgeous that I promptly placed it into a frame and hung it on the wall.

The smaller, regular hand-out program was still inside, as well.
I only have a couple of pieces of sheet music from this musical.
"Tea For Two" is probably the best-known number from this musical comedy. (You know it, don't you?)

"I Want To Be Happy" would be the other most popular tune:

"I want to be happy, but I won't be happy till I make you happy, too.
Life's really worth living, when we are mirth-giving, why can't I give some to you?"
Here's wishing you happy times and mirth today!

Once Upon a Time in Placerville #5: Photos from the El Dorado County Museum

Good morning. Its a cold early spring day here in Kelsey, so we are going to stay warm by the fireside and take a little armchair tour of Placerville. We can stay inside and out of the snow, and just pretend we are about to crank up the old car with our friends shown here below on a snow covered Placerville street. I worked as a volunteer at the El Dorado County Historical Museum on Placerville Drive last Sunday. We had quite a few visitors, including my son and his lady, and a couple who own the wonderful old Thorn Mansion in San Andreas. But in between the busy times, I perused the binders with old photos. These were from the binder which contained unknown places. I think they are unknown because the researchers didn't know where they were located in town, because some note the owners by name. I have some ideas about a few of the places in the photos, but haven't yet had the chance to drive around and see if my memory of the houses matches the reality. I did identify a photo from the 1960's which was of the Placerville Pines Convalescent Hospital on Marshall Way. I worked there in the early 70's, so I am very familiar with the building.

Placerville house in snow. We saw quite a bit of that this winter.

This looks like a home on Clay Street, but since I haven't had a chance to match it up yet I am unsure.

Another home in snow. I love these old farmhouses with wrap around porches.

Please forgive the reflections of light in these photos. They are photographs of photographs which are behind plastic film in an album, so it was hard to avoid the reflections at times.

This home looks like one on Coloma Street, there are several in Placerville with stucco. I will drive past it this afternoon and see if it matches up.

This is Judge N. D. Arnot's property. Where is your home, Judge?

This lovely old place needs some paint and new shutters.

Even the smallest home still has its little porch so we can kick back and greet the neighbors.

Mrs. Ralston's home. This looks similar to houses which were once on Broadway, and were torn down to built the freeway. I would like to see a close-up of the porch supports of this home, they look interesting, and I can't figure out what they are made out of.

Thomas B. B. house. Thomas, get to work, it looks like your porch is sagging.

I am ending with an old real photo postcard of Hangtown Creek in high water. I worked next to the creek for over 15 years, and saw it get to the top of its banks and threaten the parking lots beside it. Hopefully this won't happen this spring.

I hope you enjoyed your armchair tour. Maybe a reader can help the docents at the museum identify the whereabouts of some of these homes.

The Past is Present in Placerville #3: The Combellack Blair House

Good morning, this is Tina, and I am showing you a beautiful Victorian home which is located at 3059 Cedar Ravine in Placerville, California.

This is a photograph I took while taking a watercolor class at the local college. We went out on location and I discovered I have a very hard time painting out on a sidewalk with people looking over my shoulder. I can't concentrate and everything I do looks awful to me.

I have a good friend who painted the most lovely watercolor of this home in the early 1990s. It was hung in a little clothing store which once was on Placerville Drive. After the store closed, I have always wondered where that painting ended up. I wish I owned it!

I love the pink on this home, it looks like a wedding cake. The home is a fine example of a Queen Anne style, and is now a tan or light brown color. If I remember right, in my lifetime, the home has also been pink, green and blue.

This is a 2009 photograph. This great building has been a bed and breakfast, but I don't believe it is operating right now. The Combellack Blair home was built by William Hill Blair in 1895. It was also home to the Combellack family in later years.
Heidi was gracious enough to share these two photos, above and below, with me so that I could use them in the blog. These were from the 1970s. The two palm trees which once graced the front yard are still in place, and the dark green which was my favorite color for the home is preserved for posterity.

Here is a closer look from Heidi, showing some of the lovely gingerbread trim. I would love to hang out on the second floor balcony and read a good book.

I remember going trick-or-treating a couple of times to this home in the early 1960s, it was thrilling just to go into the foyer and look up the stairs. I also was lucky to go on an old home tour in the 1980s and view the entire home. It was a bed and breakfast at that time.

This is a small wooden block which has been painted to resemble the Combellack Blair home. It is a part of a series of art works by "Sheila" of old homes and historic scenes, mostly of California, I believe.

I am ending with a print from Thomas Kinkade. I have always enjoyed his older paintings of the old homes in Placerville.

Just a short and sweet visit to a great old place. Long may it be present in Placerville!

Mary Martin as Peter Pan

Mary Martin was born on this date in 1913. I'm sure you know that she went on to become a HUGE Broadway star. Many people remember her best for her portrayal of Peter Pan, which was also staged for telecast on NBC. The color production of the play was first shown in 1960.
In addition to the VHS, shown above, I also have this music book from the original Broadway production of the musical play:

These are pictures from inside the book:


I am unsure how old I was when I first saw the NBC production, but I do know we all watched it and loved it. We were also familiar with Mary Martin because Mother had the Original Broadway Cast Recording album from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound Of Music. We loved listening to that, too. You know, there are a couple of songs that weren't in the feature film with Julie Andrews, ones that I always really liked, such as "No Way to Stop It", and "How Can Love Survive". So, when I need a Sound Of Music fix, I enjoy listening to both albums.
Mary was also lauded for her performance as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. She won the Tony Award for all three of these roles, and another for "I Do!, I Do!" She also won an Emmy Award for the TV production of Peter Pan.
Here she is ,below, in caricatures done by the late, great Al Hirschfeld (I feel another favorite artist post coming up!), on the cover of my "This Is Broadway's Best" LP :

She was one fabulous entertainer, of that there can be no doubt.